Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-11-23
Our American Girls.
From Daniel Macrae's Notes on America.l

The paleness in the American girls
though often beautiful, is too universal
an eye from the old country begins tt
long for a resy cheek. Lowell said thai
color was thing of climate, and that
should find plenty of rosy cheeks among
the mountaiss of Maine, where there is
more moisture in the air. 1t may be SO
/ never got to her Maine mountains to
see. But as far as my observation went
/ never saw any, either on mountain ol
valley. in any part of New England. My
private impression is, making all allow
ance' for the influence of dry air, that the
peculiar paleness of the New England
girls connects itself with too much meta
physics, hot bread and pie.
have strong convictions on this sub
ject of pie. Not to speak of mere pale
ness, don't see how the Americans can
reconcile it with their notions of what ia
due to the laws of nature, to live to the
age they do, considering the amount of
pie they eat, and the rapidity with which
they eat it. / don't remember that
ever sat down to a dinner in America,
even in poor mans house, without find,
ing pie of some kind-often of several
kinds-on the table; and without finding
that everybody psrtook of it, down to the
microscopic lady or gentleman whom we
should call the baby. Pie is indispensa'
BILE. Take anything away, but leave pie:
Americans can stand the prohibition OF
all intoxicating drinks, but attempt to
prohibit pie and you would plunge Amer
lea into revolution in day.
Then metaphysics In one family
which visited in the Connecticut VAL
ley, two of the girls were deep in the
study of algebra and metaphysics, as
voluntary exercise, and shut themselves
up for three hours q day with Colenso,
and Sir William Hamilton, and Kant.
This was, perhaps, exceptional, but the
New England brain is very busy. II
develops very soon and very fast, and
begins at an exceedingly early age to
exercise itself with the abstruser studies.
Parents and teachers often told me that
their difficulty, with the girls especially,
was, not to get them urged on, but to
get them held back. In one young
ladies' seminary which / visited, they
we're held back with the following light
studies, in addition to all the ordinary
branches: Virgil and Horace, Latin
prose composition, anatomy and hygiene,
moral philosophy, and quadratic eque-
tons To this add pie and hot bread,
and what could you expect but paleness,
even among the mountains of Maine
Palensss and pie Notwithstanding, the
American girls are very delightful. And
in one point they fairly surpass the ma
jority of English girls-they are all ed
ucsted and we'll informed. 1t is pain
ful, but, i fear, too incontrovertible
fact, that most of the girls on this side
are very ignorant on general subjects. /
don't blame them; blame the system
of education. Some girls are fascinating
whether they are educated or not but to
be left alone, as one sometimes is, with q
girl who knows nothing, in room with
no piano, is exceedingly embarrassing
after the weather has been exhausted.
There is never the same dificnlty with
American girls The admirable educs-
tionaI system Of New England, covering
the whole area Of society, has given them
education, whether they be poor or rich,
has furnished them with q great deal OF
general information, and has quiekened
their desire for more.
An American girl viii talk with you
about anything, and feel (or what has the
same effect. seem TO feel) interested IN IL
Their tendency is, perhaps, TO talk too
much, and 10 talk beyond their knoul
edge. With the cleverer Tor as they
would say themselves, the ''smsrter) of
them, il seemed 10 me sometimes TO
make no perceptible difference whether
they knew anything Of the subject they
talked about or not Mentioning this
feature Of American character % Bos-
Ton gentleman, be said: 1T is true.