Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1868-04-16
Choice s!Nisttllauy.
From the Saturday tEngIish) Review.
TIE GIRL OF THE PERIOD,

Time wns when the stereotyped phrase,
"a fair young English girl" meant the
ideal OF womanhood to us, at least, of
home birth and breeding. 1t meant "a
creature generous, capable, and modest ;
something franker than aFrenchwoman,
more to be trusted than an Italian as brave
rs an American, but more refined, as do
,,'Sstiv 90 a German and more graceful.
IL meant a girl who could he trusted
alone IL need be- because of the innate
purity and dignity of her nature, but
who was neither bold in bearing nor
masculine in mind; n girl who, when
she married. would he her husbands
friend and companion, but never his
rival oncwhs would consider their in
terests Identical, and not hold him as
just so much fair game for spoil; who
would make his house his true homo and
place of rest, not q mere passage-place
for vanity and ostentation to go through;
n tender mother, au industrious house
keeper, judicious mistress. We prided
ourselves ns q nation on our women.-
We thought we had the pick of creation
in this fair young English girl of ours,
and enVied no other men their own. We
admired the languid grace and subtle
fire of the South; the docility and af-
fectionateness of the East seemed to us
sweet and simple and restful the viva
cious sparkle of the trim and sprlghtly
Parisienne was u pleasant little excite
ment whon we met with it in its own
domain but our allegiance never wan
dered from our brown-halred girls at
home, and our hearts were less vagrant
than our fancies. This was In old time,
and when English girls were content to
be what God and nature had made them.
or late years we have changed the pat
tern, and have given to the world n race
of women rs utterly unlike the old in
sular ideal as IL we had created another
nation altogether. The girl of the period,
and the fair young English girl of the
past, have nothing In common save an
cestry and their mother-tongue and
even of this last the modern. version
makes almost a new language through
the copious additions II has received from
the current slang of the day.
The girl of the period Is u creature who
dyes her hair and paints her face, as the
first articles of her personal religion
whose sole idea of life Is plenty of fun
and luxury; and whose dress Ii the OBJ
p jsct OF such thought and intellect AS she
possesses. Her main endeavor In this ID
to outy!e her neighbors In the extrava.
ganee OF fashion. No matter whether
as In time of crinolines, she sacrificed
decency or, as now, In the time OF trains
she sacrifices cleanliness; no matter
either, whether she makes herself nui.
sance aud an Inconvenience TO every
one she meets. The girl of the period
has done away with such moral muillsh'
moss as consideration for Others, or re,
gard for counsel and rebulSe. IL was all
very well In old-fashloned times. when
fathers and mothers had some authority
and were treated with respect, 10 be Ia
tored and made 10 obey, but she Is fa
too fast aud iiourishiDg to be stopped II
imid-career by these slow old morals
and as she dresses to please herself sh,
does not care II she displeases every on,
else. Nothing IL too extraordinary ant
nothing too exaggerated for her vitiate'
taste and things which In themselves
would be useful reforms II let alone be
come monstrosities worse than thos
which they have Displaced so soon a
she begins 10 manipulate aud improve
III sensible fashion lifts the gown on
OF the mad, she iaises hers midway
her knee. III the absurd structure ,
wire aud buckram. once called y bonne
Is modified TO something that shall pr,
tect the wearer's face without putin
out the eyes OF her companion, she cut
hers down to four straws and rosebu,
or u tag Of lace and bunch Of glai
beads.
tifi III there is o reaction against an exec
T, !, OF RowlaDd's Macassar, and hair shin
and sticky with grease Is thought le
nice than ii left clean and healthi
crisp, she dries and frlzzes and sticl
hers out on end like certain sayages
Africa, or lets 1t wander down her ba,
like Madge Wildfre's, and thinks he
self all the more beautiful the near
she approaches In look to maniac oi
negress. With purity of taste she b
lost also that far more precious purity al
deIicacy Of perception which sometim
mean more than appears on the surfa,