The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-06-05
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THE HANDSOME ENGLIsHMAN.

THE HANDSOME ENGLISHMAN.
From the NJ Y. Tribune
Mr.. Darwin seems strong IN his facts when
collected by other people, and only arranged
by himself. He is an authority on six-tosd
cats, and benevolent monkeys, and aesthetic
bower-birds, even without having seen them.
But when it comes to the high-born Briton
whom he must have seen--for if cat may
look upon king, surely dissector of oats
may contemplate marquis-some glamour
seems to come over him. He does not use his
eyes, apparently, but accepts the traditions of
ages as reverently as if he were an archbishop.
He attributes ''the beauty of the upper classes
in England to the men having long selected
the more beautiful women" descent of Man,
PIP. BIOL Am. ed.
The annual inroad of travelling Englishmen
is now becoming 30 large ameng as that even
untravelled Americans are becoming familiar
with their looks. Many of these youths are,
or purport to be, of high social position; and
anxious inquiries are beginning to be made
why the representatives of this aristocratic
beauty do not appear among these travellers.
n the frank language of the Washington
oung lady, demonstrating with the High
Joint Commissioner on this very subject, eff
the Queen has them, why does she not send
one of them over here?" One sees handsome
Englishmen, no doubt, but they are apt to be
on the forward deck of the yacht, not in the
cabin; on the outside of the carriage in Central
Park, not Inside. They are apt to be grooms,
or gardeners, or sailors, or belong in some
way to the degraded class of ''cads." Why
should there be this difference? As Darwin
Justly remarks (though with an opposite ap-
plication), these classes ''are placed under
equally favorable circumstances for the per-
feet development of the body" Why is it
that, as a general rule, the fine young Eng
lish gentleman who visits us is less good
looking than the man servant he brings
with him? We speak in sorrow, not in
anger. Everybody likes to see handsome
man. When we are to meet Lord Frede-
rick Fitzregal at the club or at dinner
party, we desire to see some one who has
stepped out of "Guy Livingstone
youth as Bulwer first created and Wilkie
Collins is now endeavoring to extinguish.
The chances are that when the door
opens, there shuf1es in an under
sized, light-haired, nesr-sighted, awkward
boy, with drawling Dundreary voice, who
seems afraid of his own shadow, and cannot
greet man or woman in frank or easy way.
He has certain blunt and stammering SIM
plicity, which is not to be despised But
even the imagination of Mr.. Darwin, whish
sees infinite tenderness in a bowling monkey
even the beautiful self -abnegation of Mr..
Disraeli, which bows its head before q class,
cannot possibly attribute anything but
physical forlornness to this individual
representative. There may be handsome
Englishmen of the upper classes, but
they must love their homes very much. They
rarely come here. We remember a certain
public ball at watering place whittier Young
New York carried its thinnest legs and its
slenderest chests; and the general result to a
lover of his country was not encouraging.
Presently there entered the room an English
yiscount, the son of an earl. ALI eyes were
turned on him with renewed cheerfulness; he
was SO utterly insignificant of aspect, that
even the fast young New Workers seemed a
race of giants.
Panch had caricature, the other day, re-
presenting two young English clerks or bag
men of the most wee and emaclated aspect,
seated on tobaeconists counter, putting
cigars obviously beyond their strength, and
deploring the physical degeneracy of the
Americans. But Pu,ach, with all his daring,
illeherishes the traditional reverence for the
aristocracy, or he would have taken his two
c youths from higher class. The average Eng
iish rustic who comes to America is physi.
cally respectable, coarse but strong; he mis-
q pronounces, but he has manly chest-tones; he
is not near sighted, nor one-sided, nor under
sized; he is what the French call ''un hornnat
soIide" But who could see anything solid
or commanding in most of the young noble
men who run through America and pause 9
little while in Washington, or New York, ol
Newport, on their way to Salt Lake City
Actually, we Americans are beginning to dis
believe in Pelham and all his progeny, and t
Q hold the only true type of the blood in Eng
land to be Mrs. Edwards 'ittle Lord Petre
in ''Steven Lawrence" Or is it, after all
that the Lord Petres travel-for their healtl
that Mr.. Darwin's beauties OF tn
upper classes stay at home? i,a ,4 .