The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1872-08-22
The Mountain Girls. Of Tennessee.

|
know, while surveying the fashionable
ladies in their wonderful costumes as they
promenade Fifth Avenue or ride in Cen
tral Park, that four or five days Journey
to the mountains of Tennessee would
bring me among race of charmingly
simple, unworldly maidens, who at this
day wear the ''insey gown" which Shake
speare alludes to as the dress of rustic wo-
men in his time, and which Scott describes
as the attire of "Jeanie Deans"
A city belle would open her ewes in
wonder and dismav at the sight of one Of
these mountain girls in her peculiar array
which, indeed, | must try to describe to
our ladies, who, however, will hardly
venture to initiate a style so unadorned
Imagine girl OF sixteen, we'll grown
and developed (they mature early there)
Just the height of the Venus di Medici
and Just AS plump and graceful. Cold
water and soap are her only cosmetics ;
she has always made plentiful use of them
| and | wish any words in our language
could properly describe her brilliant,
healthy skin-her forehead so softly white,
her cheek so transparentlv rosy her smil-
ing lips so crimson and inviting.
Her head is finely shaped and well
poised, a most womanly head, and round
at the back of it coiled her wavv, brown
hair (undone it would fall nearly to her
ankles, latter the fashion of three thousand
years ago. Her eyes are downcast when
strangers are near, for she is very Shy ,
but sometimes they are suddenly raised
large and dark and full of wondering
pleasure at what you are saying they are
innocent eyes, with look of pure wo-
manly sweetness that we rarely meet in
the eyes of our city ladies'
But this beautiful girl covers her head
and face and shoulders with large sun
bonnet OF coloHed OF white calico that
completely obscures and hides her
When men are present she wears it even
in the house and when sitting at the table
She i taught that modtsty demands this :;
her father and grown brothers are not
eXcepted--no man must see her head un-
covered, her face unobscured. For the
same reason modesty) she does not sit
down to eat with any men but those OF
her own family; she waits on them and
takes her own meal when they are gone
| Her mother does the same and covers her
head in the same manner Gin her case YOU
do not regret it.
Oar mountain girl wears, as | said, a
| gown of ''linsey- y-woolsey :" this is a home
made material; she has carded and spun
and dyed and woven1he cotton and the
wool helped by her mothers and sisters,
and among them they make it up. In the
skirt of her dress, or to use her own
| language, &" the tail of her gown"
| (Shakespearean), there are three straight
breadths of the material hemmed round
the bottom, and sewed to a belt at the
waist which is made rs simple as possible
with an effort to somewhat hide the form
| which is, however, revealed in its youth
tul symmetry by every movement she
makes. This gown falls about three inches
above the ankle disclosing the proportions
OF Venus, with n foot clean, pink, and
most perfectly shaped, entirely undeiorln-
ed by tight shoes or walking on stone
pavements.
have fully described the dress of the
mountain maid-what say our city ladies ?
| think they will not dare to copy ii unless
they first cultivate that high health which
so developes and enhances her physical
| beauty that no access cries are needed
and even the hideous sun-bonnet cannot
quite hide IT,
! am sure if the most LlaSe of city gen
tlemen had come upon our neighbor's
daughter Fanny, as came upon her one
day, his heart would have felt warm for
moment, Just as | have described her
above, but with the sun bonnet thrown on
the ground, she stood in the luxuriant far
| spreading forest. in a listening attitude
with head upraised. Being q woman, |
was allowed to come quite near, but then
lifting her hand she motioned me to be
quiet. q
We We're so still that / heard a little
brook near by as it rippled on; n wild
thrush IN the distance began again his in
terruptcd music; squirrels leaped ani
looked from the Overarching trees, and a
little golden lizard flashed out again upon
a rock where he used to sun himself
These We're fitting surroundings tor
| Fanny, as she stood there in her radiant
beauty like Il wood nymph of old legends,
and yet with that delicate refinement of
face and physique which seems peculiar to
American girls.
! knew this was in appearance only,
and half felt inclined to wish that she was
mute rs well Us charming, but Fanny
opened her lips:
'Howdy, neighbor, howdy Reckon
you was gwine to our house, wa'ant
We ?"
YES, Fanny | have brought a crotchet
needle and some thread, as you wished
me to teach you to knit collars"
'Lawsy sakes Hev ye? Reckon that'll
be mizzible nice Pears like it'll be a
powerful heap o work. Reckon I'd a
mighty sight rdther ye wouldn't take sech
a powerful heap o trouble Jest foi iiit, no
how !" Gin very drawing tone).
'Oh, you can soon learn. But, Fanny,
what were you listening to Just now"
"Reckon | was trying to hear the tink
OF old Brindle's bell, Don't ye tell marm
I'd strayed so fur from home-reckon
flowed to run back mighty quick eff I'd
seen any men coming.
We walked on, Fanny ahead of me,
stepping with the free. firm gait OF a wo-
man never trammeled by tight clothing,
and | was again silently admiring, when
she suddenly turned With
"Reckon you'd best hold up the tail Of
your gown there's powerful lot o ticks
in the woods !"
Oh romance If only Fannie would
never speak At table she ate with her
knite--but so did all the Others Her
younger sisters were growing up as beau
tilul, as simple, as unlearned as herself.
They all could read, and had an Eve-like
craving for knowledge; they frequently
piled me with questions concerning New
York, 1.-THE great city," hnt | could not
answer truly-my reputation for truth
would have been sacrificed; so tried to
adapt my information to their understand
ings, and was often much mortified at my
ill success. | am glad now that [ never
gave them any account of the life that Il
fashionable lady lives in New York. |
thought it nnkind to unsettle their ideas
concerning the whole duty OF woman-to
marry, rear a large family of children,
cook, bake, spin, knit, weave and sew,
and '''tend preachin'" when the circuit
rider came to their neighborhood
bring up their daughters to do the same.
This was my beautiful Fanny's destiny.
and she is now fulfilling it. Elizabeth
Dudley.
A musician doing business at Hudders-
field. England. was recently sentenced to
eighteen months imprisonment because
when asked by his sick wife to run for the
doctor he merely sat down by her bedside