The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1874-07-23
SMALL WAISTS AND CoRsETs

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SMALL WAISTS AND CORSETS.
A writer in Appletons' Journal dis.
courses thus about small waists and
corset-lacing There is no doubt but
that small waist" is admired of all
men and all women. No matter how
the psychologists or the physicians may
talk, women have always compressed
their waists and expanded ther skirts,
and they always will, until public opin-
ion pronOunces for the heavy figure. 1t
has never influenced fashionable
woman yet to hear that the Venus de
Medici has large waist-she has been
told 50 ever since that faultless image
of female beauty was disnterred. She
knows very well that if she went to u
ball with that figure of the Venus, no
man would ask her to dance. SO i'm
portant u matter is it TO have small
waist, that it has become matter Of
pride to the Austrian people, and is
often mentioned in the court journals,
that the Empress OF Austria is celo-
brated for possessing waist which
only measures sixteen inches. This is
greater nobility than even the pos
session of sixteen quarterings on Your
shield, without which you cannot be
admitted to the best society OF Vienna.
"SiXtCen, therefore, is magic num-
ber at Vienna. There are many per-
sons, to be sure, who have as small a
waist, but they have not the height and
contour and becoming fullness which
the Empress has. Nor is the small
waist .f,uOre alone confined TO the
women of civilized lands, SO called.
The small foot Of the Chinese women
is local popularity; the small waist or
the striving for it, is universal. Even
grave Humboldt describes the beauties
of Java as eating sort Of cloy called
dN1pO, by which they become very
much reduced III size. 1t kills them
finally, but what of that?
The savages of the islands in the
Pacific and Indian Oceans use very
potent means to attain slCndcmCss Of
figure for the young women, and re-
searches among the ruins of Palenque
zone of those mysterious forest cities OF
Central America prove that those al
most forgotten people knew of the most
artificial and well fitting and compressi-
BILE corset which has ever been invented.
Savage corsets are made of rattan, bones
of animals and skins, and laced with
leather thongs, and are worn by men
and women. The young Indian war
rior of to-day laces himself when he
goes cn the war-path or to see his lady
love in "skin and bone" belt, which
is a very good corset.
The women OF Egypt, if we can be-
lieve the Pyramids, were not above
tight lacing. In fact, gloves, corsets,
bracelets, and ornaments for the hair go
back to the remotest antiquity.
In the book of Isaiah we read OF the
divine displeasure manifested against
the people of Jerusalem and Judah,
and of the deprivirg of the women OF
personal adornment, and there is this
striking allusion to the corset in the
splendid poetical language of the time
Instead of a girdle, there should be n
rent; and instead of well-set hair,
badness and instead of a stomacher,
girding of sackcloth and burning
instead of beauty"
The Jewish ladies Of rank wore pro
fuse ornamentation, and always light.
ly laced bodice, which is carefully and
beautifully alluded 10 by Scott in his
descriptions of Rebecca, that most eX'
qusite of ideal Jewesses.
Now, in looking at the loose, classical
drapeiy OF the Roman women, one
would say that the corset bad disar.
peared for while from one well-dressed
period of the world. But history tells
us differently. In fact, any lady OF
modern times who has draped herself
for private theatricals, or for tableaua
in the Roman robes, knows well that Il
must be a very carefully constincteC
dress. It cannot be lightly assumed
1t is very ugly unless the shape be per
feet underneath its apparently negli
gent folds. We learn from poets ant
dramatists, as well as from historians
that the Roman women wore glrdle
which they called the strophium, ant
which was probably the same as tn
mira or girdle Of the Greeks. The ia
nous cestus of Venus is affirmed by apo
etical London tradesman to have beer
merely well-ftting corset. And th'
zone which plays so attractive part II
all allegorical and human history ma;
have been only combination OF well
fitting whalebone and steel quilted int
silk or cloth as the wearer chose.
Thus the supposed purely natura
and statuesque figures OF the Roma
women were really laced into shape an'
held in "durance vile" as much as ar
those of French ladies OF to-day; an
here we may as well remark that whe
We talk OF modern luxury We must no
forget that Cleopatra's earrings wer
worth lone hundred and sixty thou
Sand pounds" and that julius Casa
gave to another lady of his acquaintanc
a pair OF earrings which cost hin at th
Tiffany's of that day "forty-eight thor
sand pounds Some industrious Ems
lishman has translated the Roma
money into pounds for us. We can ais
refer to the records OF Seneca an
Fliny for samples of female extrav,
gauce which make the patroness
Worth to-day almost feel ashamed
herself for her moderation. Marti
and Juvenal do not hesitate to recoI
that, when these wealthy danes beir
dressed in their gorgeous peptumi
their tresses Of false hair, (which the
irizzlcd with hot irons" when they p,