Smyrna times., 1876-05-24
A Pretty Woman.

sex with caring Tor nothing but beauty IN
woman. She is. always affirming that
pretty face weighs more with them than
intellect, culture, accomplishments, charac-
ter, amiability of disposition, or graceful
ness of manner. This charge-the opposite
of complimentary-ha come, merely by
the force of iteration, to be believed by
those who make it, and to be tacitly accep-
ted by those against whom it is made.
| There is an ostensible basis for it, no
doubt, as little observation will show. |
Very few of us but are acquainted with |
men of mind, force, and taste, who have !
made themselves ridiculous and wholly lost |
their hearts-not to speak of their heads
to the simple owners of a certain amount of
physical comelnes. Such instances how
ever-common as they may seem-are not
very frequent. If they were, they would
not be so remarkable; nor would the
inference drawn therefrom be so unduly
emphasized.
Man, it may be urged, is perpetually
talking of pretty women, as if prettiness
were the sole quality in them worthy of
consideration. The truth of this cannot be
gainsaid. "Pretty" is his pet adjective.
!; The term is merely conventional. A
pretty woman, in the private lexicon of
} masculinity, signifies woman interesting
} from whatever cause. Who has not known
5 women to be called pretty that could
: hardly boast of single handsome feature?
Who has not been acquainted with those
: enjoying a wide reputation for prettiness
that had almost any other but a physi
e cal charm? She who has distinctly
. graceful manner, or an elegant air, or fine
r tact, or talent for conversation, or quick
!, sympathies, or cordial ways, or the art of
listening well, albeit plain in face, and of
ordinary figure, is frequently styled pretty,
If and the adjective is repeated until it is
r fastened upon and constantly associated
with her.
They who speak of her as pretty use the
accepted word to say that she is agreeable
II to them. That is all. They know that il
II will convey their meaning at once, while, i
y they attempt to particularize, or to go out o
the beaten path of social language, they ma!
., not be understood.
~ Men seldom have any-much less clea
IL conception of the cause of their liking
for this or that woman. They feel the fact
al but know nothing. This is in entire &C
ne cordance with the romantic theory, whicl
AZ AYERS that our mastering affinities shoult
be Independent of our reason, if not pos
!" lively involuntary Fancying that goo'
looks are the chief source of attraction i
u' women, men are prone to believe that sh
"s to whom they are attracted must be gooC
oi looking Consequently they call her 81
whether she be or not and thus help
- misrepresent themselves in respect to tn
nS' other sex. Nor are they without a liberi
GOV share of the idealizing power presumed
eu belong exclusively to their sisters an
FS' sweethearts. They see in the face an
figure what is behind these; the light the
-. detect within shines through and illum
mates the whole exterior. They are like
~ to believe a woman handsome if they a
fond of her, for beauty is so associated wit
;no affection that it might almost be defined
,d' the thing we love.
)rs. A merely pretty, handsome, or beautif
hn. woman in all that lends attraction to h
her kind, is no match for one who is plai
ged even homely in person, provided she h
tact, delicacy of instinct, elegance al
.ble cleverness The former may, probably wi
Also make decidedly agreeable impression
NAL first; for personal comeliness is like lett
Of recommendation. But the impressi
Ter, will be removed, and a certain reaction W
:, of set in, unless the pretty woman can pro
ness by some other and higher means her Fl
right to her physical favor. She will so
,out beregarded as a counterfeit, having nothi
rail internal to answer to the external, at or
the so prepossessing and deceptious.
and The plain or homely clever woman,
fine the contrary, will be a pleasant surprl
II as since she promised scarcely anything a
contributes much. She has the best
ortb side, instead of the best outside; she
ngs. vances, while her fair sister retrograd
,erv. she expands while the other shrinks, q
won. graciously rounds out the circle of
,or+o being. Who are the interesting, the attr
who tive, the charming women OF society,"
avail they uniformity beauties? Do their |
Con. sons outrank their minds? Is their
n chantment in their faces and figures?
they bodies more than souls?
see You may depend they are not. III
glng may be named bellies; they are doubt
ttiest lovely. Yet their bellehood, their loV
sr an ness, springs not from their corporeal
o IL, It comes from their manners or their un'
ana standing; from what they feel or thil
the from what they are, not what they seen
the If you question it, look in your (
the circle of friends and acquaintances.
iittie YOU find the women always pretty who
had loved by their own and admired by {
'rgot other sex-or, if You will, loved by
o the other sex and admired by theirP Are
'unds whom you delight to meet, to talk to,
'nded be with, the owners of pink and
Inger' complications. Grecian noses, exactly
ID the saces. Of forms perfectly symmetri