The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-11-14
SOME NEW hooks.
rhe splendid Advantages of Being Woman.

/ to stand midway between the French and Ger
! man, and, cOmDared with the former, has prob
/ ably rather lost than gained in the last quarter
of a century. BE that az 1t may, we are under
/ weighty obligations TO such writers as MATTHEW
ARNOLD, who endeavors to perpetuatc the ira
| dltions Of an accurate and engaging English
| style. On the same ground the volume be-
! fore us-The Splendid Advantages Of Being
Woman, aud other Errdtic Essays: adam,
| wesson Il Co.'s deserving OF cordial recog-
milton. The author OF this little book is con-
tent to return to the old channels, and with
out assuming to startle or edify by the mat
ter Of his theme, seeks to please by the patient
| finish and technical merit OF the treatment.
That quiet and eood-natured irony In tho en-
| ployment OF which Russian men OF letters are
said to be especially skful Is well sustained In
| the initial essay Of this volume. Reminding us
| that lookers-on know more about a battle than
| do tho combatants, tho writer AYERS that man
| Ia better qualified than a woman to pronounce
an opinion upon the advantages specially
appertainins to the female sex. "Among
these is the gift OF beauty which belongs to
| woman and 10 her alone" One nan may posi-
bly be shade-just a shade-less hldeous than
another, but no man makes nearer approach
to beauty than that. When a sword, for in
| stance, Is put into a mans hand, and he Is told
to 90 forth aud fly at other mans throat for
| the dear sake Of d" England, home, and beauty"
no one IL such fool as to imagine that he Is
thereby enjoned to do battle for his own mis-
cradle sex. England Is a lady, as we see by her
| figure on British coins. Home there Is none
without woman, and beauty merely means the
sex female. " Then again, consider the physical
| bother aud irritation you escape by the simple
expedient OF being a woman. A man either
wears beard, in which case he must brush.
Il n
| trouble daily, or he wears none. in which event
| he has to submit himself once every four-and-
| twenty hours to the horrible operation Of sdav-
| Ing" The writer points out that lady may sip
| SCUM with dainty grace, whereas a gentleman,
| do what he may, Is compromised In the most
| distressing manner by his moustache. Further
more, Nature, who has given to woman the prize
| OF beauty aud withheld from her the penalty OF
beard, has also bestowed upon her length Of
| days. And, finally, In England. at all events,
women are numerically immensely In excess
| Of men, and SO have all the power aud prestige
| of ma Drities."
| The social privileges and immunties OF wo-
man are set forth with equal earnestness. We
are desired to note her success as a litgint con-
trasted with the disabilities OF tho other sex.
FILLING an easy victim to her entertainments
| III an INDUCES in a little innocent Irritation. He
| loves and he rides away. Woman brings her
| action for breach OF promise and gets swing
| ing damages. Woman loves and she rides
away. Man brings his action for damages.
| He Is booted out OF court" Our attention Is
| called TO the negotiable distinction between
| the sexes In the article OF dress. The most
curious fabrics Of the loom, whatsoever thines
| are beauteous whatsoever things aud
splendid, at her disposal TO equip herself out
| withal and make her irresistible. "In hor cause
-. .ta ala lt,.,,a
| life; and Justly so, since a bird In her hat Is
worth two In the bush" In all particulars GER
| emopal and sumptuary man 10 doomed to igno-
| minious inferiorty.
| Another paper on Tho Advantages OF Being
| Ugly" evinces a delicacy and precision Of touch
| which would not discredit some OF the eight
zenith century masters ia this sDeces Of cOmpo
stlon. We are assured that 10 would largely
| conduce to the greater comfort OF the world II
| men and women could be brought to under
| stand how preferable Is ugliness TO beauty.
| "The practical aud universal recognition OF this
great fact would destroy self-conceit and its
| concomitant evils, and disenchant us all of a
thousand illusions injurious to our peace OF
mind" Accordingly, some cogent arguments
| are marshalled IN support of this position
Every eye makes Its own beauty" says tue
| proverb, whence II plainly follows that beauty
Is after all, no positive entity no gift or quality
| capable Of demonstration and easy of reference
| TO the sensible aud tried avouch" OF universe al
| vision, but tho merest matter OF FAINT lsy dc
| pending upon the ardor OF a mans Imaginable Oh,
| or possibly the condition Of his digestion. Aud
| the mischief Of 1t is that not content with being
a ham her.elf, beauty hasa fatal tendency to
| make a sham ~ everybody who has ANYTHING to
do with her. How many women have we not
met who would be charming but that they are
| hcautfful and know IL. and how MANI man ,vho
| have been transformed from GOOD fellows into
| iutolerable coxcombs by reason Of the adulation
| which their good looks have gained for them at
the hands Of ladies'" On the other hand, there
| are qualities ABOUT ugliness which compel pro-
| found respect One Is her downright honesty,
and the other her adamantine durability. There
is no humbug about ugliness. She is not a mat
ter of taste, but of fact. Her sheer integrity
brooks no equivocation. Then again, look at
the permanence Of uglness. See how 1t wears.
Part from beautiful man. and 60 abroad for
eight or ten years. Come back at the end OF
that period, and YOU Will look in vain for his
beauty. hut bid an ugly man good bye and re-
turn to him after the lapse of a like term, and
by the Lord Harry, you'll Ind him ten times
uelier than you had left him."
| In similar strain this writer discourses ION
| the Pleasures Of Being Mad" on " The Misery OF
Being Respectable" The Delights Of Decep.
ton" and "The Dignity and Delight II Izno
rance" Thess titles will suggest Goldsmith
and Charles Lamb, and we may frankly say Oh It
We have seen nothing in recent years approach
more nearly than some OF the papers hero col
lected to the suave, sly manner OF those grave
faced humorsts. There one or two other
essays In tho book which illustrate happily
perfectly distinct mode OF treatment. Suol, fol
Instance, Is a short study, whose soberness and
homey sincerity are infused with a chastened
melancholy ON The lncOmmunicabnity Of Sor
row." Many OF the sentences are not onl,
models Of expression, but quick with thought
what, for instance, Is truer than this I" Eyerl
mans grefs are so interviewer with his persona
history "a to have become part OF himself III
and they may not be sundered." Nothing short
therefore, OF an Interchange OF natures car
qualify you to understand my sorrows or me tC
/ understand yours and any such Interchange
beng impossible, our sorrows are ncOmmuni
cable. "Ihey appeal to "reminiscences will
which we alone are familiar; they have dark
ened prospects which we alone delighted t.
contemplate they have killed hopes which W
alone cherished they have cast shadows upol
a p tn which we alone must traverse. 81 ron