Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1876-01-14
PLAIN WOMEN.


Ii is often affirmed with some appear.
ance of truth, that many of the women
who have made the greatest mark in the
world have been plain women. There is.
however, such a,diversity of opinion with
regard to beauty, no two people apparent
IL thinking alike, that it is not an easy
matter to decide who really have been
plain women. Biographers are naturally
chary of so describing living women, and
history abounds in conflicting opinions on
| these points ; for example, by some Joan of
Arc was put down as plain, yet Tennyson
mentions her in his Dream of Fair Wom-
en- as Joan of Arc, light of ancient
France Mary Powell in one of her
charming works speaks of Margaret Ro-
per as a plain gill. with changeful spirits,'
but possible as she grew older she grew in
beauty, or her charms may have consisted
of expression and grace of movement, for
Erasmus considered her beautiful.
AS rule, literary women have not been
noted for their charms, and among the
greateat triumph of plain women are those
ofthe mind. Mrs. Fry, good as she was,
had no personal beauty to adorn her sue
cessful, honest life nor had Hannah More
Miss Edgeworth. Miss Milford, Mrs. He
mans or Madame Guyon. OF Mrs. Chap
one we read from the pen of a contempor-
ary that She was full of good sense and
uncommon ugliness.' Charlotte Bronte's
pale, plain face is often alluded to by her
biographers and Sappho was short of
stature, swartey and ungraceful.
The least attractive girls in every circle
are often first to marry, probable because
they are less difficult to please than their
more favored sisters /; but for all that, the
richest fruits of life not seldom come to
their share rather than to the fair ones.
That men, mostly swayed by beauty, have
now and then adored ungainly women is
historicle and social fact. Voltaire's fay-
oIite niece was as ugly as she way agreea-
BILE. Madame D'Houdelot, the only wom-
an Rousseau ever loved, squinted and was
marked by smallpox, and yet her friends
dubbed her La Parfaite julie Ayesha,
Mohammeds favorite wife, was no beauty,
nor was Swift's Vanessa.
Among women of exalted rank who
have been wanting IN beauty are Margaret
of Sweden, Matilda Empress of Germany,
and Christiana of Sweden Fulvia, wife
of Antony, had few personal charms;
neither had Terentia, wife of Cicero, if one
may trust to the majority Of historians
but most of these have found some admir-
ers among biographers. Neither Anne of
Cleyes nor Catherine of Arragon was good
looking, still for while they swayed the
tickle heart Of their Diuebeard husbaLd.
Queen Anne was dowdy. graceless w0m-
an in her best days. Cronlwell's wife was
plain. When Queen Anne Of Bohemia
came TO England as bride there was a
pageant at Cheapside of a castle with two
towers, from both sides of which ran fOun-
tains of wine and we are told that the
beautiful girls who blew gold-leaf in the
faces of the king and queen caused the
plain bride to look flainer yet she made
her way in the good graces of king and
people.
In France, the gay and pleasure-lOying
women have gained many laurels, Madame
DeStael is a mem orable instance, though
no one was more conscious of her personal
defects. Even her name was a power IN
ITSELF The great Napoleon cOndescended
to be so iealousef>f her influence that no
persuasion would induce him to allow her
to return to Europe. Mademoiselle De-
Depinaisse, one of the most fascinating
women of her day, who exercised mar
velous influence on those around her., was
marked with smallpox. Madame Geofrin'
was n plain woman, Madame D'Epina was
neither beautiful nor clever, but most at
tractive. Madame De Mailly was the
plainest woman of the court. Maria
Leeziuska, daughter of Stanislaus, King of
Poland, wife of Louis XIV, was good, but
uninterestiD1