Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1877-05-19

countrywomen, heed not this f%attery
It is not true. The typical English
womeu Of the upper and upper middle
class has in strength of mind and
IN information no type counterpart
in America. She NAV not know
Latin, and she may, and get little good
by it she may not be brilliant. or quick.
selfadaptive. and she generally is not
but she is well informed both as TO the
past and the present she shows the effect
of education than of school cram
ming, Of culture inherited and slowly
acquired. and Of intercourse with able
and highly educated and cultivated men.
She generally has some accomplishments
which she has acquired in no mere snowy
boarding-school fashion, but with a re-
spectacle thoroughneSS. England is full
of ladies who paint well in water colors.
or who are musicians, not mere piano
players, or who are botanists, or who
write well, and who add ono or more OF
such requirements to a solid general ed
uCalion. q considerable knowledge OF
affairs, and the ability to manage a
large household She really man.
ages all househould affairs, troubling
her husband with no details, bu,
being careful to manage in such
a way as to please him. For, rs | have
said before, the wish of the master OF an
English household is the law Of that
household. Notwithstanding all this. |
have been led to the firm belief that hen
pecking is far more common in England
than it is with Us, aud that curtain lee
lures are much oftener delivered here
than there, " Mrs. Caudle', Curtain Lee
lures would hardly have suggested
themselves to an American humorlst, al.
though the thing itself-if not in it' per.
fiction. in its GERMS sufficiently known
here to make the humor and the satire
Of that series perfectly appreciated And
strange 20 say, the average English
husband seems to be a less independent
creature than the American. English
wives more generally insist upon their
p%rerogative Of sitting solemnly up for
their husbands at night; and latch keys
are regarded "a a personal grievance.
What American wife would think OF
making Il fuss about a mans having a
latch.key ? Not a few OF them, indeed,
have one themselves. And yet | have
seen an English woman Of the lower
middle class, flush, and choke and whim-
per when the subject of the inalienabIe
right of a mar to a latch key to hi, own
house was preached, and begin to talk
about the worm turning when it is
trampled upon,
The devotion Of English women to
their families, and particularly to their
children, cannot be surpassed, believe
that they are the best, the mott self
sacrificing daughters, wives and mothers
in the world except the good daughters
and wives and mothers in America, and
even them | believe they generally sur
pass in submissiveness and thoughtful
consideration, But this is the result of
the general subordination which in all
things pervades English society,
1t is generally believed in England, /
cannot tell why, that women in America
take part in public affairs, and are much
more in th9 eye Of the world than Enp-
liSh women are. OF this belief met
with an amusing instance, One day Mt
dinner in a great house | had on one side
Of me a gentleman who had come in
alone for lack Of ladies' enough to "go
round; - it was a small family party.
He was the brother Of my hostess, a fine,
intelligent fellow about twenty-five years
old, vino had Just taken his bachelors
degree at Oxford. As | turned from his
sister to him in a pause Of conversation,
he asked me with great earnestness, al.
most with solemnity "Is-it-true-
that-in--America- ELECTROMAGNETIC
on-jurieso' answered instantly, and
with perfect gravity; " Yes; all of them
who are not on duty as ]serCeants of
%dragoons.' For me appreciate delight
full moment doubt and %bewilderment
flashed through his bright, handsome
eyes, and then he, ~ well as others with
in earshot, appreciated the situation, and
there wa a hearty laugh an Ingenious
blush mantled his cheeks-for young men
can blush in England,
The soft charm OF the English woman's
manner is greatly helped and heightened
by her voice and her manner Of speaking.
In these she is not only without an equa.
but beyond comparison with the women
of any other people, except the few of
herOwn blood and tongue in this country,
who have like voices and the same utter
ancc. The voices and speech Of English
women Of all classes are, with few ex.
captions, pleasant to the ear-soft and
clear; their words are well articulated.
but not precisely pronounced. They
peak without much emphasis, yet not
nOnoton0usly, but with gentle modula-
lion, Their speech is therefore easily
lnderstood--much more $, than that Of
who speak louder and with
stronger emphasis. You rarely or never
ire obliged to ask an English woman to
'eprat what she has said because YOU
tailed to catch her words. This
yet crisp and clear and easily flow
ng speech, is, as ! have said, common to
he whole sex there.
One reason of this beauty Of the speech
Of English women is doubtless in the
voice itself. An English womau's voice
IS soft, but 1t is not weak, 1t is notably
irm, clear and vibrating. 1t is neither
nor nasal. While it sootlns
he ear it compel1 attention. Like the
one of 4 fine old Cremona violin, its
vibrations make themselves heard
md understood when mere noise makes
'nly confusion, Such voices are not en-
.irely lacking among women in America
alas. how few of the unfortunate
>0ssessors of such voices here use them
yorthily. For the other element of the
beauty Of the English woman's speech is
n her utterance. "Her voice is ever
oft, gentle and low, an excellent thing
n woman. Shakespeare knew thetru,h
n this, as in 50 many other things. One
1t the very few points on which we may
Ne sure OF his personal preferences is that
lie dlsIiked high voices and sharp speech
n woman. Singular man ! fear that
us ears would suffer here. The English
Voman's voice is strong as well as sweet.
nut her speech is low. She rarely raises
Ter voice. do not remember having
yer heard an English woman try to com,
'el attention in that way, but | have
'eard French and Spanish and Italian
women, ladies of unquestionable position
md breeding, almost scream, and that. {
90, in society. Nor does the English
woman use much emphasis Uer man