The Osceola times., 1877-05-19
fuE woxEv OF ENGLAND.
A. A~-rs-ss view OF nrssi.s Maid. sss
mntro

One day lady whom ! had had the
pleasure of taking in IN dinner in a
country house near London, and whom ]
had soon found 10 be one OF those simple
minded. good.natured, truth-telling wo-
men, who are notably common in Eng
land, spoke to me about some ladies who,
on n previous day, had attracted her
attention, adding: al knew they were
Americans" "HowY' ! asked. "Oh,
we always know American womenT
I" But how, pray." She thought mo
ment, and answered: by their beauty
they are almost always pretty, If not
morc-by their fine compilations, and by
their exquisite diess." l did not
tell her that i thought that she was
right; but that she was 80 ! had by that
time become convinced. And yet /
should say that the most beautiful wo-
men l had ever seen were English wo-
men, were 1t not for the memory al the
French women, German, and Czech.
But thelatter three were rare exceptions
Beauty Is very much commoner among
women of the English race than among
those Of any other with which | am ac
quainted; and among that race it Is com
moucr in America than in Englan1. !
saw more beauty Of face and figure at
the firsttwo receptions, which ! attended
after my return than had found among
the hundreds Of thousands of women
whom had seen in England.
The types are the same in both coun-
tri q but they seem 10 come near 10 per-
faction much oftener here than there.
Beiuty Of feature is, however, some
times more clearly defined in England
than here. The mouth in particular,
when IL Is beautiful, is mere statuesque.
The curves arc more decided, and at the
junction OF the red of the lips with the
white there is u delicately red outline
which marks the form of the feature in a
very noble way. This may also be said
of the nostril. II gives chiwlcd effect
to those features which Is not so often
found In America but the nose itself,
the brow and the yet and carriage Of the
head are generally finer among Amcri-
cans. In both countries, however, the
head is apt 10 be too large for perfect
proportion. This is a characteristic de-
iect of the English tyre Of beauty. Its
effect {is seen in Stothard's figuus, In
Etty's, aud In those of other English
painters. Another defect is in the
heaviness Of the articulations. X. ally
fine arms are rare, but fine wrists are
still rarer Such wrists as the the Vien-
neisc women have--of which saw a
wonderfulcxample IN the Viennolse wife
OF a Sussex gentlemen--are almost un-
known among women Of English race in
either country. II is often said, even in
England, that American wemen have
more beautiful feet than English women
have. This am inclined TO doubt. The
feet may be smaller here, and they gener-
ally look smaller because English women
wear larger and heavier shoes. They are
obliged 10 do 10 because they walk more,
and because Of their moister climate.
But mere smallncss is not a beauty in q
foot more than In any other part OF the
body. II Is said by some persons, who
by saving 1t profess to know, that nature,
prodigal Of charms To English women in
bust, shoulders and arms. is chary OF
them elsewhere, and that their beauty OF
figure is apt 10 stop at the waist. Upon
this point do not venture TO give an
opinion; but am inclined to doubt the
judgment In question upon genera
physiological principles. The human
figure is the development Of germ and
IL Is not natural that, whatever may b,
the case with individuals, the type Of 4
whole race in one country should prescn,
this inconsistency. Possibly those who
started thisnotion were unfortunate In
their occasions of observation and com
pafison.
Much has been said about the com.
plexion Of the women Of England, which
has been greatly praised. | have not
found II exceptionally beautiful. 1t il
often fresh, oftener ruddy. but still
oltener coarse. A delicate, finely grad
uated bloom is not common. The rosy
cheeks when looked at closely are often
streaked with fine lines and notified with
minute spots of red and the white is
still oftener not like that Of lily, or
better, Of white rose, but Of some much
coarser object in nature. IL is true that
in making these edious comparisons |
cannot forget certain women, too com.
mon in America, who seems To be com.
posed in equal parts OF mind and leather,
the elements Of body and soul being left
out SO far as |, consistent with existence
IN human form. But such women are
also to he found in England, although
perhaps in fewer numbers than here.
As to dress, that, as man, must re.
gard as purely sdventitious and an ca.
sentially unimrortant matter. I feel.
therefore, that ! am saying very little
against. English women, when I saw
that, in general, they are the worst
dressed human creatures that ever saw
except, perhaps, the female half of a
certain class Of Germans. The repu,a.
tion that they have in this respect among
French women and Americans is richly
deserved. Good taste is simply ahs,pi
The notion OF fitness, congruity and
concentration accor lingly,h does not
exist. In form, the English woman's
dress is dowdy, in color, frirhtfnl. II
not color-blind, she seems generally to I've
blind TO the effect OF color, either sinelv
or in combination. At the Birmingham
festival ] saw a lady in iich, red. .pur.
pie (plum color silk-high around the
neck Of course, as il was morninr-and
over this swept necklace OF e,orm aus
coral beads. II msde ones eyes ach, 10
look at her. This was not uncommon
but characteristic instance. such cam
binations may be justly regarded as
the rule in English women's dress. For
purple they have strong liking. They