The Hickman courier., 1877-05-25

and highly educated and cultivated men.
She generally has some accom- pil ilsilIIenes e
which she has ACQUIRED in no nleiI lI, 'n0"y
boarding-school fashion. but WIN d re,
spectacle thoroughness. England Is Iull
OF ladies who paint well IN wa'el UGdO,9 Is;nyo
or who are musicians, not nlele Pi-llio
players, or who are botsnlsts, OF "ho
write well, and who add one OF nI nioto u "a
such requirements to solid geilJJial gJ "a
ucatlon, considerable kno"leuso VI
affairs, and the ability to mahaSe
large household. She really man
ages all househould affairs, tr0uollng
her husband with no details Dut
being careful to manage IN such
a way as to please him. For, as L nave
said before, the wish of the master OF an
English household is the Ia" Oh cl'tT
household. Notwithstanding an thls'
have been led 10 the firm belie1 thaC men,
pecking is far more common IN hhSlano
than 1t Is with us, and that curtain zee
lures are mnch oftener dehVered mere
than there, =" Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lee,
lures " would hardly have suggesteu
themselves to an American humorlst, al
though the thing itself-it not IN lts per-
lection, in its germ-is sufficiently known
here to make the humor and the satlre
of that series perfectly appreciated; ana
strange TO say, the average Ehgilsh
husband seems to be less lndependent
creature than the American. English
wives more generally insist upon their
prerogative of sitting sOlemnly up for
their husbands at night; and latch. keys
are regarded as a personal grievance;
What American wife would think OF
making a fuss about mans having a
latch-kev? 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 whlm-
per when the subject of the inalienable
right of a map to a latoh-key to his own
house was boached, and begin to talk
about the worm turning when it is
trampled up'n.
The deytion of English women to
their familis, and particularly to their
children. cannot he surpassed. believe
that thew are the best, the most self
sacrificing daughters, wives and mothers
in the word except the good daughters
and wives and mothers in America, and
even then / believe they generally sur
mass in gbmissiveneSS and thoughtful
consideration. But this is the result of
the general subordination which in all
things psrvades English society.
1t Is generally believed in England, l
cannot ell why, that women in America
take part in public affairs, and are much
more in tho eve of the world than Eng
Iish women are. OF this belief ! met
with an amusing instance. One day at
dinner in a great house | had on one side
-,
alone for lack of ladies enough to ego
round:" it was a small family party.
He was the brother of my hostess, = fine,
intelligent fellow about twenty-five years
old, who had Just taken his bachelors
degree at Oxford As | turned from his
sister to him in pause of conversation,
he asked me with great earnestness, al
most with solemnity: Is-it-true-
that-in-Ame merica-th the-women-si
Or-iuries?" / answered instantly, and
with perfect gravity: " Yes; all of them
who are not on duty as sergeants OF
Dragons" For oneappreciable delight
full moment doubt and bewilderment
flashed through his bright, handsome
eyes, and then he, swell as others with
in earshot, appreciated the situation, and
there was a hearty laugh; an ingenious
blush mantled his chseks-for young men
can blush in England.
The soft charm ofthe English woman's
manner is greatly helped and heightened
by her voice and hefmanner OF speaking.
In these she is not oaly 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 voicei and the same utter
ance. The voices and speech of English
women of all CLASSES are, with few eX-
ceptions, pleasant % the ear-soft and
clear; their words are well articulated
but not precisely pronounced. They
speak without mnd emphasis. yet not
monotonously, bug with gentle modula-
tion. Their speed IS therefore easily
derstOod--muchmore so than that OF
persons who speak louder and with
stronger emphasis. You rarely or never
are obliged to ask an English woman to
repeat what she has said because you
have tailed to catch her words. This
soft, yet crisp and clear and easily flow
ing speech, is, as have said, common to
the whole sex there
One reason of this beautyof the speech
of English women IS doubtless in the
voice itself An English woman's voice
is soft. but it is not weak. 1t is notably
firm, clear and Vibrating. 1t is neither
cultural nor nasal While it soothes
the ear it compels attention. Like the
tone of a fine old Cremona violin, its
softest vibrations make themselves heard
and understood when mere noise makes
only confusion. such voices are not en-
tirelv lacking among women in America
1. g -. l.. A.
possessors of such voices here use them
worthilv For the other element of the
beauty of the English woman's speech is
in her utterance. "IIer voice is ever
soft, gentle and low, an excellent thing
in woman Shakespeare knew the truth
in this, as in so many other things One
of the very few points on which we may
be sure of his personal preferences is that
he disliked high voices and sharp speech
in woman. Singular man! fear that
his ears would suffer here. The English
woman's voice is strong as we'll as sweet,
but her speech is low. She rarely raises
her voice. ] do not remember having
ever heard an English woman try to COM
pei attention in that way, but | have
heard French and Spanish and Italian
women, ladies OF unquestiOnable position
and breeding, almost scream, and that,
too, in society. Nor does the English
woman use much emphasis. Her man
ner Of speech Is calm, although without
any suggestion of dignity, and her infiec-
tions, which rise often, although they are
full of meaning, are gentle. | remarked
this difference in her speech of itself, but
much more when | heard again the
speech of my own countrywomen. l had
not been in their company FIVE minutes
not one-when | was pierced through
from ear to ear. They seeQed to me to
be talking in italics, 10 be emphasizing
every word, as if they would thrust il
into my ears, whether | would or not
They seemed TO scream at me. They
did scream. | am sure that TO theiI
emphatic and almost fierce utterance is
due, in a very great measure, the inferior
charm of their speech, when compared
with that of their sisters who have re
mained in the cold home. If they
would be little more gentle, little
less self-asserting, little less determined,
and little more persuasive in their ut
terance as well as in their manner, | am
sure that, with all their other advantages,
they need feal no rivalry in womanly
charm, even with the truly feminine,
sensible, soft-mannered, sweet-voiced
women of England.
RICHARD GRANT WHITE.
A Primitive Piute Funeral.
An old Piutt Indian departed for