The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1877-05-24

notably in good taste. II il simply
manly neat and although sober in tint
md snug in cut, IL is likely To have its
general sobricty lightened with n little
louch Of bright, warm color, On the
other hand, the dress of American women
~ generally far, worry far, inferior TO that
# the women in the corresponding con.
litions Of life, This helps to produce
the corresponding mistaken notion that
the women in America are handsomcr
than the men; upon the incorrcc,ncss
and essential ab,urdity Of which have
already commented.
As 10 another attributed superiority
Of the Yankee woman, ] must express
my surprised dissent, ] have not only
read, but heard their intelligence and 50
cia qualities rated much higher than
that Of their sisters in England. Fair
rountrywomcn, heed not this hattery
II il not true. The typical English
women Of the upper and upper middle
class has in strength of mind and
in information no type counterpart
in America, She may not know
Latin, and she may, and get little good
by it; she may not be brilliant, or quick,
or scltadaptive, and she generally is not;
but she is well informed both rs to the
past and the present she shows the effect
rather 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
,rl, irh aha bul In, ,, ,,,n,, A.
boarding-School fashion, but with u 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 one or more Of
such requirements TO n solid general ed,
uCation considerable knowledge Of
affairs and the ability to manage a
large household she really man.
ayes all hou.chouId affairs, troubling
her husband with no details, but
being careful to manage in such
a way as to please him. For, ~ have
said before, the wish of the master OF an
English household il the law Of that
household. Notwithstanding all this,
have been led TO the firm belief that hen
pccking is far more common in England
than it is with ~, aud that curtain lee
turc' are much oltenor delivered here
than there, Mrs. Caudlc's Curtain Ioc-
lures" would hardly have suggested
themselves 10 AN American humOrist, al
though the thing iLsclf-if not in it, per.
lection, in its germ it 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
prcroGatve Of sitting sOIcmnly ~ for
their husbands at night; and latch keys
are regarded as personal grievance.
What American wife would think Of
making fuss about a mans having a |
latch-kev? Not 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 inalicnablc
right of man to latch key to his 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 most 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
H. IL Il
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 the eye of the world than Eng
li8h women are. OF this belief | met
with an amusing instance. One day at |
dinner in great house had on one side
Of me gentleman who had come in
alone for lack Of ladies' enough to eco
round;" it was small family party,
He was the brother Of my hostess, a fine,
intelligent fellow about twenty-five years
old, who had Just taken his bacht lor's
degree ut Oxford. As turned from his
sister to him in pause of conversation,
he asked me with great earncstncsS, al
most with solemnity: IS-it--true-
that-in--A America the women--sit-.-
OH jurics?' answered instantly, and
with perfect gravity: Yes; all Of them
who are not on duty as sergeants OF
Dragons" For one apprcciable delight
full moment doubt and bewiderment
flashed through his bright, handsome
eyes, and then he, rs well rs others with
in earshot, appreciated the situation, and
there was n hearty laugh; an ingenious
blush mantlcd his g ecks for young men
can blush in England.
The soft charm OF the English womans
manner is greatly helped and heightened
by her voice and her manner OF speaking.
In these she is not only without an cqua,
but beyond comparison with the women
Of any other people, except the few of
hcrown blood and tongue in this country,
who have like voices and the same utter
ance. The voices and speech of English
women of all cltSsCs are, with few cy-
ceptiOns, pleasant to the ear--solt and
clear; their words are well articulated
but not precisely DnOunced. They
speak without much emphasis, yet not
monotonously, but with gentle modula.
ton. Their speech is therefore easily
much more $, 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 failed to catch her words. This ,,
'oft, 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 a
If English women is doubtless in the [
,oicc itself. An English woman's voice /
S soft, but it is not weak. 1t is notably i
irm, clear and vibrating 1t is neither @
cultural nor nasal. While it soothes |
he ear it compels attention. Like the t
one of fine old CremOna violin, ita -