The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-07-04
Faces and Forum :

That curious O.i >aNIu-- foafiac,
xo1r .ortune. little maid. i a doc
trine that may have applied very Wei
in 1hc past. but in this advanced age u
ought 10 be revised and corrected. "
coursc tie author If this oracular
statement was a
Tie name and dwelling place OF the
pLil0Sopher are not known. nor Is 1t
essential. No II wishes 70 MAKE war
ON this misguided man. NeonIN seek
rs clear up ms false philosophy.
Every maiden has a natural reverence
for the wise savings OF n >terner sex;
then imagine the shock tins trusting
little maid. when She Was informed
bv some aWe-inepirlnG man that As
her face. 80 would her fortune be
Ii She was a pretty girl. she proha-
blv went away corpforted But there
is no authority l. prove that She was a
pretty girl. Perhaps she was a cross
eyed maiden. or was endowed with
carroty hair and freckles. After
learning that face and fortune We're
inevitably connected, She very likely
went oil and committed a sulclae.
thinking thus to avoid the dreadful
consequences Of a h.mclv face
Yet do not blame ler. and be not
too severe on this errinC man, lie
merely echoed the sentiments of many
OF his fellow men. and hcr conduci
Was simply the result OF such ideas.
Doubtless a woman's face has some
times great effect upon her lot in HE.
and many instances might be cited of
she wonderful fortune II has brought
her. History teaches US how often
beauty has been the power behind
the throne and swayed the tate OF na-
tions: and although these are rare eN-
amples, Vet they show what beauty of
face and charm Of manner will ac-
complish. Indeed, the power of
beauty and the subtitle spell IT every
where exercises, is a subject OF
thoughtful consideration to those less
favored
A plain girl may be ever so useful a
member Of society and yet learn very
soon thar She Is not ornamental. /
have seen my friend Jane, who is a
plain but most excellent girl, when |
knew she Was realizing this fact very
forcibly. Al parties she Is ueually a
"wall flower" | dislike use TINS odlous
term: yet it best describes the sltua-
ton. From the shadow Of some Sc
cludcd corner she watches the happy
faces and graceful forms of scores o.
her cOmpaniOnS as the glide about
III llC WdllL anu duddl ~ 4idh -
them are uulelly VAN. frivolous II Sci
fish: lacking ali the nobler qualities o.
w~omanhood. Yet with the witchlnG
charm OF pretty faces they are eagerly
sought after. Meanwhile. poor Jane.
though a model of all the domestic
virtues. looks on undisturbed, and
studies out the problem at her leisure!
[ would not intimate that a pretty
face denotes an empty brain, or that
good works pass unnOtlced IN an I'M
attractive person: but this | do know,
Jane sometimes feels that true merit
is of little account when combined
with an awkward figure and a bad
complexion. She even confessed once,
in d fit of unusual detection, that she
never caught a glimpse Of the side
view of her long thin face without a
desire to go out and hang herself. And
this from Christian Jane. AS look
ing with inexperienced eyes upon this
life of ours, she was ready to believe
that beauty won the race and bore off
all the prizes. If at this crisis some
evil spirit had whispered hat face
was fortune she might have given
up entirely, and taken herself off with
slow poison
In tact, ii this doctrine prevailed,
it would have a depressing effect.
Beauty is rare, and the late hours and
present customs of society soon Jade
the fairest face. Nature Is not lavish
Of her gifts, and it was never ntend-
ed a woman,S face alone should be the
secret OF her fortune. Beauty may
seem all-pOWer.u I'll for a time, and VIII
ever have a magic spell over mankind;
but it is manifested by more than
mere physical charms. A beautiful
character viii light up the plainest
face, II duty We'll done will bring Its
own good fortune of peace and con
tentment. | prophesy that Jane, who
nOW takes "a umD and obscure pO-
sltion IN sociaty, will some day be
called up higher, and find herself duly
appreciated. And finally, there Is d
good old proverb that etf~ectually hum
bies the naughty beauty and comforts
the homely, VIZ. '.HandsOme is that
handsome does L. +. u.