Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-06-19
The Depth Of Beauty.

are almost infinite. We associate
beauty with the form, with the
manneras with the gait. aud with the
mien, bat chiefly with the express
sion OF the countenance. A person
of shall0w taste, who secs only the
lilies and the roses of the complex
ion, the color of the eye and hair.
and the regularity of the features,
will find beauty in the mechanical
face OF . human doll. With one
man, beauty is an expression of
sweetness with another, of timid
gentleness; with third, of inno-
cence; and with slill another, OF
roguish archness, or holiness, or
thoughtfulness. But whatever may
be the character of the beauty that
strikes or holds us, all thoughtful
people will agree that the main ele-
ment, If not the substance, of facial
beauty is expression.
But We write as though personal
besuty could only BIO predicated of
women. Not so Beauty may
acorn strength as we'll as dehcacy.
A man, indeed, cannot Justly be
.lied pretty without being also pet.
81 aud many uneducated people,
understanding beautiful and pretty
To mean the same thing, ARE shocked
to hear beauty ascribed to noble-
looking man. But even these per.
sons would not object to the associ-
alton of the word with mans
mental Qualities. His fancy or his
character nigh. be beautiful, though
he himself might not But as tree,
With ell the rougAness of its bark,
and sill the crookedness aud irregu-
larity of its limbs, may be beautiful.
so may = man. notwithstanding his
ruggedness a. compared v ith wo-
man. Was there not beauty in the
great brow and magnificent look of
Webster, as of mountain inspired
with intelligence Is there nothing
beautiful in the most celestial face
of John Fletcher SIS the canvas has
transmitted it 10 our times? Yes,
not withstansing the coarse. hard
beard, the ovsr,io.ting. shaggy
brows, the closely cropped hair, aud
the great promontory Of nose.
The same graces, the same sweet
nesses, the same mysteries of love,
sincerity and simplicity. 80 often
seen in woman's face, are quite as
clearly seen in mans; in his they
are manly, as in hers they are wo-
manly. That mysterious something
we call expression belongs to neith-
or sex exclusively, but to the face of
humanity, and beauty selects its
home with either sex, according to
it's fancy.
1t TIE beauty of the human face
lies almost wholly in expression,
what degrading adage is that
which speaks of it as "only skin
deepw Why, this is not even true
of picture. The beauty of the por-
trait is indeed expressed in col.
location of colors, but is it no deep.
err than the pigment? Is i: not as
deep as the soul OF the artist? And
II the artist be true painter, is il
not deep as the soul of the man who
sat for IL? Does it not reveal the
qualities of his mind and heart?
While you look on it you see, not
the picture merely, but the man;
and if you food it with lampblack,
you only mar the matter of tho pic.
turc-the expression is historic
reality, quite indestructible.
This becomes still clearer aud
much more striking when wo drop
the picture and come to the living
person. Is beauty only skin deep"
10 the faces which are seen through
the glasses of affection? Far from it,
The skin may wrinkle, the cheeks
fade and sink, the brow corruga,e,
the nose sharpen, the hair whiten,
and with all this change the old ex-
preston of wisdom, purity, sweet
ness, generosity, frankHess or cour.
age may still retain its place, and
slower and friend" may be almost
unconscious of any change what.
ever. The great matter, the sum
of all beauty, the look and quality
of the soul, is still the same. AID
even when friends have been long
separated, and have come together
again only after time has wrought
great bodily changes, the power,
the immortality of expression vindi-
Gates itself. At the first gaze the eff
feet OF years strikes US, and we say,
How altered ~ We are shocked,
almost stunned, but when the fea-
lures are lighted up by Discourse,
and the all-revealing smile again
darts its ray across the countenance,
We break out with Waldegrave
"In each dear face
The changing hand Of time may not blame.
For there IT hata but wrought reverend grace,
And hue Of beauty perfected the frame.p
sand well know your hearts are stilI the same,
They could not change-ye look the very way
A. when orphan nrst to you came"
To say that personal beauty is
only skin deep is TO deny tho pro-
found connection and sympathy be-
tween the soul and the body-that
the body exists for the purpose of
exteriorizing the mind, whether in
word or work, in art or science. 1t
is to say, when the gilt has been
worn from the cover of Milton, aud
the leaves have become dog-eured,
dimsy and yellow, shat it's beauty
is gone. But the best books are
the most used and the worst worn.
SO it is with the best people. The
keen sword cuts quickly through the
fraii scabbard; the powerful soul,
Astounding in beautiful action.
shakes it's tent to it's very fasten-
ings but all the while il peers ont
through its thin coverings Indeed,
the soul is very young; the express
sion is is portrait. while rag of
the canvas remains.
L