Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-05-22
FOR THE LADIES.
WHEN ARE WOMEN MOST LOVELY ?

w y UdNe Just ItttiNtu iEOIH u young
lady question which is so interesting
and invites our consideration of q
theme so delicate and delightful, that
we are fairly forced TO answer it ut
length This is what she writes;
SIR-Will you be kind enough to tell
me, are young ladies considered more love-
Iy, and thought preferable, Rt the ages of
from eighteen to twenty.one, or from
twenty-five to twenty-five or six7 You
will understand me; moan do men most
admire them. b.
Before proceeding TO our answer, let
us thank our lovely friend for reiain-
ing from any attempt to bias our judg-
ment by giving hint of her own age.
She probably thought that if she did
so, natural gallantry might lead ns
away from n cool, judicial view of the
subject and tempt us to give the pref
erence to the types of maidenly beau
ty which appear in young women of
her confessed years. And we do not
deny that such might have been the
case As it is, we are left entirely i'll
the dark rs to the class to which she
herself belongs whether she is be-
tween eighteen and tweuty-one, or be-
tween twenty two and twenty five !;
andso we are able to answer her quc3-
tions on its intrinsic merits.
LONELINESS, in woman, though it may
vary in its character and manifesto
tions at different periods Of life, is not
the property of youth only. There is
great and undeniable charm in the
fresh beauty of eighteen. to which in
experience and early romance lend
perhaps additional fascination. A pret-
to girl of that age, who has been un-
touched by care, and who knows of
the world through Imagination only,
is a very delightful object; and many
men may wish they might take cap
tive her first affections.
Between eighteen and twenty one,
the changes of girl, so far as the
charms of her person go, are not likely
to be great but in that time, by long
er intercourse with society and by nat
ural development, she may grow more
companionable for men of maturity,
and her carriage and self-control be-
come better and greater. Those are
important years in young woman's
life, the years during which, in our
climate, the majority of the sex are
married. And yet from twenty-five to
twenty-five or six, maiden may and
generally does still further advance in
attractiveness and add to the store of
her charms. She is still young, but
she has outlived many youthful fan
cies, and feels some of the dignity of
womanhood No better age than those
in a maiden's life, and never is she
lovelier.
But why stop at twenty-six? What
fairer women are to be found than
many of those between twenty-six aud
thirty, and even olderG Girls of eigh-
teen may look on them as unsought
old maids, and yet they are in their
womanly prime, and many capture
hearts which have been steeled against
fascinations. Oftentimes they make the
best wives, and men find solace and
companionship iu their society which
immaturity cannot give. They have
the advantage of experience and they
have learned the lessons taught by
longer contact with the world, while
still they may not be averse TO falling
in love.
No, we assure our fair friend, ii is
not that woman is eighteen, or twen-
ty-six, or thirty, which makes her love
ly in the eyes of men. She may be
just as lovel y at one age rs the other I;
but inasmuch as marriages of women
occur between the ages she mentions,
ii is safe To assume that the majority
of men prefer to take wives that are
not older. But all men Of taste and
discernment admire feminine beauty
and loveliness whether they show them
selves in budding youth or riper ma
turity; and we will dare assert that if
our correspondent was really charm
ing at eighteen, she will be more so ut
twenty-six, or that if she is now lovely
at eighteen she ought to be lovelier at
the greater age.
But let her give no further thought
to the subject. The beauty that is un-
conscious is the more alluring, and
loveliness which exercises it sway with
out apparent effort is sure to make the
best conquest. This we say in full
confidence that the multitude Of we'd
dings which are now taking place dur
ing this season will confirm the truth
of our words. Let us hope that be-
fnra anothar rofur ru of fh;a uoliosh4f,,I |
season our fair correspondent will be
selecting her bridal outfit, having
found by happy personal experience
that we have wisely answered her i'm
portant question.-Erchange.
nrr,aonr. l. Al. nka ...;.... ...a.. q