The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-12-05
The Broken.D0wm Beauty.

| The broken-down beauty Is as meian-
choly an example Of having known better
DAYS az Is the decayed gentlewoman. she
I Is even more affecting 10 look at. The de-
cayed gentlewonlau IL touching when one
observes her efforts To preserve some per-
sonal dignity and command certain re-
f, spcct on the strength OF having once pos
Sessed money and position. She chngs
passionstely TO the memory OF the past, anu
! fancies that the halo Of wealth and gentility
! still surrounds her, even u common eyes.
But the little deluslon and fond recoilec-
| tons which gladden. her existence SIT
cheerfully and with grace upon her, com
pared to those which make the broken
down beauty so sad spectacle. In gong
about the world one sees this out-at-ef,ows
queen at various stages Of her decay. She
| il great theatre-goer, though she seldom
understands the play, and il generally
much bored by IT. Though romance Il
word she cannot spell, and love sentiment
of very simple character to her mlnd, she
haunts the theatres. and may be observed
constantly nj these places OF amusement.
She is no longer drawing-roOm fayorite;
her invitations are few. Consequently she
regards box at the opera or Il stall at the
theatre as q nightly necessity OF her life;
she must have something to dress Tor,
somewhere TO go where she will find much
gas and many young men.
When she is beginning her downward
course of decay, and has still some vestIges
Of youth about her, she always has some
staid dame with her, who neither has, nor
ever had, any pretensions TO appearance.
This lady is part Of the toilet, as 1t were,
OF the overbIown beauty. Her presence
gives an air Of youth and innocence to her
companion, and her Incorporating face
and dress add TO the effect OF the beauty's
elaborate makeup. II q gentleman Is with
them, he must show himself, certainly; but
the lady who PLAYS the part of duenna in
this little comedy is put well in the front
of the box, while the beauty herself peeps
shyly round the curtain. Screened like
this. she may vet look very well. and some
Of the gay Young creatures in the stalls,
gorgeous in spotless shirt-fronts and
incipient mOuStaches, are pretty certain
10 be taken in by her, and ogle her through
their opera-glasses. This admiration l.
food and wine to her; il makes her sleep
that night. The friendly shadow OF the
boX-curtain gives her deliberately made-up
complexion chance of looking like ma
ture. and the stephan0tis on her head
seems 10 nestle most naturally into the artI-
fetal coil and curls upon which ii is pinned.
Her neck Is Young enough still, and needs
no crsme when she wears The very low-cut
dress which j. her idea Of the correct
thing 10 wear at the theatre. Her day is
not quite over yet, she says 10 herself,
when she finds couple OF very Young
men out Of the stalls waiting about on the
theatre steps TO see her get into her ear
riage. She drives home II happy woman
At this stage, though she is unmiSlaka-
bic. she is not absolutely terrible; but rs
the years pass on she becomes more and
more alarming. Strange 10 say, as her
youth more completely yaniShes from every
memory but her own, the illusions which
support her grow stronger. She begins 10
fancy herself quite a giddy girl again; she
gets herself up In much more youthful
style, and She filings discretion to the
winds. she Is seen ont now without her
duenna; most often we meet her leaning
on the arm OF some very young man in
deed. Heaven knows how these young
men are pressed into The service; some
times they are known 10 have assured
their friends that She is their mother
OF grandmother, even when these respected
relatives have long been laid in the grave,
or are quietly living in the country. Pro-
Daddy the ancient beauty ldNS Htl DON-
lovers debts, and ties hun TO her heels in
this way; at all events, ii is certain that 4
young man she will have, and does have.
She makes him take her to her beloved
theatre; she goes there in very, very low
necked dress; on her head she wears a
golden wig. in imitation OF the hair Of q
girl Of sixteen; OH the top of that is pinned
red, red rose, which looks as old and
crushed as its wearer But she is happy; her
illusions never desert her. She sinirkS with
pleasure when people turn to fix amazed
looks upon her. 1t is certainly kind OF that
fate. which takes from us quickly all that
we value most in life, 10 grant these happy
Authorizations TO supplant what is gone.
But the worst feature about the shriyelled
siren is that she so steadily makes it patent
TO mi men that she has known better days.
The decayed gentlewoman and the ruined
millionaire cannot bore us with their sor-
rows when we go to see the play; whereas
the woman who once was a beauty not only
does not conceal her face-that melancholy
relic Of the past-hut invariably wears 4
low dress. in order that we may see for
ourselves that her wealth is gone indeed.