Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-08-10
THE HEALTH OF AMERICAN WOMEN

remarking on the lack OF vitality ana sener-
ally delicate appearance Of. American women.
We can partly excuse British snobbcry when
:. -..-,i,ioa uro- n frarn,nrt Of truth. and in
this connection the snob from over the sea
certainly has the better of us, for his remarks
are true both when he dcscants upon the
fragile appearance of American women, and
also when he boasts In glowing language OF
the ''boundng health and robust physique
of the women OF England To be sure, there
is certain contemplate, dudc-likc squeam-
ishness among certain classes of American
people which processes to be disguised
at the "coarseness" and crude
health" aud "boyishness" of tue we'll
developed and active English girl. These
people claim that the chalk-likc COM
plexion of the American society girl is prefer
able to the communicating" bloom of
health on the sunburncd cheek of their trans
Atlantic cousins that the pinched and arti'
fetal physique Of our young ladies in more
beautiful than the rounder, fuller, more ma
tural shape of the English girl and that the
manners aud walk, and general freedom OF
action of the latter, is ridiculous" and
"mannish" and not to be compared for
moment with the affected waddle and pain
full mncing gait of our tight-laced and French
heel-shod bellies. All of which is supera-
tive nonsense and foolish prctcnsion. Any
one, whose ideas of "the human form
divine are either natural or artistic.
will agree that the freedom of health
and OF development alone can make bcauti-
full woman in the long run, and that the poor,
| chalk faced betoggled and tight-laced board
ing school miss is no more TO be compared
| with a really healthy and well developed girl
than a fashion-pate dummy to the Venus dc
Medc.
English women are handsomer than Amer
lean women after thirty five years of age-as
the most prcjudiccd American must admit.
Even allowing, then, that for n brief period
the American girl, with her lily COM
pleXion and slender form is the more attrac-
tive, We are forced to the conclusion that an
average Of beauty would be in favor Of the
English woman. She is as well preserved at
fifty as her husband, while the American wo-
man looks older al fifty than her husband
docs at sixty five. But the question OF beau
ty, after all, is the minor one. The question
OF health, of happiness, of longevity, Is OF a
great deal more importance to every woman
after the first fitting romance of girhood.
| "Amcrican women fade so FAST" is the CON-
mon verdict. But they need not-it is their
own fault. Any exotic fades quickly, and
the American woman of to-day is practically
an exotic. She does not care so much for
her health as she does for her complexion.
She lives, literally, dollhouse life, and when
she begins to droop nothing under heaven can
save her.
Compare the mode of life of the English
girl with that Of her American cousin, and the
secret of the latters physical infcrority will be
seen at once. The English girl, In the first
place, is not so sentimental, and does not
fritter away SO much of her time and her
| nervous vitality in petty love.romances and
fiirtations, with their attendant jealousies and
disappointmentsa and worries. She has healthy
heart in healthy body-mens sana in sane
corpore. And then she loves out-of-door life,
with plenty of exercise, walking, riding,
rowing, hcalthful games, and even field
sports. In America, on the other hand, the
women lead lives of injurious inactivity, they
| cling to the house with singular pertinacity
and when they go out it is generally to pay n
visit to some friend or acquaintance at whose
home the same pernicious system of mac
tivity prevails. No wonder they are puny
and weak, even after they have passed the
age of childhood. The average American
woman could no more walk three miles at a
stretch than she could lift five hundred
pound dumb.bell, but an English woman will
walk ten miles for pleasure, aud feel better
for it, too.
American women are, by no means. lazy.
They do vast amount of the most un-
hcalthful sort of work, but il uses them
| up and cxhausts them utterly. Their
work is mostly indoors, and SO. far as health
Is concerned, it would be better for them moi
to do it at all, The great need Of our Amcr-
can woman is some sort OF exercise that will
take them daily t-of-doors-somethina
more active than riding in carriage, and,
perhaps, not so laborious as walking. Horse
back riding is excellent exercise for women,
so is rowing, playing such games as lawn,
tcunis, croquet, etc. II our American girls
could be persuaded to do less love-making in
stuffy parlors, and engage, with their gentle.
men friends, in more out-of-door exercise
they would not only feel better and look
better, but would fit themselves more per-
fectly for the duties and privileges of WON in
hood, and secure for themselves longer and
happier lease Of life.