The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1883-08-04

The Natural History OF "Bangs"
"Bangs," like good many other mon
strosities. owe their origin to the war of the
Rebellion. Before that time quiet tastes,
quiet habits, quiet dress and quiet lives
were the prevailing modes of life, but when
the great war broke out and disturbed so.
ciety to its lowest depths, bringing all that
was foolish as well as much that was good
to the surface, false standards of taste began
to prevail, and we have not seen the last ol
them yet. Simplicity and truth used to be
the old leuls; in our times confusion
and sffeclation have taken their places
And in no way is this fact more conspicu-
Gus than in the ridiculous complications to
which women resort in order to "add some
additional touches" to the natural handi
work Of the Creator. 1t used to be an old
and honorcd maxim that "beauty unajorned
is adorned the most" and among other
manifestations of this prevailing sentiment
IN olden times was the manner in which
the most attractive women were accustomed
with ''piece Of blue ribbon to tie up their
bonnie brown hair" Looking at the fam
lily portraits of our mothers and grand
mothers we see that the hair was brusLc cd
beck oyer the forehead in the form ofu
semi circle, displaying that portion of tn.
human cJuntenance which the Deity in
tended for the dwelling place Of human
N Int hat al oh al it,n
days. II would seem at present as if mum
bers Of women were ashamed to DO con.
slderrd intelligent. They certainly resort
to most ingenius contrivances to conceal all
appearances Of a forehead.
The old ideal of American womanhood
included grace, simplicity and unobtrusive-
forehead, with the hair brushad plainly
down and back formed the outward and
visible sign of moral worth, intellectual
strength aud OF the true inward and spirit
Il grace. Repose, tenderness aud SIM lio-
ity constituted the crowning glory OF female
beIuty. But the progress OF the war eslab
lished quite new standard Of excelGi ce.
As our soldiers were daring, reckless, i'm.
p1lsive. dashing and uncomfortable befOie
the enemy, when they returned to civic
lie they carried many Of their soldiers
characteristics along with them, and wo-
men, being the Trailer vessels initiated the
habits Of the "boys" and, to some extent,
adopted more war like system ol dressing
and Of even ARA nginG their tl,p ing tresses.
It seemed necessary that some ofthe soldier
snrit should also animate the girls of tho
land. So they invented "bangs," false
crris, top-kLots, irizzes and the whole host
OF other denominations which with the girl
Of the period" make up "style." The worst
of these terrible inventions for the dcsruc
ton Of all true beauty is that they are al
BEAUTIFUL to wear curls and bangs, when the
natural hair grows straight as fence rais,no
amount Of Sunday school is likely tn get the
n tion out of their heads. But surely any
inte ligent person must acknowledge that
bird in borrowed pumage is poor creature
at the best, yet whole armies of women
who would scorn to wear borrowed hat
or borrowed gloves, will have no hesitation
in wearing another woman's hair.
AS to the beauty of bangs, it would re
quire a double barreled microscope to see
it. What attraction can there be in coils of
a'se fiat curls pressed down upon the fore
head, or in the more advanced stage oi
"ki's,m quicks" forming lattened whisker,
IN the cheeks2 The ordinary human eve
can not perceive it, more especially wheni
is observed with what infinite pains these
foreign "beauty spots" are kept in position.
Pieces Of net work are employed for the
| purpose, which might do admirably for he
capture Of brown trout or black bass in the
Leh gh Riyer, but which are quite OFT OF
place on womans forehead.
The most serious objection to all su, h
fo'ms of borrowed beauty is that they are
false, and what is false can never be bear IT,
ful. II a woman in order, TO add to her err
sonIl attractions, powder and paint her
ia e, thereby destroying her natural Olor
a I'd making herself ridiculous in the ey es of
her acquaintauces, there is a natural tond-
ency to believe that she must be weak
| minded in Jther respects. Ii children are
brought up under the 'oangiug" system, by
the time they are womeG three-iourths of
their life has been spent before a looking
glass in arranging false curs on their cheeks
and forehead.
And all this in a world where nature hos
ordained that benuly caa only consist in
truth and simplicity II is enough 10 make
the angles wsepl But in the matter ofreal,
uualterable standards OF beauty there are
established tests which never can be dis
puled. The old Greek sculptorS who are
ack knowledged To have been the best judges
Of physical excellence, have left us many
beauty. Among them one surpasses all
others, and that is the statue Of the Venus
ol Milo in a gallery Of paintings IN Paris.
The haired is brushed plainly back, twisted
| oShluu NhC Heau ~ s'hlFAS AH"'B oNN
fastened with a silver dagger, The human
mind can not conceiye Of any noblsr id, al
ol physical beauty than this Of tue pagan
Goddess Of the ancient Greeks. Her
statue still remains and ever must remain,
when the poor stunted, gnoble standards OF
the present have passed away with their
false "bangs," powder pufis and paint pots,
the supreme type Of that beauty which has
no ornaments but those Of nature simplicity
and truth. FALKLAND.
George Dillser, miner employed at the
GIlberton Colliery, near Mahanoy PlenC,