Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-03-05
Ugly Women Should Not Marry in
RnhiiC.


Public.
"All brides should be beautiful, says
Clara Belle. eff this rule can't be en-
forced-and don't suppose it can
then pass law forbidding ugly women
to be married in public. If so much as
that cannot be done in the interest of
art propriety, at least let us compel
plain women to be married in plain
clothes. There is something shockingly
homogeneous in the bridal clothes worn
by bride who isn't physically fine her
self. I have seen daughter of wealth
and fashion at the altar with son of the
same. Her toilet of white satin was al
most covered with ruchings and plated
frills of cream white lace. The bodice
was in the shape of long Louis XVI.
coat, with loose lapels opening over an
under vest of lace. This coat was gar
nished all around the edges with rich
applique bands of pearl beads. The
sleeves of white lace barely reached the
elbow. It was altogether an exception
ally lovely rig; but the young woman
inside it was far, far below the require
ments. She was round on her back, in
stead of her breast, so that the shape of
the deliberately wrought waist was bad.
Her neck, where the cutting away of
the corset showed it, was full of visible
cords and muscles, and its color was yell
! low by comparison with the creamy
satin and lace next to it. Her scrawny
arms were darby visible through the
lace sleeves. Her face, composed of If
regular, freckled and irredeemably COM
monplace features, and brought into
contrast with the quality of her cloth
| ing, seemed fairly hideous. In an ordi-
nary street dress she would, no doubt,
pass in a crowd: but arrayed as bride,
before the critical eyes of church-full
OF spectators, she wouldn't do at all. |
couldn't help Watching the bridegroom,
when the minister asked him if he
! would take her for better or worse. and
his eyes fell upon her for the last FEAST
bic time to back out, to see If he hest
tated little, but he didn't, and con-
| Guided that in his case love was stone
blind. Poor little bride! No doubt
she was as keeniy aware of the lack OF
goodlooks as anybody else in the as
sembly, and would have given any price
/ Il some had been purchasable.
/ Beautiful Women and Beautiful
TOiEetteS.
This is an age of beauty, or rather OF
a fictitious semblance of it, and it is for
this reason an age of temptation and
peril. Form, color, glitter are beauty,
and this beauty wins the applause AID
rules the hour. Fair women ride III
state, while good women weep IN sack
! cloth and ashes. Modesty is declared to
be mere absence Of charm, or power to
attract, and fashion justification for any
enOrmity. At the opening balls and
entertainments of the present season
more low-necked dresses have been worn
and more shameless exposure of person
made than has been known for many
years previous. 1t seems as though the
absurd and irrational customs which
tradition has kept up abroad, but which
are probably giving way before modern
intelligence and enlightenment, were tC
be revived and obtain new lease Of
life here In communities that ought tC
have freed themselves permanently from
them.
Women in society seem to have divi
ded themselves into three battalions-
one showing more or less of what is con
sidered the estheHc element; another
conservative, and with what are called
old-fashioned" prejduices a third, ami
mated lay figures upon which the ut
most art of the dressmaker is displayed
art that sometimes turns out wonder
ful copy-book specimens of grace ant
lovelinesG sometimes merely overlay'
hem with stun and segments of design
hat have no relation to each other
The esthetic element, much as it ma,
I be ridiculed, is, at least, decent-it bear
steady witness to the grace of the Ion!
line, to the beauty OF simple folds ant
draperY. to the exquisite sense of soft