The Press., 1884-02-28
[From the American Queen.l
 EARS AND EARRINGS.


 A pretty ear is a great beauty, and finds many enthusiastic admirers. We could name many q noted man first attracted to the girl he loved and married by her pret- ty ear ; and we have even heard some men say, ".Ghe first thing I see when I am is company of ladies is the ear" We need not tell you that such men, and all indeed who admire pretty ears, abhor earrings.
 Jewellers need not frown; for If fewer earrings were sold, more fnger-rings, lock- cts, brooches, etc., would be sold, and they would not be the losers if earrings disappeared from fashion tomorrow. Be- sides, our aim is to preserve beauty when possible, and earrings destroy it by length ening the ear and destroying its symmet- rical outline. We say nothing of the bar parity of the custom of wearing earrings.
 You might just as well wear rings in your nose as ln your ears. We merely say that, setting the barbarous custom aside, earrings lengthen the ear and spoil its shape and symmetry. Therefore, if you would preserve your ear small and pretty, as nature makes it, never wear earrings.
 On the other hand, if your ears are large and ugly, do not wear earrings, for you would then only a'tract extra attention to their ugliness. Hide them as much as you can by light waves or curls of hair al- lowed to tall over the ears as if by acci- dent, but do not invite attention to them. Our models of beauty, the ancient Greeks, did not wear earrings, or rarely did SO. Egyptl ms and Asiatics were, and still are, fond of all kinds of jewelry, and they wore huge earrings very often which weighed down the ears to tremendous length.
 Roman women also were partial to ear rings, as they were to all other jewelry. As Ovid tells us, ''Their dresses were heavy brocade, their fingers were covered with precious stones, and oriental pearls hung on their neck and ears, the heaviest b-ing reserved for the ears' They also wore bracelets, amulets, and, according to Mar tia', rings on their toes, which were visi- ible when they wore sandals. This fashion, indeed, was initiated by the Countess Cas- tellani at fancy ball at the Tuileries dur ing the last empire The Countess Cas- tellaui was considered the most beautiful woman at that court of beauties. She was an Italian, with an Italian skin aud golden hair, something like the new Amer ican beeuty, Miss Chamberlain, who is swoken of as a gypsy with angels hair.
 To return to the subject of earrings, Ro- man women wore as many as three, and sometimes four, large pearls oil each ear. This style of earring was called Crotalia, and the pearls clanked together, like sc many little bells, which was very fattering to their vanity. The funniest thing of all was that they even put earrings on the fish in their aquariums, just to see their effect iu the water. Francis I of France imi tated this absurdity, and had earrings put to the famous carp of Fontainebleau.
 Who has not heard of Cleopatras fa nous pearl earrings, which cost two mil lions of francs each, and one of which she melted in her cup and drank it to Antony help. She would have done the same th1ng with the second earring had she not been prevented. This earring afterwarc passed into Agrippa's hands, and he hao It cut in two, to form two earrings, Witl which to adorn the ears of the statue o1 Venus in the Pantheon of Rome.
 Caesar also once paid million of franc; of Brutus, and he had so great venera, tion for pearls, that in his laws against eel ibacy he forbade them to be worn by wo men who had not husband, or children or any one who was und- IT 45 years of age Now, however, pearls are the favorite or naments for young girls, and looked upoI as emblems of innocence and purity. Blu a string of pearls round the neck alone should be worn by young girls, and no pearls in the ears.
 Italians and other southern people o old-fashioned superstition have their chil dren's ears bored almost as soon as they are born, under the Idea that this hole il the ear preserves the eyes in good sigh and strength. We may here add that we know young women of 20 with failing sight, although they wear earrings, ant others of ''past" 30 who never have worr an earring and have their sight as sound and clear as a child's. Earrings, there fore, do not invariably protect the eyes from weakness OF disease, though they sometimes have beneficial effect. w hope that none of our readers will weal them if they have pretty ears, fora pretty ear is doubly pretty without holes in it and an ugly ear cannot be too timid ant retiring.
 But putting the question of beauty or one side, there really are some womer with very thin, hollow cheeks, to whom rather long earrings are becoming. They seem to fill up vacuum, and, if earrings are ever suitable, it is in such cases.