, 1885-03-17
WOMAN AND HOME.
THE PRESCRIPTION OF A SOCIAL PHI
LosoPHER TO DE6uTANTEs


"Given any bright. presentabie girl, and
with proper coaching she can bo made a
belle, said a mottledi faced club man, the
other day, To a party OF gorgeously-dresssd
~loungers in the bay window OF an up tow
club. Somebody had just expressed mild
surprise at the phenomenal success Of one Of
this seasons debutantes, whose engagement
to a visiting scion OF English aristocracy has
recently been unofficially~ announced,
"Beanty won't do 1t, nor mon4 either,
though the last is, OF course. always mar
riageable. The combination OF these two
will 70 a long ways toward it-that Is
TO say, tho possessof will always 30
sought after. But to DO thing, you
know, 70 make a hit-that's quite
another matter. The unfolding of "A Bud,
continued the speaker enthusiastically, 80
that she will not only become n rare flower,
but fragrant, penetrating and dominant, Is
q delicate but delightful science. I'm a pro
fossor of 1t, myself, in a way
He was urged to expound the art.
well" he proceeded, not unwillingly,
there's my niece, you know, who's taken so
immensely. Nobody ever called her beautl-
full, and tho family are quite out at the oil
bows, as we all know. But had her In land
just before she came out, and you SOC the
result My experience with this subject
leads me to formulate certain fundamental
principles Of feminine attractiveness. In
the first place a girl must size herself up
must know her strong points and her
weak places. II she isn't beautiful. to start
with, her hrt business is to produce the
result OF beauty. To begin with the mouth
easily the most expressive feature Of a
woman's face. Yet few women have Cupid's
BOWS or rosebuds- Suppose II Is small, full
Tipped and blunt-corned, with bad teeth.
A grin makes il hideous, and such a mouth
should never laugh. 1t spreads into un-
meaning platitudes the blunt corners, and
makes the yes swollen by crinkling the
cheeks, always plump in such a face. Such
a mouth, though, can be used most effect
lively in a pout, and pouts can be shy, sug-
gestive. arch and piquant, as we'll as sorrow
full. With lips very slightly parted and the
corners in the faintest upward curve, how
ever. Is their normal position Not so large
a mouth with thin lips and minion toeth.
Flashes Of broad smiles, succeeded at once
by a demure compression OF the lips, are
tremendously taking in such a mouth; and
the lips need only a gentle droop at the cor
ners TO convey the idea Of sensibility and
seductive melancholy"
Brightly managed" continued this new
professor Of belle-letters, warming with the
theme, @the eyes are always useful. Most
women's eyes are not remarkable unless well
uhuQltu- Wnut tlhb II 0tptu4h on lno 0Wh-
er's general style. II her phases Of character
are earnestness and repose, she should look
only out of the tops OF the eyes. Note this,
gentlemen. How earnest the glance with
the head bent downward how silly the eyes
with the chin Salient The glance over tho
tops so full Of soul, Of sincerity, of consummate
trustfulnessl When moved indolently with
a rare, burning, yet half sleepy appeal
through dusky lids, they can be simply irro-
sistible. Suppose, however, our subject Is
round-eyed, brisk and gay, depending for
effect on chic and girlish abandon. She
must wear her eyes wide open, gaze straight
from the pupil, and may win with i'm
punity. The saucier and more restless the
better. Plenty OF men, Indifferent to the
first effect, would be taken at once by this
type.
The hair Is generally il-arranged. Few
women seem to understand that there should
be no more fashion In hairdressing than in
bonnets. How seldom we see profuse, rip
pling locks coiffed q I abandonl Yet 1t Is
much better displayed SO than in tight coils.
On the other hand, snub-nosed women, with
shimpy hair, persist in wearing the simple
Greek knot, where evory rule OF art and
common sense should pile their scant tresses
on top Of their heads with rats curls, puffs,
waves and all other fictitious aids possible,
In fact a woman should practice style
of hair-dress sing and bonnet Is most becom-
ing and never depart from it A woman Is
classified above the eyebrows. First i'm
pressions are irrevocable
@The figure should accentuate the charac-
Of the hair and bonnet-be a sort Of empha-
sis and determination Of the general style.
No woman with an artist for a dressmaker
has an excuse for a bad shape--unless, Of
course, she Is hopslessly ~corpulent. She
should dress with a single eva to her charac-
ter, previously determined on. Many a hus-
band has been lost by abrupt departures in
attire. 1t disturbs Il mans calculations and
shocks his sensibilities to have the object Of
last nights passion In flowing drapery and
graceful train, appear next morning In a kilt
and Jersey. He has admired tho Greek; he
can't suddenly transfer his heart to a gypsy.
So much for physical effects But these
arc by no means all to learn. l have sug-
gested hat the manner must correspond
with the general character. Lot me now
show some OF the essentials Of a good man
ner. No field Of battle is more trying and
yet more decisive than the dinner table.
Here all may DO lost or won Every woman
must eat daintily; and some with curving
swans neck, ivory wrists. pour hot shot into
the enemy with every movement The
strategic secret Of this position is TO take
time. Too many inexperienced young crea-
lures plunge into a mad charge at once.
Through soup and fish the besleger must de-
ploy cautiously. Till after the first glass or
SO OF wine the heart Of man Is an impregna-
BILE fortress. Heavy firing must not begin
before the punch a la Romans. All the bat
teries should open with the game, and a
general attack should continue until coffee.
But not yet the grand charged Not till
after dinner the attempt to pierce the
enemy's centeri It is then onl That the
masculine heart is wholly open to the assault
Of softer persons.
Women too often neglect the voice. As a
matter Of fact, American women speak
horribly. They know neither accent, in
Election, meditation. nor pitch il conver.a-
ton. or the crisp, rounded, even melody Of
an English woman's speech they know
nothing. But much is gained by remember
ing thai II Is a mans devoir to begin
conversation, and in whatever tone he.
speaks 80 pitch her reply a note lower.
The effect Is unutterably tranquilizing,
and the mans ears are not rasped by
the uncalculated pitch and barbarous in
~iection OF the babbiing tongue. Her low
contralto notos are to him as plummets from
thu deeper heart. sounding his own. As to
conversation itself, II a woman's person is
admired to begin with, this is the least Of
her troubles. The trick Is born with a few
only. It is enough to remember hat though
they are sweet subjects and men like to hear
about them. the average man had rather
talk than 1i.fon nrovfdad he talks atnnt