The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-06

Statistics Gathered by Reader Of Light Lit
erature.

i correspondence 81. James daZette.
The year that has just closed has welded PA
hereines to the men of their choice, thirty nine
have married the wrong man, and either fifty
one or sixty one have died. The grass has grown
over four of these; in the remaining cases it has
grown green. The others have ended rniscel-
| laneously AS compared with past years the
| rate of mortality is low. When, some years ago,
4 first entered upon these inquiries, consumption
was very prevalent in novels, and the hectic
| flush usually appeared as early as the third
| chapter But although there is some heart dis
| ease, our heroines are improving in health, and
| they marry earlier now 1t is a slack week that
does not not make wives of half dozen heroines
in the FIRST sixty pages, and in one
and heroine simultaneously. In forty
1 seven cases mothers have been tried with
very good results. They have had liz children
| between them, ranging in age from one calendar
/ seventy one of these from q waseyy grave.
| Twelve of the original husbands of these hero
| ines have persisted by railway accident, three
have been discovered to be bigamists, seven have
| planned everything, and the remaining seventy
| five are really the men she loves, though she did
not know it at the time. These heroines prom
| Use well for the coming season. Widows are
1 coming in again.
| Against 372 blondes there have been 100 bru-
| nettes-an unusually large number. While the
health average is distinctly higher than in former
years. fragility and delicacy continue marked.
DrOau, low DrOWS are III gfedt IdVOT, duu IL iS d
remarkable circumstance tina. In seven cases out
of ten the mouth is perhaps a little too large.
In fact, of these 562 ladies as many as 437 have
not been beautiful in the strict meaning of
| the term. But, with very few inconsiderable
exceptions they had something irresistible
about them; and this something is usually
planned by pert little noses turned up the thou
sandth part of an inch. A good nose is thus NO
longer what it was. The something has also o
close connection with dimples, and in the rare
| cases in which these are neither maddening nor
bewitching, they intoxicate Seven hundred
and ninety two ears have been Shel-llke the
remainder rosy. There have been over 1000
mOndshaped eyes, of which 6l2 have had a
dreamy look, and sc have flashed fire; while the
latter were flashing 81 heroines drew themselves
up. 1t is remarkable how these statistics fuctu-
ate. In 1873 the shell-like ear, which the year
before had stood high as COS, fell to 1892. and
rose again in 1880 to ia The ripe red lip re-
mains stationary, but the almond eyes are ex-
tremely variable. have known them drug.
Rarely has the heroine been created who
being herself tall and slender, had neither a
sister nor a friend who is small and plump
Where however, the heroine inclines to embon-
! point, as she has done eghty-three times this
season, the foil of course has to suffer, losing as
much flesh as the other gains 1t does not seem
probable that the plump heroine will ever drive
her more slender rival from the field; but she is
doing well at balls, and the best noveiists have
never lost faith in her. With Dickens she was
decided favorite; she had a great time in the
the Emerald isle. To give satisfaction at a
ball is more than might be hastily supposed;
for the heroines of the past season have each
spent, on an average, five eighths of volume
at them. She may look pale under the
lurid glare of the lamps, or wear but
simple dress of white; she may even
risk rival as beautiful as herself; but there is
one thing she eannotdo without She must have
finely rounded arms Four hundred and odd
times this year she and he have been the admir-
alton of the ballroom, and it has struck 36l as
semblages on seeing them together that they are
made for each other. Fiftysix times she has
tainted at the ball in her lovers arms; seventy
nine times he has turned haughtiiy on his heel
this requires practice) and left her; Ill times
he has gone with her into the conservatory to
propose 102 of these declarations being observed
by dark figure against the window, and in all
but seven of these cases he has omitted to saw
that If his wife knew she might not like it. f
you have any difficulty in fixing on the hero, he
is always distingushable by his habit of holding
the heroine's hand a moment longer than is alb
solutely necessary.
He had smoked beneath her window l2l times.
and ia shadows have passed upon the blind.
In every case it has been she. A hundred and
seven times it has been a warm night, and as
she opened the window and gazed into the dark
ness her beautiful figure was displayed to the
best advantage. He thought she was indeed an
ethereal creature She had sighed "a times and
asked herself what could this be. Twice out of
three times she has wondered if it was love,
he has seen the folly, the madness of his passion
and has called at her fathers house to bid them
farewell Half an hour has almost invariably
been the time that is to elapse before he starts
for India; and when he turned his face in the
direction of our great dependency she called him
by his Christian name ~ times, placed her hand
upon her heart 81 times, and flung herself with
wild cry at his bosom 10 times In 70 cases
If he had turned round when he reached the
door this novel would never have been written
Fourteen times he has hestated on the threshold
with his hand on the door. but nothing has come
Of it.
He had gathered her up in his arms LII times
there the plump ones are at disadvantage,
folded her against his breast 81 times, drawn her
to him "a times, taken her head between his
hands 102 times, frightened his hold of her little
waist SO times strained her to his heart 80 times,
and plucked one burning kiss from her Inns (ah,
how it burned into her soul before parting with
her forever, lOl times In the great majority of
cases when they next meet he is cold and formal,
and she filings herself upon her bed and asks
what 1t means. She cannot make it ont at all;
but the reader generally can. Either he had been
persuaded by his married sister to engage him
self to another when he did not know what love
was, or he has wife in foreign parts.
The poorest creature of hero /
have encountered this year was one
who was struggling with prior
attachment. | had got so thoroughly into the
groove that led to the other girl that rather
admired his impudence. and read on to see
how he was exposed He never was exposed.
1t Was am btlon, and there was other woman
Cousins are working well together Forty
seven have liked each other from the first
ABOUT score have drifted apart. but the others
have come to an understanding. Some seventy
times the old uncle Tor, when there is thirst
for novelty, the old aunt) leaves his money be-
tween them on condition that they marry, the
one who refuses losing his or her snare in the
legacy. These elderly relatives are amazingly
eccentric sometimes, bat they have always this
in common. 1t is the touch of nature that makes
unces and annts akin. These are but the CLEAN.
ings of my note book, which is furnished with
much else that, to me, at least is very curious
and interesting
One or the Artist de Neuville's Sketches.
Lucy Hoo ers Paris letter.