Wichita eagle., 1886-09-23
A SUMMER DAY In LONDON.
GOSSIP ABOUT THE MEN AND
WOMEN OF ENGLAND.
Bad Dressing of English Ladies-Charm-
ing Scene by Gas Light-Triumphs Of
of Man

ing Scene by Gas Light-Triumphs Of
Art-Severe Observation-Disclosures Race
of Men.
feel convinced that am the only truthful
American who has ever been abroad, and, in
this vast city Of London, have passed ten days
in stunned and paralytic condition brought
about by the wanton duplicity of a previously
Travelled acquaintance. How any one short
of an imbecile could consider London unin-
teresting passes an intelligent comprehension,
though one can easily understand that the
average tourist fired with the noble determil1a
ton Of "doing" the continent in two months,
should fly from the vastness of London,
whose every inch of ground is saturated with
the history, poetry and romance of the
Anglo-Saxon race, and divert his feeble
mind with the frivolity of modern Paris.
Neither high nor low is to be seen OF the
traditional SCOT and filth Of much maligned
London-au contraire, this is the cleanest,
brightest place imaginable, but with sharp,
clear wind that bloweth where it listeth after
the same uncomfortable, unexpected manner
of the San Francisco breeZes. The oft re-
peated assertion that one docs not need
clothes, and plenty of them too, while travel
spiteful mind of some woman who found her
self there without them and has taken this
low revenge on her sex. Never has the vital
necessity of beautiful dinner gowns been so
borne in upon me as at the present writing.
| All one hears, reads and laughs at Of badly
dressed English women may be accepted
blindiy, without even the proverbial grain Of
salt, SO long as they are considered while
! taking their walks abroad
DRESS OF ENGLISH WOMEN.
In truth. they are all so inconsistent in the
matter OF attire Is suited to their soil and
cline that, even at this chilly season, in an at
mosphere which causes a civilized American
| to shiver under q warm wool costume, the
! English girls and women wander about the
Streets the hotels, the galleries, the parks, the
restaurants, in cambrics, linens and muslins-
| pinlls, blues and whites-wearinS them, too,
! with q complacent dissatisfaction that, IL
view of their absurdity, is perfectly madden
ing. The other day at the Royal academy,
at the exhibition of modern paintings and
statuary, which are exquisitely beautiful and
! far more entertaining than the antiques at
the National gallery, which, entire nous, SIM
ply bore one to madness, l was nevertheless
so diverted by the bad dressing that the pic
lures became secondary consideration. The
day was thick, rainy and hopeles5ly dark,
yet lot of poverty stricken looking young
persons appeared in delicate lawns and light
and odious Silks to which an American would
unhesitatingly prefer death as the alterna-
tive.
TRIUMPHS OF ART.
But however hideOus on the street, the
English woman at the dinner table is superb.
She is lit up at night, as it were, with the gas
and the candelabra. She is glorious crea-
ture, who blooms out at eventide like the
flowers and Aies that toll not, and she sheds
a certain radiance down hotel dining room
which is more than startling to the American
eyes, accustomed to the somber silks in which
our country women grace the festive public
board. Fancy a huge sale a manger
brilliantly Illuminated, elabOrately decorated
with flowers, the table adorned by hundreds
of wax tapers, fruit and ornaments Of gilt and
brass, around which men and women in the
fullest of full dress are eating their separate
dinners as calmly as if in the seclusion of pri-
vate houses. OF course it is question of
taste whether it is entirely good form to ap-
pear thus decoilette in a public dining room,
to which any decently dressed individual may
be admitted on the payment of the price for
dinner, which is $3.50, but every one does it
here with a result that is certainly very deco
rative, gay and nice to look upon. They rise
from the table equipped for theater, opera
and small balls though [ believe a different,
more elaborate and a more decollette attire
is donned for large balls and proceed to she'd
the lustre on their white necks, brilliant eyes
and shining, well dressed heads over some
other household for the rest of the evening.
CHARMS AND DEFECTS.
What necks these English women have.
Marvels of marble beauty, white, firm, satin
skinned and with full, round throats that are
beautifully sensual But anything worse
than their compilations can scarcely be
imagined. Except when very young the
handsomest of those women are distigured by
a coarse, red chin, like the ruddy cheek Of a
British tar which, rising above an alahaster
neck, produces the disagrceablc effect of an
ugly mask. And their arms! Oh. their
arms. Where on earth they get sucn huge,
disjointed, gaunt, uncouth, masculine appen-
dages is food for deep reflection. They
apparently have no connection with
the rest of the body. They give one
the impression that they are some
thing abnormal and extra, which have been
hung on as unsuccessful experiment, and
yet the fond proprietors wave them about,
req, ndEcl, Uluecll5 liltI u lllCSS ttctcLIuaIcu
by cumbrous bracelets on al possible oeca-
siors, and this with an unuttcrable, adorable
sang froid which is an Englshwolnan's great
est charm The British matron OF advancing
years is certainly not beautiful to outward
view though imbued with stern rcspecta-
bility which suggests Caesars wife. She is
devoted to evening dress" and adheres to it,
in spite Of protesting nature, Us one of the
traditions of her country, and each evening
places her mature and overflowing charms on
exhibition, with faithful devotion to duty
which is worthy a better cause.
PRAISE OF ENGLISHMEN
But the men are adorable, \ magnificen.
race of creatures, lot Of heroic, herculean
Apollos, with q length, a breadth, a thickness
and a strength which dazzle the woman ia
miliar with the nondescript masculinity of
America. They are huge, high colored and
handsome-eyen though rake and reprobate
are written on each line of their faces as in
deed it very often is. Then there is such
prodigious lot of them. They swarm every
where-elegant, dominant, powerful, fascin-
ating, and in splendor of attire which may
be likened only to the rising sun Perhaps, |
after ell. as feminine tribute to their strength
and beauty, it is not SO wonderful that our
native born American citizen should SINCE his |
brain with Anglomania and our proud Amer |
lean maidens forget their independence and |
seek the matrimonial yoke on British shores. |
-Isobel Reids London Letter in San Fran /
cisco Chronicle.