The Dickinson press., 1888-01-14
COMPARATIVE MERITS OF AMERICAN
AND ENGLISH GIRLS.

Good Effect of the Social Intercourse
That Prevails Between the People Of
This Country and acknowledgement
Girls Home Life.
The comparative merits OF American and
English girls have been of late frequently dis
russed. Advocates of each nationality have
made many good points, and victory cannot
honestly be said to nav been Won by either.
There can he little doubt that the largely in
creased and close social intercourse that now
prevails between the peoples of this country
and of England has had the effect of obliter-
ating many of the strongly marked differ
ences of their daughters.
English girls have caught something Of the
brightness, the ease and the self reliance
which have made certain American ladies'
who havc married Englishmen take rank as
favorites-almost, indeed, as leaders in Lon
don society. And even those Englishwomen
who have not succeeded in initiating. or have
not sought to initiate. will he generally found
willing to admit the charm of the imported
style. American girls, on the other hand,
have not been slow to borrow ideas from
their English cousins. We have only to look
at our girls tailor made gowns, their com
mon sense shoes, their round hats and their
ulstcrs and Newmarket coats, to see how
much they owe in warm and sensible modes
Of dress to English fashions. Then, too,
English out door games, particularly lawn
tennis, have become very fashionable here,
and their good effect is to be seen in tn. inn
proved health, the greater ease of movement,
and the rounded figures of our girls.
P~LUMPNESS Of OUR GIRLS.
1t was only about II year ago when !, for
eign visitor to this country remarked that
ono Of the things that most impressed her
was tho plumpness Of American girls. The
remark caused Il great deal Of establishment,
for we had been SO long accustomed to think
OF the American type of beauty as extremely
delicate and spirituelle that We had not
recognized the change that had been slowly
but surely effected. Any one who now walks
Broadway i'll the afternoon, and who is old
enough to remember the appearance Of its
feminine f%rcqucnters of ten years ago, can
scarcely fail to indorse tho truth of the
foreigners observation.
l do not hesitate to say that there is ON,
noteworthy and valuable respect in which 1
believe English girls are superior to Ameri-
can girls. Tint respect is their ability to
conduct the affairs of their homes. This, Of
course, is not an inherited ability, but is the
result of training and practice. l am not con-
sidering til" daughters of the farmers, hut
those Of mercantile and professional men. III
England. the custom is to train the girls ia
relieve their mothers of many of the duties
of housekeeping. Among families where
there are several daughters, it is n common
practice to have each in turn take charge Of
the house for a week or a month. do not
assert that such n plan is never followed here,
but Mt the most it is done with comparative.
in%freque,cy. TIL system of living in hoard
ing houses has i'll many instances made it I'M
possible Ia instruct our city bred girls in
domestic duties, but happily the increased
facilities for suburban travel nave placed il
within tho power Of many heads of families
to secure homes of their own.
TWO IMPORTANT REASONS.
Very probably the daughters of wealthy
parents arc slow to see why they should un,
dgrgo any Of the w9k panEasy hnn