The Washington critic., 1888-01-21
ARE GIRLS GETTING SMALLER
Reasons That Compel an Observant
Citizen to Think They Arc.

ARE GIRLS GETTING SMALLER
Reasons THAT Compel an observaut
Citizen to Think They Are.
The girl Of the period ranges from
140 pounds down, in some cases to
eighty pounds or less. Between these
two limits may be found almost all
the healthy loveliness of the fair sex
in America. In England and Ger
many the figures are higher; in France
and Southern Europe they are the
same as in this country or smaller
Eighty pounds Of femininity is, of
course, not much, viewed from q ma
terial standpoint, although it was
probably about the weight of Cleo
patra, if archaeological research may
be depended upon, and she was rather
more than too much for any of the
champions of her day. Cleopatra is
the exception which proves the rule
as to progressive thinness. All the
| other bellies of antiquity were large,
ample ladies of generous proportions
and great health. Semiramis was
taller than most of her guardsmen.
| The mind fails to consent to petite
Boadicea. Charlemagne's s mother was
nearly six feet tall Margaret Aniou
was large. Elizabeth could not be de-
scribed as small, and, in fact, most of
! the historic danes, of whose size we
have any vague idea, were big beyond
modern ideas of what woman should
permit herself to be, beginning with
our great Mother Eve, who was q
giantess, according to the Arab tradi-
ton, which still points our her tre-
mendous tomb. The facts are meagre,
but even within the experience of
men now living, the movement
towards osseousness has been appar-
ent.
All of these reflections were caused
by statement made to Republican
reporter by the oldest inhabitant, who
was at his usual task of depicting the
glories of the Consulship Of Planeus.
81 just came across in the garret the
other day." he said, ga corset that
has history. 1t is a souvenir of the
girls of half q century ago. 1t be-
longed to one of the prettiest young
ladies who lived in st. Louis in 1886.
She was an acknowledged belle, and
by common consent her form was q
model of beauty. / tell you, sir, she
was none of your ethereal creatures,
but magnificent woman that
weighed $50 pounds, and yet in those
days she was considered small. She
was certainly below the average size
of the girls / knew"
''How did you get the corset?"
THAT would be long story. 1t
was sold to me by the lady's darky
maid. Oh, we had some notions of
gallantry in st. Louis in the old times.
That, however, is neither here nor
there. What / want you to do is to
compare the solid and severe sim
plicity of the garment of 1886 with the
meretricious ornamentation and mod
cling Of the one worn by the ladies
nowadays. Not alone is the older one
modest and pretty and plain, but it
means health and vigor. You natur-
ally associate it with rosy cheeks and
black eyes and slightly tumbled hair
and general atmosphere of gaiety
and good-heartedness. The modern
sophistication looks to me almost inn
moral. 1t implies all the demands of
society, late hours, idleness and fash
ionable dissipation. 1t tells of head
aches and backaches and all manner
of physical and moral shams."
But about the comparative sizep
"Well, don't these corsets show it ?
Say that they are both averages of
their time, and one is fully six inches
greater in circumference than the
other. But that isn't all of it. The
mothers of the present generation
were built, as rule, more nearly to
the old Roman model. They were
large limbed and strong, with O
healthy chest capacity and ability tc
draw long breath. Here is another
proof of it,"
And he produced two garters, one
of the good old time, marked exhibit
ga" the other recent one, marked
"B." The longer one was of a sort Of
felt cloth, the other of silk. 1t was
but one more curio out of the oldest
Inhabitants museum, and he gazed al
it proudly as he drew it out of the bu-
reau drawer.
"I've got lots of those sort Of
things" said he, with sigh. "When
/ was q young man we used to collect
them and keep them. That garter
and she has had eight children and q
dozen grandchildren. The smaller
garter was worn by one of her grand
grown. Now, if anything could prove
the case more strongly would like tC
know what it is. Both were worn by
their owners when about the same
age, and got the second one only {
month or two ago. But what else
could you expect2 When l was {
young man the ladies used TO ea
something. A common lunch in 184(
was piece of cold beef off the round
lot Of bread and butter and couple
of glasses of porter or wine. TIL,
girls were not ashamed of ii. They
would very honestly get away with {
substantial snack, and do it as though
they liked it, God bless them.
"But nowadays lunch is very
different thing indeed. The common
menu is q little sour lemonade, small
piece of cake, and some chocolate
candy, or some other sort of indigesti
BILE monstrosity that people ought t.
be put into the penitentiary for feed
ing to their girls. You can't expect tc
build up muscle and health on lemon
juice or pie, and the result of it all
will be that our women will go on get
ting thinner and thinner until they
disappear. 1t has happened in Boston
already. The American stock, borr
of such mothers as we are cultivating
can't hold its own against the big
boned, strong-built foreigner. The
Irish have crowded the Yankees ou
Of New England, and the German
and the Yankee will crowd us out o.
the valley if we don't change oul
: ways. l tell you, sir, when / lool
! around at the way this present gen