Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-06-26
GETTING PHYSICAL GRACE.
Novel Methods Adopted by the
Swell Washington Girls.


If you watched the dress parade OF
Connecticut or Massachusetts avenue an,
OF these afternoons, says a Washington
letter to the Boston Transcript, YOU would
very likely notice that the swell girls
have adopted fresh style of walking
their chests thrown out as far as possible,
without any throwing back of the shoul-
oers, however, and certain indescribable
spring in their gait. Upon inquiring as
to the meaning of this, you would be in
formed that it represents only a small
part of the new system of physical grace
introduced from abroad by lady who is
now giving lessons on the subject to the
daughters and wives of the richest and
most distinguished personages in Wash
ington. A class of young women meets
at Wanamaker's twice week, to learn
how to walk, to go up and down stairs,
to stand, to how, to smile, to make eyes
and to dispose of the hands.
1t need excite no surprise now to see
three or four pretty girls in the dressing
room, upon their arrival at a party,
wringing their hands frantically, as if in
violent grief. All that it signifies is that
they are making those members uncon-
scious, so that they will be at ease in
company. This is portion of the new
method. If you don't know what to do
with your hands, you have only to let
them hang at your sides, and wiring them
vigorously for about five minutes before
making your appearance in the drawing
room; at the end of that time they will
be deprived of consciousness to such an
extent that you will have no trouble with
them for an hour or so, any way. Do
this once or more every day and you will
find yourself become much more easy
about your paws through the habit of the
thing. The effect is said to be really
wonderful; for, you see, it is simply that
the hands are so highly educated in this
mechanical age that they may almost be
said to have brains of their own. 1t is
difficult not to be conscious of them,
therefore, and that implies awkward
ness.
But woman's chosen weapon is the eye,
and an important feature of this new
system from abroad is education in the
use of that lovely organ. Within GER
tain range the female of our species has
an instructive perception of the manner
in which her optical apparatus should be
employed upon her complementary
creature in pantaloons; but science has
reduced the subject to exact terms.
Charts have been prepared-W Washington
girls are studying them-showing that
the eye has 729 distinctive expressions,
conveying as many different shades of
meaning. The proper thing to do is to
procure one of these charts, and repro
duce with your own eyes the 729 express
sions, before mirror. When you have
mastered them all, try them on other
people and see how they work. It is
popularity imagined that the eye-ball
itself is an expressive thing, but, as a
matter of fact, the ball of the eye has
scarce any expression at all. That all
depends upon the lids and brows. The
upper lid does the intellectual; its posi-
tion is regulated by the sort of thinking
you are doing The lower lid expresses,
by its drawing up or otherwise, the
senses. The eyebrows are emotional,
and so on.
All this, however, is only the begin
ming. Certain it would appear that
young ladies of the future, trained to
make eyes on exact principles, will be
much more seductive creatures than
hitherto. But you must not be surprised
if you find Washington girl winking
at you; it is ten to one that she is prac-
tising the novel science of ocular express
sion.