Smyrna times., 1890-04-23
The Beauty of Women.

The lectures of Miss Mabel Jenness
on the preservation and cultivation of
the beauty of women contain nothing
that is novel, but the serve a valuable
purpose in provoking renewed discus
sion of very important subject.
Not many years ago the mere ap-
pearance OF a woman as a speaker on a
public platform was looked upon as
unwomanly and unseemly. Now it
has become so frequent that it is taken
as matter of course. Nobody thought
that Miss Edwards Hnsexed herself 20
use the old expression of reproach,
when she lectured in Chickering Hall
on EgyptolOgy and Egyptian antiqui-
ties. Nobody suffered in mind lest her
example might lead other women to
go beyond their proper sphere, another
cant phrase of the past, but the whole
audience, men and women both, were
delighted bV the lucidity of her stvle
and the grace and precision of her elo-
cutlon. 1t was pleasure to listen to
her voice, sweet, flexible, of agreeable
modulatiOn, and reaching to every
part of the house, though never over
strained; and her pronunciation was
well nigh faultless.
The young people of this generation
can have no conception of the extent
and rigidity of the prejudices which
had to be overcome before a woman
like Miss Edwards could receive re-
spectful attention as public lecturer.
Forty years ago she would have ex-
cited hardly less disapprobation if she
had appeared on the street in mans
costume. She would have been
avoided as blue-stOcking, fit only to be
the associate of fanatics and come
cutters. The prevailing notion in
those days was that wOmen's sphere
is confined within the narrow limits of
purely domestic duties, and that any
thing approaching full intellectual de.
velOpment is unfeminine and mon
strOus.
AS consequence, women suffered
both physically and intellectually.
They were treated as hot-house plants
to be kept under cover, and timidity
was accounted a prime feminine virtue.
They were expected to shrek at the
sight OF mouse or a caterpillar, and
they joined with men in no other
amusements than dancing and a small
variety of indoor pleasures of con-
ventiOnal approval. Riding was very
uncommon among the women of this
region, and they were debarreA from
open-air sports generally. They wore
shoes with the thnest of soles. thought
that beauty lay chiefly in a face and
complexion jealousy guarded from
the sun, and looked upon delicate
health, a feeble appetite, and weak
muscles as becoming to a lady. Alas I!
alas what cellar plants they were;
and yet how enhancing!
Now all that has changed. A woman
glOries in her strength of body and
mind, and her sphere includes the
whole world of activities. She is more
graceful, her movements are freer, her
figure is better rounded, her face
blooms with health and intelligence.
and in this part fthe Union she has
grown appreciably in stature. The
superior height and symmetrical pro-
portions of the girls of this generation
are unquestiOnable. They are strong,
enduring, supple, courageous and
hardy. In all respects they are more
beautiful and more engaging.
Yet there are points in their devel-
Opment which they have neglected,
and Miss Jenness does mot seem to lay
due stress on them. Very few of them
carry themselves with real grace, and
fewer still walk gracefully. They
stumble along as if impeded by i'll
fitting shoes. They cultivate every
other faculty and capacity, but they
leave their. speech unframed. They
have not beautiful voices A sweet
voice, clear, soft distinct, well modu-
lated, melOdiOus, from the chest and
not the head, how rare it is among
American women How rare, too, i
it to hear really correct pronuncia-
tiOn; a voice as agreeable to the ear as
that of Miss Edwards % Mrs. Kendall,
and a pronunciation as pure and cnl-
tivated.
But the accomplishment is attain
able. 1t is necessary only that cbil-
dren should be taught to speak prop
erly, that their voices and their Ian
guage should be trained with some
thing of the care and attention be-
slowed on teaching them to play on
the piano or conduct themselves grace.
fully in dancing. The teachers of elo-
cutiOn as applied to oratory are usually
humbugs, but teachers of the art of
using the voice, actually acquainted
with the scientific methods of training
the speech, are a prime necessity. 1t
is possible to get rid of the discords we
hear so frequently; the fatness, the
shrillness, the indistinctness, the nasal
quality, the false mOdulation, the dis
tressing emphasis.
Here is a reform which demands the
attention of everybody. Itis infinitely
more important than the reforms
which constitute the usual stock in
trade of the reformers of the day. Ho "
lovely, how faultless would our beauti-
full girls be if only their speech were
always melOdiOus, and they moved
with easy grace and litheness.--Ne,U
York Sun.