The daily critic., 1890-10-03
THE WOMANLY WOMAN
STANDARDS OF W0MANLINESS AS OP-
POSED TO THOSE OF MANLINESS.
Assumptions Of Mascuiine Manuerisms
by women-Power OF the Womaniy
woman in the Home and
in the World

IN the world.
in these days when so many women
sre assuming portions Of masculine
dress, and with It possibly a degree of
masculine mannerism, It is well TO keep
before the eye some Of the standards of
womanliness, says Hgrper's Btz1r It
does not follow that a woman Is neces-
sarily OF Extensively strong minded, to
lor1ow an unmeaning phrase, because
she has assumed masculine fashions ia
dress as far as practicable; but, rather,
that she has reached the conclusion that
that is the most convenient and becom
ing dress to her, or that It happens to
be a whim in her own especial coterie to
dress that way. Yet If the contrary
were tue, the fact Of
STRONG MINDED REGULARITY
would not at all affect her womanliness,
since the point has been yielded that
women really do have minds and may
use them. But the truth Is that we
cannot quite disassociate a woman from
her dress, and she loses, perhaps, a
little effect Of tenderness, loses a little
rendering of Difference by means Of It,
If IL Is Of the manly order.
The first element Of our idea of
womanliness Is, Of course, external, and
Is derived from gentleness Of bearing,
from movements not so soft as to be
subtle, not so slow as TO be indolent
yet there may even be swift and brisk
motion, with this ideal In action re-
tanned, provided there be nothing rude
OF boisterous, and the personality be
sufficient to buoy up the idea-slow
movements better becoming a large
woman, and a slight woman losing
nothing by those more rapid. This,
| howeveT-that which first arrests the
eye-is a mere superficial thing, and is
/ like the expression Of the face, where a
bold and defiant cast Of countenance re.
| pels and seems unfeminine, and a sweet
and kindly one tells
AN ATTRACTIVE STORY OF THE INNER
NATURE.
1t Is in this inner nature, as Il ex-
| presses itself outwardly, after all, that
this quality lies which we are in the
habit of calling womanliness. II is In
the gracious exterior Of kindness, the
sincere and delicate courtesy that would
put all about one at ease; the shrinking
| from evil even in the hearing OF it, to
say nothing of refusal TO speak evil
the ready sympathy that is sorry with
your sorrow and glad with your Joy.
that knows how to give comfort and
cheer and put the bright side forward
to oppose dependency the opening OF
arms to the child that knows It's wei
| come there, be the child strange or
familiar; tits, on occasion, the smoother
speech than any flow Of words-the
| NWEfFh nN giIUrntHH O.
smile,
THE MUSICAL VOICE,
the unobirusive sacrifice, the capacity
for reverence; and. when all the rest Is
said, IL Is the Carb and garment put on
with just the right touch, the sufficient
| regard for appearance, the choice Of
well blended colors, the due attention
| To- laces and ribbons and perfumes and
flowers, and those things which are the
distinctive tTifles OF femininlty.
To every distinct quality belongs Us
own kingdom. The woman who can
stride round her farm and keep her
workmen in proper subsection, who can
drive her yoke Of oxen nfield, red and
bloused and muscular has her own
rule and empery; but II Is not Of the
sort Of which We are speaking. There
was not, perhaps, much wOmanliness
about such individuals as Elizabeth Of
England, or Catherine OF Russia, or
Christina Of Sweden; all their lovers
put together could not give them
charm they did not possess-the charm
OF Mary Stuart, Of Josephine; for
THE POSSESSION or LOVERS
by no means proves the possession Of
this charm. Yet where one accom-
| TaIFahnu hHW HuHa NtNr - H.rHwTaHtaa
and manner, many women accomplish
theirs By using the iron hand, Il may
be, but always In the velvet gloye
their will is no less strong, because Il Is
not made evident In season and out Of
season, although, In fact the graceful
yielding Of that will now and then is a
strengtheneT of all the bonds by which
empire is held
The masculine woman Is strong only
with other women and with Womanish
men. The wOmanly woman cOnquers
every one. With men her power Is in
the inverse ratio Of her approach 10 any
thing resembling themselves; the
woman, not the man In her, attracts;
and, singularly enough, her power Is
greater with most WBmen also from
this heightening Of her feminine side
| This, however, Is a very significant
matter beside the Circumstance that a
woman Is fulfilling her destiny, and
living the life appointed her, and de-
veloping herself on the lines Of nature,
by keeping in view the great use she
can be, and
THE GREATER JOY AND COMFORT
she can give, through the exercise Of
those traits which seem 10 have been
set apart for her Characterization. Aud
If Il is the intention of nature that the
qualities Of the sexes shall so differ
euiiate, il is not the part Of wisdom for
her 10 COntTaYene such intention and
make Of herself that ConglOmeTaie aud
hybrid thing, a masculine woman, The
old story Of the vine and the oak does
not come int8 this question In the
WCmanly woman the growth is as strong
and integral and self supporting as il is
In the manly msn. She Is as distinct
an entity, and she is more IN unison with
eternal purposes and the creative power,
The more utterly and thoroughly she Is
wCmanly.
ENED E0R ASgAUTT