The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1891-10-25
BEAUTY.
WOAEEy PAST AND FRKSKNr CON.
PARED BIZ ADMIRNG ExPERTA

'Yes. she's decidedly pretty: but not half 90
pretty as her mother was ae her a9er" How
often do we hear this remark when We venture
TO praise some beauty Of the present day.
1t suggests an important question; whether
the standard OF beauty IL changing: and II so.
whether women are more or less beautiful
than thoy used TO be. This IL . question
which may. happily. DO answered TO the entire
satisfaction OF the present generation. There
can DO NO reasonable doubt that there is
Sgreator beauty now. and more Of II. than at
any previous time.
No woman has been more celebrated for her
sbesuty than Mary Queen Of Scots; but II she
lWere 10 walk unannounced into o London
drawing room to-day 1t Is doubtful she would
{oause much remark. It Is true we can hardly
lrealixe what Mary was like; We are not even
Esure Of the color Of her hair or her eyes. The
tvarious authentic portraits Of her are strange
; al shc1 us i iacS Which dIsappOisis Us
bsSu.s are sh nSs was saouSn h for &y
ESi her dsy 81 their heads and iiled her cousin
4 saoh generation making certain advance on
Son s q portraits o single family Tor throe or
ia sH ss
lgo the palmer the ancestors become. and il We
she int s VS. nd
Sc Ss hs.s sss % ths Cd
HoISslns portraits Of Henry wiz tsil q liis
Gsin can give us such iifc.like representation
s1 HsS ss he 81 hs sHs
Anne Boleyn. rs Holbein represents 1.-THE 70
san Sssa to cath e certalny not S such
(. % We should ;, ,ravo about now; And
5 S as p sSs 81 IFS stsIs soe
ta Anne Of cievss Which decided Henry to We'd
deserbsa as ieaag ana
smssed", when she appeared before him IN
feor 1 to thst Of The niasteenth and tits
degree Of beauty upon which TO form the i1eal:
Thore is u considerable advance in general
ye w as s o sno Ien
i Charles l.. Us painted BY Vandyck. are about
rft yh ,z ey 81 ne to
Healsss SSs shs iSeP iIttIs
| these. ladies' Of tho Restoration period must
! have been at least as pretty 40 their mothers.
in which they mostly resemble each other be-
ing softness and sensuousness, due t9 q not
wsn tine OF Puritan
midst Of those great masters WHO have left US
noble and beautiful in the days when George
HI was KnS Ones rst on visit
boroughs is that all tho women Of that time
must must have been lovely and the painters
tfs sitters were lseky to have such psinters.
So s sa aa It Ell ass SSs st sna + ss
not plenty OF beautiful faces among them. but
that beauty is by no means universal. and.
easily matched today. We have only to LOOK
.Ssis e Ss hss &sss
they ' wsrs '' mobbed by b.! curl curious JUS, eszers:
when they ,, were Presented at court the
npon ahas ana asbles
get glimpse Of, them. When they travelled
not mss
to- think hut We SH no stu
tss th s0 s 3y9s
yet his portraits Of them, do no reveal any
loyeliness which We SHOULD consider wonder.
IS our Ssn t da that
more OF it. and therefore it excites US less.
eyes open can fail to be struck By it. It is not
merely that there are moro beauties OF the first
fore. but that beauty has become so very gem
eral. Any one who wishes to test this has only
stream Of life rolling past him In carriages and
on foot; and II he does not see In ono after
inoldses and Gainsboroughs he knows he will
be very unfortuuate. Indeed. it IL hardly, pos:
least. our age has gone good deal ahead Of
all its predecessors.