Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-10-30
Declared by All the Experts to Be
Far More Attractive Than
THE LADIES OF THE OLDEN TIME.
Asia Has the Loveliest Women to Be Found
in the Old World.
CHANGES IN THE TASTE FOR BEAUTY

anu IL 50, Wuetuef WOluen are uOT6 OF less
beautiful than they used to be. This is
question which may, happily, be answered
to the entire satisfaction of the present
generation. There can be no reasonable
doubt that there is greater beauty now, and
more Of it, than at any previous time
A writer in the 81. James Gazette penned
the above and drew the following from an
"Old Traveller" in the PaUMaH Gazette: II
strikes me, when I come to regard this
theme, pen in hand, that to enumerate the
plain women of the world would be an
easier task than to reckon up the beauties.
On that point an old traveller would speak
without hesitation-if he kept his eye on
the civilized races, at least.
RUSSIAN WOMEN VERY PLAIN.
1t might be difficult to compare the ugli-
ness, respectively, of female Bosjesman
and Mosquito Indian squaw, for example.
But he would pronounce at once that the
Russian is the plainest woman he has seen
in Europe-unless, indeed, the Greek of
Greece should be put before her; one must
be careful not to say Greek unqualified, for
in the islands and the Turkish ports, where
some faint traces of HELENE blood survive,
handsome women abound.
1t becomes more and more the fashion for
wealthy members of this, the true race, to
keep house in the capital, and Athens can
show galaxy of loveliness during the win
ter, no doubt But was a summer visitor
for two months, and in that time beheld
but one face that could be termed even
passable; the girl proved to be Hungarian.
1t is not quite so bad as that in st. Peters
burg-where also resided out of the season
because the Gar was there, and very
many ladies of the court have mixed blood.
But plainness is certainly not character
istic of Slavs in general. Polish women
rank among the most beautiful in Europe;
so, 1 have understood, do Czechs The
Croats hold their own; and as for the Dal
matian Slavs, have often felt inclined to
declare that they have no rivals In rid
ing once from Cattaro to Cettinje, found
the lower stretches of that tremendous
mountain road thronged with women and
girls of the lowland-on pilgrimage, per-
haps
BEAUTY AFTER BACKsHEEsH.
Every one of them pressed close, with
hand outstretched. The even took hold of
my bride and gathered in a swarm, laugh
ing quarreling, screaming, invoking all the
saints of heaven. Such shameless beggary
T..
were comfortably and even handsomely at
tired in their graceful costume-wives and
daughters of peasants or townsfolk well to
de-
But incredible also to us would have been
the array of beauty. 1t seemed to me,
struggling through the crash, that every
young woman there was charming, and
there were hundreds of them. A sad con-
trast are tn, Montenegrins, at the summit
of that ladderlike road. The sex in Tcher-
nagora has many fine qualities, and even
virtues, 1 believe, but all of the masculine
cast. In fact, those maids and matrons
would pass for rather fine young men else
good-looking men, too,
in rough way, if they would only wash;
but, regarded from the feminine point of
view, they are indescribable failures. If
the Russian woman resembles tame bear,
the Montenegrin is a "grizzly' of the
Rockies.
Further down that same most interesting
and delightful Adriatic coast, one learns
that the Greek of Greece. who is Albanian
of course, must not be regarded as repre-
septing his ethnic stock fairly in the matter
of good looks. 1 have never visited the
Ghegghe Albanians-that is an experience
for which long beyond all others to be OBJ
tanned in Europe.
NO PARALLEL TO MONTENEGRO.
But doubtless theis women are superbly
handsome, as travellers assert who have
had better luck than I. For theirs is not a
case parallel with the Montenegrin; they
are not savages, and the one sex bears its
due proportion in beauty to the other.
have seen something of the Tosk Alba
nian clans, however, people inferior to
the Ghegghes in every way, physically and
morally. Pretty faces are common among
them; fine figures and hair, large blue eyes,
almost universal. I remember paving a
visit to Antivari after the bombardment.
Wandering about among the press of dirty
Montenegrin soldiers and picturesque Al
banians, I came upon a ruined mosque,
which had been used perhaps as hospital
it was Uttered with rags and miscel1ane-
Gus effects
A dozen young girls, in their long blue
and ends together in heap. They showed
no alarm at my appearance in the doorway.
but pressed together and stood in little |
throng, grayely staring. The action and |
the look had a curious resemblance to the |
behavior of mountain sheep under like cir |
if had approached, the resem-
blance might have been carried further. per-
haps, for mountain sheep charge promptly |
when cornered.
One would not expect more than two or |
three good looking among dozen English |
girls. 1t is my strong impression that |
Every one of these was tall, fair, rosy, blue |
eyed and pretty; several were beautiful.
ALBANIANS LOSE THEIR GOOD LOOKS.
The Ghegghe women must be among the
oveliest of Europe, if they be as much
superior to the Tosk as the men certainly
Ire. Rut Albanian good looks vanished by
migration to Greece.
The true Hellenic blood however, has
left its trace all through the Balkin PENN
'ula. Even in Greece, they aIlege, there
ire few secluded districts where the di
zine beauty of old survives; and incline
% credit it, for in the Evzone batta!ions.
'ecruited among the mountain youth, per-
ect faces of the classic cast, and tall supple
igures proportional like that of the Apollo,
nay be seen sometimes. The most famous
If those Hellenic refugees is valley in the
of Cape Matapan containing
100 households, among whom, as enthusi-
.sts declare, all the gods and godesses
# Olympus and all the finest statutes of an
iquity may be matched. 1 hope some en-
erprising artist will visit it. In Seryia
md Bulgaria also one notes girl here and
here whose regular and graceful beauty is
Iuite startling among her dull and stolid |
Iinsfolk. I make no doubt that this is an
example of Throwing back" as fnanciers
ay; the Hellenic blood asserting itself
gain. Roumanian good looks are de-
ervedly renowned, but that is an italian
L