The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-12-16
Burmese Women.

AsufAAoso WOH20ns
A village belle comes to take her seat at
the theatre The place is crowded with
people sitting On mats spread on the
ground. She is perfectly self possessed,
though conscious of general criticism. A
dainty wreath of jasmine is placed tiara
wise just below the neat coils of shining
black hair. She Wears a spotIess white
jacket. with tight titIiug sleeves, and over
Que shoulder d maize colored scarf Is
thrown. With every swaying movement
of her 1.-the limbs the gay colors of her
narrow silk peiticoat glance and play in
the light of the farlng torches. When
she reaches the mat that serves as the
family box she sits smilingly down and
leans on one arm, and gradually turns
the hand around inward until the elbow
is bowed outward in front.
The general impression is one of supple
grace, but IL we watch this girl walking
through the village by ordinary daylight
We shall see that she swings her arms
backward and forward in time with the
circllng sweep OF her outturned feet. And
further, when resting during The cool of
the evening unobserved i'll the recesses of
the resthouse, We may see little maidens,
scarce promoted to the dignity OF clothes.
practiclng again and again these curious
motions and attitudes. Our criticism of
the same attitudes varies with our own
feelings, aud the secret of the illusion at
the theatre is perhaps in the nature of the
surroundings.
Iu the early morning. under the open
sky, Il with the hard business of the
day before US, We looked with the cold
eye OF the foreigner; in the. evening,
when tired, but with our troubles be-
hind us. we were able to enter into the
chlldren's play, amused and half under
standing, but at night we leave the house
aud everything of English in it, and sit
ting in the midst of a Burmese crowd are
able 10 understand their modes of
thought and their standards of beauty
magazine of ART.
Thorean's Tribute to Miss Emerson.
In Thoreau's Journals sometimes por-
traits are sketched-as. for example, in
November, 1851, that of Miss Mary Emer-
son, the aunt and early i~nspirer of Emer-
son, the poet. Although n religious per-
snn, OF the old fashioned Unitarian faith,
Miss Emerson took the greatest interest
III horeau and deserves the compliment
which he here pays her. He says in his
journal
"The wittiest and most vivacious
woman l know-certainlv that woman
among my acquaintance whom it is most
profitable to meet; the least frivolous,
who will most surely provoke a good con-
vetsation. 1t Is perhaps her greatest
praise and popularity that she. more
surely than any other oma gives
her companion occasion to utter his
best thought. In spite Of her own
blases she can entertain a large
thought with hospitality, and she is not
prevented by any intellectually in it, as
women commonly are. Thus she is cap
able OF a masculine appreciation of poetry
and philosophy.
In short, she is a genius, as woman sell
dom IS. reminding you less often of her
sex than any woman whom / know. I
never talked with any other. who 1
thought accompanied me so FAR in des-
cribiug a poetic experience. Miss Fuller
is the only other | think of In this con-
n%ection. aud of her rather from her fame
than from my knowledge of her. Miss