The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1896-02-07

4 Century Ago Things Were Different,
Then Beauty Was the Exception,
Now 1t u the Rule-HOw the
Change IL Accounted For. -,
Several English medical journals
have recently called attention to fact,
sustained by common observation, that
the young women of the present day
are better developed physically. taller,
plumper, stronger and healthier than
the young woman of fifty, one hundred,
one hundred and fifty or two hundred
years ago, and that in this continuous
and perceptible improvement OF condl-
ton and aspect there are no steps back
ward.
One journal has called attention to
the circumstance that whereas CEN
fury or two ago handsome woman in
spired sentiments. Of such admiring
curiosity that her arrival or departure
drew vast crowds and rewarded the
patient waiting of hundreds. beauty OF
the same sort is so general nowadays
as to evoke no ripple of excitement. 1t
is no longer SO rare that it commands
peculiar attention, says the New York
Sun. Again, the portraits OF women OF
acknowledged loneliness preserved in
many houses and galleries, or public
buildings, and wondered ut for many
years, cannot stand comparison with
many living countcnanccs whose good
looks are SO little beyond the ordinary
as to inspire neither poet, painter, COM
poser nor sculptor with subject for
rhapsody in sonnet, on canvas, by lyric,
or in marble.
But the change, to which English
writer's on hygiene allutlc il scientific
phrase and without passion or emotion.
is not limited to their field Of personal
observation. The tendency of women
to grow handsomcr. ant! Of women no
longer young to remain beautiful, has
its manifestation here, too, and In ample
and Indispensable degree.
It shows itself in many ways, but
most pronounccdly, perhaps. III photo
graphs. 1t is not 81 many years since
the display of Il bcauty'S i;ortr.it drew
crowds, and resulted IL the sale OF thou
sands of copies. Nowadays this indus
try languishes. Photo yraphcrs' special
favorites are at Il discount. In the
windows, on the shelves. or in the
showcases the examples of beauty and
loneliness are too numerous to justify
much discrimination. AS many por-
traits are sold as heretofore, but the
preference Of purchasers Is more diff
fused. With the lcightcning of the
standard of comclincsS individual cases
of superior excellence are no longer
marked.
Another illustration of the change to
which we refer is to be found on any
fashionable thoroughfarc. Years ago,
in New York. broadway was the focus
of admiring sightsccrs, and pretty
woman was gazcd upon long and won
deringly on the popular promenade.
To-day nobody thinks of travelling any
great distance in New Yorl. to behold
the spectacle of pretty women, or to
give them more than 4 passing glance.
They are to be seen everywhere, up
town and down. on side streets and on
thoroughfarcs, in stores and public con-
veyances, in doors and out.
On the stage, too, it is no longer Gus
tomary to advertise ''bcautics" in the
fashion once in vogue, The description
is super1uous. Handsome and attrac-
tive women arc the rule and no longer
the exception. The absence of talent
rather than of beauty is the theme now
adays, the fact which confounds dis
eliminating patrons, critics and observ-
ers. Generally speaking, the proper
ton of handsome women is larger than
it used to be, and uncomeliness is
diminished corrcspondingly. The true
causes of tl; latter effect are probably
two:
l. Improved health, the result of a
more scientific mode of life, better n.y.
gienic cont,i. ION. larger latitude in out
door exercise. better nutrition, better
physical c:!ltrrc and scftcning and
equalizinG of the climate; and
2. Better taste in dress. the introduce
ton Of new AMI becoming methods OF
attire, improved style, a greater varie.
ty of fabrics and of cOlors, and such
cheapening of materials for girls
wear rs 10 Dr1nB tncm WlGnlU tne reach
of all.
Such, then, are the causes of the
changes, observed and commented upon
on both sides of the Atlantic, which
mark distinct advance in the average
| comeliness of women. They are grow
ing handsomer as the world grows
older. 1t cannot be said that this is Of
6cially proved anywhere in records ani
documents: but unless the masculine
eye has been dazed and the taste bluptet
by the increase of female distinction
and beauty it should be reflected by al
iroroo in flaa \ FRI ROT 10 md thu