The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-03-30
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When you come to think of 1t, isn't 1t
astonishing how few women enc sees
over 40 with a really pretty mouth? Ply
siognomists say that character is best
read from the eyes, but surely the mouth.
surrounded as it is by a network of sem
sitive muscles gives surest indication of
the disposition. The storm and stress eff
life tell terribly on the mouth. Men early
in life learn the value Of perfect control
of that sensitive feature. or. ii may be
hidden by a mustaches but in woman it
too often proves to be a traitorous be-
trayer of her secrets!
Does she take life gloomily, austerely,
there is in time a certain hardness of
lines not pretty, to say the least; is she
not easily satisfied, then the pretty droop
of the bps. not unbecoming in girlhood,
gradually forms Into two downward
curves. which plainly ndica discon-
tent; is she quick-tenpered. but given to
repression Of emotion, the mouth tightens
and the lips become but a straight Incl
The woman who remains pretty after
the meridian of life is, unless she possess
extraordinary beauty, the woman who mas
a sweet expression; her mouth Is neither
hard nor dropping nor viragoishly thin;
If 1t curves. it curves upward, it parts
easily in a smile. but whether in laugh
ter or in sadness It expresses amlapIllty.
But such a mouth is rare indeed!
recall but one woman, who having
passed the age Of 40. still possesses a
really beautiful mouth; physically, 1t Is
true, It is perfect, but it is the express
sion which is even more remarkable than
the perfection of outline. Fate has not
been kind to its o~wner-small wonder
would it be If it were straight or shrew-
dish-but not SO. The natural sweetness
of the woman is Indicated in every. line;
a smile lies ever ready, even in mo-
ments of deepest sadness it has a kin
of quivering sweetness; her lips are
never hard. never tense. and one reads
there that ffrmness of purpose is closely
allied with unusual amiability- People
who see her for the first time remark
her sweet expression-a remark which
would not be made SO often were the
cause more common. Couldn't we culti-
vate this sweetness, then? Isn't it
worth while for women approaching the
Rubicon of middle age to watch those
-reacherou lines; NOT to wait till they
are set and then rush to a masseuse to
rub them away2 How can this he avoid
ed. this hardness2 Why, easily. Don't
be gloomy; don't dwell on disagreeable
things; look on the bright side of life;
try to be optimistic-in a word cultivate
the art of living cheerful.
A plain woman need never feel dis
couraged if she is clever. By studying
herself and her possibilities she can
produce a result which will almost, If
not quite, equal beauty, and she has
this great advantage, that her attrac-
tions never fade, and are even apt to
increase, rather than lessen, as she
grows older. "a pretty woman Is loved
for a while, but an ugly woman forever"
is a French saying, which must be
true, as it has passed into a proverb,
and which is comforting to those who
have not the fatal gift of beauty"
The most matter-of-fact women who
enter a restaurant with the Spartan de-
termination to live by bread and coffee
alone seem to find 1T a physical impossi-
bility to face the naughty stare of the
lady in waiting and give their humble
order without first making a bold pre-
tense of earnestly searching through the
bill of fare for some favorite dish, and
finally declaring in unison:-HWell. l
never am hungry for lunch, anyway"
Women no longer dread. meeting each
other at the restaurant and luncheon
counter for fear of financial conse-
quences, for it is easier TO stand treat
than to get on a jacket single-handed
with the present fashion in sleeves.
The woman who from necessity OF
haste takes ner monday ecIair seated on
the dizzy heights of the luncheon stooi
may wear an expression of complete en-
joyment, but in her secret soul she i
burdened with a sense of deep humiiia-
tion at her position, and the uplifting
of her eyes is IN accompaniment to the
fervid prayer that no woman friend also
on economy bent may chance in to dis
cover her plight.
So many would-be entertainers do not
care for tea themselves and are quite
sure that their guests share the lack of
taste therefor, and some of them are
holding what they call a kaffee klatsch
instead of am afternoon tea. The result
is about the same, in making it what
DR.. Holmes called one of these func-
tions:-sGiggle, gobble, git But the
yiands consist of coffee and some small
favorite German cakes, in the place Of
the cup of oolong and the. dry little
wafer.
Shining, spotless, brasses add much to
the appearance of a parlor, and no matter
how handsome orftAsteful the room may
be. if the brasses are not kept bright