Evening journal., 1900-03-22
BEAUTY IN MANY LANDS.
NO COUNTRY HAS A MONOPOLY
OF HANDSOME WOMEN.


The ideal OF beauty is not easily
gathered from the art and literature
of the peoples Of the earth. The reali-
ty-the women who pass for beautiful,
who win the attentions of the men--
may. however, be seen, thanks TO the
efforts of two German scholars, prs.
Ploss and Bartels. who have just pub
lished bulky volumes dealing with the
physical aspect Of woman in every
cline The pictures Of the beauties OF
all nations form a most Interesting ex.
hibit.
Where is the district on earth In
which feminine beauty unadorned
blooms brightest? Travellers have
agreed that there must be some land
best fitted for the Development Of
beauty. according to our canon of
taste. But in the specification Of this
district claims have been made in be-
half Of any number Of countries. Per
sia. the Caucasus, Circassia and
Georgia, Italy, Northern Spain,
France. England, Germany, Sweden,
Russia and the United States all have
their advocates. The fact Is that there
are some beautiful women in all OF
these countries. Luckily for the men,
no land has a monopoly Of beauty.
AT a beauty show. held recently in
German watering place and large.
ly attended, nineteen fair ones were
selected as prize winners. OF these
beauties one came from the United.
States. three from Belgium, six from
France. one from Italy three from
Austria, two from Prussia. one from
Poland, one from Sweden and one
from Hungary. The three high prizes
went. respectively, TO an American. an
Austrian and a Belgium. These results
are not. however. conclusive. The test.
imony of travellers of repute affords
best evidence as to the beauty Of the
women living in different parts Of the
earth.
The italian women have long been
praised for their beauty. Their chief
claim to distinction in this respect
rests upon their dark eyes and their
plastic forms.
The women of Sicily are blessed with
little beauty. They seem to preserve
the poverty of feature Of the various
races combined in them.
The following opinion Of American
women is worthy of consideration.
coming, as it does, from so high an
anthropological authority. though we
may think it prejudiced "rhe Yank-
ees in the course Of time have devel-
oped a specific race. The outward
form of the women proves it. An un-
about his fellow country-women,
They have no bones, no muscles, no
stamina-they have nothing but
nerves. And what else was to be ex.
pected Of them? Instead Of bread,
they eat chalk; instead of wine. they
drink ice water. They wear tight cor.
sets and thin shoes" European obser-
vers say that the maidens of the
United States. especially Of the North.
ern and Eastern States, betray a wo-
full lack Of vitality, in spite Of all their
bodily excellence, their interesting pal.
lor, their winning beauty and enticing
charm.
Prince Roland Bonaparte said OF the
women of Surinam :-"While young
the women are beautifully formed,
and the softness of their skin, not
withstanding its color, might arouse
the envy of many a European lady"
Egyptian women generally possess
well shaped small hands and feet aud
walk gracefully. Their deep, dark eyes
at times kindling mystically, then
slumbering mildly. and their chief
charm. They preserve the characters.
tic beauty Of the women Of ancient
Egypt, among whom was Cleopatra.
The Arab maid is n bit of Orienta!
poetry-the phosphorescent black hair
the deeply dark longing Of her glance,
the shapeliness Of her form, making
of her the chief theme Of Arab poets
Among the negroes of the Soudan a
woman with Caucasian features is es.
teemed beautiful by the negroes, but
she is an exception.
The Arabs are over fond Of captur.
ing Abyssinian girls for their harems.
The round faces of these girls, their
arched foreheads, round chins, often
make them not unlovely even to Eu.
ropean eyes.
Some Of the Basutos. Of South Afrl.
ca, are really well built, while among
the zulu-Kaffirs are many faultless
forms, with intelligent heads and ply,
siognomies.
The most striking result Of the study
Of woman as she is found among the
different nations is in the variety she
presents. Extending the study little
further an additional fact is ascer
tained. and one not before known-in
old age the lines Of demarcation be.
tween the races are almost wiped ont.
Even the color Of the skin changes. II
is the exceptional woman who retains
all the marks of race in old age. moi
to speak of the traces of beauty. Tho
pictures of the old women here given
prove this point conclusively. But the
difference between the civilized and
uncivilized races lies in the POSTPONE
ment of old age. The savage forces
the woman to perform such hard In.
L.