New-York tribune., 1903-02-06
6be Decay of Beauty.
BY LADY JEUNE.

Looking at the pictures and miniatures Of by
gone age one often wonders whether beauty is
real beauty is absolute that discussion and dis
gift as ndisputabe as the briiliancy Of the sur
or the tender light of the moon and the traditions
ana talth of our early teaching hnger long and die
hard Our phases OF belief and standard OF
which admired and remembered as children
horrihes us as we look back on it from the expert
through their eyes The Old nurse. a fat. chubby
the object of boys alteration. and. though there
girls the representation Of their idea Of 6eauts
was not OF much higher class Beauty IS regaTded
and there are many who declare that the beauty
the past. and that while the standard of good
roohs are from tbd ane improTement IN dress depGa
the individual cases of rare, astounding and glori-
There is. no doubt however. that while those who
remember bygone generations, have the same , ex.
period it is TO pictures that must look TO form
the world to-day is less than three hundred
years ago The pictures Of Sir Peter Lely and and
idea of what we now consider beauty. The pict-
men and the pictures by Holbein Of Henry viii
are those of a magnificent man Indeed. all the
yey, the idea Of great physical beauty; at any rate
made men. though the less romantic and pictu-
rescue 5 ncre o r tb Women of those days do not
impress with high standard of what we con-
slider beauty. They all more or less of a manly
type and do not convey any idea of the delicacy
beauty queen Elizabeth is wonderful in appear
and expression, but she is not beautiful There
magnifcence of apparel. but any real charm is
sne d is t woman 20 @ heT v n9c ar 80 Simply
ugly. When We get to the highest exposition or
beautiful bewitching unhappy Mary stuart-we
are fairly bafiled for though there is grace and
which was the cause of bloodshed. conspiracy and
crime. and exptated It's sins on the block at ROTH
eringay. The beauty Of Mary Stuart must nave
been no dream, no matter of opinion. for the men
from a passion inspired by her dazzling and un-
neeTanafv WitE ali fhs cbarn of her French
training and education turned the heads and won Won
that is hardly reason enough for TIE power she
possessed ID over every one she came can aGFISs IKE
beauty great enough to make such havoc as char-
small miniature of Mary Stuart which conveys
even impression of the charms she must have
Vandyke does at strike note. and his
men and women are not only beautiful. but dis
are heroes OF romance. from the dignity and
pathos OF Charles to the the gallant - demean0T 1 OF
their self-possession their air of breeding. make
that attribute and the ladies whom Sir Peter Leiy
portrayed, though less refined and OF dlnerent
of being So
If we pass over the pictures of the next years.
comprising the reigns of Queen Anne and the early
Georges, they depict beauty, not OF the tndis-
dent on a picturesqueness Of dress and costume,
which also gave a grace and dignity to the ap-
pearance OF those who rich enough to be
painted. Queen Anne herself was not beautiful.
and Sarah Duchess of Marlborough, though fine,
commanding figure had not much of the grace or
dignity with which Vandyke endowed his women;
while most family pictures Of that day represent
race OF stern and hard featured women. though
the fashions not either unbecoming OF ex-
travagant.
1t is not, however. till the days Of Reynolds and
Gainsborough and Romney that we are compelled
to admit that there may be some truth in the
opinion of many that there more real beauty
in England in those times than there is to-day
There women more beautiful and comely,
none better endowed with the ease grace and sim
pltcity which great beauty gives. than the women
of their day, whose pictures adorn our homes, and