The Tupelo journal., 1907-02-15

. N0S SA~
Its detractors, but one Of the phases
II art, a phase inspiring numerous
marvels which at all times make a at
for beauty-that "joy forever"
rs asserted by the English poet.
The fashions Of the present period
will likewise be immortalized and
transmitted to posterity by the cele-
brated painters Of to-day. the Flam-
the Makovskis and many a poet
Or lover of the beautiful will speculate
as to the history Of some fair twen-
tieth century belle in flowing draper
les, with the heightened and attenu-
ated waist, the clinging yet vague
skirt, molding her figure to perfection
over the hips and then flaring boldly
her knees; skirt made deliber-
ately longer than herself, falling
her, making her taller, form
Ing a pedestal to her beauty, adding a
languid slowness and peculiar grace
to her walk as she gently glides.
scarcely lifting the fluffy hem without
getting embarrassed in its folds.
More than one will stop before q
pair of dreamy eyes. gazing at him
from under q dark velvet toque, all
drapery with but a bird or disheveled
giant chrysanthemum giving a touch
Of color to the somber setting, the chin
of the exquisite face half buried in a
muff, all velvet and fur. lace rufles,
chiffon with a bunch Of violets or a
Marechal Mel rose peeping from out
Of the filmy clouds and try to read the
mystery of that life gathered long ago
into the no less mysterious beyond.
Man and woman will be arrested by
that stately woman in trailing sable,
ermine-lined cloak worn ~negligently
over a creation Of satin and lace, sill
yer web and diamond spangles, with a
coronet ON the naughty head.
All this will be bequeathed to pos
terity-the outline, the lights and
shadows, the richness, the grace, the
style characteristic Of the epoch.
Yet this is far from all that is need
ed by woman She must be doubly
charming by intellectual culture, by at
tainments and accomplishments, by
higher thought, by loftier ideals than
the setting-off, to it's best advantage,
of mere physical beauty, adorned by
productions of the masters
in the art of creating marvels of ele-
gance and loneliness of beautiful fab
RIGS. The most perfect beauty as to
form and features, enhanced by the
most exquisite conceptions Of the at
tire becoming her style, will say moth
ing to the heart and mind; il soul does
not shine triumphant from her eyes,
thought does not dwell on her brow,
she will be but a beautiful doll, appeal
ing only to the coarser instincts, leav-
ing the higher and nobler feelings I'M
touched. Her ~shallowness, her friv-
olous talk, her pretty smiles, her sill
very laughter, to which so much study
Is devoted, may be good for a time, a
short time only. For beauty, as all
fair things, is evanescent, and the
years tear pitilessly the wreath of roses
from off her head. Then nothing Will
remain to her except the fear and
horror of losing her adulation which
for so long has been her daily food
and which turns its flight toward 9th
err business. An empty life is what
awaits the woman who has made a god
of her beauty, has sacrificed every
thing on the altar of vanity, and more
than one has ended by taking her life
which became meaningless to her when
age had dimmed her eyes, silvered her
hair and withered the roses ON her
cheeks.
This the women of France and Italy
had we'll understood and their salons
were the field in which the genius OF a
Corneille, a Moliere, a Racine and 9TH
er great poets and writers found ex-
preston, development and encourage
ment. To assemble such men around
her, a woman must not be merely a
dressed-up doll; no matter how ex-
quisitely she is dressed she must pos
sess intelligence and knowledge, great
tact and refinement to be able to lead
the conversation, draw out the oft
times shy and modest mar of letters,
bring out his happiest thoughts, his
most eloquent flow of language, argue,
discuss to make his genius shine forth
more brilliantly-then her fan be-
comes a scepter and a leaders baton
and her seat a throne. But all this is
gone; great men are lionized, invited,
shown off for vanity's sake to friends
and acquaintances as rare animals, the
poor men being rendered greatly un-
comfortable and deeply miserable by
all sorts of incongruous questions. To
draw out a man of genius or talent, to
spur him on, woman must not be too
far below him herself in intellect, in
knowledge, in the understanding Of
greatness, in refinement of feeling and
depth of thought. Though genius n
talent are given but to the few elect,
every woman of average intelligence
may reach the attainments mentioned
If she take but the trouble Of develop
ing 1t.
Thus not every thought must be
given to fashion, to enhancement OF
the charm of the physical self, not
everything must be sacrificed on the
altar of beauty. The mind must be
adorned as we'll as the body, the last
ing must not be neglected for the per-
ishable.