The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-11-07
Mrs. Beatrice Forbes Rob < ertson Hale, English By
 Birth, But American Res : ident, Praises Auditors.

There are more ladies today in America than in any other country in the history of the world" said Mrs. Beatrice Forbes Robertson Hale, ac- tress and lecturer, English by birth but American by residence, speaking yesterday afternoon before the mem bers and subscribers to the Bridgeport Art League in The Stratfield on ''The Lady, Her Rise, Domination and Fall < Mrs. Hale is a brilliant and forceful speaker who holds her audience with out effort. Her address, because Of originality of many of the ideas which it expressed, was one of the most in teresting and enjoyable that the club has listened to in several seasons.
 The lady, according to Mrs. Hale, was result of her husbands desire to show the importance of his position in life, by the fact that he could SUD- port her in absolute, idleness and su- preme luxury. The better that he could do this, the greater wealth had he. In the Orient this desire man. ifested itself in different ways, some times in collection of beautiful wo- men in the haren, sometimes in phy-
 
 her feet were bound and kept from growing so that she could not even walk. or in Thibet where iron collars were placed about her neck in child. hood to e1ongate and stiffen it so that she could not look upon the ground and could eat only with difficulty. Clothes have also had much to do with the making of the lady. In the beginning both men and women wore elaborate folds of expensive materials to designate their stations in life but as the mans life became more ac- tive he began more and more to suit his clothing to his actions and left the wearing of the more cumbersome and ornate garments to his wife.
 Men nowadays said Mrs Hale, "don't have to wear emblems of their success in life because they can wear them through their wives, which they do"
 The lecturer traced the history of ladies from the Greek woman to the present time. The Roman woman, she said, with her love of power, not in her own right but exerted through men. her brilliancy in conversation, her social activities and her laxness of morals was more closely related to the women of New York, Chicago and other great cities of the country than were any of the other ancient wom- en.
 During the middle ages and the, Renaissance the ladies enjoyed con- siderable power, and education due to the fact that they had to conduct the affairs of the castle while their hus- bands were away at war and also that they had much spare time in which to perfect their reading, writing, mu- sic and other accomplishments. They then wore loose flowing gowns which were sanitary and admitted very free movement Then. too, each castle had its bath, survival of the Roman days
 It was during the Renaissance, ac cording to Mrs. Hale, that the foun- dation in our civilization of modern usefulness because of clothes was laid. For the first time the waist was in- troduced and with the waist, the first form of the corset At the same time the bath also seemed to disappear. This meant that with the appearance of the waist and the, corset, then of ten in it's horrible iron forms, the lady could |ot exercise and with the dis appearance of the bath she could not thus keep her physical health. All hope of the physical development of women waned for 300 years. This did not of course, apply to the peas ant women who, because of their physical activity were always healthy and well developed.
 The fall of the lady came with the abolition of the slave and serf class. The day of the lady has struck, &C., cording to Mrs Hale. they are inter- ested now in being cultivated but they are also interested in a great many things and they no longer care to live in complete id1eness and luxury