Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-02-03
CMItiOGting

nv stM, W."


tan years ago"
The photograph shows young look
ms woman an ABSOLUTELY charaoterless
tAoe. The chin receded, the mouth. rather
wide. set in loose, uncertain lines. the
shoulders had pathetic droop, and the
hands and feet showed prominently The
thin. wispy hair was drawn tightly back
from the forehead. and the gown did not
At all belong to the figure which It COW
cred.
Altogether, II was the photograph OF
woman apparently. foredoomed to failure
ard wall-flower all her days. Yet,
welLdressed. fascinating matron. soci-
ally, successful. and the wife OF a prom
insnt man. had just said; This is my
picture taken ten years ago"
when I realized how unattractive
was" she explained, (which did from
q conversation unwittingly overheard. T
came near losing my grip on things. And
then little by little II was borne in upon
me that we are ourselves. realized this,
first of all. by watching for one whole
evening the acknowledged belle Of our
particular set She was the center OF
an admiring group, both Of men and OF
women.
Regarded closely, she had not single
regular feature or other claim to beauty,
nor had she any particular talent. She
was charming, with a sweet, attractive
manner, and had a low musical laugh
which matched her voice. But I remem-
hered her as an awkward. and rather
disasreeable, child in her school days.
Clearly, as she was not born with this
pleasing personality, she must have cul-
tivated It, Then and there I resolved to
do likewise.
II know costmetics had very little to do
with real beauty. Certain self-deluded
women with doubtful compilations, and
hair even more open to criticism than
mine. showed me that. Clearly, II ives a
question OF will power. of mental attt-
tude. and common sense.
Il began to avoid all foods OF a greasy
or rich nature. 1 decreased my allowance
of sweets, doubled that of fruit, and kept
my system under rigorous watch that
l might suffer from no excess or irregu-
larities. with no food admitted that was
not beneficial and easy to assiruilate, I
began to notice a change In my appear
ance. MY skin not only lost its somewhat
unhealthy look. but my eyes, became
brighter. and since the puffy look of
my face also disappeared they seemed
larger.
Il had never paid much attention TO
the way in which arranged my hair. for
! somehow thought plain ways best suited
plain face. Now, encouraged by the
change for the better in my appearance. /
began to brush my hair every night and
morning and to practice a massage
movement with my finger tips to loosen
the scalp and increase the circulation Of
the blood.
After days spent in observing differ
ent styles of hairdressing and in trying
their effect on myself, l finally adopted
loosely waved style, which flattered my
irregular features. To this I chung with
slight variations, as II threw into relief
the strong points of my style and con-
cealed many OF its flaws.
My mouth was large and rather loose
ly Tipped. but soon learned to hold Il
more firmly. and because It was my
homeliest feature I kept my teeth un-
usually well brushed.
Studying myself long and critically
before the mirror. decided which were
good lines and which were not. Since
then ] have never allowed myself to be
tempted into wearing the latter, and have
NiuIlB " Tic Wibtl NdtlhAlonSt Oh
course. TO suit the prevailing fashions.
Soon after 1 adopted the custom I had
the reputation of being a we'll dressed
woman.
ITO acquire grace. I studied pictures
which appealed to me from the point OF
view of line and pose. tried to initiate
these before the long mirror. and. in the
endeavor. 1 soon gained certain grace
and learned to make my hands and feet
appear less prominent.
Although by no means musical, took
singing lessons, in order to gain control
over my speaking voice. Finally, 1 set
myself TO acquire ease in conversation;
read the best books and went 10 the best
concerts and art galleries. With my mind
full of beautiful thoughts, it became
natural to speak of them, and. in giving
them to others. I forgot my own awk-
wardness and gradually became less self
conscious. until eventually l found my
self changing into an altogether differ
ent personality"