THE GENTLE ART OF BEAUTY.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXIX, Issue 12111, 4 July 1903, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE GENTLE ART OF BEAUTY.

'-{The' Neve Idea.). THE BEAUTY OF A PLAIN WOMAN. I Nature intended everywoman;; to be beautiful. That her plans'have; been frustrated,: no one will deny; yet we expect, some degree of beauty \ in all and positive ugliness is a reproach.: Beauty is woman's birthright, and there is to; the plain woman a sort of melancholy comfortin the conviction that she ought to have been beautiful, and that some power beyond her control robbed' her of her just inheritance. -.

Very few women are really beautiful. Fewer still are hopelessly ugly. The' great majority of womankind show some trace", some slight indication, of the beauty that ought to have been theirs. The wise woman attends diligently to the little that is left her,'for she knows that she is expected to be good to look at, since she is a woman. Beautiful women have always been a tremendous power in the world; but there have been plain women who have carried things before them; plain women who have made themselves beautiful. In man's nature, God put the love of the beautiful; and when He created woman He made her beautiful, that man might love her. The law holds to-day as.it did in the ages that are gone when the'first woman smiled Adam's heart from his keeping. No man loves a woman who is not to him beautiful. A NATURAL DESIRE FOR BEAUTY. ■ All this may seem flimsy and' superficial, but it is truly one of the great laws of Nature; and it is one that women should recognise. There is a natural instinct in j the nature of a woman that gives her the ' desire to appear well. In coarse, weak natures, one observes this instinct manifested in all women of false pretences, faints and powders, hair dyes, and numberless inventions of like character are among the ' belongings of this class of women, Perhaps their condition is nqt more deplorable ' than that of the women who have lost the ' instinct—the slovenly women in whom no trace of bsauty is left. The plain woman who is- sensible, and who understands herself, her position , among her fellow-beings, and her relations to those about her, is the woman who , masters the art of looking well. She knows the value of her shred of beauty, and she enhances it,- not by miserable cosmetics and deceptions, but by actual development. ' In a certain town .there is a woman who is considered a beauty, but if one is disposed to be critical, there is scarcely a trace of beauty belonging to her. She is not deformed, unless we admit that the lack of beauty is deformity. She is of ordinary height, spare figure, and her complexion is not especially good. Her hair is the common, nameless colour that is neither light nor dark. Her eyes are blue, and not particularly well shaped. This woman is not rich, and her clothes are plain. MAKING THE BEST OF HERSELF. But she knows that she ought to have been beautiful, and she has determined to do the best she can with the material at hand. Her style is not even picturesque. Realising this, she is conventional and yet original. In the first place she has learned'' to walk well. Any woman who is not a cripple can walk well, and a slovenly gait is inexcusable, beautiful plain woman 'holds up her head, throws back her shoulders, and from her chin to her toes_ the straight line is unbroken. As an aid to this, she wears a perfect corset- • Her gown may be of three-halfpenny lawn, but her corset is a really good one. Her shoes are good and comfortable,. No woman can walk well in shoes that pinch and burn.. This beautifid plain woman throws her; weight on the ball of the foot .instead of the heel; and she is spoken of as being the fortunate possessor of a perfect figure. WATCHING THE LITTLE THINGS. Her hair, which is ordinary in colour and texture, and not abundant, 'is. ; well cared for. This woman is not an idler, and she cannot take time to "fuss" dyer her hair, !but she washes it often and brushes it when she has time. Always keeping in mind her especial and particular needs, remembering her unbeautiful ears and irregular forehead, she conforms somewhat to the prevailing style of hair dressing, making the most of a really pretty neck and dainty love-locks. The woman's brows are not fine, but she brushes them carefully. Her teeth are strong and white and she takes care of them/. Her complexion is poor, but once a day she bathes her face in hot water, then in cold. She rubs it gently with a bit of flannel drawn over her hand, and uses no cosmetics. This beautiful plain woman's dignified, graceful, carriage gives her distinction. She understands her face and knows that it was not made for arch, coquettish expressions. She has decreed for herself a quiet, gentle, womanly expression. When she is talk-

ing her eyes are bright, and she seems to enter into all that is being said to her with genuine interest. Her smile and • bow are notable, yet neither is overdone nor affected. She is always gentle and earnest, never excited or worried. She never forgets herself, never falls into ungraceful attitudes or expressions. Her .voice is soft and low, her language simple. BEAUTY OF MIND AND BODY. She knows what to do and what to. say on all occasions, though she is not a brilliant woman: Her gloves are always good, her hatsralways become her. No one ever hears her gowns described. There is nothing about her dress to cling to the memory. One knows instinctively that this beautiful, piain woman is sound and sweet, and wholesome to the core. Her heart is strong and true, and from it has grown the lovely personality. She has done her duty by herself, has made the world richer by one more beautiful woman. And this woman that She gives to her friends, to her home, is worth infinitely more because of the pains she has taken to produce something like her ideal. Women with far more natural beauty have degenerated into unlovely slovens: They have given way to worries and troubles and lack of means, weakly yielding' to influences that have ruined their bodies; aud s yet these mistaken women expect to be loved and cared for, forgetting that hearts are-govern-ed by a fixed law of attraction; ■". Among these mistaken women is she who has given up every thought of self/for her' family.-■ She has forgotten to take care: of ler own body. She is untidy, careless, unlovely. Her shoulders are stooped, her face .sallow,' her hair -uncaied for. She has "given. ;herr self to her children, but is she hot an unlovely gift? Is she the sort of .motherthey ought to have? And' her; husband;;: what of .him? Has she; been able'.tdkeep him in love .with her? -.'•;;..;, ;v.

It is the every woman to make of herself the best, the loveliest being possible, and then to give , herself sweet and true and beautiful ;tO'tho*e wbi have.a right to claim her. v-