THE LADIES

Observer, Volume 6, Issue 151, 4 August 1883, Page 11

THE LADIES

Ovid cays that in his day girls were tanght to smile gracefnlly. Marc Antony's daughter did not change her dress half a dozen times a day, as do the Saratoga graces, but she made the lamprys in her fish pond wear earrings. We are told that the ladies of Lesbos slept on roses, -whose perfume had been artificially heightened. And in those times court maidens powdered their hair with gold. The Tartars despise prominent nasal appendages and the woman who has the smallest nose is esteemed the more charming, but to outside barbarians she is a perfect fright. Lady Violet, a daughter of the late Duke of Montrose, adds consideradly to her income by writing for the press. Here is a hint for some of the aristocratic dames of Parnell, Remuera, and Ponsonb}'. A case of domestic scandal was under discussion at a tea-table the other afternoon. " Well let us, think the best we can, " said an elderly spinster. " Yes,'' said another, " and say the worst — that's the fashion." " Are your domestic relations agreeable ?" was the question jmt to an unhappy looking specimen of humanity. "Oh, my domestic relations are all right," was the reply ; " it is my wife's relations that are causing all the tronble." A lady coming out of the Divorce Court was heard to say, " I'll never get divorced again as long as I live. I didn't have half the bother burying my three husbands. Good gracious I I never dreamt that I would have such a fuss." " My face is niy fortune, sir ! " indignantly responded a fleshy young lady when her suitor delicately attempted to sound her financial prospects. "It is certainly a large one, then," dryly responded the young man as he took his hat and cane to leave. The dresses of Lollia Paulina, the rival of Agripina, were valued at £532,890. This did not include her jewels. She wore at one supper £312,500 worth of jewels, and it was a plain citiv.ens' supper. The luxury of Popprea, beloved by Nero, was equal to that of Lollia. The women of the Roman empire indulged in a " sorts of luxuries and excesses, and these were revived under Napoleon I. in France. Mdine. Tallien bathed herself in a wash of strawberries and raspberries, and had herself rubbed down with sponges dipped in milk and perfumes. Chorus of ladies to comely curate who is ascending the ladder to hang decorations : " Oh, Mr. Swectlow, do take care ! Don't go up ! So dangerous ! Do come down ! Oh ! " Rector, sarcastically : " Really, Swectlow, don't you think you'd better let a married man do that ? " " A mistress who had just hired a new cook made a tour of inspection after she had kept hor a week, and found a policeman locked up in the pantry. 'How did this man get here?' asked the lady severely. ' I'm sure I don't know,' answered the girl ? ' he must have been left over by the old cook.' " We have certain styles of beauty nowadays; so had the Greeks. They went wild over the " ideal chin " — neither sh.irp nor blunt, but gently undnlating in its outline and losing itself gradually and almost insensibly in the fulness of the neck. The union of the eyebrows was esteemed by the Romans a boauty. It is said they admired the air of dignity it gives to the face. When one of the daughters of the match-making Duchess of .Gordon eloped, it became necessary to apprise her mother of the fact. Her daughter had run away with a young lord with, whom she had been dancing at .1 ball given by the Duke of Devonshire. " Oh, heavens !" cried the poor mother, " on such a cold night, too, and without her flannel petticoat ! And to think that it is all my fault, because I wanted to set off the delicacy of* her shape to catch the Duke of Bedford. " Here is something worth knowing. A young lady went to sleep with a cat in her arms a few days since, and when the house took fire in the night the intelligent feline waked its mistress by scratching her face This forms the basis of a suggestion that the insurance companies should give away cats with the companies' names painted on their sides. Thus the cats may be made to serve as advertisements, and to save both life and property by giving timely warning in case of fire. A German paper has a rather good story about a lady who, not feeling as well as she liked, went to consult a physician. " Well, " said the doctor, after looking at her tongue, feeling her pulse, and asking her sundry questions, " I advise you — yes, I shonld advise you — ahem! — to get married." " Are you single, doctor ?" inquired the fair patient, with a significant, yet modest smile. I am, my dear lady; but it is not etiquette, you know, for physicians to take the physic they prescribe." Undoubtedly there is much idle talk about the wonderful extravagance of the ladies of the present day, their pursuit of constantly changing styles, and the luxuries demanded by those who can, or think they can, afford the expense. One would be led to suppose, in the absence of knowledge to the contrary, that these were things of modern growth. But just look at the style they used to put on in early ages, and their enormous extravagance. , ' The beauties of ancient times were just as vain as modern belles, and spent the greater part of the day at their toilet. The use of cosmetics was universal among them. Aspasia and Cleopatra (models of female beauty, it is said) both used an abundance of paint, and each wrote it treatise on cosmetic. Cleopatra used bear's grease to keep her hair from falling out. Roman ladies were so careful of their complexions that to protect them they wore masks. The Athenian women of antiquity were very studious of their attitudes and actions, and thought a hurried and sudden step a certain sign of rusticity. An Albania belle of to-day presents a rather striking appearance. She is, as a rule, gaily coifed with seed pearls and coins and enveloped in a black serge pelisse. , She uses paint on her cheeks profusoly, and her taste runs, to cherry lips, ar^d cheeks ■-. and jet black eyebrows strongly drawn.

An' !Li^ai^n\^p^^6^^^nß^T^s:y!o^^l^^j if wealthy -wi&ars »istdt-ep^^l^t^l^te :^|Y''^^^; ; ijr coloured .under-robM, /v^itli'an* overooife' f,of ~mijso£^ green velvet, the idea being taken i rom a rdf cißtid^^ half folded in its leaves. 'Thus arrayecf, a ■ ©i:i';.,' of handsome features is said to look reaiy. ofo&r'?'' witching" ■ ' ; / .'.'".''"■-'■;;■• ; V-'-The women of Spiti, in India, -wear tunics, aad-. 5 trousers of woollen stuff, with large boots, partly .-'•! ' ; of leather, partly of blanket, which , come up tej ! - the knee, and which they are fond of taking off »%:'',"■ any time. In order to get greater warmth th'ejr v often put a quantity of flour into these botitah' besides their legs. Their taste in regard tdorna- '■''■ . mente nms mutli to all sorts of rings* including; '-. no6e-rings. , . •', ;, .;•"■. A typical "woman in the interior of Africa Jet- 1 thus described : " Her naked negro" skin was* , '-.. leathery, coarse, and wrinkled ; her figure; totter- ' ing and knocked-kneed ; her. thin hair hung;|tt, , , greasy locks ; on her wrists and ankles . she had' almost an arsenal of metal links of iron, brass, <," and copper, strong enough to bind a prisoner in his cell. About her neck were hanging chains of : iron, strips of leather, strings of wooden balls, arid: heaven knows what lumber more. A curious story comes from Belgium : — " Ay • Belgian bridegroom, a few days ago, being about . to start for Paris for his honeymoon tour, was informed by his bride that she thought of concealing 1 several thousand francs' worth of lace about her, ' hoping by its sale to pay the cost of their journey.. '■ The bridegroom was not smitten with this frugal /, project, and pointed out that there were Custom; , House officers and a female searcher at Ercquelines. who were sometimes struck with an unaccountable?', fancy for examining passengers' pockets This, he said, being a timid man, and his bride, to' humour him, promised to give up her plan ; but,of course, she secreted the lace all the same with.^ out telling him anything about it. As the train. approached the French frontier the husband re- ■' fleeted that if his wifo were not searched his fears would be mocked at as having been groundless^ and he would start on his marriage career wjtk his prestige impaired. This was not desirable-— the rather was it essential that ho. should from; the outset assert his infallibility ; so when tha . train sto]3ped at Ercquelines, and the passengers, alighted, the Belgian left his bride's side for ay ', moment, and sidling up to a Custom House officer whispered : " I think if you search that ladyyonder you may find some lace." The. officer .' winked, and the happy bride was accosted with, an invitation to walk into the female searcher's room. She turned pale and tottered, but was led away, and five minutes later dismal sounds of hysterics were heard. Then the officer reappeared and said to the horrified husband^ . " Thank you, sir; it is a good capture. The ladywill be taken to prison, and half the fine will go to you." (This is a very good yarn as it stands, but of course hubby had another woman in Msr eye, and wanted to get the wife of his bosom out of the way for a while. It was a very cnte dodge. — Ed. Obs.]