Democratic Sentinel, Volume 5, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 July 1881 — Grecian Beauty. [ARTICLE]

Grecian Beauty.

Much has been said in praise of Grecian beauty, and the men are hand som in every sense of the word. We might well imagine them to have been the models of Phidias and Praxiteles. Their large eyes, black as jet, sparkle with glances of fire, while the long, silky, eyelashes soften the expression and" give a dreamy appearance of melancholy. Their teeth are small, white and well set; a fine regular profile, a pale-olive complexion and a tall, elegant figure realize an accomplished type of distinction. As to the women, they seem to have left physical perfection to the men; some possess fine eyes and hair, but as a rule they have bad figures, and some defect in the face generally spoils the good features. It is among them, however, that the old Oriental customs are most strictly preserved; while the men are gradually undergoing the process of civilization they, in a moral point of view remain stationary, and are just as they were fifty years ago. It may, indeed, be said that, with the exception of Athens, the women possess no individual existence, and count as nothing in society. The men have reserved every privilege for themselves, leaving to their helpmates the care of the house and family. In the towns, where servants are kept, they are of the poorest class of peasants, who know nothing, and receive miserable wages. The families are generally large —seven or eight little children demand a mother’s constant attention. The morning begins by directing the work of each servant, repeating the same thing a hundred times, scolding, screaming, even beating them, to be understood. In the evening, when the children are sleeping, if there remain some little time, the poor, worn-out mother sits down to her spinning-wheel to spin silk, to sew or knit, if it be summer-time, to look after her silk-worms and cocoons, happy if she has not to do the work of her incompetent servants over again.