Some, again, have tried to disparage beauty by maintaining that it is only "skin-deep," skin-deep," a notion which has found its way into proverbial lore. The literature of the past contains sundry allusions to this idea, and in the Rev. Rob. Fleming's poems (1691) we are reminded that

Beauty is but skin-thick, and so doth fall
Short of those statues made of wood or stone."

And in Ralph Venning's "Orthodoxe Paradoxe (1650) it is said that

"All the beauty of the world 'tis but skin-deep, a sunneblast defaceth ;"

which is not unlike Sir Thomas Overbury's lines in his poem, "A Wife ”

And yet there is much truth in the Hindu adage, "The eyes love beauty, the heart loves wisdom, for, as it has been observed elsewhere, there is no denying the truth of the old French proverb, "It is not the greatest beauties that inspire the most profound passion;" and to the same purport is the German adage, “One cannot live on beauty."

I See Notes and Queries, 6th, xii. 127.

Τ

CHAPTER III

WOMAN'S DRESS

'HE true ornament of a woman," writes

Justin, "is virtue, not dress;" but the love of finery, whether rightly or wrongly, has always been held to be one of the inherent weaknesses of womankind, and an old proverb says that "'tis as natural for women to pride themselves on fine clothes as 'tis for a peacock to spread his tail," with which may be compared an Eastern proverb, "A woman without ornament is like a field without water." But, perhaps, there is some excuse for this love of vanity, especially as dress pleases the opposite sex, it being popularly supposed in Spain that "A well-dressed woman draws her husband from another woman's door." It is said in Japan that "An ugly woman dreads the mirror," and some allowance must, therefore, be made for her desire to make up, in some measure, by dress what she lacks in good looks,

although the proverb runs in Italy that "ugly women finely dressed are the uglier for it." This, however, must not be regarded as the popular verdict, a Tamil aphorism being not far wrong when it recommends us to "put jewellery on a woman and to look at her, and to plaster a wall and to look at it," implying that both will be improved by care. This advice, says Mr. Jensen, I is generally given by a mother to one who confesses that her daughter is not exactly a beauty. Even Ovid was forced to complain that "dress is most deceptive, for, covered with jewels and gold ornaments everywhere, a girl is often the least part of herself;" with which may be compared the expression of Euripides, which is to this effect, "She who dresses for others beside her husband, makes herself a wanton.

It has long, however, been a familiar adage in most countries that "fine feathers make fine birds"; for, as the Spanish say, "No woman is ugly when she is dressed ;" and, according to the Chinese proverb, "Three-tenths of a woman's good looks are due to nature, seven-tenths to dress; a piece of proverbial lore which holds good in most countries.

It is not surprising that woman's dress has been much caricatured by wits and satirists, and been made the subject of many a piece of proverbial lore. As Plautus observed of a certain young lady, "it's no good her being well dressed if she's badly mannered; ill-breeding mars a fine dress

I "Tamil Proverbs," 1897, p. 382.

more than dirt"-in other words, he meant to imply that dress is oftentimes deceptive and creates a false appearance, which is not in keeping with the woman who wears it. Many of our old proverbs are to the same effect, an oft-quoted one affirming that "fine clothes oftentimes hide a base descent," with which may be compared the following: "Fine dressing is a foul house swept before the doors," an illustration of which Ray thus gives"Fair clothes, ornaments and dresses, set off persons and make them appear handsome, which, if stripped of them, would seem but plainly and homely. God makes and apparel shapes. Extravagant dress has been universally condemned as emblematic of bad taste, and, among Hindustani proverbs on the subject, a woman too showily dressed is described as "yellow with gold and white with pearls." A Tamil proverb, speaking of an elaborately-dressed woman, says, "It is true she is adorned with flowers and gold, but she is beaten with slippers wherever she goes; in other words, such a woman, however well dressed, is a bad character, and must be treated with scorn; a variation of this maxim being thus: "If you dress in rags and go out, you will be an object for admiration, but, if you dress up nicely and go out, people will speak ill of you," thinking that you are an overdressed woman, and, therefore, inclined to be fast. Among German proverbs we are reminded that "A woman strong in flounces is weak in the head."

In Hindustani proverbial lore an old woman

extravagantly dressed is contemptuously described "as an old mare with a red bridle," and "a gay old woman with a mat petticoat," and, according to another proverb, when a young girl not gifted with good looks is seen elaborately dressed, it is said, "On the strength of what beauty do you deck yourself thus ?

The inconsistency of dress when the home is poor and shabby has been much censured, an Eastern proverb running thus-" Nothing in the house and she sports a topaz ring," with which may be compared another saying, "Nothing to eat or drink in the house, and the lady of it very proud."

But the chief charm of a woman's dress is consistency, as it is thus expressed in a Sindhi proverb

"As the wall so the painting,

As the face so the adornment."

Similarly, it is commonly said that "fine words dress ill deeds, and hence we are told on the Continent," the swarthy dame, dressed fine, deceives the fair one." It may be remembered, also, that the same idea occurs in "The Taming of the Shrew" (act iv. sc. 3):

:

"What, is the jay more precious than the lark,
Because his feathers are more beautiful?

Or is the adder better than the eel,

Because his painted skin contents the eye?"

Accordingly proverbial lore in most parts of the