since been applied to literary ladies, who were somewhat pedantic. It
is said to have originated at a literary club, where several women
assembled. A gentleman who wore blue stockings was regarded as the
lion of the menagerie; and when he was detained, it was common to
observe, “We can do nothing till the blue stockings come.” The manner
in which the phrase has ever since been used leads to the conclusion
that the members of this club were pedantic. It is now common to say
of a sensible, unaffected woman, “She knows a great deal, but has no
tinge of blue.” Byron wittily remarked, “I care not how blue a woman’s
stockings are, if her petticoats are long enough to cover them;” and
this pithy observation comprises all that ever need be said about the
cultivation of female intellect.
English history presents many instances of women exercising
prerogatives now denied them. In an action at law, it has been
determined that an unmarried woman, having a freehold, might vote for
members of parliament; and it is recorded that lady Packington returned
two members of parliament. Lady Broughton was keeper of the Gate-house
prison; and in a much later period a woman was appointed governor of
the house of correction at Chelmsford, by order of the court.
In the reign of George the Second, the minister of Clerkenwell was
chosen by a majority of women. The office of champion has frequently
been held by a woman, and was so at the coronation of George the First.
The office of grand chamberlain, in 1822, was filled by two women; and
that of clerk of the crown, in the court of king’s bench, has been
granted to a female. The celebrated Anne, countess of Pembroke, held
the hereditary office of sheriff of Westmoreland, and exercised it in
person, sitting on the bench of the judges. In ancient councils mention
is made of deaconesses; and in an edition of the New Testament printed
in 1574, a woman is spoken of as minister of a church. The society of
Friends, and the Methodists, are the only Christian sects who now allow
women to speak at public religious meetings.
A woman may succeed to the throne of England with the same power and
privileges as a king; and the business of the state is transacted in
her name, while her husband is only a subject. The king’s wife is
considered as a subject; but is exempted from the law which forbids any
married woman to possess property in her own right during the lifetime
of her husband; she may sue any person at law without joining her
husband in the suit; may buy and sell lands without his interference;
and she may dispose of her property by will, as if she were a single
woman. She cannot be fined by any court of law; but is liable to be
tried and punished for crimes by peers of the realm. The queen dowager
enjoys nearly the same privileges that she did before she became a
widow; and if she marries a subject still continues to retain her rank
and title; but such marriages cannot take place without permission from
the reigning sovereign. A woman who is noble in her own right retains
her title when she marries a man of inferior rank; but if ennobled by
her husband, she loses the title by marrying a commoner. A peeress can
only be tried by a jury of peers.
In old times, a woman who was convicted of being a common
mischief-maker and scold, was sentenced to the punishment of the
ducking-stool; which consisted of a sort of chair fastened to a pole,
in which she was seated and repeatedly let down into the water, amid
the shouts of the rabble. At Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a woman convicted
of the same offence was led about the streets by the hangman, with an
instrument of iron bars fitted on her head, like a helmet. A piece of
sharp iron entered the mouth, and severely pricked the tongue whenever
the culprit attempted to move it.
A great deal of vice prevails in England, among the very fashionable,
and the very low classes. Misconduct and divorces are not unfrequent
among the former, because their mode of life corrupts their principles,
and they deem themselves above the jurisdiction of popular opinion; the
latter feel as if they were beneath the influence of public censure,
and find it very difficult to be virtuous, on account of extreme
poverty and the consequent obstructions in the way of marriage. But
the general character of English women is modest, reserved, sincere,
and dignified. They have strong passions and affections, which often
develope themselves in the most beautiful forms of domestic life. They
are in general remarkable for a healthy appearance, and an exquisite
bloom of complexion. Perhaps the world does not present a lovelier or
more graceful picture than the English home of a virtuous family.
In modern times, no nation has produced a greater number of truly
illustrious women. Hannah More wrote as vigorously as Johnson, and
with far more of Christian mildness; Maria Edgeworth, as a novelist,
is second only to Sir Walter Scott; Mrs. Fry, who cheerfully left
the refinements of her own home, to do good to the destitute and
vicious in their prisons, deserves a statue by the side of Howard;
Mrs. Somerville, notwithstanding the malicious assertion of Byron, has
proved that female astronomers can look at the moon for some better
purpose than to ascertain whether there be a man in it; and who is
disposed to dispute lord Brougham’s assertion, that Harriet Martineau,
by her writings on political economy, is doing more good than any man
in England?
Modern literature contains abundant satire upon the vices and follies
of women; but invectives against the sex are by no means popular.
Byron indeed treats them in the true Turkish style, like voluptuous
goddesses, or soulless slaves, as his own caprices happen to be; but a
libertine will always write thus, because (as the old chronicler said
of the troubadour) “he knoweth nothing better.” Cowper, and Wordsworth,
and that sweet minstrel Barry Cornwall, have praised us in a purer and
better spirit, and thereby left to posterity a transparent record of
their own virtue.
The Irish are an extremely warm-hearted people. Their well educated
women have an innocent gayety, frankness and naiveté of manner, that is
extremely bewitching. As a people, they are remarkably characterized
by a want of foresight, and keen enjoyment of the present moment. The
style of Irish beauty indicates this; being generally bright-eyed,
fresh, and laughing. If a young couple were in love with each other,
it would, in most cases, be in vain to remind them of their extreme
poverty, with a view to inculcate maxims of worldly prudence. The
answer would be, “Sure, two people eat no more when they’re together,
than they do when they’re separate;” and when told that they may have
a great deal of trouble and hard work in rearing a family of children,
they will simply reply, “Sure, that’s what I’ve always been used to.”
They are distinguished for filial piety. The most nourishing food and
the best seat in their cabins are always appropriated to father and
mother; and the grandchildren are taught to treat them with respectful
tenderness.
The ancient custom of hired mourners at funerals still prevails in
some of the provinces of Ireland. Women will often join a funeral
procession, and unite in the lamentations with all their powers of
voice for some time, and then turn to ask, “Arrah! who is it that’s
dead? Who are we crying for?” Those who are particularly skilful in
crying are in great demand; and, as an Irishman said to Miss Edgeworth,
“every one would wish and be proud to have such at his funeral, or at
that of his friends.”
The Irish have been great believers in fairies, concerning the
existence of which they have many wild popular tales. Their literature
is generally imaginative and glowing. Some of the most attractive
female writers of the present day are of Irish origin.
The Scotch women of former times were remarkably high-minded, heroic,
loyal to their prince, and attached to ancient usages. Their character
in these respects corresponded with that of the men, and like them
they had an excessive pride of noble birth. The dress of the Highland
women was very picturesque and graceful. It consisted of a petticoat
and jerkin with straight sleeves, over which they wore a plaid
fastened with a buckle, and falling toward the feet in large folds.
The Scotch generally have high cheek-bones, blue eyes, light hair, and
countenances expressive of good sense. They are a prudent, thrifty,
and cautious people. The popular belief in a kind of fairies, which
they call brownies, is indicative of the national character. Stories
are told of industrious housewives, who have great quantities of
work performed for them by diligent little brownies, while they are
sleeping; and of notable dairy-maids, who awake in the morning and find
silver sixpences in their shoes, placed by the same invisible hands.
Scotland has produced several women of great talent, whose writings are
generally characterized by sound good sense, and accurate observation
of human nature.
It is a singular circumstance that so gallant a nation as the French
should exclude women from the throne, while the ungallant English
have a strong predilection for the government of queens. The ancient
Franks preferred kings, on account of the continual wars in which they
were engaged; and a good deal of difficulty having arisen concerning
a succession to the crown, after the death of Lewis Hutin, it was
solemnly and deliberately decreed that all females should be excluded;
and this decree remains to the present day unreversed. Yet there is
probably no country in the world where women exert such an active
political influence as in France. Under the regency of Anne of Austria,
they obtained an ascendency which they have never since lost. According
to cardinal de Retz, a revolution in the heart of a woman at that time
often produced a revolution in public affairs; and the profligate Louis
the Fifteenth was notoriously governed by his mistresses.
The Comtesse Champagne, when she presided at one of the Courts of Love,
during the age of chivalry, solemnly decided that true love could
not exist between a married pair; and it was the received maxim of
those courts in Provence, that being married was no legitimate reason
against returning the passion of a lover. To this day, the French have
a singular code of morals upon this subject; yet those who know them
well, say they are quite as good, if not a little better than their
more decorous neighbors. It is difficult to make fair comparisons; and
we gladly throw a gauze veil over the subject, _à la mode Française_.
The French are very susceptible, but not characterized by depth of
passion. The following anecdote may serve to illustrate the difference
between them and the English: A Frenchman, by the most ardent
professions, endeavored to gain the affections of a married woman in
England; and she at length became so infatuated as to propose that they
should escape to Scotland and secure the happiness of their future
lives by marriage. The volatile lover excused himself as well as he
could, and often laughed with his countrymen, when he told how much
trouble he had to escape such excess of kindness.
The French girls are kept under very strict superintendence. They are
not allowed to go to parties, or places of public amusement, without
being accompanied by some married female relation; and they see their
lovers only in the presence of a third person. Marriages are entirely
negotiated by parents; and sometimes the wedding day is the second time
that a bride and bridegroom see each other. Nothing is more common than
to visit a lady, and attend her parties, without knowing her husband
by sight; or to visit a gentleman without ever being introduced to his
wife. If a married couple were to be seen frequently in each other’s
company, they would be deemed extremely ungenteel. After ladies are
married, they have unbounded freedom. It is a common practice to
receive morning calls from gentlemen, before they have risen from bed;
and they talk with as little reserve to such visiters, as they would in
the presence of any woman of refinement.
The French are generally slender, active, and well proportioned, with
brown complexions and dark eyes and hair. The prevailing expression of
their countenances is vivacity, and their manners are characterized
by a graceful ease, which, if it be not nature, is the best possible
imitation of nature. An artificial state of society is here carried to
the utmost point of refinement. In the perpetual invention of beautiful
forms more sober nations have toiled after them in vain, scolding all
the while about French fashions, and French caprices.
The beautiful Marie Antoinette first introduced the custom of wearing
feathers in the hair. Having one day playfully stuck a peacock’s
feather among her curls, she was pleased with the effect, and called
for some small ostrich plumes. She arranged them so tastefully with
jewels, that the king declared he had never seen any thing more
beautiful. Feathers immediately brought an extravagant price in France,
and the fashion soon prevailed all over Europe.
One day the same queen put on a brown lutestring dress, which the king,
with a smile, remarked was _couleur de puce_. As soon as this was made
known, every person of fashion was eager to wear the color of a flea.
They distinguished between the various shades of a young and an old
flea, and between different parts of the body of the same insect. The
dyers could not possibly satisfy the hourly demand. The silk merchants,
finding this mania injurious to their trade, presented new satins to
her majesty, who having chosen a glossy ash color, the king observed
that it was the color of her hair. The uniform of fleas was forthwith
discarded, and every body was eager to wear the color of the queen’s
hair. Some of her ringlets were obtained by bribery, and sent to Lyons
and other manufactories with all haste, that the exact hue might be
caught.
French ladies, especially those not young, use a great deal of rouge.
A traveller who saw many of them in their opera boxes, says, “I could
compare them to nothing but a large bed of peonies.”
After the French revolution, it became the fashion to have every thing
in ancient classic style. Loose flowing drapery, naked arms, sandaled
feet, and tresses twisted, or braided, _à la Diane_, or _à la Psyche_,
were the order of the day. The want of pockets, which had previously
been worn, was obviated by sticking the fan in the girdle, and
confiding the snuff-box and handkerchief to some obsequious beau. The
reticule or indispensable was not then invented.
The state of gross immorality that prevailed at this time ought not
to be described, if language had the power. The profligacy of Rome in
its worst days was comparatively thrown into the shade. Religion and
marriage became a mockery, and every form of impure and vindictive
passion walked abroad, with the consciousness that public opinion did
not require them to assume even a slight disguise. The fish-women of
Paris will long retain an unenviable celebrity for the brutal excesses
of their rage. The goddess of Reason was worshipped by men, under the
form of a living woman entirely devoid of clothing; and in the public
streets ladies might be seen who scarcely paid more attention to
decorum. Even the courage they evinced during the reign of terror was
often oddly mingled with frivolity. A French writer, who went to the
house of the minister, to solicit liberty for an imprisoned friend, was
struck with always finding a young woman on the spot, who apparently
came for the same purpose. “Madam,” said he, “you must have a good deal
of energy, to rise every day so early at a season so rigorous.” She
replied, “For more than a month I have constantly been here at eight in
the morning, to beg my husband’s liberty. It is necessary to rise at
seven to arrange my toilet. You may judge how fatiguing this is; for I
cannot miss of a ball, and I often come home at five in the morning,
after having danced all night.”
But the French revolution abounds with anecdotes of women who evinced
a noble forgetfulness of self. Many a one, at the imminent peril of
her life, humanely afforded shelter to fugitives whose religious and
political opinions differed from her own; and the courage with which
they shared the destiny of their friends was truly wonderful. A mother,
in order to gain access to the prison where her son was confined,
became portress of the jail. One day the brutal jailers loaded her
with such an enormous weight that her delicate frame sunk under the
burden, and she expired near him she had loved so well. Madame Lefort
was one among numerous instances of wives, who effected their husbands’
escape by change of dress. The angry guards exclaimed, “Wretch! what
have you done?” “My duty,” she calmly replied; “do yours.” When the
marshal de Mouchy was summoned to appear before the tribunal, his
wife accompanied him. Being told that no one accused her, she replied,
“When my husband is arrested, so am I.” She followed him to prison, and
answered objections by saying, “When my husband is sentenced, so am I.”
She sat by his side in the cart that conveyed him to the guillotine,
and when the executioner told her that no decree of death had been
issued against her, she answered, “Since my husband is condemned, so am
I.” They were beheaded together.
Madam de Maillé was imprisoned instead of her sister-in-law. She was
aware of the mistake, but submitted quietly, that the real victim might
escape. When tried, she merely observed that the Christian name they
had read did not belong to her. When they insisted upon discovering
where the person lived to whom it did belong, she replied, “I am not
weary of life, but I had rather die a thousand deaths than save myself
at the expense of another. Proceed to the guillotine.” The monsters,
for once, spared human life from respect to a noble action.
At this period, people ran wild with the idea that men and women ought
to perform the same duties, and that it was gross tyranny not to
choose women to command armies, harangue senates, &c. An influential
Frenchman, being asked why they did not elect ladies members of the
Chamber of Deputies, replied that the law required every member to
be forty years old, and he despaired of finding any one who would
acknowledge herself of that age.
Perhaps there is no country in the world where women of all ranks are
treated with so much politeness as in France. No party is considered a
party of pleasure without their presence, and great complaints would
be made if they retired from table after dinner, according to the
custom of the English. Whatever may be the husband’s business, they are
active partners in all his concerns. They may be seen talking politics
in saloons, selling goods at the counter, gathering grapes from the
vineyards, and laboring in the fields.
France has produced many distinguished women. Their literature has
been, like themselves, witty, agreeable and graceful; but it often
reminds one of the perfect artificial flowers from Paris, so natural
that they even bear the perfume of the blossoms they represent. It
seems to be universally conceded that Madam de Staël was intellectually
the greatest woman that ever lived.
From the time of the Bourbon dynasty, Spanish women were excluded from
the throne; but the late king reversed the decree in favor of his
daughter, who is now queen. The Spanish women are small and slender,
with dark hair and sparkling black eyes full of expression. They are
in general very ignorant, but naturally witty, and much given to
lively repartee. Their motions are slow and graceful, and their dress
is usually modest. They are rarely seen either in the house or the
street without their fans; and when they meet an acquaintance, they
have an exceedingly graceful and coquettish manner of shaking the
fan, by way of recognition. They are indolent in their habits, doing
little except dressing, sleeping, saying their prayers by bead-roll,
and daily sauntering away a couple of hours on the Prado. Cleanliness
is far from being a national characteristic. There is great fondness
for perfumes, which are generally kept burning in their apartments,
and ladies are seldom without some high-spiced comfit in their mouths.
In no part of the world has the spirit of chivalry lingered so long as
in Spain. The Spanish lover moves, speaks, thinks, and breathes only
for his mistress. He praises her in the most hyperbolical terms, and
approaches her with the deference due to a superior being. Something
of this characterizes the Spanish manners toward the whole sex. They
never sit down while a lady is standing in the room; and at the
close of letters to women, or princes, they say, “I kiss your feet,”
though to a gentleman they merely say, “I kiss your hand.” If a lady
happened to express admiration of a gentleman’s watch, or any valuable
trinket, it would be deemed very impolite not to present it to her.
Throughout Spain, the sound of the guitar, frequently accompanied by
the voice, may be heard until late in the night; for he who has not
chosen a lady-love, will from mere gallantry serenade some lady of his
acquaintance.
The Spanish are fond of masquerades, and have a great passion for
chess. Ladies often attend the cruel entertainment of bull-fights.
Like all the inhabitants of Catholic countries, they spend a great
deal of time at church, in religious ceremonies, which often prove a
convenient cover for love intrigues. One of the boys who attend the
altar is not unfrequently the messenger on these occasions. He kneels
near the fair lady, crosses himself, repeats his _Ave Marias_, and
devoutly kisses the ground; during this process, he contrives to slip a
letter under the lady’s drapery, and receive another in return. Girls
are generally educated at convents, and their marriages arranged for
them by relatives, soon after they leave its walls. It is a matter
of course for a married lady to have a _cortego_, or gallant, who
attends upon her obsequiously wherever she goes, and submits to all her
caprices. The old custom of locks and keys, duennas and spies, to guard
the character of women, has fallen into disuse in modern times.
The Portuguese are, in general terms, so similar to the Spanish, that
they do not need a separate description. The pageantry, superstition
and ignorance of Catholic countries prevail in both kingdoms. Nothing
is more common than to see large processions of men, women and
children, on horses, mules and asses, accompanied with music, going to
return thanks to some particular image of the Virgin, in fulfilment
of a vow. Women sit with the left side toward the horse’s head, and
sometimes ride after the fashion of men. The title of _donna_ is given
to all ladies. Those of high rank make their visits in great state;
they are carried in a chair by four men, of whom the two foremost
are uncovered; two others attend as a guard, and a seventh carries
a lantern; two coaches follow, drawn by mules, one containing her
women, and the other the gentlemen of her household. The market women,
trudging into the cities, by the side of their donkeys, with panniers
heavily laden with fruit and vegetables, and the great numbers kneeling
by the side of rivers to wash clothing, or spreading it out on the
banks to dry, have a very picturesque effect in the eye of a traveller.
In both nations marriages, christenings, and funerals are celebrated
with all the pomp their circumstances will admit; but their usual
habits are frugal and temperate. The ladies seldom taste any thing
but water. Their countenances are generally tranquil and modest; and
their teeth extremely white and regular, owing to the frequent use of
tooth-picks made of soft, pliant wood.
In Portugal, women wear the crown, and confer the title of king on
their husbands, as in England. In the interior provinces, they are not
allowed to go out of doors, without permission of parents and husband;
and even their male relations are not allowed to sit beside them in
public places. The church is almost the only place where lovers have a
chance to obtain a sight of them. The Portuguese women do not assume
the names of their husbands, but retain their own. Children bear the
family name of both parents, and are sometimes called by one, sometimes
by the other. It is not common for widows to marry again.