1753-1821
[Sidenote: Kavanagh’s _English Women of Letters_. *]
“Miss Simpson ... was ... tall and slender, with hair of a golden
auburn, and lovely hazel eyes, perfect features, and an enchanting
countenance.”--1771.
[Sidenote: Mrs. Inchbald’s _Memoirs_.]
“DESCRIPTION OF ME.
_Age._--Between 30 and 40, which, in the register of a lady’s
birth, means a little turned of 30.
_Height._--Above the middle size, and rather tall.
_Figure._--Handsome, and striking in its general air, but a little
too stiff and erect. _Shape._--Rather too fond of sharp angles.
_Skin._--By nature fair, though a little freckled, and with a tinge
of sand, which is the colour of her eyelashes, but made coarse by
ill-treatment upon her cheeks and arms.
_Bosom._--None; or so diminutive, that it’s like a needle in a
bottle of hay.
_Hair._--Of a sandy auburn, and rather too straight as well as thin.
_Face._--Beautiful in effect, and beautiful in every feature.
_Countenance._--Full of spirit and sweetness; excessively
interesting, and, without indelicacy, voluptuous.
_Dress._--Always becoming; and very seldom worth so much as
_eightpence_.”--About 1788.