olute nonentity. And yet, within
the sphere which has been granted to her, she has shone with a wonderful
radiance and with a charm which reminds us often of some of Shakespeare's
beautiful womanly creations.

The physical attractions of woman have always, of course, captivated the
sterner sex in India, as in other lands. Her beauty is lavishly described
and painted in warm colours through all Hindu literature. And she _is_
physically beautiful; she will compare favourably with the fair ones of
any land in womanly grace, in beauty of figure, and in bewitching charm of
manner.

But the standard of womanly grace and beauty is not precisely the same
there as it is with us in the West. A Hindu and an American have different
ideals of personal beauty. Though the Aryan type of countenance may not
largely differ East and West, there are touches of expression and shades
of beauty which correspond respectively to the different ideals in both
lands. May they not have created the ideals themselves?

The most common results of a Hindu woman's toilet are the smooth hair, the
blackened eyebrow, the reddened finger-nails, the pendent nose jewels, the
bulky ear-rings, the heavy bangles for ankles and arms. Without these,
life, to the Hindu belle, is not worth living. On wedding occasions, among
the common folk, red ochre is also daubed over the throat in ghastly
suggestion to the Westerner; but in glorious attractiveness to the native
of the land!

West and East associate a fair complexion with highest beauty. A fond
Hindu mother once came to the writer moaning that she could not find a
husband for her daughter because she was "too black!" The young man of
India puts a premium upon every shade of added lightness of complexion.
His taste is reflected in the universal feminine custom of using saffron
dye to lighten the complexion upon all festive occasions.

The clothing of the woman of India is exceedingly attractive. Her pretty
garb sets off admirably the beauty of her person; and, both in
inexpensiveness and grace, and in its contribution to health, is far
better than the complicated extravagance, the heavy encumbrance and the
insanitary tight-lacing of the West. The women of South India dress with a
view to comfort in the tropics; but they have also, in a most remarkable
degree, conserved appropriateness, beauty, and simplicity in their robes.
The possibilities of the one cloth, which is the full dress of the South
Indian woman,