ure in her case. Indeed,
instances of absolute mutilation and misery are so common in the past
that it is unnecessary to multiply them; but it is really sad to think
that in our own day a civilised woman can hang on to a cross-bar while
her maid laces her waist into a fifteen-inch circle. To begin with, the
waist is not a circle at all, but an oval; nor can there be any greater
error than to imagine that an unnaturally small waist gives an air of
grace, or even of slightness; to the whole figure. Its effect, as a
rule, is simply to exaggerate the width of the shoulders and the hips;
and those whose figures possess that stateliness which is called
stoutness by the vulgar, convert what is a quality into a defect by
yielding to the silly edicts of Fashion on the subject of tight-lacing.
The fashionable English waist, also, is not merely far too small, and
consequently quite out of proportion to the rest of the figure, but it is
worn far too low down. I use the expression 'worn' advisedly, for a
waist nowadays seems to be regarded as an article of apparel to be put on
when and where one likes. A long waist always implies shortness of the
lower limbs, and, from the artistic point of view, has the effect of
diminishing the height; and I am glad to see that many of the most
charming women in Paris are returning to the idea of the Directoire style
of dress. This style is not by any means perfect, but at least it has
the merit of indicating the proper position of the waist. I feel quite
sure that all English women of culture and position will set their faces
against such stupid and dangerous practices as are related by Miss
Leffler-Arnim. Fashion's motto is: Il faut souffrir pour etre belle; but
the motto of art and of common-sense is: Il faut etre bete pour souffrir.

* * * * *

Talking of Fashion, a critic in the Pall Mall Gazette expresses his
surprise that I should have allowed an illustration of a hat, covered
with 'the bodies of dead birds,' to appear in the first number of the
Woman's World; and as I have received many letters on the subject, it is
only right that I should state my exact position in the matter. Fashion
is such an essential part of the mundus muliebris of our day, that it
seems to me absolutely necessary that its growth, development, and phases
should be duly chronicled; and the historical and practical value of such
a record depends entirely upon its perfect fidelity to fact. Besides, it
is qui