How to Be Beautiful, Though Homely
By F. E. Clark
It is entirely possible. It has been accomplished hundreds of thousands of times; so often, indeed, that beauty has come to have in the minds of all close observers but little connection with regularity of feature, color, complexion, or form. A beautiful face is only the window of a beautiful soul. What does it matter if the panes of glass are small, and if the sash is a little crooked, if through the window you see a warm, cozy fireside, a bright evening lamp, happy children at their games, a contented father and mother, well-read books, a full work-basket, a bouquet of fresh flowers, and, in the room beyond, a bountiful supper table laid for the family? Is not that a beautiful scene? These things are symbols of what any face may reveal—happiness, content, intellectual capacity, joy in work, appreciation of beauty, and a generous spirit. A face that reveals these characteristics can not be ugly; it can not be repulsive; it must be attractive and winning; it can not help being beautiful in the best sense of the word. Why bother about the panes of glass or the sash? It is what the window shows us that we care for, not the window itself. The face may be homely; but “homely,” in its original sense, is to be homelike, and what is more truly beautiful than homelikeness? The picture we saw through the window is homelike, and that made it beautiful. No face can be so plain that it may not be beautiful if through it show glints of happiness, content, intellect, generosity.—Rev. F. E. Clark.