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A Beauty Hint

Sweet, think how much the better it would be
  If you thro' life should thus preserve your beauty.
It really doesn't matter much to me;
  But don't you think you owe the world a duty,
And don't you think that thro' some kindly thought -
Of me, for instance - beauty were well bought?

Those wrinkles on your face, dear,
  Those bags beneath your eyes
Are but the evil trace, dear,
  Of temper, spite and lies.
Why can't you be a saint, dear,
  Like dear old Joan of Arc;
Be pleasant - which you ain't, dear,
  And do not be a nark.

Consider, sweetheart, if you smiled always
  How much, thro' weeks, your face might be improving;
In place of which, in these unhappy days,
  You go to beauty shops for the removing
Of wrinkles, blemishes and ugly warts.
Why, when a smile will serve, seek these resorts?

Why can't you raise a grin, sweet,
  And be a little beauty?
For ugliness is sin, sweet,
  And loveliness a duty.
So, for my sake, why can't you make
  An effort to he glad.
Just think of me and joyful be;
  For I am not too bad.

Notes

Addressing a meeting of women in England, Dr. Josiah Oldfield, the noted physician, said that every time a woman loses her temper, or even looks cross, she impresses her ugliness on her face; every time she smiles she adds to her beauty.

In a published book

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