Dear Sir, - I am sure that many of your readers were most grateful to "One of Each" for her most interesting and informative letter and the unique sketch which accompanied it. It was just the sort of letter which one welcomes from a monopede contributor, and that from "One Legged Barmaid" helped to add to the attractiveness and quality of the issue in which it appeared. "London Life" readers have, indeed, been fortunate in some of the more recent letters from Monopedes, and I feel that we ought to express our gratitude for them.
Coming to C. D. B.'s "ideal monopede," one must admit that she is a rather bizarre young lady, but it is clear from the drawings that she is intended to be studied and admired purely as a sort of "museum piece." She is rather like one of the composite portraits made from a dozen others, and it is distinctly unlikely that one would ever encounter anyone like her in reality. Still, she is certainly a tribute to C. D. B.'s lively, inventive imagination, with other products of which I hope he will favour monopede admirers.
C. D. B.'s favourable opinion about glasses leads me to the subject about which I previously promised to write. Like him, I believe that in nine cases out of ten, glasses add to a girl's allure, if they are properly chosen, and the observations of many years have confirmed that opinion. There are, perhaps, instances where the appearance of a strikingly beautiful girl might be marred by glasses, but there are not many who come into this category, and there are dozens of girls who quite definitely look more interesting, intelligent, and even more attractive in glasses.
My own preference is for rimless spectacles, although I know that some consider them "old-looking" and old-fashioned nowadays. Tortoise-shell spectacles are, of course, the most popular, but unless they are very carefully fitted, are of the precisely correct colour, and have toric lenses made to the shape of the face, I do not think they enhance a girl's appearance. They are inclined to be too heavy and give the face an "owlish" look.
Naturally the actual type of lens used enters into the question. Refracting lenses of the myopic type tend to give a girl a rather sharp look, especially where she has pointed features, and where the lenses are heavy they hide the eyes and whatever beauty they may possess. Astigmatic and magnifying lenses, on the other hand, enlarge the eyes and enhance their appeal, while conveying a sense of mystery and interest about the possessor. Lenses of about medium strength are the most satisfactory in this respect, as powerful lenses of either kind tend to distort the appearance of the eyes or give them an unnatural brilliance.
Rimless spectacles, then, are the glasses I favour, especially on a fair-haired girl, and I have been fortunate enough to see a number who have looked quite fascinating for this reason. I am looking forward to the day when a film producer will have the courage to produce a picture with a spectacled heroine. They do not seem to realise that she will have something in common with a great many among the audience, and should appeal to them for that reason.
Hoping that we shall hear soon from members of the "Eyewear Group."
Yours truly,
"Autolycus".