The florid nose / by Alex Ross.

  • Ross, Alex
Date:
[between 1870 and 1879?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The florid nose / by Alex Ross. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    THE FLORID NOSE By ALEX. RObS, M.A., LL.U„ 21, LAMB’S CONDUIT STREET, HIGH HOLBORN, LONDON, (near the Foundling). My choice of a subject to write upon generally emanates from a want among my constituents, my customers, and my friends. The want of a plan—a remedy, a device for getting rid of a red nose, and possessing one pale, cool, and marble-like, given utterance to by very many of my patients, is the reason for my now writing under the title of Florid Noses. A florid complexion is considered inelegant, and no lady is desirous of having a rosy face, and much less a ceatre feature, red, heated, and con¬ trasting with the forehead, and it may be with the cheeks and chin, b'uch is the dislike to a red nose that 1 am inquired of, more for a means of ridding the elite of society from this imperfection than I am to enable them to obtain the means to remove imperfections of more common possession, and those one would suppose of far greater inconvenience. “I am very good looking, young, and possessed of unusually well shaped features,” are the remarks of correspondents to me; “but,’' they add, “ my nose is a trial to me, every now and again, when I wish, it may be looking its best, my centre feature will become red—will feel hot, and will give me no end of discomfort, will render me nervous and possess me with the idea that my florid look is as noticeable as the red lamp at any point of danger.” The distress produced by this condition of the face is suffered from by both sexes, irrespective of age, figure, or complexion. Of course the young object to it the most, but men of forty and women of thirty are greatly annoyed by their appearance and feelings when their noses are redder than is usual when they are with their friends and acquaintances. Many a fair lady wishes she were of dark complexion, for then th6 unduly coloured feature would be less conspicuous ; and not a few men envy their dark skinned brothers, as thus the member made ugly by its colour would look less unsightly, and they would be less nervous and uncomfortable. Let a woman be ever so beautiful, or a man never so handsome, this one imperfection is more than enough to render the face the opposite to a condition of good looks. Only say a person has a red nose, and it is equivalent to describing them as uncomely and inelegant. The pale nose, it is said, is peculiar to the aristocracy, and that there is much in the shape of the member in distinguishing the plebeian from the aristocrat; but perhaps more distinguishing is the colour—the redder the feature, the lower in the grade of class, is generally believed. Such being the belief, can it be wondered at that people make them-
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