Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1830-05-11

I q
fashi n, formerly. for men Of rank po.es bufioon
or dwarf and in days Of yore privileged les,sr was
the constant attendant OF the banquet This was per-
haps, wholesale custom hearty laugh may have as.
sed digestion better th,n political di.cu sion and
sudden freak absurd Joke have diverted tn. mind. of
the statesmen OF anc ent Times, ard given new and
useful turn TO the current Of their thoghts il as
foohng how few mnptsS sleep will refresh the boz
dy. and Few minutes Laughter the mini ani the
company OF merry fool (ir dull one il iu.upporabe)
might be more servceatle III an tonic, or snnIsuts
NJ de Talieyrand, when asked how he could attach
himself TO such simpe,on his wife, epled s.lti.
rest 10 and since court fool IL Of IA hon il
would be wise in mini ters marry women tit L,
supply bic place How refreshing sitec the bours OF
the day, when the mind is exhausted by const,ut ten
sion, TO mud complete relaxation in the society of
pretty vacant, silly woman, who has neither power to
| commuSica'e fresh idea, nor wish TO receive onei
She would. IL IL true, he sal incumbrance when her
husband ont OF Office; but this rsroliec would
only induce him TO serve his country with greater zeal
The TREND. or "buon comPagno," IA he used to call
him. with whom Muratori spent his evenings, was n
fwiued fellow, in whose sor-iy he found ihorous
repose TO hi' mental powers. With him the author
editor oi bundled folio volumes the veil from whose
ineNhaustible contents Gibhon. Sismond', and many
modern historians have drawn heir bes materials. was
accn.tomed to pass his hours in wishing the pohchinei
H. and various shows Of an Italian city, aud in discus
ing their r"spsctive merits. Any conversation super
or % that OF his 'buon compayno' left him un tel for
'he ahour and application OF the ensuing day. To be
'ometimrs Tool appears, therefore, part of wsdo m
AMI az has been before observed the latter clause our
proverb admits Of easy proo but WHEN we look out up
on me world arosrd us, and behold the various me-
mods In which the brain of thiS foolish
clay, man." ccntrives TO siulitv isof when we see
the persevering labour by MANY on the role
aosurii'y which II Is their pleasure and their pr.
enact we must pause little before c,n agree that
'none IL a fool always" However the case NAV hive
stood in those ancient times from which most of our
proverbs and fables have descended to us, the nine
teenth century surely furnish pune instances
OF genuine, cons-e 4. folly; and houg Oh thu
wi'e may still be occasionally simple, though the ma
le'c non may s be terrified at the growing Of cock
the sagacious elephant at the grunting of hog vet
MONKEYS, geese, and magpi~., have in these DAYS no
percepiihe intervals Of and dcre'ion Let any
twelve sound minded persons wach ashionabie lady
or hne gentleman hrouy the day anil then .ciIe on
the degree OF mental superiority evnced by these ee
CANT simpletons the poor IDIOT whom we find in
most OF our country villages. ID, they not form a.
correct an estimate OF things, a.tions, and pers as
he can do Are they not, like him, regardless of the
real uses and blessings Of life, while they dearly value
its toys and rumrery! Like him ds they not lau IN al
nnthing. and lament over imaginary vrxaiions, C,n
ne deck his person seduouslv with fropery than
they do'-aud they uncon ,cors Of ahsurdity
a. se'tsatishsd and pleased in the ml.t of oy as poor
Tom Fool when. covered with discarded gew. gaws h,
marches in self-consrquence at the heal of funeral,
unobserv'nt Of the plying sigh OF the feeling few or
the seorn"l laugh Of the thonsb'les. magnitude He
who lahours and frrts the tie Of a neck cloth or
calls down mprec atipns on the al Of an unsucce SAUL
'i'or Should feel raterna sympathy for the innocent
VINO spends his line in s'rnging dases into necklaces.
and tiies into ungoverrahIe rage with the unlucky
wight who breaks them. There is only this difference
between them,-one has thrown away the reason which
the other never possessed; accountable the other
irr espoRsible.
Again. whom Colia tell. m. that she was really quite
di'tressed at Mrs Rs taking her by surprise this
morning, Tor che was no, tit 10 bs seen, ask if she
was diry!-"Oh by NJ mesns."-Wls she realing
Don Jnan!-"What qresiion!" D"i she the la
dy money?-"How ahsurd."-She was in a gown Of
last years fashion, aud the sleeves small she
felt Qiite ash,med every timo Mrs Rs ewes han
PANIED to fall upon 'hrm. Poor Cu,a! can che com
plain in socity Of raiona beings she i4 con-
siier"d smpletoD, made IDIOT, though not a born
one?
There indeed few causes in operation which pro
'nce more numerous contradictions 10 the assertion that
none Il fool always" than a devotion 20 the man.
dates of that tickle and unreas onabs thing called Fash
ION; Tor A. its influence extends every circum.
stance AMI every minute four lives ts w1rshppers
necessarily occupied in the service of their dipiny
and exposed 20 the bewilLerug effects OF the fu,ne.
from her tripod they listen unweaiiedy for her will
AMI fantastic d'crees ard regulate their conduct by
them from the time they lay aside their night caps in
the morning TO the nom mt when they sum them a,
night Fortunate far that she has yet much
ererred with the solitude Of bed. rooms, that she
ives not insist upon oar sleeping in cooked hats set
tie one 'oe shape and position in which shall be gen.
teman-ike to seek repoe! This and inc xorabe
mistress admits. however, OF no interruption in her SER
vice during the day. which begins and ends Just when
she pIeases; she regulates only serious our
trivial concerns; ard IL not lees despoiic the himen
sions OF bow on bonnet seal 10 a watch, than
u the mode in which are TO besow charity
the place where we 10 worship the Deity Our vr-
ties ebb and flow al her command; she annually deter.
mines what We are to call modesty our malrns are
ready TO show h.ir legs AMI shoulders whenever abe
peases or TO mue themselves like an old lady OF for
mer days and sweep the streets with their garments
Our furniture our fool, domestic arrang sments
are al under her controu when travel she points
the way; when i'll, she sends our DOCTOR pre-
scribes our medicines. and generally disease
the education of our children ia entirely under her man
agement and Tia she who decides how much they .ha
know and what il is for which they shall have taste
Devotion and nevolencc, learning and parioism are
merits or dement's, p!eases herr literature bows
her feet, and Milton and Pope grow dusty on orr
shelves, when she tells to admire nothing but Ail-
nudIs
Certain II Ia thlt, at some distant per:o l. Fashion
must have had quirrel with ,ture, and in imita-
ton oil her betters. a very characteristic fain0 re-
solved To bear malice virulenty az the sister anil
wife OF Jove herself. The old grulge, therefore,
"manet alta m"nte repostum," aud induces her to
take every opportunity OF splitting and insulting h,r fair
er rival. When the racas took place it IL impossible
to decide:-we know 1t must have occurred before the
days OF our graDdmohers for they wore powder and
hoops, and Nature wept herself sick at the sigh; il
must have been earlier, too, than the time Of Hr'y
VI; for in his reign ladies head-dressss resem-
bling horns, and dvines in vain repro irhed in vain
suggested as preventive that "in effigie cornufa
'Gmne Diabolus pierumque pingur" and il must have
been previous to the age when the prophet jeremiah
fourished for he tells that IL even then the
custom to darken the eyeds with powder of lead
But II the date Of The feud be doubtful not go the per.
manency Of lie fatal effects; and this very day Rsa
which Fashion dis6gGreJ the fairest works Of Nature
10 ton.
lew years since, there appeared. indeed, some
symptoms Of reconciliation between the rival GOODIES
ses: flowing rlnglets, and moderately full robes by