Virginia free press & farmers' repository. [volume] (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1827-1832, 1830-06-02
FASHION.


contradictions 20 IN, assertion, Tia,
none Is lool always than a devotion
to the mandates Of that tickle aud un.
reasonable thing called FAsHioS; for
rs ITS influence extends over every cir.
cumstance and every minute If our
lives. ITS worshippers are necessarily
occupied IN the service of their diyini /.
", and exposed To the bewildcrinr eff
iects oi the fumes from her tripoJ 4:
hcy listen unweariedly Cor her wild
and fantastic DEGREES, and regulate
their conduct by thcm from the time
'hey lay aside their night leaps i'm the
morning 10 the moment when thew
sumo them at night. Fortunate for us.
mat She has not yet much interlercd
with the solitude of our bedrooms.
mat she docs not insist upon our sleep
ms IN COcked-hats. or settle ones hole
shape antposition in which it shall be
genticmanlikc TO seek rcposc. Thi,
severe and inexorablc mistress admits,
however, OF no interruption in her SER
wee during the day, which begins and
ends just when she plcascs; she recu.
latcs not only our serious but our tri
wal concerns; and is not less dcspotic
Us to the dimensions Of 4 bow on bon.
net, or seal tn 4 watch. than as TO the
noue IN which we are TO bcstow our
charity, or the place where we are TO
worship the Deity. Our virtues ebb
and flow at her command; she annual.
ly determines what we are To call mo.
dcsty; our maidcns are ready TO show
their less and shoulders whenever She
pleascs, or 10 mufiie themselves like an
old lady Of former DAYS, and sweep the
streets with their garments. Our fur
niture, our food, our domestic arrange.
n.ents. are al under her control: when
we travel, she points the way; when
We are ~, she sends our doctor. pre-
scribes our medicines, and generally
names our disease; the education of
our children IS entirely under her man
aSement, and IL is she who decides how
much they shall know. and what il is
ior which they shall have a taste. De-
vo,ion and bcnc,olcncc, learning and
patriotism. arc merits or dcmcrits, as
IT plcascs her; literature bows at her
icct, and Milton and Pope grow dusty
on our shelves. when she tells US TO adj
mire nothing bur .9nau0is.
Certain II is that. at some distant
period. Fashion mus, have bad a quar-
rel with Nature. aud, in imitation of
her betters, "a very characteristic fail
ing) resolved to bear malice as viru-
lcntly as the sister and vile Of Jove
herself. The old grudgc, therefore,
manet alta men'e repostum.' and in
duces her to take every opportunity of
splitting aud insulting ;,er fair rival. -
When the iracas took place. il is i'm.
possible 90 decide: we know IL must
have occurred before tho days Of our
grandmothers. for they wore powder
and hoops, and Nature wept herself
sick at the sight; il must have been
earlier, too, than the time OF Henry
VI; Tor IN bis reign, ladies wore head
dresses resembling horns. and di,incs
in vain reproached, in vain suggested
"a a preventive, that lin eliigie cornu.
tn inmin9 Diabolus plcrumpue pinGi-
tur;' and il must have been previous
To the age when the prophet Jeremiah
iiourished, for he tells US that il was
even then the custom TO darken the eye
lids with powder of lead. But il the
date ot the ieud be doubtful, not so the
permaneney Of its fatal effects and al
this very day. Reason aud Taste mourn
over the spiteful manner in which
Fashion disligurcs the fairest works of
Nature, and changes grace and bcauty
into Stiffness and distortion.
A few wears since, there appeared,
indeed. some symptoms Of recOncilia.
ton between the rival goddesses -
flowing ringlets, aud moderately full
robes, by which, While dcceDcy was
not outraged, every trace of the human
form was not OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES pla.
ICED, where proportion, elegance. and
sense direct, aud a prolusc employ
ment.Of flowers. Natures darling de-
cOration, seemed to afford hopes 0f an
amleable arrangement between that dl-
VlnIty and her opponent but now.
alas. the truce Is over; war Co the knife
I - evidently proc laimcd, and no one
can look into a ballroom, and behold
the extraordinary appearance under
which the graCcs and beauties Of our
females now lie concealed, without
cursing 10 lis heart that ancient, Inys-
ierious. and bitter quarrel, which has
thus doomed todisGgurrmrnt, tbc love.
Hest productions 81 Nature.
On looking back, says the Journal Of
Humanity, Ne find that since the first
Of January We have reported 5si new
societies. Cor lat 81 additions TO the
number Of temperance Oien has TeceIV-
ed. during the same time, an increase
1T nearly $1,000. This Is al ihe rate
Of about ]. 500 societies and lao, 900