American telegraph. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1851, 1851-06-23
AMERICAN TELEGRAPH
leorrespondsncspt tho American Telegraph
CAMPoBELLA, ,,iSpartdn6asrq District.

4
DEAR TELEGRAPH: | wonder'if the sight of
your pleasantlitte phiz was ever half as welcome
to your city subscribers as it was to me ut the
end OF my four weeks peregrinations through
Virginia, North and South Carolina? sat
down to read the pile of "Daily Telegraphs''
which had accumulated on the little white toi-
let table in my room at Spartanburg, with a
zest I never experienced before and for the
first time it occurred to me, how great is our
Indebtedness to you editors, especially those
who daily cudgel their own brains, and scis-
sorize their contemporaries, for our amusement
and edifcation. Not an item in your racy little
sheet escaped me, for, coming from home, every
thing was interesting, from that dreadful MUIR
der perpetrated a few days after my departure,
to that last agony, 'the ladies in pants" BY the
way, dear Tel do you ever catch yourself blush
ing at the efforts you editors are making to
induce the. dear delightful creatures to make
themselves ridiculous Gf o lady can render her
self fsoD merely for your amusement for doubt
if there is two of your fraternity, from Maine
to Texas, who would consent to see q wife,
daughter, or sister, in this masculine costume;
and yet they are grayely told, the proposed
change is far more convenient, comfortable and
healthy, and that the feeling in favor of the
present costume is all the effect of prejudice"
On this now all-engrossing subject, have been
told by ladies of undoubted taste and refinement,
(both North and South, that their present style
of dress is all that could be desired for ease,
comfort or convenience, allowing every possible
modification of material to suit the seasons,
and unimpeded motion to every muscle-the
waist no longer compressed, or made to ride
across the chest and shoulders-the arms no
longer pinioned with tight sleeves, or deformed
with balloon monstrosities- the skirt, once
so scant as to give the fair wearer the appear
ance OF bolster, is now permitted the graceful
fulness of drapery. The only possible objection
that can be made is, that this last item has of
late been worn somewhat too long, say from
two to three inches. Painters, the only proper
judges in this matter, have long since decided
that the true " line of beauty in the skirt is
that which gives occasional view of what the
poet terms g their twinkling feet" perhaps
within two inches of the ground, or just to the
binding of the slipper. Let those ladies who
have determined never to unsex themselves, let
who win adopt pantaloons, make this slight
alteration in their present modest, womanly
and graceful costume, and they cannot fail to
command the respect and admiration of all men
whose opinion is worth deserving. But our re-
spect for woman's peculiar attire is not founded
| upon prejudice, but something far deeper and
holier; in truth and in fact the now much abused
pettcoat or skirt is to all men sacred. Witness
the Difference paid to its wearer by all sorts and
conditions of mankind, and the feeling almost
of proclamation with which we should see a man
put it on, even for a momentary jest but what
becomes Of this feeling when a man. on getting
up in the morning, may by mistake put on his
wifes pants instead of his own; or lady, rice
rersa, put on those of her husbands Indeed,
so absolutely essential is the flowing out
line of the petticoat to the proper develop
ment of female beauty, that have no doubt the
tabled "Cestus of Venus" was in reality the
belt of this sacred garment. But even should
be mistaken on this point, assert, without fear
of contradiction, that it was not the waistband
of her pantaloons.
Venus in pantaloons? Olympus what a
sight!
But truce to pants, dear Telegraph. sat
down to give you sketch of my tandem jour
ney of five hundred miles to this delightful
spot; and 10! have said nothing about it, but
have been beguiled into chapter upon what
seems to be uppermost in eyerybody's mind at
this time. But if you desire it, l can do so in
a future letter. AT present am on the eve of
n " "deer-hunt" in the mountains which | see
from my window, booming off blue and clear in
the distance, only twenty miles from where |
am writing The cool, fresh breeze from their
SUBMITS preserves this place in most delight
ful temperature; especially the nights, which
are never the least oppressive, and are a luxury
unknown to you denizens of the "hot and
dusty town" But adios, for the present BE
punctual in mailing my Telegraph during my
absence; and believe me, as ever, yours,