New-York daily tribune., 1851-09-27
4 no, as means, and there Is


and yellow emphasis" a. leas, $4,000 a yeaf
-, is no longer beautiful, and YOU feel the pres
/ fnce OF a man " no is mastered by MS means and
| 10 whom any Other man with larger Fent-Tol
viii be respectable and awful. From all TINS
I spring the ludicrous details oi our soclety-
We dress TOO well. we dance TOO well, we
are too gracious and graceful, our entertain
ments are 100 elegant, our modesty degener-
atos INTO pudery and bad taste, we are
smart" but not witty, ila.hy but not gay
| Young America IS too yeung. It's feet are beau
tifunv small. and the head j. proporuoned 10
them. Society is only ball. The heels have
carried j, against the brains, and why not, since
the education and daily life OF the youth n then
TOR little else, than shaking the heels adroitly.
We dance because we are unable 70 talk. The
novels Of foreign society iasclnate US by their
tales Of new sphere. Where are such women,
we say, where such men We fancy It The de-
spalrjnp dream Of a romancer, but It IS really
the fact of foreign lie We are very chlvalnc,
no nation reaches our point OF courtly devotion
10 woman as woman But our chlyalry Is not
entirely unfeudazed, our courtllness does not
ALWAYS indicate respectful and sympathetic IN
,ercourse
When say that we dance and dress too well,
speak of the disproportion Of those perform
ances to the rest OF our social achievements. A
fool crowned is doubly foolish. Fine dressing
and dexterous dancing, when not subsidiary to
the effect a personal beauty and character, are
monstrous. Every girl who dances gracefully
should. in speaking, show that she Is OF graceful
,o not Shl &c
silly and simpers-you lnstinctively feel that her
movemen, IS artificial that II /. the gift OF the
dancing school. not a grace Of nature you have
been deceived and il is never again pleasure
to watch that dancing.
For what is society but the general intercourse
of the highest in,elhgences with which we con
verse his the festival OF Wit and Beauty and
Wisdom It's talk is lambent light playing
over all subjects. as the torch is turned upon
each statue in the gallery. 1t Is not an arena
for dispute Courts anG Parliamens are for de-
bate It's hall of reunion, whether Hollands
House, or Charles Lambs small parlor, or Schl-
ler's earret. or the Tulllenes, Is palace OF
pleasure Vine and flowers and all successes
of art, delicate dresses studded with gems and
graceful motion To passionate and festal music
are It's ornaments and arabeSqued outlines II Is
a tournament wherein the force of the hero is
refined INTO the grace of the gentleman-a
masquc, IN which womanly sentiment Is crys'
talized into thought This IS the noble idea OF
Society. a harmonious play OF the purest powers
Nothing less than this satisfies the demand sug
gested by human genius and beauty and the
splendid sphere Of the world IN which they are
placed
Yes, hear YOU say, dear Editor; and how
much of all this have you found IN Newport
At least have found the form of 1t; and he must
have travelled IN vain, who could not see, on
some Grecian Summer morning, even thus late
IN time Alclbiades heading with sllken sails for
the Peueus, or here in Newport the features of
a truly fine society through the fog OF fashion
The yorv exaggeration we have remarked, be-
trays a tendency as well as failure. When we
have gone through our present discipline OF
French and English social bullying, from the
shape OF our shoes up to that of our opinions, we
shall be the stronger to take the field for our
selves Although | doubt If in any country IN
which wealth Is not hereditary, so that perma
neni and large class is secure from the necessity
comes of the earth earthly. there can ever be the
simplest and finest tone of society. Take that
if YOU viii. as the ,ewe IN the toad's head as
the real result of the elaborate arlstocratlc or
canlzation of the old world-which, | grant,
was too cumbrous an operation for such result.
The Old mystery, myth, fable, fancy, or what
ever else that labor came by the fall, will still
suggest itself We make the best OF bad case
and Poets and Philosophers speculate how to
make labor attractive" But the tad OF our
labor Is. all the while, TO dispense with labor
You lazy fellow, says the working merchant
! TO his friend who was an heir But why are
,ou working" rctorts the heir upon the mer-
| chant. but 70 secure the lazlness ENJOY
At all events, hard labor In any fair sense of
| the word, is incompatible with the finest beauty,
whether personal or intellectual. and therefore
! with the most delicate bloom OF society. But
| we Americans are workers by the nature of the
case. OF sons OF laborers who spend foolishly
what they wisely won. And therefore, New
York. as the social representative OF the country,
| has more than he task OF Slsyphus. Ii aims, and
! hopes. and struggles, and despairs TO make wealth
stand ior wii. wisdom and beauty In vain II
seeks to create society by dancing, dressing and
| dining, by building fine houses and avoiding the
Bowey. Fine society IS not exclusive does not
! a,oii but all that does not belong 10 1t drops
away like water from smooth statue. We are
still peasants. and parrcars although We call
each other princes and build palaces. Before we
are three centuries old we are endeayorng 70
SupaSS. oy unrating, the results OF all art and
civilization and social genius beyond the sea
By clevaimg the standard Of expense, we hope 10
secure select society. bu; have only aggravated
The necessity OF labor utesraly fatal 10 soc ETY.
We "eut" and discriminate and eschew, now
Nar,nlx here nn6 cnlAlY there ~, II many Mar.