Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1858-09-03

! irons, issued ont an order forthwith
that the criminal should be stripped
of her membranes, I'LL she became
little enough to enter my house. I
had before given directions for an
engine of several leg., that could con-
tract Or open itself like the top Of all
umbrella, in order to place the petit
coat upon it /; by which means might
take a leisurely survey Of it, as it
should appear in its proper dimen-
sions. This was all done according
ly: and forthwith, upon the closing
ofthe engine, the petticoat was brought
into court. | then directed the ma
chine to he set upon the table. and
dilatcd in such a manner as to show
the garment in its utmost circumfer-
ence but my great hall was too mar
row for the experiment &; for before
it was half unfolded, it described so
immoderate a circle, that the lower
part of it brushed upon my face. as l
sat in my chair Of ,judicature. then
inquired for the person that belonged
to the petticoat and, to my great
surprise, was directed to a very beau
tiful young damsel, with so pretty a
face and shape, that bid her come
out of the crowd, and seated her upon
a little crock at my left hand. my
pretty maid (said u do you own
yourself to have been the inhabitant
of the garment before u.s." The girl
| found had good sense, and told me,
with a smile, That, Notwithstanding
it was her own petticoat. she would
be very glad to see an example made
of it ; and that she wore it for no
other reason, but that she had a mind
to look as big and burly as other per-
sons of her quality; that she had
kept out of it as long as she could,
and until she began to appear little
in the eyes Of all her acquaintance
that if she laid it aside, people would
think she was not made like other
women always give great allow
ances to the fair sex upon account Of
the fashion, and therefore was not
displeased with the defence Of the
pretty criminal. | then ordered the
vest which stood before US to be drawn
up by pully to the top of my great
hall, and afterwards to be spread open
by the engine it was placed upon,
in such a manner, that it formed n
very splendid and ample canopy over
our heads, and covered the whole court
OF iudicature with a kind of silken
rotunda, in its form not unlike the
cupola of st. Paul's. l entered upon
the whole cause with great satisiac-
ton, as | sat under the shadow of it.
The counsel for the Petticoat were
now called in, and ordered to produce
what they had to say against the pop
ular cry which was raised against it.
They answered the objections with
great strength and solidity of argu-
ment, and expatiated in very tlorid
harangues, which they did not fail to
set off and furbelow (if | may be al
lowed the metaphor) with many peri
odlcal sentences and turns of oratory.
The chief arguments for their client
were taken, first, from the great ben
eft that might arise to our WOODEN
manufactOry from this invention, which
was calculated as follows: the COM
mon petticoat has not above four
Yards in the circumference whereas
this over our heads, had more in the
semi-diameter so that by allowing it
twenty-tour yards in the circumfer-
ence, the five millions of WOODEN petit
coats, which, according to Sir Will
lam Petty (supposing what ought 10
be supposed in a well-governcd state.
that all petticoats are made of that
stuff would amount to thirty millions
Of those of the ancient mode. a pro-
iigious Improvement Of the WOODEN
trade. and that could not fail to sink
the power Of France in few years.
To introduce the second argument,
they begged leave to read petition
1f the rope-makers, wherein it was
that the demands for
,ords, and price OF them, were much
'isen since this fashion came up. At
his, all the company who were pre-
;ent. lifted up their eyes into the vault;
md [ must confess, we did discover
many traces of cordage which were
nterwoven in the stiffening of the
lrapery.
a third argument was founded upon
petition of the Greenland trade.
Which likewise represented the great
assumption of whalebonc which
Tould be occasioned bv the present
lshion, and the benefit which would
hereby accrue to that branch of the
british trade.
To conclude, they gently touched
pom the weight and unwieldincss of
le garment, which. they insinuated,
light be of great use to preserve the
onor of families.
These arguments would have wro't
cry much upon me Gas | then told
lc company in long and elaborate
scourse) had | not considered the
-eat and additional expense which
ch fashions would bring upon fathers