Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1860-01-05
Petticoats add Other Things,

In May last gentleman of good position
WIS married to the daughter of lady who re-
sided In Plccadilly, London. In July the bride
had to attend a ball, and of course it was neces-
sary that she should have a ball dress Appli-
cation was made to Mesdames Lewis and
Cooper, who are court milIiners in Somerset
street, Portman Square; and there the bride
ordered ball dress, not only for herself, but
for her sister. AT the same time the fair lady
ordered a magnificent steel dress petticoat.
The dress and the petticoat were sent home,
approved, and much admired In the same
month of July, unhappily-so constantly in this
life do mournful accidents mingle with the
goyest-a painful event occurred in the family
and Miss Lewis received this note: "Kindly
come at once, as have some important orders
to issue which must be executed Immediately.
My poor dearly loved sister has been summoned
from this world of care" This imperative
summons was obeyed, and the consequence was
an extensive order for mourning dresses. Some
other colored dresses which had already been
ordered were sold, as the season was over, at
an abated sum; for which credit was given to
the lady in the account. At last bill was sent
In, bill involving the external interests of the
bride, OF one or moro of her sisters, and Of her
mother. But the amount rising to the figure
OF f95 los. Cd. the husband of the lady in chief
demurred; he paid f 80 into court, and declared
himself not indebted beyond that sum There
does not appear to have been any dispute as to
the authority of the lady's relatives; the whole
question lay in the reasOnableness of the charge
1hat the dresses were not extravagant in their
proportions appears from the fact stated by
Miss Lewis, that when she took some of them
home to show her customer, they proved to be
not long enough nor full enough. The ball
dress which was ordered cost fl6 10s-not
large sum. 1t was very nearly twelve yards in
circumference. There was also an extra full
book slip belonging to the petticOat, { 9s Cd.
'.What," asked Mr.. Honyman, Twas the book
slip belonging to the petticOat?'' Miss Lewis
answered, The crnoine, if you will enter into
tho mysteries; it is to hide the steel hoops"
The more we anatomze the phenomenon the
more surprising do our discoveries become
When the naturalist catches t'demoiselle"
and subjects it, under the microscope, to the
disseeting knife, he finds in it, if not exactly
the same structure as that Of higher animals,
still the most wonderful complication of or
gans, arteries, and nerves. There are, how
ever, some creatures in which the animal itself
is but small and not readily discovered frac-
tion of the structure which appears to the eye;
these are usually very low in the scale of the
creation, and the demoiselle which was under
anatomy by Mr.. HOnyman, in his clinical lec-
ture before the Court of Common Pleas appears
to have been an analogue Of coraline rather
than insect. Beneath the full book slip was ar
exo-skeleton of steel hoops. price fl IS. Cd
n price which the dressmaker declared to be
stand that it was so. Mr.. Honyman now grew
nervous, and was afraid to mention an article"
that cost IS. Cd. "Is that reasonable2" he
asked. Miss Lewis, more intrepid. looked a
her BILL and replied, "A steel hustle. IS Cd a;
quite So" The anatomy of the bill, and finan-
cially of the demOiselle, proceeded until at
last it was discovered that the Court could not
Of itself settle questions so extremely compli-
Gated; and the case was deferred for the Mas
ter-this does not appear to be the husband
to decide the matter in difference between the
parties.
Imagine the Master thus appointed to decide
In detail the affairs of the toilet. 1t is fine
practical satire on that false philosophy which
makes women spoil themselves. For the
greatest waste after all, is in their own attrac-
tions. Look down any gallery of costume
from time immemorial, and see if the most
graceful garb, that which best sets forth the
womanly grades, of form, carriage, or express
sion, is not the very opposite of this mad mil
linery which disguises the angel under heap
Of manufacture? 1t is to waive the sweet COM
petition of the Grace, in order to a wretched
competition of the purse, for the benefit solely
of others lucre. When did you ever see the
Paphian Goddess, or Hebe, or Helen, or any
heroine Of tale, in prose or verse, imprisoned
in hoops, or crinOline! so stands not the sta
tue that enchants the world ''-Syectator.