Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1860-08-22

into coats which We cannot button, and our
legs into trowsers in which we dare not sit
down? Who can tell but Fashion, the
Kingl We shall obey his command as cur
fathers did before us. Lord Harrington
spoke the word, and the dandies of his
time appeared in rough grcat-eoats, down
to their ankles Called Petershams,) one
season; and the next, bade them affect
things like schOOl-boys' jackets, (caIled
Spencers-) Shall We assent to any such
arbitrary changes now? We are better
dressed people than our fathers. and
more comfortably dressed people than are
to be found of any country or period that
the world has known Can We tell who
made us 50? Who emaneipatCd us men
from the thraldom Of tight sleeves? To
whom are We indebted for the free use &c
our necks? Show me the founder of the
great institution Of the matutinal cold bath.
that may agitate for the erection of a
statue to his memory! King Fashion is not
less powerful than of old For every one
subject that owned his sway half century
ago, he can count a hundred now. Behold
your ''maid- -of-all-wOlk" out for the day.
In an old faded alpaca gown thrust wide
by spacious ''crinoline. The cost Of
this encumbrance would 60 a lcng way
toward the purchase of a pretty cotton
dress, whilst the stains in the poor raiment
arc only exposed by being thus stretched
cut Who can say, with this, and ten
thousand other examples before our eyes,
that the pswer of Fashion, the King, is
departing? Had he continued to rule US
IN his old Austrian manner, his dynasty
might have long since ended. Unlike tIe
usual run of royal rerscnagcs, he is wise;
he lives in the present, and respects the
legades of the past. Let me state one
proof of his sagaeity, by which my argu-
ment shall stand or fall He has deter
mined that ladies shall wear short dresses
again. But that his reform shall not un-
generously affect the appearance Of his vs-
taries, what does he do? First and fore
most, he orders that young and old shall
wear boots in ordinary, instead Of shoes.
Let it lie remembered that it used to lie
considered very improper thing indeed
for lady to wear boots. Did not Madam
Nestris introduce them in her famous i'm
presentations Of imperfectly clad divinities,
and was not that lady very dreadful PER
son? Ergo boots must be very UfjcctiUr-
able articles of custu1he, @. T. D. Fash
ion, however, said, that worn they should
be; and worn they were The mothers of
the present generation of pretty girls knew
them not. As children, they ran about in
low shoes, fastened across the instep with
a narrow strap. The ankle is the most
lelicate piece of mechanism in the human
rame, and, in our early years, the bones
md eartilages that compose it want support.
The foot, ike every other part of the hu-
nan body, requires that blood shall cireu-
late freely through its veins. Shoes gave
10 support to the ankle, and their straps
retarded the circulation. Consequently
.hildren walked upon the side of their feet,
nd complained bitterly of chilblains and
ther unspeakable ailments, ''As the twig
s bent, the trees inclined" VIII it be
reason to suggest, that as these little ones
rev up, matters did not mend; and that
he vested interest in long pettieoats was
loaded stoutly in opposition to any change
IS soon as boots, by Fashions DEGREES, had
cen worn for few years, wonderful Ct
,ct WIS aehievcG-all the little girls have
retty feet and anklesl What followed IS
matter of course? A hitherto unknown
fFcction for the lower part of dress skirts;
watchful protection Of them from contact
nth the mud, in wet weather, the dust, In
ny, and the hard ground in any medium
tate; the wearing, in summertime of
"holy work" and "broderie An
laise," as ornaments for the mysterious
Ids disclosed by the uplifting Of the outer
lirt and in the winter, of useful black
I'd rcd substitutes for thcm; the intro
lction of Balmoral hosiery, to match with
lis latter improvement; and the invention
"tackle, for keeping the dress "hOist-
!, without fatigue to its wearer. This
what followed What has yet to come?
rort dresses? Fashion has put US through
long and careful preparation for them;
has gradually accustomed US men to
ar the sight of a well-turned ankle with
t surprise; he has emancipated ladies
m the nuisance of bedraggled garments;
d thus his new law win be eheerfully
eyed, when it shall be his gracious will
d pleasure to promulgate the same.
How curious is the passion for balances