Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-01-17
dQortester 9ailp SPY.

FETTICoATs AND OTHER THINGs.-In Nav
last gentleman of good position was married
to the daughter of a lady who resided in Pic.
cadlly, London. In July the bride had to at
tend ball, and of course it was necessary that
she should have ball dress. Application was
made to Mesdames Lewis and Cooper, who are
court milliners, in Somerset street, Portman
square; and there the bride ordered a ball
dress, not only for herself, but for her sister.
at the same time the fair lady ordered mag
nlhcent steel dress petticoat. The dress and
the petticoat were sent home, approved, and
mucn admired. In the same month of July,
unhapplly-so constantly in this life do mourn
ful accidents mngle with the gayest-a pain
tul event occurred in the family, and Miss Lew
Is received this note :-"Kindo come at once,
as have some important orders to issue which
must be executed Immediately. My poor dear
$iy loved sister has been summoned from this
word of care" This imperative summons
was obeyed and the consequence was an ex-
tended order for mourning dresses Some 9TH
FER colored dresses which had already been or
y dered were sold, for the season was over, at an
abated sum for which credit was given
to the lady in the account. AT last O
A0'ni was sent in, bill involving the external
interests of the BRIDE of one or more of her
sisters, and of her mother. But the amount
rising to the figure of G95 1885, 3d., the hus-
band of the lady in chief demurred he paid
500 into court, and declared himself not in
debted beyond that sum. There does not ap-
pear to have been any dispute as to the Gau-
thority of the ladys relatives; the whole
question lay in the reasonableness of the
charge. That the dresses were not extrava-
giant 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 hall dress which was ordered
cost fl0 10s.-not a large sum. 1t was very
nearly twelve yards in circumference There
was also an extra full book slip belonging to
the petticoat, 81 9s. Cd. "What," asked Mr..
Honynan, "waS the book slip belonging to the
petticoot?" Miss Lewis answered." The
crinoline, if you will enter into the mysteries
it is to hide the steel hoops" The more we
anatomze the phenomena, the more surprising
do our discoveries become.
When the naturalist catches "demoisele"
and subjects it, under the microscope, to tie
dissecting knife, he finds it, if not exactly the
same structure as that of higher animals, still
the most wonderful complication of organs,
arteries and nerves. There are. however
some creatures in which the animal itself is
but small and not readily discovered fraction
of the structure which appears to the eye
there are usually very low i'll the scale of crea-
ton, and the demoiselle which was under an.
atomy by DIR. Honyman in his clinical lecture
before the Court of Common Pleas appears to
have been an analogue of coraling rather than
an insect. Beneath the full book-slip was an
exc skeleton OF steel hoops, price FL IS. Cd
price which the dressmaker declared to be
quite reasonable" and we can well under
stand that it was so. Mr.. Honyman now
grew nervous, and was 'afraid to mention an
article" that cost SIS. Cd. "Is that reasonable"
he asked. Miss Lewis, more intrepid, looked
at her bill and replied, GA steel hustle, IS. 6s
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 toilette 1t is fine
practical satire on that false philosophy which
makes women spoil themselves. For the
greatest wastes, after all, is in their own at
fractions. Look down any gallery of costume
from time immemorial, and see if the most
graceful garb, that which best sets forth the
womany graces, of FORM carriage, or ex-
pressions is not the very opposite of this mad
millinery which DISCUSSES the angel under a
heap of manufacture 1t is to waive the
sweet competition OF the Graces, in order to
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 hoop or crinoline! $50
stands not the statue that enchants the world. 4"
London Spectator.