Smyrna times., 1866-06-27
The Feast of Folly.

In the time of Queen Elizabeth of England
the fashions imported from the Continent
were so eXtravagant and ruinOus to nrivate
fortunes that the Queen, who had three thou
sand dresses IN her wardrobe, issued a procla-
nation against extravaganza in dress. We
have no Queen, but we certainly have need of
the proclamation. The wild waste of money
In the most vulgar ways is matter of profound
pubic concern. 1t tends directly to make mar
riage difficult, and whatever limits honorable
marriage threatens public morality.
Our feast OF folly is the more contemplate
that, 1t is imported. Our vanity is second
hand. New Iork is apparently content to be
a cast-ot Paris. Like pert maid it smirks
and Ogles In the discarded dresses Of its mis-
tress. 1t waits for Paris to be hooped before
it enlarges its skirts, and meekly reduces them
when Paris dwindles. The follies of Long
champs are daring, original, and preposterous.
But they are the tOilieS of one of the richest
and most corrupt of European courts The
same tollles, carefully initiated in New York or
at Saratoga or Newport, are only feeble and
farcical.
Does an honest young man, earning his liv-
ing in New York, and hoping to marry his
sweetheart on some happy future day, wish
to see her apng the Princess Mathilde or the
superb Mrs. b, a noted dtUOrcee in Par
Is, at whom even newspaper correspondents
laugh, as they describe her gorgeous dress,
costing at least five hundred dollars and
the " several pounds Of dyed hair upon her
headY' Does he wish to see her upon the
beach at Newport In "a short petticOat not
reaching, below the calf, or trailing half
thousand dollars worth Of silk and lace along
the wet sand? Would she be beautiful to him
if he saw her sweeping the gravel of race
course with "a long train Of delicate tinted
lilac, parasol also trimmed with roses, and trip
ping in lilac boots with tea-rosc on each
instep?"
Such is the costume of the Partisan monde
and demi-mOnde, and here we shall see it's re-
mote and ridiculous reproduction at the sum
mer resorts Is there no one to tell the truth
to these pretty American women who make so
ludicrous mistake? Do they suspect how they
are ridiculed? Do they know that the gilded
youth who futter around them do not spare
them in their gossip! Do they reflect that no
man really respects New York woman who
tries to rival the most notorious Paris women :?
All, gentle ladies', be persuaded? If you dress
In the style of the deDltnlOnde your morals and
manners will be held to be those of the denst-
monde. True womanly modestly still seeks a
modest manner and a modest garb. BE as
graceful and as tasteful as you will but do not
believe that the heroine Of Longchamps or of
a luscious French novel is the heroine of any
clever mans sincere admiration.
The remedy of this folly lies very much in
the hands of sensible people in society =
Let them steadily refuse to allow money to be
made the measure of what is truly fashionable.
Let them plainly discountenance the gaudy and
mad extravaganza Of the time, and teach the
spirit and taste and dress and manners of the
demt-mORde that they must not presume upon
admission to society. "-Hdrper'S Weekly.