The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1866-03-22

which is akin to tears in the study o
it. 1t is not alone the struggling fol
precedence and place-the ludicrout
efforts Of Mrs. Potiphar to eclipse Mrs
CrGsns in the size of her footman''
calves, or to give larger party thar
Mrs Booty; it is not alone that ole
Pot" bulls on Erie or bears on gold
utterly regardless of real values, stri
wing 10 make money, not by adding
to the production of the country, but
by-(we beg pardon of all Wall street,
s,cindling some other individual Of
less head or purse it is not that both
male and female Potiphar, in their re
spective spheres, arc willing to peri
health, morals, and their very souls in
comprising their desires he to make
money, she to make a swell; al
things we are able to bear on be-
half of those estimable people with
indifference. What is it 10 US wheth
er "old Pot" is damned or not
so long as Mrs. P has the money? We
bear these casualties with equanimity
for our friends. ....
But the same recklessness which
leads to fast living, and to the making
of money by fair means and foul in the
stock market, actuates the robber when
he knocks you down with his blud
geon or the courtezan who sells hel
person for gold. The same insane
recklessness which rushes for riches al
all hazards, blows up steamboats, and
smashes railroad trains, The glare
and glitter of fast living are product
i've Of reckless disregard of life ant
limb everywhere. Men in haste to b.
rich are not careful to see that theil
Juggernaut does not crush some fel.
low pilgrim. Everything is on the
high pressure system. All is rush and
hurry. There is no time for the solid
enjoyments of life. Solidityl 1t il
not found in our social life, in our reli
gion-in even our architecture-in oul
lives or our possessions. The expan
sion of tho currency seems to have its
counterpart in everything we do, be
or suffer. There are no fixed values in
morals. politics or religion. All the
outward symbols of our inner life are
deceptive and vague.
1t seems the age of sham. Snob.
berry in society, hypocrisy in religion
pretence everywhere. What operator
dare show the mechanism with which
he produced the rise and fall in stock
which made his fortune-what beauty
on the matrimonial market dare show
the mechanism with which she produ.
ced the rounded outline of the volup.
tuous swell which brought an estab-
lishment to her iect?
"A mistake,-with shame be it writ.
ten. 1t is one of the indecent mani
festations of the coarsness and indeli-
cacy of the age-it is a symbol of its
pretense and shame, that such me-
chanicism is exhibited, and may be
seen in any millinery Or ladies dress
goods cstablishment-in any show
window of such Establishments
Shapely charms, suited to the most fas-
tidious taste, may be seen on public ex-
hibition, anywhere, and, may be had
on the most reasonable terms.
Is it wrong to speak of these things?
All sense of delicacy is blunted by the
obtrusiveness and commonness of the
display. False colors for the complexion,
false hair for the head, false plumpness
for the body, false calves-and false
hearts, if hearts were ever considered
part of the outfit of n fashionable wo-
man.
Where must all this end ? How
shall we ever get back to our original
simplicity and purity of character p
Refinement and culture exist, undUubt-
edly; sweet, modest violets are hidden
here and there in this great bed ofho!-
lyhocks and mushrooms and fierce,
overbearing, crooked crab.trees solid
foundation our great Temple of Liber-
ty must have, somewhere. But where?
Must we have grand crash in our
moral world, as in the world of finance,
before it is possible TO return to our
specie basis of republican simplicity
and virtueP
1t is patent-it needs no close obser-
vation to show--that no such laXness
of morals, no such rottcnness of socie-
ty, no such overmasterng deluge of
crime, ever existed in this country as
exist now. A great moral pestilence
walks in darkness and slays at noon
day throughout the length and breadth
of the land. Unfaithfulness in the
social relations, illicit pleasures, cor
rupt usages. and modes of living at
variance with the republican simple.
ity of our government and society, are
daily forced upon the notice of the
locker on; the columns of our Dewspa-
pers TEEN with a prurient literature
made up in equal parts of accounts Of
divorce trials, seductions, rapes, abor-
tions, .murderers, dance houses,
concert saloons, pretty waiter girl
saloons, filthy quack advertisements
shamelessly setting forth the most
dangerous inducements to crime of the
most monstrous character, designations,
and sensation sermons designed not
so much to correct the evils as to give
feeting notoriety to some taithless
minister of Christ. Robberios, homi-
cides, murders, and all crimes against
the person thefts, torgeries, counter.
feiting, and all crimes against proper
ty; all crimes against society and the
body politio, are Overwhelmingly on
the increase, and the machinery of the
law sanma nnwarlnsa 10 nxtirnatn than