The Shasta courier., 1866-04-07
Women and Dress.

over.
Women and Dress.
From an old number of the North British
Review we extract the following:
We may, perhaps, be accused of taking a
very low view of domestic obligations and
matrimonial duties, when we say that it is
one of wife's first duties to appear attract
i've in the eyes Of her husband But rightly
considered, this obligation lies at the very
root of the connubial contract. We believe
that we underrate the case when we say that
setting apart those unhappy connections
which are formed for mere mercenary mo.
tives-in nine instances out of ten a man
chooses wife on account of something that
is, in his estimation. or that at the time of
choosing he fancies to be, personally attract
i've in the object of his choice. 1t NAV not be
marries, indeed, for the sake of the 6 domus
ct ptacens uxor." He does not take woman
to his hearth because she is philosopher, or
an arithmetician, but because, in homey
language, there is something nice about
herr 1t was, doubtless. the design of the
Almighty in giving man heIpmate, that she
should satisfy his natural craving after the
beautiful, the graceful and the gentle. For
this was woman formed
For softness she and sweet attractive grace"
The woman who forgets this ignores one of
the great objects of her creation. The wife
who forgets this violates one of the primal
conditions of the connubial contract.
That some women are naturally more beau
tiful and graceful than others, is fact
which makes not against, but for our argu
ment. Dress is common to all. 1t is con-
ISOLATION to those not naturally gifted, that
there is point at which nature yields to art,
and the work of mems hands is potent to
supply the adornment not vouchsafed by
Providence. 1t is surprising what q very
little way mere personal beauty goes With
out precisely adopting the views of the Syba-
rite Italian in Dean Milman's tragedy, who
thus enunciated his allegiance to the divinity
of dress
-" I'm not one Of the gallants
That pine for fair lip. or eye, or cheek,
Or that poetical treasure, true heart
But, my lord. Embroidered head dress makes me
As love-sick as dove at mating-time
tasteful slipper is my souls delight
oh adore a robe that drops and floats
As it were lighter than the air around it;
doat upon stomacher to distraction,
When the gay jewels, tastefully disposed,
Make it zone of stars and then fan,
The elegant motion of fan is murder,
Positive murder, to my poor weak senses:"
without, we say, precisely going to such a
length as this, we may confidently appeal to
the experience of men of the world in support
OF the assertion, that the efforts of art are
often more pleasing and attractive than the
gifts of nature-in other words, that we'll
n .,r1 Il u
beautiful ones. Accident is beaten by effort
in the great Olympics of Society.
1t may be argued that taste in dress is
scarcely less natural gift than personal
beauty. And to some extent, at least. the
fact must be admitted. One woman has nat.
urally an eye for color and form, whilst ano.
ther has neither the one or the other. But
there are few women who have not, or can.
not acquire, a sufficient knowledge of the
becoming in costume for all domestic pur-
poses. 1t may be doubted. indeed. whether
the plea of incompetency is ever set up. The
real secret of inattention to dress is careless
ness Indifference idleness sit is not
worth the trouble" Women do not alwavs
consider that what it is worth their while to
gain, it is worth their while to keep. 1t is
no uncommon thing for women to become
slatternly after marriage. They say that
they have other things to attend to, and dress
is habitually neglected perhaps, on
great occasions, when there is display of
fnery and bad taste abroad, to be followed by
greater negligence at home. Great respect
is shown to what is called :" company" but
apart from this there is sort of cui bono
abandonment, and the compliment which is
paid to strangers is withheld from those who
have best right to claim, and are most likely
to appreciate it. This fatal. but too com.
mon error. When woman. with reference
to the question of personal adornment, begins
to say to herself, "It is only my husband"
she must prepare herself for consequences
which, perhaps, she may rue to the latest day
of her life.
The effect, indeed, of attention or inatten
ton to Dress-and we include in the one
little word whatever contributes to personal
comel ness and attractivcness-upon the do.
mestic happiness, especially of the lower and
middle classes, cannot easily be overestimat-
ed, The ptacens uror as we have said, is no
small part of the totality of home IF man
finds that he has not secured what he believed
he had married, he has right to feel disap
pointed We do not say that he has right
to retaliate. The obligations of the counubial
contract are not conditional but absolute.
Negligence on the one side does not excuse
negligence on the other; but it will very
surely induce it. When there is nothing at
tractive at home, man, however inexcusable
such conduct may be, will seek it abroad,
whether at the ale house, the club, the thea.
tire. the gaming-table. or only in what is
commonly called "rociety." We do not
mean to say that dress alone is the agency by
which the erratic propensities of husbands
are to be restrained, but that it is highly