The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-07-09

-E- FE NX'I aFga
CLUBS AND CLUB HOUSES. SIS =
s Clubs are getting to be almost as
fashionable an Institution for men in
New York, as in London. There are
now eight or ten, all well patronized,
that can afford to pay from six to
fifteen thousand dollars per year for
the rent of a handsome house, and
goodness knows how much more for
the support of their establishment, Its
furniture, its attendance, its dinners,
its. suppers and luxuries of every de-
iscripti0n. q snf taatfu ai ri d taaf
Ladies are not often invited to par
ticipateain clubhouse entertainments,
but the other evening n of them
gave an Inauguration reception on the
occasion of opening their new and ell
egant house in Madison Avenue, and
for once, spittoons were all huddled
mitted to the crinelined friends of the
members 5aat .sfifon -ie 99e Isb.oH
Speaking for tie information of
those ladies who have never seen the
interior of a club house, it may be as
well to remark that there is nothing
Idisagreeable about its general aspect.
On the contrary, it is rather attractive
than otherwise. The gentlemen only
exclude the fair sex to the extent of
participating in their Injuries, not
from aiding in the task of securing
their comfort. Every wife has heard
her husband, some time or other, ask,
what she got such .coufoundedly
homely girls foorr?''s And it need
scarcely be- said that the club
housemaids are not homely; on the
contrary, they are very pretty, and
wear coquettish head-dresses..s bna =
y There is a total absence of what is
SO common in rivate, houses, 2 and
that is an appearance of stint and
economy. = From the broad marble
yestibule and wide imposing stair
case to the topmost floor, through re-
ception, dining, billiard, reading,
chess, and numberless other rooms, all
is ample, commodious and abundant.
The carpets are the softest, the pic
lures the finest, the chairs the easiest
that are to be found, while the read
ing groom is supplied with all the la
test books, papers and magazines, the
MUSHROOM with the costliest of1grand.
pianos-and-the .dining-room-With
rare and fragrant towering plants,
placed In the inches of panneled
walls, representing fruits, game. and
all sorts of table delicacies, all of
which put in a substantial APP
pearance from the hands of a
French cook, an artistic q who
issues his orders with a grand
air and considers himself prime min
lister of the whole concern, which he
is. Tits not at all surprising that the
married members of such an institu-
ton as this, hurry away from the
grizzled chop and soggy biscuit served
by Bridget" and announce that they
will dine at the club; but it is a pity
and a shame that women, too, have
not some such resort as a relief to
washing-day horrors and cold meat
Men have the best of it here, that
is certain. but it is possible that our
turn will come, and then-well. may
be we won't have clubs and good din
uers.
SHORT WALKING DRESSES.
When short dresses for street wear
were introduced, we were rejoiced,
and considered it a matter of congrat-
ulatiou. 1t is to be feared, however,
that the moral and physical advan-
tages of this useful and sensible
fashion will be all lost In its abuse. 3
The short. narrow skirts suggested
an altogether gu ct and somewhat re-
stricted style of costume. not specially
beautiful or graceful. but neat, clearly
md Dorfacttv o1aDta4 - 80 ,.co TIL
annoyance Of having always to carry
about with n an immense. mass Of
material, and draw it after me-, 10 the
shape of a dirty trail, is SO great, that
it was only reasonable to suppose
women generally would eagerly accept
an opportunity to rid themselves oft
without being considered unfashiona-
BILE or eccentric, aud so they did. But
vanity, and the habit of doing the
most foolish things because other
people do them, has been too much
for the majority of American women,
young and old, and they have bediz-
cned and befurbelowed the short
dress until it has become a parody
upon itself. "
AS we have intimated, the beauty
Of the short dress consists. in its con
~venience, its simplicity. its ~neatness,
its cleanliness, and its adaptation to
its specific uses; but when it is made
of light fimsy material, when it is cut
into all sorts of fantastic shapes. when
it is overloaded with trimmings. and
the narrow skirt, accompanied by
huge flowing sleeves, the sentiment of
the dress is destroyed, and, apart from
Ill
tions, IT is bad, because inartistic and
out of harmony wi b itself.
The short dress is not a mere mat
TO- &c g..ls- - IL -