The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-08-13

Young and low born man, who ls weak ~ wen @s
ambitious, and who thinks the fugitive regard
ofa middle-aged woman OF high rank someshGs hn y
to be proud OF and boasted about. That sne 81 Is
as old as his own mother-at this moment SELL
ing tapes behind village counter, or gamer
ing up the eggs in q country faIm-tels notnns a
AGAINST the association with HIM; and the Wo-
man who began her career of Irritation with the
son Of duke ends it with the son OF shop
keeper, having between these two terms SPAN
ned ali the several degrees OF degTasoa.,on gs mo-
not heip herself for it is part Of the insignia Of
her artificial youth to have the reputation OF
love affair, or the pretence Of one, even the
reality is q mere delusion.
When such woman as this is one Of the
matrons, and consequently one OF the leaders
Of society, what can We expect OF the girls
What worse example could be given to the
Young? When we see her with her own daugh-
ters we feel instinctiyely that she is the most
disastrous adviser they could have; and when
IN the company of girls or young married
women not belonging to her, We doubt whether
We ought not to warn their natural guard1ans
against allowing such association, TOR all that
her standing in society is undeniable, and not
door is shut against her.. We have no apso-
lutely tangible reason to give for our dlstaste
beyond the self-evident facts that she paints her
face and dyes her hair, dresses in very decot-
lete style, and affects girlish manner that ls
out Of harmony with her age and condition.
But though we cannot formular1ze reasons, we
have instincts, and sometimes instincts sees
more clearl,' than reason.
What coed in life does this kind of woman
do? An her time is taken up, first In trying
to make herself look twenty or thirty years
Younger than she is, and then ln trying to
make others believe the same; and she has
neither thought nor energy to spare from this,
to her, far more important work than in feed
ing the hungry or nursing the sick, resc1ng
the fallen or soothing the sorrowiul. The inal
cause of her existence seems to be the lmpe-
tus she has given to certain branch OF trade
mnpufacture-unless We add to this the cor
ruption Of society. For whom, but for her,
are the ''Gttle secrets" which are continually
being advertised as woman's social salvation
regardless Of grammar? The s'eaux noire,
brun, ct chatain. which dyes the hair any shade
10 one minute;" the kohhl for the eyeGds;" the
blanc de perle, " and rouge de Lubin," which
does not wash off; the 'sbleu pour les veines;;'
the s.rouge OF eight shades and "the sympa-.
thetic blush" which are cynically offered for
the use and adoption Of our mothers and
daughters; find their chief patroness in the
femme passee, who makes herself up-the mid
dle-aged matron engaged in her frantic strug-
gle against time, and obstinately refusing to
grow old in spite Of all that nature may say
or do.
Bad as the girl Of the period often is, this
horrible travesty of her vices in the modern
mstron is even worse. Indeed, we're it not for
her, the girls would never have gone to such
lengths as those to which they have gone; for
elder women have naturally immense influence
over younger ones, and if mothers were to set
their faces resolutely against the follies OF the
day, daughters would and must give in. AS it
is, they go even ahead Of the young, and by
example on one hand and rivalry on the other,
SOW the curse Of corruption broadcast where
they were meant to have pure influence
and to set wise example. We're it not for
those who stin remain faithful, women who re-
gard themselves as appointed by God the
trustees for humanity and virtue, the world
would 60 to ruin forthwith; but 80 long as the
i've righteous are left -we have hope, and q
certain amount Of security for the future, when
he present disgraoeful madness OF society
,hall, have subsidized.