The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1869-11-11
Jhe gedfQrl Gazette.
DECENCY FEMALE DRESS.

necked and long-sleeved party dress
would be a grievous affiiction content
themselves with showing a amodestrjm
of shoulder above their bOdices. And
let them not forget that we'll turned
white arms can beseen and appreciated
without of necessity being exposed
clear up to the arm-pits. No fair young
girl ever lost anything in the estima-
tion of men, whose opinion is worth
having, by appearing with neck, shoul-
ders and arms chastely veiled in deli
cate lace or muslin, instead of exposing
them to the epromiscuous gaze of a pub
lie assembly.
We hoard away the jewel that we
prize the most; we draw curtain be-
fore the picture that we dote upon;
we hide our most sacred feelings in our
hearts; we veil the shrine of the tenn
Pile; we hedge the lily about lest its
whiteness should be soiled; we want
to cover up from other eyes the things
that are the fairest, the dearest, and
the most sacred to US.
Oh, woman! the most sacred thing,
the fairest and dearest that man has in
this world, is yourself. And I hold
that mans instructive protest is the
best guide in this matter.
And the feelings of the father, the
brother, the lover and the husband,
when his nature is unperverted, is
that the arms that caress and enfold
him, the bosom, which is the dearest
home his head can have on earth,
should be as sacred as was the holy of
holies in the days of old Jewish rites.
A woman's body is the temple of
her soul, and her souls outward sym
Dol. What we want to keep pure,
holy, and undefiIed, we do not expose
to be the common bait for all the eyes
of all the world, pure and impure to
gloat upon.
The way in which men, as a body,
act and express themselves, when
brought face to face with this dress re-
form question, is inconsistent, unjust,
and ungenerous to women, and un-
worthy of themselves as gentlemen !;
they think because a woman is not
their sister, or wife, or sweetheart, that
it is no concern of theirs how she de-
menas herself in this matter of dress.
On the contrary, they seem eager to
help push her into false position by
hypocritical compliments, and phrases
of hollow admiration, which are as
false and bitter as Dead Sea fruit, if
she will but stop to analyZe the feel
ings from which they spring, the mo-
tives which prompt them. Too much
familiarity breeds contempt. No one
knows this better than the man who
watches over the dress and department
of his wife or sister with the stern
jealousy of an Oriental, while at the
same time he blandly encourages the
wives, and daughters, and sisters Of
other men in every species of license.
Women do not always know-the
very young ones especiaily-that GER
tain dash and freedom in the style of
dress encourages familiarity in the
manners of men towards them. They
too often follow blindIy after the reign
ing mode, without questioning its
meaning, or the effect it will have upon
mems opinion of them. They feel
strong because they 60 in drOves, and
in droves they dare to indulge in
style of dress in which any one wo
man would be ignominiously hoOted
out of society, If she dared to appear
in it alone, and upon any occasion for
which it is not sanctioned by fashion.
If men would but give up their a
bominabIe two-sided policy on this
q, ,vestjon, and act towards every repu-
fable ;, ,oG1an, whom theyf find masque-
rading ina disreputabIe attire, just as
they would NJ der like circumstances
toward their own wives, daughters or
sisters, as far as is cons 'Slaht WIN sur
roundings and circumstance thiS il'oue
of dress would soon be drive 10 lts
rightful home-the haunts of the T. 'ol-
ligate and the lost woman.
For my own dear countrywomen /
have one wish, which has moved me
to speak as ] have spoken. Plain
words and hard words to say, but
words which must be spoken, never
theless, and which are better spoken
sooner or later. 1t is that they should
be known as the most modest ofwOmen
in dress and department, even as they
are now distinguished for wit, elegance,
patriotism and mate purity of charac-
ter. Let the women Of ether countries
belle themselves if they will, by a
mode of attire which is in direct oppo-
sition to the dictates of their natural
but let ours set bright ex-
ample in this respect to the world, and
then, indeed, the nations shall rise up
and proclaim the American women
HOWARD GLYNDoN, ia Pack
ards Monthly, for September.
A patent has recently been granted
for method of refreshing horses
while in harness, which consists in
making the bit hollow and having
perforations in it, A rubber tube ex-
tends from one side of the bit to the
carriage, and by pressing rubber bag
which contains water, the driver is
enabled to refresh horses whenever he
chooses without stopping. For saddle
horses the water bag is suspended
from the horses neck, or upon the
pummel of the saddle.
Tho ,D,.onriator of q potton factory