The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-01-21

ths Bay Of Beagsl. Il . passion
| for elephsntiasis, and in q taste for
DerfOratiDg their ears and noses, and
plugging the ori6ces with rolls Of
tobacco or filing thIm with enormous
metal rings, aud other outIandIsh
methods of decoration; while the
Bengalese bellies load their wrists and
ankles with bangles and anklets. The
male and female tops of savage life on
| the American continent are as greedy
of personal ornament and as ridicu-
lous ia paradipg it as their civilized
prototypes. Their untutored minds
take pleasure IN beads, eagles plumes,
cowries, wampum, Birmingham jewell
~ and scarlet cloth. Raddle, aud
various different colored ochres are
in as great demand and as highly
esteemed as "lily white " and "deli-
cate carmine are 10 May Fair, and
are applied with the same artistic
skill and prodigality: In tine, go
where we will we shall lind the same
passion for display, the same ablect
submission to the degrading require
ments of fashion, among all races aud
conditions of people.
To be everlastingly wise aud useful
would be exceedingly irksome. Man
needs diversion, but to get it we need
not make Punch or a Judy of our
self. Neither ought we to make the
pursuit of pleasure the sole business
of our lives. The most useless and
ridiculous thing in existence is a fash
ionable man or woman. They add
nothing 10 the common stock of the
means Of happiness, but rather create
misery by the influence of promis-
euous example. The money spent In
maintaining one fashionable person
a modern lady or gentleman-would
support in comfort, usefulness and
respectabili4y a score of persons who
would be an honor to the common
wealth. Working bees kill the drones;
and If we had as ready a way of get
ting id Of the fashionable excres-
cences Of society, what a blessing it
would be to any affl ctcd community.
The latest fashionable frivolity is
the French novelty of the velocipedel
That volative and ingenious people
are ever in the lead in the invention
OF trivial trlfies to amuse the idle
rich. They are fashions legitimate
offspring, and we, in Initiating their
folhes, expose ourselves 10 the disre-
putable charge of being spurious
issue, devoid Of the genius of origi /
nality, and fit and apt only to ape the
graceful antics of others more gener-.
ously gifted, aud more elegantly and
artistically accomplished - The.
sports of children please The child =
and though a wise. manl would say,
:" When | was child, thought as a
child, spoke as a child, acted as q
child, but when | became man | put
away childish things yet fools will
purchase the childish toy, aud pend
months In qualifying themselves to
manage and guide it with address, and
dexterity: These frivolous votaries of
fashion have in the velocipede a means
of qualification as exquisite to them
as Bonner has in driving = Dexter
and no doubt clubs of velocipedeists
will be organized, exhibitions of ve-
iocipedal skill given in public places,
and premiums of Immense amount be-
slowed on him or her who evinces the
highest degree of excellence in his or
her method of driving and managing
the machine
ViUe t6agatclte is now the worlds
motto, and will last while Fashion,
clad in the regalia Of majesty, can inn
pose on the credulous imaginations of
the vain, the frivolous and the whim-
steal.