Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1869-11-18
DECENY IN FEMA LIE DRESS.

Ioung girls and ripe ma'rons neet
Rot go about rohed like giouS fanatics
but let those 70 whom high-nocked an
long-sle~ved party dress would Dc gre
yious afhiction content themselves with
showing modest rim OF shoulder above
their bodiees. And let hem not forget
that we'll turned white ar ms can be seen
and appreciated without of necessity 81
t being exposed clear un tf' the nrm-nisss
+ No fair young CIR, ever IL st anything IN
the estimation Of men, W ,osc opinion Is
worth having. by appear ing with neck,
shoulders and arms chas't " veiled in del
/ icate lace or muslin, inst, al Of exposin 9
them to the promlscuous gaze of q pub
/ lie assembly.
We hoard away the jew 'el that we prize
the most We draw eur ain before the
picture that we dote upon we hide our
most sacred feelings in 'ur hearts we
veil the shrine of the TEN pie y; we hedge
the lily about lest its whit encss should be
soilld we want to cover up from other
eyes the things that are le fairest, the
dearest, ana the most sacr Cd to US.
Oh. woman. the most sacred thing,
the fairest and dearest tn At man has in
this world, is yourse!f. A nd l hold that
mans instructive protest is the best guide
in this matter.
Aud the feeling of the "a ,her. the BROTH
er, the lover and the husba nd when his
nature is unpervertei, is hat the arms
that caress and enf3ld hin /, the bosom
which is the dearest home his head can
have on earth, should be sacred as was
the holy Of hoies in the Ga - Of old Jew
ish rites
A woman's body is the temple Of her
soul, and her souls outw rd symbol =
What we want to keep p, lie. holy and
indebted. Ne do not expose to be COM
mon bait for all the eyes Of III 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 reform ques-
ton, is inconsistent. unjust and ungen-
orous to women, and unwJ :hy of them
selves as gentlemen they ink because
woman is not their sister, or wife, or
sweetheart, that it is no COZ l,ern of theirs
how she demeans herself in this matter of
dress. On the contrary, II ~ seem eager
to help to push her itto a false position
by hypocritical compliment: and phrases
of hollow admiration, which are as false
and bitter as Dead Sea frai :. if she will
but stop to aualyze the feeli1 .gs from which
they spring. the motives shich prompt
them. Toe much familari ty breeds con-
tempt. No one knows this better than
the man who watches over the dress and
department of his wife or 81 ster with the
stern jealousy of an Orienta l. while at the
same time he blandly encoura gcs the wives.
and daughters, and sisters # other men
in every species of license
Women do not always kn ow-thc very
young especial y-that Ger tain dash and
freedom in the style of dres encourages
familiarity in the manners men toward
them. They too often folio, bIin1ly af
ter the reiguing mode. withc ut question
up~n mems opinion of them. They feel
strong because they 60 in drC ives, and in
droves they dare to indulge n style of
dress for which any one WON; N be igno-
miniously hovted out of soci ETY., if she
dared to appear in it alone, and upon
any occasion for which it is nc t sanction
ed by fashion.
If men would but give up Il leir abomi-
nabe tw0-sided policy on thn question,
and act toward every reputab e woman.
whom they find masquera ling in dis
reputable attire, just as they W Iu|d under
like circumstances, toward i beir own
wives, dau ghters on sisters, as lar as is
consistent with surroundings an / circum-
stances, this mole of dress wo u soon
be driven to its rishtful bome-t i, haunts
of the profjgate and the lost wot la,a
For my own dear countrYwom II | have
one wish, which has moved me tc speak
az have spoken. Plain words uld hard
words to say, but words that mas be spo-
ken, nevertheless, and which ar better
spoken sooner or later. 1t is tt a they
should be known all over the orld as
the most modest of women in DIR ,S,s and
department, even as they are n wv dis
tinguished for wit, elegance, pa criotsm
and innate purity Of character. 1T the
women OF other countries belle the selves
if they will, by uoie of attire bich is
in direct opposition to the diet ;,es OF
their natural moles:y, but let ours set q
bright example in this respect the
world, ami thea, indeed, the natior shall
rise up aud proclaim the America We
men blessed = Howard Glvndoll, IN
Plcl;ard's Monthly for S.p:eoster-