Weekly Trinity journal., 1869-11-27
o'" Beautiful Bellies"

Now, | want to remind Miss Seraphina Azu.
reeyes-who, because she has round and grace
ful white arms and seductive shoulders, wants
to let everybody else into the secret, apd, there
| fore, goes about in dresses as low-necked and
| short-sleeved as an indulgent fashion will allow
(arguing that it cannot be wrong because women
have been doing it SO long, and because women,
who are known to be good and pure women,
still do it)-of a patent fact; and wanted her
TO map out her own differences from it: II is
that men always oppose such exposure in their
| own wives, sisters and daughters, whenever they
express an honest opinion on the subject. If
you talk of this matter to young Foozlefuss of
Fifth h-avenue-d e-dle-dom-who in spite of his pro-
clvties for fussy necktes and fast trotters ism t
such bad fellow after all-he will put on the
air of one of the knowing ones about town and
say, with laugh, "Well if the women like to
do it, we fellows have no objection. The more
of it the better for us-its jolly for the men l'
And then he goes home and finds his sister
dressed for hop, and you ought to hear him
scod at her
"Do pull your dress up on your shoulders
you shan't 60 out looking like that Put sone-
thing over your neck - Or:
I" | wish you would go and take that thing off
and put something decent! lam not going
to have my sister going out dressed like woman
of no repute, for every brute to leer at p
Severe fact-not very elegantly expressed
my utaT MISS OtTdpulHd UuI tuOSt men are not
remarkable for choosing their words when they
have something unpleasant to say
The Foozlefuss, later in the evening,
lounges into a crowded ballroom filled with the
full dressed women of fashionable society, an
his attention is attracted by lovely young wo-
man, whom, perhaps, he would not have noticed
if her dress were not so conspicuous for the
shortness of its sleeves and the lowness of its
corsage-though, it may be, the blush upon her
face : a m Par-
haps it is your own dear self, Miss Seraphina,
who knows? But at any rate, the sight of the
fair, soft arms and dimpled shoulders of this
young woman pleases him. He can't help that
he would not be if he could help being
pleased.
Besides, she does not belong to him, and he is
not responsible for her, and he is free to gaze
and admire untrammeled by any of a husband
or brothers regrets He seeks her side, mot
with that sentiment of hale-respectful awe which
we involuntarily feel for true womanhood in its
first virginia. bloom, and approached as becomes
such shrinking virginity, but simply drawn to-
wards her by admiration of her physical attrib-
utes.
He is naturally inclined to undervalue even
where he admires, and his manner at first verges
on familiarity and fippantness When be knows
her better he sees that her grl-othe- period cos
tune has been the cause of his pisjudging her,
for she is a modest woman-although a modest
woman masquerading in Il dress which cannot
be called so. Let those who will reconcile the
discrepancy. leave it to them.
He becomes her lover in the course of time,
and, some day when they talking over some
coming festival, and she, woman-like, is telling
him what she is going to wear, he finds courage
to whisper:
g Oh, don't let any one see your shoulders to-
night p
That is the mans verdict. And it is SO be-
cause he loves her and, if he did not love and
respect her, never would he give her such coun-
sci. 1t is a true and safe test If be did not
love her he might possibly say, if consulted on
the matter:
Certainly wear low-neck dress tonight :;
you have beautiful arms and shoulders, and we
gentlemen like to see woman beauty exposed to
the best advantage p
I don't say that he would make such an an
swer but in accordance with his first expressed
opinion on the subject, it would be the only hon
one he could make.
How would any good young woman reconcile
such an answer as that from whose good
opinion she valued? l don't believe she would
be pleased | think in her inmost heart she
would be pained. But don't think any man.
whose tastes and feelings not perverted,
would so counsel his prospective wife, Because
if he loves her he naturally wants those lovely
shoulders to be veled from al but himself; and
if she loves him she will be jealous of all such
unnecessary displays in future. She will be
careful not to outrage alike the unerrng instinct
of mans honorable affection and her own wo-
manly conscience - Packard's Monthly.