The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1869-03-27


that woman says, does and think:
while in he, first youth; and to~a grea
extent they infsence the whole Of he
after life. In general it is only whe
she has'become disappointed and ssdden
"a, and made practical by ashard stuggl
with life, that she turns her thoughts +
more intellectual things, and lives NOR
with her mind and less with her heart,
she is married woman, or a woman
without children.
It's the sxne thing with man. Whel
he is very young he is thinking of FAM
and fortune; but what is it for? Ii
nearly every instanc there is a woman il
the case. !. is for her that he wants tt
be great and brave and rich-that sh'
may love him, and that he may care fol
her-just as size wishes to besbeautitu
and attractive, that he may love her anc
admire her. This is the epitome of the
life of young manhood and young woman.
hood and that young woman should
think it is her business to be beautiful is
perfectly right and legitimate, provided
that she does not get wrong idea of the
means 70 be taken to maks herself So
And what if young manhood, who is her
jndge and criterion in this matter, is the
first to give her wrong idea OF the way
of going about it?
Young men, do you ever think of it,
when you take your sisters and sweet
hearts to the opera and theatre, and
when you indulge loudly in praises of
some favorite actress's dress Or manner,
and plainly show by your enthusiasm
that you admireahat style or this most
Don't you know how quick those girls
are to take a hint? Are you surprised,
after that, to find them parading tie
streets in tight military jackets-o la
Grand Duchesse-and wildly frizzled
hair AID piquant little caps-ala Tostee :?
And aren't there some among them who
even secretly wish, in their simplicity,
that they might dance the Can Can,
seeing how you admire Tostee in it?
Yes. that is the way young womanhood
becomes perverted in its tastes first, and
its ideas afterwards 1t is from, some
times consciously and at other times un-
consciously, shaping themselves upon the
favorite tastes of young men in dress
and department. You know very well
in your hearts that virtue is above ru-
bies, andAashat modesty is a pearl of
great price; hut for all that, in ball
room you crowd around the girl who
dresses in the most marked and extrav-
agant manner, and who carries off her
conspicuous toilette by an air of self
assertion, and an aplomb which nothing
can dauut. You preach quietness, Sim
plicity, and good breeding to your sisters
and sweethearts, and you bluster if they
show bit of their shoulders above the
rim of their dress waists: and then you
turn around and pay especial court to
the most decotletee woman in the room
do homage to the keen eye, the readiest
tongue, the most unscrupulous repartee,
and then you are indignant to see that
your womankind are trying, as in them
lies, to initiate that very woman in what
you have so much admired!
Now, if you don't want them to imi-
tate her, you ought not to admire her so
openly-for whatever you admire they
will pattern by.
So, young gentlemen, you in a great
measure are responsible for the present
extravagant state of the fashions. "
Some of you admire them, doubtless,
and consider the prevailing mode as
quite the correct thing; but there may
be others among you thoughtfu enough
to reflect on the evils that lurk beneath
the gaudy and bedezined surface Of the
present style. 1t is not exactly that
immoderately high-heeled boots deform
and weaken the feet-nor that the evil
of tight lacing is coming back nor that
the Grecian bend ruins the spine-nor
that the dishevelled hair. streaming on
thetvind, is not good taste for civilized
women-nor that profuse display OF
tinsel ornaments is barbaric. But there
is cause for sorrow when we have no
means, so far as dress is concerned, OF
discriminating between a respectable
but fashionably attired woman and a
courtesan; since the one has assumed
all the trappings and the meretricious
adorDments and the tricks in dress for
showing off her person, and drawing
attention to it on the street, which, a
few years ago, were considered the ex-
elusive property Of the other.
1Itis, further. because these gew-gaws
are usurping the whole of the time and
attention Of young women. 1t takes
them all their time to plan out their new
costumes, 60 shopping In search Of the.
materials for them, and q thousand other
triaes that go to the makeup Of a
toilette la mode Of to day, to fit their
dresses, make and try. them on and
faunt around in them. That is not quite
the sort of a wife a young man just be-
ginning life needs. But just so long as
&gEf Vi t. + s~&E% ss:*. - f.