Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1870-08-13
From the Boston Congregationalist.
Advice to Young Ladies.
SENSIBLE Talk BY DIR. DIo LEWIS
WILL IT BE Needed?

Now ladies, I will preach you just a
little sermon, about an inch long. I
dor't often preach, but in this case moth
ing but a sermon will do.
Firstly, you are perfect idiots to 60
on in this way. Your bodies are the
most beautiful of Gods creation. In
the Continental galleries / always saw
groups of people gathered about pictures
of women. 1t was not passion; the
gazers were just as likely to be women
aa men; it was because of the wondrous
beauty of women's body.
Now stand with me at my office win
dow, and see a lady pass. There goes
one now isn't that pretty looking OBJ
iect? A big hump, three big Jumps, a
wilderness of crimps and frills, hauling
up of the dress here and there, an enor-
mons, hideous mass of false hair or bark
piled on the top of her head, surmount-
ed by a little fiat, ornamented with bits
of lace, birds tails, etc, etc. The shop
windows tell us, all day long, of the
paddings. whalebones and steel springs
which occupy most of the space within
that outside rig.
In the name of the simple, sweet SEN
timents which cluster about home, |
would ask, how is a man to fall in love
with such piece of compound, doubled
and twisted, tuch-me-not artificiality, as
you see in that wiggling curiosity?
Secondly, with that wasp waist,
squeezing your lungs, stomach, liver and
size, and with that long tail dragging on
the ground, how can any man of sense
who knows that life is made up Of use,
of service, of work, how can he take
such partner? He must be desperate
indeed, to unite himself for lite with such
a fettered halfbreathing ornament!
Thirdly, your bad dress and lack OF
exercise leads TO bad health, and men
wisely fear that instead of a helpmate,
they would get an invalid to take care
of. This bad health in you, just as in
men, makes the mind as well as the body
faddled and effeminate. You have nc
power, no magnetism know you gig
gle freely and use big adjectives, such al
"splendid," "awful," but then this don't
deceive us; we see through it all. You
are superficial, affected, silly; you have
none of that womanly strength and
warmth which are so assuring and at
tractive to men. Why, you have be.
come so childish and weak-minded that
you refuse to wear decent names even
and insist upon baby names. Instead o
Helen, Margaret and Elizabeth, you at
feet Nellie, Maggie and Lizzie. Wher
your brothers were babies you called
them Dolby, Dickey and Johnny, bu
when they grow up to manhood, nc
! more of that silly trash, if you please
But l know woman of twenty-fiv,
years, and she is as big as both of m,
grandmothers put together, and her rea
name is Catherine, and though her brail
is big enough TO conduct the affairs o
state, she does nothing but giggle, GOV
err up her face with her tan, and exclain
once in four minutes, "Don't now, yol
are real mean"
How can man propose life partner
ship to such silly goose. My dea
girls, you must if you would get hus
bands, and decent ones, dress in plain
neat, becoming garments, and talk lik'
sensible, earnest sisters.
You say that the most sensible mer
are crazy after these butterflies of fash
ION. | beg your pardon, it is not SO. DC
casionally man of brilliant success ma.
marry weak, silly woman, but TO say
as have heard women say hundred
times, that the most sensible men choos
women without sense, is simply absurd
Nineteen times in twenty sensible mel
|, choose sensible women. l grant yoI
that in company they are very likely t
chat aud toy with these overdressed auc