The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1872-03-20
Dress Of Girls.


Dress Of Girls.
Perhaps there is no more urgent occasion
for reform in any department of domestic
economy than that of the dress of young
girls not yet out of school. In most of our
towns, and in many of our small villages
even, it is open to the charge not only of
needless extravaganza, but of positive I'm
healthfulness. That subserviency to fash
ion which leads women to conform their
dress to a false taste rather than be singular,
and to prefer even unbecoming styles and
colors rather than those which are pdsSce,
has no right to rear its baneful head in the
school room more than in the home nursery
or on the play ground. A girl of fourteen
clad in the fashionable attire and bedizzened
with the jewelry of a woman OF society Is a
spectacle as much in violation of good taste
as of sound economy. Yet in most of our
~tOwns-aping as far as possible the custom
Of cities-budding young ladyhOod goes to
school in dress of fine and fashionable ma
terial. chosen for its beauty rather than for
service; and in nine cases out of ten, it is
admit of. Her shawl or paletOt is jauntily
open at the throat, exhibiting a good deal
of lace collar and gay neck ribbon. A vel
vet band with a gilt or jet cross upon it en-
circles her throat, and tar rings drop grace
fully over it. Her hat IS fine, her French
heeled boots are fine and too often thin her
gloves are of the daintlest.
What girl can study faithfully and persi--
tently in this style of dress? How few can
help bestowing more thought upon it, and
upon that of their fellow pupils, than upon
sed by Irish poplins, cuffs, collars and
bracelets put down equations, French verbs
are a poor substitute for French embroider-
les.
OF course the dainty clothing mus. be
carefully worn, and there must not be any
extra breathing room provided in its close
fit ing bodice: no consideration for the wear
iness OF sitting hours at a desk. No Won
der the poor girl grows listless and COM
mits her les sons indifferently. FLOWERS,
feathers and jewelry travelled silk aud
and smelling Of "iockey c,ub!" exclaimed
a much enduring teacher In my hearing last
winter. "How I hate them all. My poor
dress-ridden girls are always apologiZing
for being chilly, or faint, or nervous. AL
ways out of breath coming up s'airs !; sci.
dom willing to come to the blackboard lest
they disarrange something or scatter chalk
on their glossy alpacas. On, for the good
Cd days Of pretty chocolate ginghams and
brown linen aprons, and hair combed
smoothly back from the for. heads that could
beLd over a book without risking the burst.
ing of belt pins"
And aside from school room draS backs,
there remains the grievous wastefulness OF
the fashion of dressing fast growing girls
after the styles worn by their mothers. And
more than this. How i'll a preparation for
real business and responsibilities of m
hood is this ever changing. ever haunting,
ever d;stracting pursuit OF the latest mode
How is you last dress trimmed? Is there
Il anuthin0 nnw in cashnSc A RI nntnfod col
lars getting deeper or more shallow? Do
you carry off panniers becOmingly? VIII
you dress your hair this way or Miss J.'s
| way? 2" Oh, mothers! as far as possible
spare your daughters these consultations.
Provide them plain, good clothing, becom-
ing in color, neatly fitting to a girlish, rot a
wOmanly form; something that they can run
in, climb a fence in IL they want to, or go
up and down stairs without a palpi!ation at
the heart or destruction to hooks and eyes.
Do o train them to believe that dress Is Of
no consaquence-far from it; but that it is
OF secondary consequence; that it is they
who are to make dress of value, not the
dress which is to make their value.
An ANIMAL CHARMER The Territorial
Enterprise has the following:
There appears to be a something-mag-
netic or Notwithstanding from TIE sys-
tenn CT certain men which gives them much
influence over the inferior animals; which
makes them, as it were, animal chaImers.
Officer Hayton, of the police force of this
city, is one of those peculiarly gifted indi-
viduals. Dogs, cats. pigs, sheep, horses and
| all kinds of animals feel and acknowledge
his influence. When he makes his appear
ance dogs, cats, and all kinds of dumb beasts
appear to experience a certain degree of
pleasure in his presence and making the
haet ADMINISTRATIONS Mt friQnHchin in fhptr
power-'go for him." OF nights when he
Is going his rounds about the streets it is no
uncommon thing to see from six to eight
dogs Of all breeds, sizes n conditions con-
stantly following behind him, stopping
when he stops and again moving on when
he proceeds on his beat. Not only do va
grant and dissipated-looking ours leave
their ~half-gnawed bones and follow at his
heels, but also well fed and sleek watch
own dOor-stones to enjoy for a time the
pleasure of being near their great friend.
What is strange about the business il, that
there appears to be no jealousy among Mr..
Hayton's followers. They jog along togeth-
er without a growl OF snarl-all as one fam
lily. Although cats do not follow him about
the streets, yet they all manifest great pleas
urc in his approach. They rear alOfC and
gently wave their tails, rub their backs
ly all the time, keep one eye cooked upon
him as he approaches. Tit other
night a sheep, which had followed him all
about town, would cot give him up even
when he went into q saloon, but marched In
after him unmindful Of the crowd that filed
the room. The secret of the officers great
influence among animals probably lies in
his love for them and his kind treatment of
dumb brutes of every kind. At his resi-
dence he has a regular menagerie of white
rats, squirrels, cats, dogs, rabbits, wolves,
skunks and almost every other kind of anil
NAL to be had on the Pacific coast. Could
he get hold of a wild African lion, he would
soon have him following him about the
streets the same as the dogs do nov