New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-08-09

fosbion of her garments adapted to her figure,
the tint of them TO her complexion and the
amplitude of them to her carriage, Is certainty
neither despicable nor ridiculous spectacle.
A great deal has been absurdly SAID Oh Ohe
superiority of neatness over display; puC We
take neatness in the best sense OF the worn
for granted, and must decline TO discuss
that point at all. There is no rea-
son why modesty of apparel should de-
generate into pinched and poverty
stricken "pokishness." There are women
TO whom an elaborate and carefully studied
simplicity is necessary, but this is just as much
the work of art as the gayest and most pro-
fuse toilet. Brilliancy demands billllancy !;
and there is no reason why strong-minded
woman should dress like Mrs. Sarah Camp,
with deaths head of bonnet, with scrlmped
skirts, with clumsy shoes, with ill-fttng gloves,
and with an accidental corsage She might as
well neglect to clean her teeth, or to comb her
hair. Ms some women Of superior abilities, we
are sorry to say, have been known to do. she
might as well take snuff and wear goggles.
If she be careless and dowdy and frowsy, she
may have a new gospel to utter but she VIII
get few men whose attention would be OF any
value TO listen to her. The fact may not De
credtable to the stronger sex-an undenlaDle
fact it will remain to the end of the chapter.
But if the average woman cannot aloru W
neglect her dress, still less should the excep-
tionally beautiful woman try the experiment
II must be remembered that we are not as
cussing the aesthetics of form. Dressing Delng
the rule and Greek Slaves being prohibited
Inv our statutes from gong about the streets,
we have the opportunity of cultivating new
and distinct beauty, and that is the beauty
of costume-the costly charm of color, OF
brilliancy. of sweeping and graceful lines,
of agreeable texture, and even OF Jeweled
magnifcence. We laugh at the continual
changes of fashion, yet the infinite variety
pleases us, and it is curious that almost
every eccentricity of the mode has
redeeming attraction. An Opulent sem
suousness of dress alone BELTS GER
tain style of loneliness. 1t was of the
dark Oriental beauty of SOlOmOn's Song
that the enamored poet sang: Thy cheeks
care comely with rows of jewels, thy neck
"with chains of gold.n Has the reader ever
noticed with what careful hand the Puritan
Milton paints the woman who betrayed Sam
son, approaching like a stately ship OF
"Tarsus-an amber scent of Odorous perfume
cher harbinger 7"-she whose "wOrds addressed
"seemed into tears dissolved, wetting the
"borders of her silken vail2" All was not
sensuaity in this fine creation-she "who, to
"save her country from fierce destroyer,
"chose above the faith of wedlock bands"
A good dresser may be a fool, but 1t does
not follow that she is necessarily one. Nine.
Recauier, the best dressed, handsomest, and
most religious woman Of the Empire, was the
intellectual companion Of such men as La
Harpe, de Montmorency, Chateaubriand, and
Ballanche. Would it have been any the worse
for Nine. de Stael if she had known how to
dress herself 2-she who needed all the art in
the world to render her ugliness tolerable
"The Prince expects careful toilet" said
the courtly ambassador Harris to Caroline
when he was bringing her over to marry the
fastidious George. She did not take his adj
vice; she was as slovenly as cooks scullion,
and dressed with the taste of Drury Lane or
Wrapping; and the consequences of this
negligence are well enough known to the
reader of history.