Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1875-05-20
Dry-Good Christians.

There seems to be in the churches a
great strife raging. It is an Auster-
iltz OF ribbons. The carnage of color
Is seen all over our religious assem-
blages. Along on the outskirts ef the
Sabbath audiences you see, here and
there a picket of fashion. But down
in the middle of the church are the
solid columns, blazing away all thro'
the service. Five hundred broken and
contrite hearts covered up in rainbows
and spangles. Followers of the meek
and loWly Nazarene' all a-jingle and
a-1ash. Ten cents for the missionary
cause, and two hundred and fifty dol
lars for trappings. Church of God
hung by the neck with gold chains,
dlamond-locketed. Unsophisticated
person travelling on two yards of silk,
dragged by the lady going up the aisle
in front of him. Diamonds enough
to give all India the gospel. The
item of dress among Christian people
on the Sabbath day is an outrage on
the Christian religion. M
For graceful and beautiful apparel
we have admiration. But this strife
in christian circles as to who shall e07
cell in costly millinery, and who shall
dash up to the church door in gayest
turnout, and who shall make the most
blazonment OF wardrobe, is one of the
great hindrances to religious advance
ment. Our ladies' hats and shawls are
so fine that on rainy days we are
afraid to go to church, lest we get a.
drop on them. Our head gear is worth
more than our souls. We teeter and
swagger up the aisles, TO the disgust of
good men and the grief of angels
Enough money is expended by the
Christians of our city, in excess of
the requisite outlay for dress, to re-
lieye all the poverty, and educate all
the ignorance, and balk all the crime
Much of the piety of our churches is
being smothered under shirred basques
and jabot ruff1es and I4ouisines. Some
of our Christian gentlemen have boots,
80 tight they can hardly walk in paths
ofrighteousness and they feel in church
more like swearing than praying, be-
cause their corns hurt; and our Chris
tian women shut out the sun Of right,
eousness by twenty-dellar parasols,
! lace trimmed, silk lined, silver mount
ed. The poor are kept out Of church,
because their plain apparel looks SO
bad in the contrast. 20 , I, IS
We want a great ecclesiastical re
formation in this matter of Sabbath
accoutrement. Shoe these religious
peacocks out of the house of Cod
BY your example make subdued and
modest costume more popular than
gaudy apparel. Do not put SO much
dry goods on your back that you can
not climb into glory. You cannot sail
into the harbor of heaven with such q
rigging as that. They would level
their guns at you as being blockade
runner. Coming up to the celestial
door, the gate keeper would cry
"Halt! you cannot go in with such
regimentals." And as you answered,
81 got those jewels from Tiffany, and
that dress from Arnold and Constable
and those shoes from ,Burts,' the gate
keeper would say to one of his at
tendants, 'sTake this soul down to
one of the out-hOuses, and tear of
those puffs and ruffles and kniferpleat
ings and Hamburg embreideries, anc
put on her more appropriate Sunday
attire for going in as she now is, al
heaven would burst out a-laughing,
! Il Christian at Work.