Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1876-05-24

world looks on admlrlngly at 'he
brood Of nicely-dresscd little ones
which the fond parent sends from the
door to school every morning, al d
seeing the ruffled overskirts, the sleeve
less jackets and kilt plaitings, render
the verdict Of such good mether-so
devoted to her children!' forgetting
that in every garment thus needlessly
decorated her "devotion" may have
cost her, mayhap, years of her life.
Do you know such Il woman? Her
name is legion! She may be your
next door neighbor; in fact, in the
same houses with you. bearing your
own name and \ very marked resem-
blance to yourself, for aught we know,
but you'd recognize her il you met
her in Jericho. She always has such
'sstacks" of sewing on hand that she
can't take time to read; il she has a
new frock to make for one OF her lit
tie girls YOU see her hunting over the
fashion.plates in the GLADYS Book
30 find out what is the every latest,
aud she puts her whole unreserved In
tellcct to the search for suitable trim
mings. She can tell you to dot how
much Hamburg embroidery is needed
to make childs dress presentablc.
volunteers valuable information re
garding the newest styles in sashes
and yokes, and quote; "The Book 50
eligibly that it makes you feel quite
abashed in the presence Of such supe-
rior knowledge.
She is not rich if she were she
might keep her roses and youthful
looks by hiring others to ''ircsco" her
children's clothing, but it is usually
among those of small means that this
practice most obtains. We know 4
lady, the wife of clerk, whose salary
is barely sufficient to pay house rent
and keep his family-certainly not
enough to lay up penny for rainy
dav"-who was making up her child
ren's summer clothing when we called
on her not many weeks ago. She was
i'll, and thought perhaps she had
"overdone" herself and she showed
me some dresses she had just com
pleted for her three little girls. There
they were, jackets and oversklrtS,
polonalses and basques, bedizened
with e1gings and ruflles. and the in
evitable bias piece Oh each rutfle
Now, in our opinion, that woman
OUGHT to be sick. She deserves to
grow old and ugly and stoop-shoul,
dered and lean, and do what she is
surely trying to do; that is, give her
children the best chance in the world
to have a step.mother.
We appeal to women OF sense to
know whether such frittenng away OF
time and strength be commendable
or condemnable Which These
were only school dresses, remember
dresses to be put on and worn, and
put in the wash every Monday, and
perspired over at the ironlng-board
every Tuesday.
"Bul, says one, perhaps the @sthe
tical element in that womans nature,
smothered down by poverty at every
other point, only finds vent and eX
preston in adorning and making hel
childrens clothes pretty. Pretty
Celia depend! Betterperhaps, smoth
er it en- that point, and it may be able
to crop out somewhere else.
We like pretty things. too! We
confess to weakness for nice ]aces
and handsome embroderies, dainty
cambric and fine dimities, but our
''asthhtic' tastes wouldn't impel us tc
trim our daughters clothing so elabo
rately rs to be dread to the laundress
Every woman who has the ivory
and care Of a household and a family
of children has sufficient strain on hel
nerves and temper, without this addi
tional labor; and the weary hours
given to the elaboration of her child
ren's clothing is just so much of th;
vitalizing power taken from her life.
blood
And aside from all these considera
tions, who will know or care ten year;
, hence whether your child wore ''clotl
of frisze or cloth of gold?' "A fresl
, piano-torte, and g place on your knee
listening to the story that children art
always coaxing for, will make YOU
little boy or girl happier and bettel
than all the fashionable toggery you
can put on them.