Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1876-04-21

anime and report. In this last metereolo-
slcal phenomenon the advocates of the
evolution theory have strong corroboratior
OF their logic. 1t has rained hair (perhap:
owing to difficulty between the cats anC
dogs mentioned in the fairy books, it ha:
rained what was supposed to be blood and il
has rained many other strange things, a.
has been seen from this article, but never
before have insects been showered upon us.
If the rain comes in the form of flies in
lS76. why not MONKEYS in the year 200C
and men and women in year 5000. If the
evolution theory had been advanced before
the year 1868, when blue silk fell from
heaven. can any one reasonably doubt that
the Prussians of that time would have look
ed forward to the day when dresses. ready
made and trimmed, would descend?
Clothes and Clegry.
GAIL HAMILTON INTERPRETs THE SCRIPTURES
IN REGARD TO woMAN's DRESS.
When the good clergyman felt impelled
last Sunday, to interpolate into sermon on
a certain charity mitigated diatribe against
female 'dress, | pitied him. The charity
for which he sought aid was most unexcep-
tionabie. Not man or woman present
could have had word to say against it. Nor
does any one object to mild raillery on the
peculiarites of costume masculine or feminine.
Setback bonnets, and pull-back gowns,
stove-pipe hats and stand-up collars, are as
good pegs to hang jests on as anything else.
But when man, earnest, able, and sincere,
feels impeiled by his conscience and his sense
of duty TO stand up in the pulpit and utter,
with hesitation and apology, as a modes t
man must, his innocent, ignorant, little
observations on gowns, why, if one loves
him, one is moved to say, soothingly, There
! there hush, dear run right along ~ A
man $50 hOpelesslY at sea when he under
/ takes, in earnest, 10 talk about costume :
/ Worth may do it, for his faith is proved by
/ his works and if there Is any person in
this country who can make gown fit as
that English-Frenchman does, am not sure
that it would not induce mental tranquility
enough to warrant the reading of a notice to
shat effect from the pulpit.
But what do the clergymen want? In an
old copy-book of 1909, | find this endifying
little iemino-clerical sentiment from very
young lady who was pursuing her education
under the direction OF her well-beloved pas
tor:
RECEIPT FOR LADY's DREss.-Let your ear
rings be attention, encircled by the pearls of re-
tuement, the diamonds % your neck lace be TRUTH
and the chain of Christianity your bosom-pin be
charity, oruamented with pearls Of gentleness, I,
your iuSer-rlngs he affection set round with the
diamonds % industry; your sirdle be simplicity,
ia the tassels Of good humori let your thicker
garh be rtue. and your drapery po iteness; let
your shoes be wisdom, secured by the buckles OF
perseverance"
All as Gne as fiddle; but | happen to
know that, two or three years afterward.
that curly-haired, bright-haired little miss
bloS~omed into merry young ladyhood, and
went to distant town to pay a visit TO her
married sister, and took with her, besides
her girdle OF simplicity and her gsrb Of vir-
tue, twelve solid gowns of rutfled cambric
and embroidered cambric and lilac Grape
hni pearl Grape and green silk, and orna-
meBted shoes In colorS TO match, and silk
stockings with wrought cloaks to match, and
embroidered 4ettieoats, and silk pelisses,
and know not of what youthful finery.
The good minister, loved 10 his latest day,
no doubt thought he was implanting high
principles in the mind Of his young charge
ard 50 ne was, and they bore fruit through
a long life on earth, and are doubtless bios
~oming this day. in tn, world beyond the
skies: but, all the same. the little lady
out OF her wise shoes and perseyering shoe
buckles, to embroider another star in her
cambric skirt and put another quirk IN the
silk Grape. Thus II always was, and thus
viii he eyermore, and thus it Is right it
should be- The love OF dress is innate, i'm
mauent, in the female heart, and Is absolute
" innocent Is n charm and not frailty is
a talent and not drawback.
Come up now, clergymen, well-beloyed,
reyerends Of high and low degree, and let US
i-ht il out. The wopan-world has borne
with YOU long enough. almost counting your
Ignorance unto you for Righteousness, and
bearing your pathetic, laundering, we'll
meaning argumentlings patiently, as
mother bears the tiny passion Of her little
ones. But. in the great world Of real things,
it Is 4 pity YOU should longer waste time and
strength in combating shadows. 50, come
now and let Us reason together.
And bring out your first trump card, if
YOU like. Il will therefore, says our be-
loved brother Paul, that women adorn
themselves in modest apparel, with shame
iacedness and sobriety not with braided
hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array, but
with good works And St. Peter backs
him Up handsomely, as becometh saints
Nv hose adorning, let it not be that out
ward adorning OF plating the the hair, and
Of wearing Of gold, or OF putting on Of ap-
Jarel; lut let it be....the ornament OF
meek and quiet spirit, which Is in the sight
of God of great Tricc For after this man
ner in the old time the holy women, also,
who trasted in God, adorned themsel-
YES.
What do they mean? Does Paul or
Peter take upon himself to say that a woman
snail not wear It French twist, or gold
chain, OF q pearl ring, or silk gown?
think not The holy women TO whom Peter
refers a9 an example, certainly had no
scruples on this subject, but made them
selves look as handsome as possible. When
Abraham sent out his eldest and most trusted
servant to select wife for his son, he sent
him loaded with such trinkets as a New
York girl, 10 say nothing Of our village
maidens, would delight in. And at the
very first sight of the young lady before he
knew who She was, he brought out golden
earring Of half a shekel weight, and two
bracelets for her hands, OF ten shekels
weight of gold. And when he found that
he was really 10 have the girl, he fairly bub-
bled over with gratitude and finery. lie
brought forth Jewels OF silver and jewels OF
gold, and raiment, and give them to Rebe-
kah he gave also to her brother and to her
mother, precious things. Certainly those
holy women showed no backwardness about
adorning themselves in holiday garb.
When the lSraeites took French leave"
of Egypt, every woman was directed by the
Lord, SAYS the narrator OF the Pentateuch,
to borrow Of her neighbor, and Of her that
soiourned in her house, jewels OF silver and
Jewels of gold, and raiment. and to put them
upon their sons and upon their daughters.
Peter and Paul knew this as well as we
know it-probably better than good many
of Us know it and it is not at all likely
that they won ID set themselves up as censOrs
of the Most High, as rebuking a style of
dress which was not only approved, but
prescribed by an authority which they, at
least, recognized as divine.
David, held in highest honor by Peter and
Paul. in that beautiful loye-song to the
chief musician upon Shoshannim, elorihes
the beauty of beautiful dresses ''kings'
daughters were among thy honorable wo-
men upon thy right hand did stand the
queen IA gold Of Ophir- The Kings
daughter i all glorious within her clothing
Is Of wrought gold. She shall be brought
unto the King in raiment of needlework."
And suppose that, with or without all our
sewing machinery and our other devices,
we never have been able to produce needle
work to be compared with the elaborate and
lustrous magnifeence of the needle-work
that David was talking about. Our embroid
cry and knife-pleating are but a coarse cum
bering Of the ground, over against the fairy
splendor that blooms under eastern fin
gers.
One of the proverbs of Solomon, copied
out by the clerks of Hezekiah, king of Ju-
dah-which Peter and Paul could not fail to
consider good authority-was, "As an ear
ring of gold. and an ornament OF fine gold,
so Is wise reprover upon an obedient ear. ."
Certainly Solomon did not meansto compare
snrnat thia.r frixn-