Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1876-03-31
a COMPARusoN AND ITS MORAL.

pose to submit q lew broken remdrhs
this morning. The paragraph to which
We refer is this, "the wife Of Ger
Iackson's Secretary of War generally
received company in calico dress
without any trimmings"
1t would be an interesting occnpa-
ton, though perhaps a painful one. to
note the wonderful changes which
have taken place in this country in
what is generally known as society
within the last half century.
It is little over forty years since
Gen. Jackson was President, and
within that comp ratively brief space
of time what marvellous upheavinR
there has been in social circles as we'll
as circles political. THIN, dignified
simplicity Was the rule, and not as
now, the exception. The tinsel glare
and show of shoddy aristC cracy was
entirely unknown, character gave tone
to society, and merit honor and modesty
we're re,ognized and appreciated. No
dashing equipages with liveried SER
wants rolled through the broad avenues
of the capital, for such things were
then regarded as repugnant to repub-
lican institutions; access to heads of
departments and to the President
were cassidy obtainable, for the
"divinity that doth hedge a king"
would not in those days have been
tolerated nor perhaps submitted to.
At balls and levees the style of dress
Of the leaders of the ton, as it is now
styled, was plain yet tasteful, and not
made as in the present time to expose
charms which should be carefully con-
cealed from the vulgar gaze. Times
certainly have changed since then, and
people too, and that the change has
been for the worse there caa be, we
think, no shadow of a doubt.
To illustrate: Let us take the case of
the wife of Gen. Jackson's Secreta y
of War and of President Grants. The
one received company in o calico dress
without trimmings. the other in costly
robes of finest texture and foreign
manufacture. No sparkling ornaments
adorned the one, while priceless jewels
glittered on the bosom of the other,
rivalling in beauty the voluptuous de
! velopment upon which they reposed.
The one could not legitimatey afford
trimmings or perhaps thought them
in lad taste; the other could aud did,
but at the sacrifice of her husbands
honor and her own reputation, but let
| US add, the man himself was by far th 9
| more guilty of the two.
When we reflect upon this fostering
| mass of moral putrefaction that has
| been developed III the high places of
the land, and the character aud position
of the parties implicated, what a
terrible condition of morals is ex-
hibited to the world in this centennial
year of the republic. Men of national
.putation in the councils of the coun-
try, hitherto unimpeached and con-
sidered unimpeachable, have been
found unable to withstand temptation
and like Esau of old have readily
bartered away all that made life de-
sirable for sordid gold gold, to en-
| able them to outshine some rival
| establishment, to crafty fancies and
indulge extravagances no matter how
sinful, 80 they be but fashionable.
vt -
of the present age "that doth most
| eas lily beset u.s." The greater our de-
sires the more We demand. and if we
cannot honestly obtain what we think
we need, or what the demands OF a
false tone of society requires of us, we
are very apt at such times and in
such a condition to put money in Our
purse without stopping to scrutinize
too keenly the manner in which we
obtain it. Conscience in these pros
gressive lays is as elastic as gutta
percha, perhaps little more so, and
happy Is that man whose wants are
limited, for the less we desire the
nearer we are to God.
The most painful feature in this
Wi etched condition of affairs is that it
is not confined to one ella s of men, but
seems to have permeate1 the entire
body polite. The halls of Congress,
the bench, the bar md the pulpit have
all their representatives, and what
makes the matter still worse is the
fact that the prir cipal offenders against
law, decency AMI morality are men
rot only of exalted position, socially
and politically, but shining lights in
many of our churches. Look for ex-
ample at the lecherous and perjured |
pastor of Plymouth Church, the Rev.
Winslow, swindler and forger, the |
many, many other reverend gentlemen |
(heaven save the mark hurting anathe-
mas from their puIpits against the |
sinful practices of the age, while they |
themselves were rioting in excess,
preaching Of spiritual things and o.
dulging in carnal apoetites and pas
slons, "using the livery of heaven to
screen the devil"
1t really does seem as though e
were driving with railroad speed to-
wards certain place, not mentionable
TO ears polite. Admit that we know
more than our fathers, that this is the
age of progress, of science, of the
highest development of mans reason,
that we have greater facilities for the
acquisition of knowledge than they,
and greater Advantages too for success
in the various pursuits of life, yet with
all these in our favor it Is painfully
apparent that we are sadly deficient in
that lofty principle and stern integrity
which with them WIS above all price,
and for which they were SO distin-
yuished.
While we plume ourselves upon our