Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-08-08
RuSkin Oh Dress.

In the letters addressed monthly by
Professor Ruskin to workmen and wo-
men, every subject is touched upon.
In LAYING down the rules of the So
ciety or guild, whose object is to buy
and cultivate land in England, "upon
which" says its master, 1--WE will have
no steam engine and no railroads; we
will have no INTENDED or unthought-of
creatures, none wretched but the sick,
none idle but the Dead" the question
Of woman's role and work is naturally
largely discussed. Professor Ruskin
has very distinct ideas Oh woman S role.
..She is to please people, to feed them
in dainty ways, to clothe them, to keep
item orderly, to teach them" To
please, woman must be tasteful in
her attire; the Professor is very clear
on this point, and he urges it upon his
feminine disciples, with an eloquence
that invests the choice of stuff, the cut
and color of dress, with something of
the solemnity of duty. Indeed, as
We go further on in the subject, we
shall see that the Master of the Guild
of st. George considers this matter of
woman's dress in the light Of duty.
Now mind" lie writes, you always
dress charmingly; it Is the first duty of
gill to be charming, and she cannot
he charming if she is not charmingly
dressed. Set an example OF beautiful
dress without extravaganza, that is 10
say, without waste or unnecessary
splendor.' The Professor countenan-
ces II blaze of jewels only when they
ale part of great show or ceremony;
but in daily lie and in ordinary social
relations, woman, he maintains, ought
at present to dress with marked sim
pliclty, to put down the /" curse of
luxury and waste that are consuming
England" He anticipates the objec-
N!on that trade would suffer by this
Spartan plainness of apparel in our wo
man, and thus dismisses the objection
with pregnant brevity: "Wear be-
coming, pleasantly varied, but simple
dress OF the best possible material;
what you think necessary to buy be-
You'd this for the good of the trade,
buy, and immediately burn"
In Professor Ruskln's Utopia nobody
will he allowed to wear cast-off clothes
of other people, to sell or pawn their
own, or to appear on duty, agricul-
luItI OI otllSl W iOG, III io5os vi SSI
occasions, within such limits as are
neediul for good fellowship, they are
urged to wear as much splendor as they
can contrive. The wealth Of the peas
ant woman is to consist in hereditary
golden ornaments of finest workman.
ship, or i'll jewelry OF uncut gems.
The Professor protests against sew
ing-machines. eff all work, he says,
approvingly, quoting a letter addressed
to him on the subject, required to
supply clothing to the race were to be
done by hand, it would be worth no
mans while to make rubbish of any
kind For any ornament" goes on
the Master of the Guild, "as you need
to add, remember that it must be the
expression first of your delight in some
work Of God, then of the human skill
that wrought it. That will save you
from ever tampering with the lifeless
machine work, and, though you have
little ornament, it will be lovely and
right
% aim at beauty, never TO buy cheap
reai made clothing of any kind, but
that the material used should be of the
best and the work sound, the Professor
is never weary of iterating. On one
point also he insists that walking
dresses should never touch the ground
at all Trailing garments doing scay-
enger's work especially excite his
wrath.
His advice as to the dressmakers la
dies ought to employ, if at present al
most impracticable, is inspired by the
spirit which would keep 1.-THE fields of
England green and her cheeks red"
He would wish the dexterous fingers
to ply their work in the sunshine.
IT, he says, "you can afford it, get
your dresses made by good dress.
maker, with utmost attainable perfec-
ton and precision; but let this good
dressmaker be poor person living in
the country, not rich person living
in large house in London"
Another point Professor Ruskin con-
tinually urges, that all girls should
learn dressmaking, and that part of
every day should be devoted to needle
work, making as pretty dresses as they
can in tirst-rate material for poor peo-
pie who have no time or taste to make
them we'll for themselves. To iron and
get up pretty cap for a poor girl will
be more useful, in the Masters opin-
ion, than making flannel petticoats or
knitting stockings for the poor; for he
says, You are to show poor people in
your own wearing what is most right
and graceful, and to help them to
choose what will be the prettiest and
most becoming. Home Journal.
A FAMILIAR NICKNAME.-Jackd does
not come from the French Jacques, but