The Osceola times., 1879-06-14
QUESTIONS OF MODEsTY.
what shscks ssathsrn Wenea In ~
North.


North.
Providence. r. l., Dispatch.
It Ia strange how different civilization
looks upon the same matter. In Japan,
for instance, men, women and children
battle freely together without vestige
of clothing, and with no thought or sug-
eestion u indency. There h, In the
United States. even, 4 wide difference In
the views which women Of different SEC.
ti0ns entertain In respect 10 what con-
s.itutcs an insult from q man. Il u un>
deniable that at the north q degree Of
contact and familiarity 10 tolerated with.
out thought of impropriety, which In
the south 10 resented a. an impertlnence
and insolence. The recent tragedy st
Richmond, Va, In which Charles g,
Curtis was shot dead BY John Poindex>
ter, is a case in point. The murdered
man had complimented Mis- Isabella
Oottrell, Poindexter's sweetheart, on her
pretty foot, and had, ~ the young lady
declared, squeezed her arm rather too
warmly In helping her into the carriage.
With this as q provocation, Poiudexter
cowhided Curtis and then shot him dead,
and the jury could not agree that Poin.
dexter had committed crime In taxing
Curtis life.
A New York girl the other day invited
her srut from Savannah, who was visit.
Ing her, to enter Broadway shoe store
with her. Araminta, the niece, much
to her aged relatives horror, projected
her pretty foot and ankle across the
CLERKS knee, had her old boots removed
and submitted interestedly, holding her
dress conveniently out Of the way. while
the clerk began encasing the fair ones
neither extremities In q new and extra
long pair OF fifteen dollar "high. but
toner's" The Savannah aunt was shock.
ed beyond expression at her niece's
strange immodesty In sxposing her
stsckinged feet TO male gaze, and when
the shoe clerk, beginning ct the lower
buttons, gradually progressed In bic up
ward work, Georgia modesty and pro-
priety could no longer endure the
shocking spectacle, and down came the
sun umbrella ON the shoe clerks head
with whack, and her fingers tingliRg
with shame made busy With bis hair.
It was to no purpose that Araminta ex-
planned that such occurrences were the
regular thing" in New York. That 10
undoubtedly the truth, and the reporter
who has been interviewing New York
bellies, apropos Of the bloody tragedy et
Richmond, doubtless correctly reports
the views which prevail among the
women In Gotham.
At the south, however, there d no
immediate prospect Of the adoption OF
the views or the degree of freedom from
men which Is tolerated In New York and
elsewhere In the north. Nor can II Be-
denied that the looseness which many
shoe clerks, hacksdrivers, car>conductors,
policemen and others exhibit At the
north In handling women ID, from the
southern standpoint, very shocking.
They find bresstpin out Of plumb, or
q hairpin sticking q sixteenth OF an inch
further out than 1t should, or lock Of
hair astray, or watch slipping out OF .
belt, or gather Of 4 dress has started
the stitching, or q flower In the hat
droops triAe, or the shawlpin doesn't
hang just 20. and they insist on fixing
these matters, and keep fumbling and
paving and picking away at q lady until
&tt0ubOu ~ uISWu W tu0 poIIUI u18uC0
and annoyance il the result. One Of
these fellows will put his hand under q
lady's elbow to lift her over q straw on
the walk or across six.inch gutter, and,
when going up q rise of two or three
steps. will insist upon putting his hand
upon her waist and partially lifting her
up. II he helps her into 4 carriage, he
wants to lift her in, and, In assisting her
10 slight, be makes her jump into his
arms where he holds her % long a. he
dares. While riding with her be always
has his hand on the seat behind her,
ready to seize her waist every time there
is jolt big enough to give him an az
cuse for doing 90. In fact, he seems to
be continually aching TO paw, In one
way or another, every lady into whose
company he Is thrown. It may not be
improper between people pretty we'll &C.
quainted with each other, but 1t doesn't
look we'll, and ladies, while they don't
like to appear TO be annoyed, still feel 20
and wish TO Re let alone.