The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-03-04
The Intoxlcatlon OF Dress.


MUM placed upon good clothes" BY so.
ciety and tho press, we are not surprised
that the horizon of so many women's
lives is bounded by dry.goods estab-
lishment, aud the dictionary Of their Ian.
guage contained in the bazars of fashion.
We have just tossed aside recent num-
Der Ut one of the most influential journals
OF the East. twelve pages of which are
hlled with what purports TO be q record
OF American society, past and present"
Long lists Of names are given Of women
In New York, Philadelphia, Washington,
Cincinnati and Louisville who are TO be
handed down to posterity as famous-for
what? For their helpfuiness to the age
10 which they lived For patriotic en-
deayoF? For earnest work for the fu.
ture? For an unselfish hospitality ?
For having developed and coDsecrated
TO friends their best gifts Of song or con-
vcrsation? No! but for the quality OF
dry goods they wore.
We have, actually sacrificed an hour In
looking through these twelve pages 70
see if we could discover the name Of O
single woman poet, actor or philantbro-
pist singled out as worthy of mention
because Uf such fact, but we fail to find
one. Even Mrs. Aubrey III. Smith, one
of the true nobility, is placed on record
as the lady "who wore an imported dress,
n dress of striped garnet and old.gold
satin ; with court train of black da-
masse, trimmed with rich thread lace"
In every city the homes which have
become true literary centers. the rare
places where genuine manhood and wo-
manhood are recognized despite the awk-
ward setting Of plain attire, are passed
by in contempt in making up social re-
cord to show the progress Of the last cen.
tury.
Twelve pages, and not hint that one
OF these ladies' gave utterance to brill
liant thought, suggestive repartee, but
that like procession of wax figures they
passed before the admiring world, habi-
ted MS follows
: Mrs. - appeared in many elegant
robes. Her evening toilets were rs fol-
lows, etc., etc.
In the name Of womanhood, we pro-
test, and for tho sake Of American girl
hood, we beg tho editors of our represen-
tative Journals TO put premium upon
something in the wcyld besides dry
goods. -cA
Not much Of o compliment to beauty
when the SOULFUL eyes, even are sur.
passed by 80 faultlessly artistic toilet Of
black satin embroidered in rosebuds and
pansies and sprays of filmy green and
a white opera hat, whose tints of color
matched the flowers. and evening gloves.
completed toilet whose beauty attracted
one like some rare picture"
so long rs women are content to be
judged only by the amount of expensive
dry goods they wear, so long will they re :.
ceIve such criticism as the following.
which appears in recent popular book
"Forsisnot let me ask you 70 take, for
instance, mans sublime faculty of rea-
soning and logical comprehension, far
more wonderful that reasoning man.
should have the same parents MS wo.
man, than that they should both have
the same parents Us monkey 2" And
just 30 long rs our women make no pro-
test against thus being described and VAL
ued as 80 much lace, or so many yards
Of velvet, will thinking men dare TO ad-
dress them in the following strain. I
quote from recent publication 'Ini
q girl, however pretty, what is there to
interest man, if he reads nothing in
her face from night to night but that she
Is gcttiug daily more worn and jaded In
the search for rich husband2 Or even,
to go q siap higher, in the unthinking,
uncultivated flirt, 60 common in every
class Of society-what Is there in her that
O man will not coon discover to be insip-
i'd and wearyingf But give her one gen
uine, one dlsintereated taste, and ali Is
changed. If had an audience about
me of young ladiss, whom 1t was not too
late to advise girls entering on the
world, determined to run the worldly!
course, and to satisfy all the expectations
of the most excellent and west-minded
Of chaperons, would say this to them ::
/ have no doubt you are ignorant; of
course you are all vain. That to make o.
brilliant match is your great object, you
NIL avow. A certain sort Of flirting, Of
which the less said the better 10 your
most. distinguished taste. ! know all
this Il should aay), and I can't help it !
nor do ask you to alter one Of these;
points for the better. But this lido ask
you to do-try to add something else to-
them. Try to win for yourselves one
taste OF truer aud deeper sort. Study
Wordsworth and some parts of5Shelley
open out your pympathies, by their aid
in just one direction. Learn to love the
sea and the woods end the wild flowers,
with all their infinite changes of scent
and celor ana sound, The fa.rrllaa moor.
tii1 niuuutaiti Stream, tho Tolltng mistS,
the wild smell of the heather. Let
these things grow to haunt you like q
passion = q and then by and by.
go and look in the looking-glaas, and
study your own face. Hasn't some new
look, child, como into your eyes and
given them expression, q something
they wanted befaIB.p
Aye, moro and moye, dear girl friends.
to-day, intoxicated, enervated by the
strange passion for dress, begin, to study
humanity; determine to ! do some one
thing toward making life brighter for
other people, II itsis nothing more than
amusing q little, restless, disappointed
child, and get insthe habit &C sometimes
studying the old gold and crimson, The
lovely rose and dreamy blue, or the
pearliinted gray of Gods sunset clouds i
HI i youF vyes just. above the shop Win
,dows and honor the young woman ghose
conversation ia AIleA gith neasls ,nfi
wit and diamonds of suggeation, and then
shali you have filed one claim to a place
In The record of Amerca's true ,wonen.--!
,5lrs Elizabetk Boyt0ss Har6eys. -, s-
= On Friday night last three BuSglaisl
~