Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1881-08-18
Helena, Montana, Thursday, August IS, 1881
The Folly Of Mourning.
From the SPECTATOR

Natures, of course, differ widely, and there
are some VINO (prohably in consequence OF
having been accustomed from their earliest
years to regard black as the emblem of death
ana sadness) find some amount of relief and
comfort in wearing mourning when q friend
dies, and feel satisfaction in marking the
especial event with especial garments. But
all are not Of this way of thinking, and there
are many whose inclinatiOns are Just the re-
verse The sort Of self-consciousness and
strangeness Of feeling which usually accom-
pany brand new clothes are distasteful to
them in time of trouble, and they wish only
to 60 about in whatever they are in the habit
OF wearing, without any fuss or alteration
Sorrow may be none the less true and deep
because it shrinks from Ostentatious parade
from wearing the heart on the sleeve, for
DAVIS to peck at; it may feel that the made
quacy OF outward signs to give it expression
makes any attempt at doing SO mere mock
cry, and may prefer to conceal itself, as far as
possible, under its wonted exterior How
can real grief be represented fttingly bv
Grape and hat-bands? And if no real grief
exists, then the whole affair is nothing but
miserable exhibition of humbug and hypoc-
risy,-an appeal to the world for sympathy
and commisseration upon false pretences
What sort Of sorrow is felt by relatives who
say, oh! we must put the children into
mourning for Uncle SO-and-so,- hes left us
something in his will"; or else, II shan't
trouble about black for Cousin Such-an-on
he's left me nothing" as the case may be ?
1t would be surely more honest for such pre-
tended mourners as these to assume signs of
rejoicing or woe, according as they do or do
not find themselves the possessors of fresh
riches. Even when sorrow is really felt, its
intensity and duration will not be alike in
all cases where the relationship is the same,
because no two husbands and wives, brothers
and sisters, or other relations, will love one
another in exactly the same degree and on
this account, there must necessarily be some
thing foolish and unreal in a practice which
assumes that the depth and extent of regret
may be reckoned on according to nearDess Of
kin. More or less of shOppiness and hollow
ness is almost inseparable from the wearing
of mourning, according to the present GUS
tom; yet there is that about death which is
apt to put human nature essentially out of
tune for all that is artificial and sham.
Again. how can any one who believes in
the resurrection reconcile it with his con-
science to make everything connected with
death dark gloomy and melancholy? If he
has that sure confidence which he processes
to have as to the departed being safe from all
future dangers and having passed to a state
of bliss far beyond what is attainable upon
earth, why does he not rejoice in their hap
piness? Does he think them out of reach of
sympathy, because out of sight? Or is he too
selfish to let the thought OF their gain out |
weigh that of his own loss?
In 1876 a Mourning Reform Association
was started by three ladies, and has certainly
itself to the public mind to some
extent, seeing that it now numbers $50 men, |
bcrs. 1t discourages the use of mourning
stationery, wearing of Grape, and putting OF
children and servants into black; recon- |
mends that mourning should be shown by a
black band round the ann, or by 4 black !
scarf; and aims generally at minimizing