Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-05-06
TALLOW.DIP VIRTUE
Mother Goose GroNls at the Tendency Of
the Age Toward Flippaney, which
She Characterizes as
The Social Pimple which Develops into
an Angry Carbuncle in the Form
OF the Dude.

ne tendency OF Tue age ls QndeniablY to- |
ward fippauey-a Aippancy of word, thought
and dignity, so loud, that il can beat be de-
scribed By calling it ma,erisliZed slang.
To substan'iate the above charge would be
comparatively simple task SIS opposed TO
that Of discovering 4 single walk in life or
branch OF society into which it has not in
truded. The pulpit, with lie clerical buioons
bent upon entertaining its congregation at
any cast, conscious that the crowded house
which "a such balm 10 the snui Of the spirit
nal doctors, csn be gathered together and
kept awake only by the liveliest efforts to /
amuss, gives painful exhibitions Of the Po- |
tency OF fippancy.
Our legislative halle, whence the sound of |
solid, dignih 80, ststesnsnliks argument is |
seldom heard, where alterations worthy OF |
schoolooys IN recess are possible, where ex-
pediency Il tue popular substitute for prIn-
ciple, where an airy indifference TO the froHn
of cUT1srirurr:s Pssses for granite self-reli-
ance, where smiling submission 10 be made
target Of for the blunt shafts OF popular
humor, does duty fer the s,olia philosophy
| OF conscious rectitude, exemplifi the reign
OF tippancy. The prevalent order of society,
where young ladies rule TO the absolute ex-
ciusIon OF natrons, where the woman who
has ceased TO be an oil jsc.-s! interest 90 tfr-
| other sex by reason of her ipelisibiiity q
partner in the german" or a companion
| Tor a buggy-ride, begins 10 feel as if she
owed society an apology for lingering in its
| CiO det baCk-sJeps 50 long TO cast enc lin
| gering look behind. Where, in the press
/ notices OF all entertainments, ons reads a
| Iull and accurate account OF the names aud
| toilets OF the misses and observes appended
/ to II, as eort OF minor mention, the names and
| appearance OIL the mario rs who were honored
| by permission to sdorn the walls on thst
i festive occasion. A siate of society where
msmmas invade their own drawing rooms
with meekiy dsprecating aspect, fearful OF
trespsssing upon the sacred privacy Of
m acemoiselle aud her visilors! An order
of things where multitude Of good women
who, having committed the indiscretion OF
matrimony, have debarred themselves from
the social privileges OF the gay world, AMI
yet not being by previous training or presen.
| inclination prepared 10 be enrolled among
| the sedzte stars OF literary club, must be
cast into utter and paEalyzng oblivion, ls
| cory state OF stfaIIs, indicating The tatal
presence of hippsncy 10 a marked degree.
An order of things which abjeclly scknoWl-
| edges the supremacy of childhood, where =
| shy faced, timid.yoiced girl, whose very
| timidity is the sweetest Of all appeals TO the
chivairy of manhood, is hard 10 be found
| Where our childreu SIRE ali stsge-slruck and
athirst Tor puolic plaudiis; where the most
crowded thoroughfare, with its hustling,
elbowing, rudeiy-stariug men, may be
| traverssd by them with unveiled faces and
| deliberate etep; where school. books are
thrown into closed desks, Tor the joyous ex-
element of the race course; where the girl
in her teens is as we'll posted in the rules
aud regulations Of fashionable society as IS
her sister OF twenty five; where the Espionage
| Of a Gu speroue 10 tbe most public places Ia
| uofcA papiaaa horn nd inn rfi m
the part of seniority, must be regarded So
inducing the all-peryading tendency toward
Aippancy.
Flippancy, a social pimple which develops
into an angry c.rbuncle, when we come to
consider the 'Dude"-its boast, its triumph,
its culmiuslioal Could the "Dude," with
his ezaggsrstion OF every trivialiy, with his
apotheosis OF the absurd exist under soberer,
soldier reigu2 A sc2pe goat is absolutely essen.
tailor the satisfactory explanation OF this eI-
listing order of things. The pessimist finds it
in electricity. The world is electrified, he
| tells US, the times are electrified and all the
men and women and children belonging 10
it, partaking of this universal surcharge OF
electricity, must work, live and act up TO It's
exciting and irresistible requirements. As
well ssiZ the fly on the wheel TO moderate its
pace to an an;agonism with the swift rolling
vehicle rs 10 AJAX the pigmies On this eiec'ri-
cal sphere OF ours to maintain the steady,
safe, slow but sure rnodes Of progression thai
characterized the old folks at home, who
passed their days and nights in mid content,
practicirg what may be termed the tsllow-
dip virtues of other days. Reserve
and seclusion, and modesy and tim
| idity are things thst love the twilight
of subdued atmosphere-that exist only by
suaerance 10 the fierce GLOW of to-day. With
| night turned into day, there IL no gioaming
| leii; no hour set apart for The rest of mind
| and heart; no folding Of the. hands In peace
iul content while fancy holds gentle sway, or
| memory asserts her dearest privileges OF roll
ing the wheel of time backward. With the
blaze OF electricity penetrating the most se-
cret recesses of our homes, one becomes &C
| customed TO living in giass showcases, and
| to being placed under the microscope Of
every mans inspection; reconciled to live up
to the bot-pressed socIsl conditions OF the
hour. There Is no let up in 1t. One must
either float with the swift, rushing current,
| or be content TO be thrown on the sand like
piece of rejected driftHood that has lost its
| position in the channel and lies stranded.
And it all comes of "goiog back" en- the
| moonl When the moon was regnant and re-
ceived proper respect as the constituted guar
dian Of our sunless hours, she enforced sea-
son of personal and mental rest that WAS az
| etsentiai 70 the moral Weii-petng Oh ner euo-
| jects as the night dew is TO the flowers. But
OF what tanner OF use is The moon now out
side OF the rural dis;ricts2 An obsolete ia
| siitution, Lot worth swearing by nor staring
at; with her mundane rival, the hippsnt
electric light, blazing full into ones eyes,
who ever casts an upward look over the high
house tops and smoky chimneys 10 discover
whether she is on duty or not? Who cares
whether she is or no? Not even the lovers,
whose cons ant friend aud ally she mas been
siuce he dags when Adam whispered sweet
nothings 10 Eve in the q ard OF Eden. For
as We make love on the electrified plan to-
day, with az much facility as we cook
siesk or load steamboat, we need more
| eficien; ally than the moon, sedate, calm,
non-Ievolu,ioRsry Luna.
| n,Oruup nnncu