The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1883-05-21
"mARK TWAIN" AND "rHE LADIES'

"MARK TWAIN" AND 1.-THE LADIES'"
"The ladies', bless them," was the
toast assigned to "Mark Twain"
The toast, he said, includes the sex
universally; it is to woman COM
prehensively, wheresoever she may
be found. Let us consider her ways.
First comes the matter of dress.
This is most important considera-
ton in q subject of this nature, and
must be disposed of before we can
intelligently proceed to examine the
profounder depths of the theme.
For text let lis take the dress of two
antipodal types-the savage woman
of Central Africa and the cultivated
daughter of our high modern civil
sation. Among the Fans, a great
negro tribe, woman, when dressed
for home, or to go to market, or out
calling, does not wear any anything
at all but just her complexion-that
is ali; that is her entire outfit. 1t is
the lightest costume in the world,
but is made of the darkest material.
1t has often been mistaken for
mourning. 1t is the trimmest and
neatest and gracefullest costume that
is now in fashion. 1t wears well, is.
fast colours, does not show dirt.
You don't have to send it down town
to wash, and have some of it come
back scorched with the flat-iron, and
some of it with the buttons ironed
off, and some of it petrified with
starch, and some of it chewed by
the calf, and some of it changed for
other customers things that haven't
any virtue but holiness, and ten
twelfths Of the pieces overcharged
for, and the rest of the dozen
''mislaid." And it always fits. And
it is the handiest dress in the whole
realm of fashion. 1t is always ready
done up. When you call on Fan
lady and send up your card, the
hired girl never says, ''Please take
a seat; madam is dressing. She
will be down in three-quarters of an
hours" No, madam is always ready
dressed-always ready to receive;
and before you can get the door-mat
before your eyes she Isl N your midst.
Then, again, the Fan ladies don't
go to church to see what each other
has got on, and they don't go back
home and describe it and SANDER it,
Such is the child of savagery as to
everyday toilet, and thus, curiously
enough, she finds point of contact
with the fair daughter of civilisation
and high position who often has
"nothing to wear" and thus these
widely-separated types of the sex
meet upon common ground. Yes,
such is the Fan woman as she APP
pears in her simple, unostentatious
every day toilet. But on State oc-
casions she is more dressy. At
banquet she wears bracelets at a
lecture she wears earrings and a belt;
at ball she wears stockings, and,
with the true feminine fondness for
display, she wears them on her arms;
| at funeral she wears jacket OF tar
ashes; at a wedding, the bride
' ai.. 49,, -"d it puts on pantaloons.
WHO can ailv.> - aayaoery and
Thus the dark chila .. mast
the fair daughter of civilisation
once more upon common ground, and
these two touches of nature make
their whole world kin. Now we will
consider the dress of our other type.
A large part of the daughter of civil
lisatiOn is hsr dress-as it should be.
Some civilised women would lose half
their charm without dress, and some
would lose all of it. The daughter
of modern civilization dressed mt her
utmost best is a marvel of exquisite
and beautiful art and-cXpense.
All the lands, and all the climes,
and all the arts are laid under tribute
to furnish her forth. Her linen is
from Belfast, her robe is from Paris,
her lace is from Venice or France or
Spain, her feathers are from the
remote regions of Southern Africa,
her furs from the remoter home of
the iceberg and the aurora, her fan
from Japan, her diamonds from
Brazil, her bracelets from California,
her pearls from Ceylon, her canoes
from Rome. She has gems and
trinkets from buried Pompeii and