Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1885-10-29
SOCIETY ANALYZED.
Georgia Lady Compares Society of the
OIden Time with the Present.


Olden Time with the Present.
My grandmother. who lived in the
golden long ago" still ciings with
holy reverence 10 the customs of her
fathers. and ayers that society of the
present day is not what it need to be-
that it has sadly degeneratcd from the
high moral and intellectual standard to
which it attained in her time; that the
old, grand manners, courtly grace, and
| brilliant repartee have, in great
measure, passed away. Society. now,
is all a sham, glamour, and vanity of
vanitics-nothing but husks.
Being familiar with the society peo-
pie of the present time. their comings
and goings, their private and public
life, partakc largely of my grand
mothers view and heartily indorsc the
verify of her sayings. In her time they
were too regardful of social convention
to lend countenance to person with
out weighing we'll the pros and cons,
and to gain entree into tho best society
your moral and intellectual worth and
social position were questioned. Now,
all that is necessary to admit one into
the so-called .'best society," is 10 dress
in the prevailing mode, dance well, be
fully conversant with the latest gossip,
and speak glibly all the fashionable
slang. Popularity in such society can
not commend itself; it savors too strong
of the mob.
1t is sad fact that society degener-
ates as the age advances. In the olden
time girls were educated with view
to higher and nobler purposes, and to
fill useful positions, and the boys for
men of integrity and industry. Now,
the former are educated to make
show, and the latter to aid the exhibit
ton.
Having all the advantages of learn
ing which our colleges and public
sch ools can bestow, these are cast
lightly aside or perverted to ignoble
purposes. A girl now enters society,it
seems, with but one aim or ambition,
and that is to try to manage to extract
the greatest amount of enjoyment from
her life. 1t soon becomes a continued
round of excitement; no sooner is one
festivity over than she begins TO plan
for another. She finds it dolce far
niente. Her hours of leisure are either
slept or idled away, or spent in plan
ming some fitting dress in which to APP
pear ut the evening party. Occasion
ally she acquaints herself with the plot
OF the latest romance or the notes of
fashionable piece of music. Dwelling
much on the contemplation of such lit
tie things, they soon lose the intellect
ual appetite. As for quiet domestic
felicity, society girls never dream of it.
They soon become wholly dependent
upon excitement for happiness, and I'M
less they have something of this kind
continually in view they soon sink into
apathy. and ut home are utterly
wretched. The parents of such girls
usually practice strict economy in do
mestic affairs, the mother doing all the
necessary work, and denying herself
many comforts that her daughters may
have a succession of silk and satin
dresses TO enhance their beauty, and
fly about from one place of pleasure to
another, hoping that they may make
wealthy alliance. In nineteen cases
out of twenty they fail to do so. Sell
dom can VIC find Il society girl of our
day who can reason, reflect. feel, Judge,
discern, discriminate, or furnished with
stock of ideas, principles, and qualifi-
cations ready to DC applied, as occasion
may demand. to each of their respec-
tive situations as daughters, wives,
mothers. Dwarfcd by society and
fashion, and leading Il life of idleness,
dlnis the mental perceptions and cner-
Yates a frame naturally vigorous. So
ciety now is hcartless and shallow, with
its silly amnsemcnts and souiless rival
ries. Parties are stale and unprotita-
bic, with the same bowling, grinning
nonsense. the same bosh talked, the
same tireson. routine from beginning
to end.
Commend us TO the society of women
who have higher and noble aims, whose
horizon is not bounlci by the coming
man. and who has purpose in life
whether she meets him or not, TO those
vino make lie worth living.
The society men of our day must not
pass unnoticed. Few men live through
the first period of manhood without
strong temptations to be considered So
ciety men. 1t becomes their ambition.
The idea looms grandly among those
vanities that hedge mans approach
to maturity. He soon becomes an
adept in society tactics. which match
him with others of the same stamp.
He conquers all such annoyanccs rs
truth or sincerity, which may some
times sting his conscience. He studies
moral sparring, makes it his art to be
admired, but seldom to be trusted. To
keep up with the fashion of the times,
to be ignorant of plain things and plain,
honest people, ..who do not go with
their SET" and whom he stigmatzes as
the dangerous second class" TO be
knowing in all gossip. familiar with all
the figures in the german, dance well,
and wear ballroom honors with indif-
ference, to hold Il fair place in the silly
nothiugs usually discussed, to affect an
earncstncss OF look and action which
seem full OF pleading aud yet ask
nothing; TO make n show for the adj
miration of those who have more fancy
than brains and more vanity than COM
mon sense. this is the distinction to
which he aspires.
The majority of these society men
are those whose means are limited or
clerks who rec i've Il salary of $50 or
~75 Il month and live ut the rate OF
500 or $500, that they may be consid-
cred popular and keep their position in
this o-calcd '.brst society" They
dress in the latest fashion, can be seen
in ali the sheen of finest cloth, spend
their leisure hours in the bathrooms, at
theaters, operas. ut the billiardtable
and game Of chance. indulge in cigars
and alcoholic poisons, and then appear
in the society of ladies covered with
what smacks of rous. 1t is a subject of
| chronic marvel how they manage to
keep soul and bo!y together But So
ciety teaches them 10 let the wolf gnaw
their vitals without say or sign. 1t is
poor distinction they enjoy, and not
en- airing. They run the round of all
! possible excitement, and leave them
| selves little but the drcgs of the cup,
and they are tastcless if not bitter.
| Commend us To those who cultivate
their heads aud hearts rather than their
toilet graces-thosc with rural honesty
aud od-fashioncd manners, with that
which shows the stuff that heroes and
| practical men are made of.
o Temporal, 0 moreS! Oh, for the
reputation of this system of things.
and for the restoration of the tastes and
HABITS of my grandmother's day
Judith IN III 1tn etegrdph.
| - s---------
William Lloyd Garrison.
From Thomas Wentworth Higgin-
sons introduction 10 the illustrated pa
i perS on Garrison's origin and early
/ life. BIZ his SONS. in the AUGUST Ceb{,fY'U.