Signal-Copiahan. (Hazlehurst, Copiah County, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1886-05-13
Bill Nyc In Washington.

polite aud recherche party here.
Washington is the hot-bcd of gu
iety, and general headquarters for
the recherche business. 1t would
be hard to find u bongtongcr ag.
gregation than the ono ! was just
ut, to us the words of II gentle
man who was there, and who ask
ed ME if | wrote "The Heathcn
Chince."
He was a very talented man,
with u broad sweep Of skull aud
II vague yearning for something
more tangible-to drink. Being
a poor talker myself, and rather
more fluent listner, ! did not i'll
tcrrupt him.
He said that he was sorry to
notice how young girls and their
parents came to Washington as
they would to matrimonial
market.
was sorry also to hear it. 1t
p.ined me to know that young
ladies should allow themselves to
be bamboozlcd into matrimony.
Why was it, | asked, that matri-
mony should ever single out the
young and fair?
"Ah," said he, "it is indeed
rough"
He then brcathcd Il sigh that
shook the foliage of the spccklcd
geranium near by, and killed IN
artificial caterpillar that hung OH
its branches.
"Alatrimony Is all right" said
he, "if properly brought about.
1t breaks my heart though. to
notice how Washington Is used Us
Il matrimonial market. 1t seems
to ne almost as if these here
Young ladies were brought here
like slaves and exposed for SALE
| had noticed that they were some
what exposed, hut ! did not know
that they were for sale. | asked
him if the waists of party dresses
had always hcen so sadly in the
minority, and he said they had.
/ danced with beautiful young
lady whose trail had evidently
caught in II doorway. She hadn't
noticed il till she had walked out
partially through her costume.
do not think II lady ought to
give too much thought to her mp.
parcl, neither should she feel too
much above her clothes. lsay in
this the kindcst spirit, because !
believe that man should bca friend
to woman. No family circle is
complete without u woman. She
is like a glad landscape to the
weary eye. Individually and col
lectively, woman is n great ad-
junct of civilization and progress.
The electric light is II good thing.
hut how pale and feeble it looks
by the light of u good womon's
eyes. The telephone is a great
invention. 1t is a good thing to
talk and murmur into and deposit
profanity in (; but to take up a
conversation and keep it up and
follow Il man out through the
front door with 1t. the telephone
has still much to learn from wo-
man.
1t is said that our government
officials are not sufficiently paid;
and presume that is the case, so
it became necessary to economize
in every way; but why should
wives concentrate alt their econO-
my on tho waist of u dress?
When chest protectors are so cheap
as they are now, l hate to see
people suffer, aud there is more
real suffering, more privation and
more destitution, pervading the
Washington scapular and clavical
than | ever saw before.
But / do not hope to change
this custom. though ! spoke to
several ladies about it and asked
them to think it over. i do not
think they will. 1t seems almost
wicked to cut off the best part of
a dress and put it Mt tho other end
of the skirt, to be troddcn-under
feet of men, as they may say.
They smiled good humoredly at
times MS l tried to impress my
views upon them, but should / go
there again next season and min.
Gle in the mad whirl of Washing
ton, where these fair women are
also mingling said mad whirl, /
presume that will find them
clothed in the same gaslight waist,
with trimmings Of real vortebrae
down the back.
Still, what does a man know
about the proper costume for wo-
man9 He knows nothing what.
ever. He is in many ways a little
inconsistent. Why does " man