St. Landry democrat., 1886-02-27

an excessive discipleship of costume. 1t
is simple truth that you all know, al
though the pulpit has not yet uttered it,
that much of the womanly costume of our
time is the cause of the temporal and eter
nal damnation of a multitude of men.
There is shamelessness among many in
what is called high life that calls for We
hemant protest. The strife with many
seems to be how near they can come to the
verge of indecency without falling over.
The tide of masculine profligacy will never
turn back until there is a decided reforma-
tion in womanly costume.
I suppose that the American stage is re-
sponsible for much of this. l do not go to
theaters, so / must take the evidence of the
actors and managers of theaters, such as
Mr.. John Gilbert, Mr.. A. M. Palmer and
Mr.. Daniel E. Bandmann. They have re-
Gently told US that the crime of undress is
blasting the theater, which by many is
considered school of morals, and, indeed,
superior to the church anSSss forerunner of
the millennium.
must take the testimony Of the friends
of the theater and the confirmation which
| see on the board fences and in the show
windows containing pictures of the way
actresses dress. I suppose that these rep
res sensations of the play house costume are
true, for if they are not true, then these
highly moral and religious theaters are
swim ding the public by inducing the peo-
pie to the theater by promises of spectacu-
lar nudity which they do not fulfill Now
all this familiarizes the public with such
at; of he
public conscience as to what is allowable
and right.
The parlor and drawing room are now
running race with the theater and opera
bouffe. They are now nearly neck and
neck in the race, the latter little ahead,
but the parlor and drawing room are
gaining on the others, and the probability
is they will soon be even and pass the
stand so nearly at the same time that one
half of pandemonium wiz clap its hands
because opera bouffe has beaten and the
other half because the drawing-room has
beaten. Let printing press and platform
hurl red -hot anathema at the boldness of
much of womanly attire. l charge Chris
tian women neither by style of dress nor
adjustment of apparel to become ad-
min istrative of evil. Show me the
fashion pilates of any age between this and
the time of Louis XVI. of France and
Henry VIII. of England, and will tell you
the type of morals or minerals of that age
or that year. No exception to it. Modest
apparel means a righteous people. I'm
modest apparel always means contain
mated and depraved society.
&c ,,<>f vi E,o1I Sc Tn bo
but extravaganza of costume.
This latter is the cause of fraud unlimitable
and CHASTITY. Do you know that Arnold of
the revolution proposed to sell his country
in order to get money to support his home
wardrobe? declare here before God and
this people that the effort to keep up ex-
pensive establishments in this country is
sending more business men to temporal
perdition than all other causes combined.
There are clerks in stores and banks on
limited salaries, who, in the vain attempt
10 keep the wardrobe of their family as
snowy as other folks wardrobes, are dying
IF muffs, and diamonds, and camels'- hair
shawls and high hats, and they have moth
ng left except what they give to cigars
and wine suppers, and they die before their
lime, and they will expect us ministers to
preach about them as though they were the
7ictims of early piety; and after a high
lass funeral with silver handles at the
side of their coffin of extraordinary bright
less, it will be found out that the UNDER
aker is cheated out of his legitimate ex.
,enses! Do not send to me to preach the
uneral sermon of man who dies like that.
will blurt out the whole truth, and tell
hat he was strangled to death by his wife's
ibbons.
What are the men to do in order to keep
Up such home wardrobes? Steal-thati is the
'nly respectable thing they can do. Dur
ng the last fifteen years there have been
fine business m IN shipwrecked
N the wardrobe. The temptation comes |
n this way: A man thinks more of his |
amily than all the world outside, and |
they spend the evening in describ-
ng to him the superior ward |
ODE of the family across the street
hat they can not bear the sight of, the
nan is thrown on his gallantry and his
ride of family, and without translating
Lis feelings into plain language he goes
nto extortion and issuing of false stock
md skillful penmanship in writing some
body else's name at the foot of promis-
ory note; and they will go down together
the husband to the prison, the wife to
he sewing machine, the children to be
AIKEN care of by those who were called
'oor rela tions. Oh, for some new Shake
peare to arise and write the tragedy Of
uman clothes!
ACT I. A plain but beautiful home. En-
er the newly married pair. Enter SIM
licity of manner and behavior. Enter
s much happiness as is ever found in one
ONE.
ACT III. Discomfort with the humble
ONE. Enter Envy. Enter Jealousy. En-
Or desire of display.