, 1886-02-21

was strangled to death by his wife's ribbons
Il Is depiorable. This nation IL being dressed
to death You are not surprised that that
public building In New York cost millions OF
dollnss more than 1t ought TO have cost
when you find out that the man who gave
out tho contract paid IS, 900 for his daugh-
ter's Wedding dress. But l nave boon told
] have had It from good nuthority-that
there are 5000 women in New York and
Brooklyn who expend on personal array
5000 a year. Now, what are men to do In
order to provide such a wardrobe beyond
their meansl 3
There IA only one thing they can do-steali
that l. the only respectable thing they can
do. Thousands and thousands of business
establishments during the past twenty years
have foundersd on the wardrobe. Temp.a-
ton comes about In this way: A man natu-
rally thinks more OF his own family than
any body eise's family, and they spend n
whole evening describing TO each other
the effects OF the family across tho street
people they cannot dare TO look at-but
the father and the husband Is put back upon
his private family, and upon his gallantry,
and while he does not actually translate his
feelings into plain language, no goes into
the business OF signing other mems names at
the foot OF promissory notes. until they all
go down ogether-the husband to the peni-
tentiary, the wife to the sowing machine
and the children to be taken care of by those
who have been called "thoir poor relations"
Oh. for some new Shakespeare to write a
trngedy on human clothesl Act the first OF
the tragedy: Plain but beautiful home;
enter newly married couple: enter all sim
plicity OF manner and behavior; enter as
much heaven as often enters a home. Act
the second; Discomfort with circumstances;
anfar faaln.sgW. a. a, sNalAulthwr aud
natural desire for disnlay. Act the third.
Enlargement of txoenses; enter the
queen OF dressmakens; enter the French mil
liner; enter all kinds Of costly expenditure.
Act the fourth: At the tip top of society
enter tho princes and princesses Of New York
and Brooklyn life; enter all magnihcence OF
plate and equipage. Act the fifth: Wind
up the whole affair; enter the assignee; en-
ter the sheriff enter the creditors enter hui
initiation; enter the wrath of God; enter tho
contempt of society; enter death. Drop the
silken curtain on the stage. The farce Is
ended and the lights are out
WIN you forgive me II | put in the tersest
shape the truth hat there are thousands Of
men in America who must forget and lie
and psrjure and swindle to pay for their
wives dressesf | will say It whether you
forgive me or not
Excessive discipleship of customs and
worship of the world are also responsible
for the lack Of purity in the world | tell
you what you knew before-that the simple
fact is that men and women put so much
money into their horses and their stables
and their equipages and their dress that
they have no money left for the making OF
the world any better or the alleviating OF
human suffering.
A Christian man, cracking the back OF
his Pnlais Royal gloves in closing his hand
light enough to put a penny in the poor
box.
Women at the suffering of the Hottentot,
weeping copious tears into S25 pockethand-
kerchiefs; putting a two-cent piece under
tho dollar bill so far that nobody knows
but what it WINS a $40 gold piece. One
hundred dollars for incense to the goddess
of fashion, two cents for Godi Isn't the
Lord generousl He gives you ninety cents
out of every dollar.
The titheing system announced In the
Bible and enforced to-day just as certainly
As It ever as-th titheing system which
demands that while God gives US ninety
cents on the dollar, the other ten cents are
TO DO given fof Christian purposes But we
do not like that We want ninety-nine
cents for ourselves and one cent for God /
believe that is the reason a great many men
have failed in business; when they had their
prosperity they gave nothing to the cause
Of God, or did not give the tenth, and after
awhile God said: That man has de-
clined to let me have ten cents out
OF my dollar which l gave him, and
while l gave him ninty cents now |
will take the whole dollar and give 1t to a
man and woman who will be honest with
me. declare to-day that one Of tho great
est evils abroad is the fact that men and
women have n othing to give to the cause OF
God, because they bestow so much upon
personal and sacrifice so many
things to their own appetites. l charge
upon this evil, also, much of the de-
struction of tho Bible service. To too
many of the churches people go with
money just ms they would to the races
to see which will come out ahead,
and the opening portions OF tho ministers
service is taken up In the discussion about
worshippers wondering where that man got
his crayat and what store that woman pa
tronizedl Men and women dying, yet they
come strutting like peacockS The absurd
ity Of all this, taking up a hymn book and
such people singing, 'Arlse, my soul, arisei'
More than that, this belittles the intellect
You know that in proportion as one dwells
upon the subject, great or small, OF which
he perpetually thinks, that decides whether
he is enlarged or belittled. Can you i'm
agine anything more belittling than for a
man TO think constantly ON the question OF
costumes and worldly adornmentsi see n
man on the street whose apparel involves
two hours in preparation After a man has
gone through that process for several years,
which one OF all McAllisters mag
nifying glasses win be powerful
enough to assist the naked eye in dis
covering his characterl Can you imagine
anything more belittling than for a man or
a woman to have the mind perpetually on
the question of costumesi 1 have seen men
at summer watering places existing In this
dlscipleship OF fashion until they were hol-
low OF jaw, meager OF limb and sallow OF
check, and had no animation whatever sx-
cept when they iew across the room 10 nick
up lady's fan simpering along the cor
ridors, where they simpered twenty years
agoi
But | have not touched the real evil. The
nr.t thunder that shook Sinai declared
Thou shalt have no other God before mo-
Some Of you, dear friends, will have to dc.
eide between the goddess OF this world and
the Christianis God. Heaven has many
beautiful cities, but not one OF these de-
voices OF this world h that place Tor, II
some of you got into that land, you wonld
10 putting a French roof on the house OF
many mansions and Introducing "Butterick's
Fashion Delineator.''
Give up this world or give up heaven.
Why, what would you do standing by Lady
Huntington, WHOSE joy was TO bry dinners
for the poor Of Boston, and who. In Faneuil
hall on New Years day, fed 1,5O0 children
OF tn street, and then. as "A sort OF doxology,
gave each one OF Them a pair OF
shoesl Standing beside these par-
ried Decreases. who have consecrated heir
needles TO the world oh, the stupendons
wretchedness OF these devotees OF tho
world You always find some one who has
finer clothes and a more p~alatial residence,