The National tribune., 1886-04-01

delightful season in Washington, with the
Chances as ten 70 one in favor Of good weather
Under the present arrangement the probability
is strongly against favoring skies and balmy
air on Inauguration day.
The 4th of March last year was a conspicuous
exception TO the general rule. But two or three
Presidents have been SO fortunate in this respect
as was Mr.. Cleveland. On most of these occa-
sions the weather has been dismal enough
cold and raw, and often wet, causing untold
discomfort and suffering, and provoking much
malignant profanity. Many deaths have been
directly traceable to exposure to storm and cold
on these public days. The safety of the coun-
try does not require that Presidents shah be
inau gurated amidst biting blasts and chilling
rains or SHOWS, while shiyering multitudcS,
through their chattering teeth, utter maledic-
tons upon the primitive patriots who be-
queathed such 4 heritage to posterity. The
change ought to have been made long ago.
There is no good reason why it should not be
done now. All those who attended any of the
half dozen inaugurations previous to the last
would stand up when the ayes were asked to
rise and be counted.
THE SOCIAL DRESS PARADE.
The scantiness of fashionable female apparel
has occasionod more remark in Washington
this Winter than ever before Many very good
people have had their ideas of propriety greatly
shocked at the opulent display of bare nccks
and arms at most of the frst-clasS receptions
and other social gatherings. The appearance
of some Of the ladies suggests the dreadful pos
sibiity that if the denuding process continues
at the present rate there will not be left of the
dress much more~than the traditional fg-leaf
costume OF our first maternal ancestor in the
Garden of Eden. 1t is obvious that there is no
cloth famine in the country, for the ladies have
material enough. The trouble is that it is not
fairly distributed. What is lacking at the top
is more than made up at the bottom. One is
reminded of Il remark once made by President
Lincoln, who held low-neck dresses to be an
abominatiOn. His wife presented herself be-
fore him, fashionably -aITayed for a reception.
Mother said he, hadn't You better cut OFT
some of the tail of your dress and put it around
your shoulderS?'
When Miss Cleveland came to Washington to
take the high position Of % first lady" every
body was on the qWi rire to see how she would
dress. She started in with a high-neck, the
dress reaching to the throat, and sleeves that
covered the arms to the elbows. This did not
at all please the society ladies, and she may be
presumed to have received a course of private
lectures on the subject from some of the Cabinet
ladies and others. At any rate. her costumes
this Winter have shown partial concession to
the demands of Mrs. Grundy. Although never
crossing the line Of immOdesty, she Nis allowed
her drcssmaker more latitude thauSefore. For
the past few days the papers have been
publishing what purported to be an extract
from a letter written by Miss Cleveland in an
swer to one from Elizabeth Cady Stanton on
the subject of fenzde dress Miss Cleveland
was represented as saying that she was not
opposed to low-neck dresses, provided they
were not cut too low. She had no objection
to bare arms and necks, if the display stopped
with them. She drew the line at a modest
mean, midway between the two extremes. The
whole thing turns out To have been the fgment
of a newspaper correspondents imagination.
She has received no letter from Mrs. Stanton
on the subject and has written none to her or
anybody else She says, however that she did,
in private conversation, express views similar
TO those attributed to her The newspaper
man put them into the form of letter to Mrs.
Stanton. So far as that is concerned it is purely
fiction, although the alleged letter" may be
considered to fairly represent the ideas Of the
lady Of the White House On this weighty
matter.
In one of his satirical papers written during
the war, "0rpheus c. Kerr" wrote of Mrs.
Lincoln's grand ball in the Winter OF 90. He
said he was deeply impressed with the patriotic
devotion and selfSacrifice Of the ladies when
he saw how much cloth they had cut off the
tops Of their dresses to make bandages for the
wounded soldiers, and ending with this quat-
rain: