The Bad Lands cow boy. [volume] (Little Missouri, Dakota [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-1886, 1886-05-06
WoMAN,s DRESS IS; /
Mr.. Dana,of the New York Sun, Takes
Miss Cleveland to Task and De-
80 - fonda the, naco etc nresa -. n

X " MISE Cleveland TO TASK and De.
tends the Decollete Dress.
Miss Cleveland, because Of what che /
modestly calls the brief prominence 81
her position, has felt It to be her duty to
express her disapproval5 Of any evening
dress for women which shows the
bust" She has no objeotionsto the dis,
play of neck and arms, and leaves her
own bare on all full dress occasions; but
she lays down the rule that ...betzween
the neck and bust there is a line always
to be drawn, and which can not be pass
ed without producing an effect shock
ing, nauseating, revolving, and desery-f
ing of the utmost denunciation on the
score of morality, beauty, health, and
every other consideration which good
men and women should conspire to pre-
serve and exact. FL II li5%
Yet throughout the civilized world
the full evening dress for women falls
below Miss Cleveland line, and is ex. I
pressly designed to show what she de-
clares so emphatically cannotbe reveal
ed without outraging cite and decency
the swell of the bosom. The fashion,
too, is not recent, but has prevailed in
all ages, and no less in times when IA. III
SOCIAL MORALS Z .35S, :sfs &
were strict than in times when they
were lax. It is true that the portraits
by Sir Peter Lely of the beauties of the
court of Charles II. show that the !,
bosom was then exposed to on extraor.
binary degree, as was also the case in
France under the Diredtory;' but por.c
traits of the women of courts and times
equally distinguished for; ,dissolutenessi;
represent the women closely covered
from head to foot and from shoulder ia
wrist. Marguerite Of Lorraine, famous
for her beauty and her bad morals, ap-
pears in a full dress costume which re-:
veals only her face and hands; while
La Belle Hamilton, the chaste Beauty
who escaped the breath of scandal even
in the scandalous, reign Of Charles IL,
shows her bosom almost without any
covering at all. g;t,; \; 4; ; 4 (,
4 Queen Victoria, who is everywhere
honored as a bright example of woman
ly dignity and propriety, at the present
time requires ladies' to appearSat her
court in costumes which frankly ex-
pose what Miss Cleveland declares can
not be revealed except at the sacrifice Of
modesty; and the Queen herself makes
a display that would shock the Presi-.
dents sister, who; probably has seem
nothing equal to, it among the women
with whom she has been brought into
contact since So }st!. So Ed :. Il s a..
HER BROTHERS ELEVATION. =: e:s
The truth is that our notions as to-
modesty or immodesty lin woman's !
dress are largely, if not chiefly, con-
ventional, so that up to certain point,
what is customary seems modest. The
Turk estimation of woman is low and
gross, and yet he will not, endure tho
sight of his wives in public with their
faces exposed; aud in other countries
where women are degraded they arc
kept bundled up from view. except in
the presence of their lords or Of each
other. But Christian civilization every.
where demands that feminine beauty
shall be seen, and wherever that civili-
cation has reached its highest Develop
ment the practice against which Miss
Cleveland inveighs so violently, has
continued to prevail, though other
fashions of women's dress have under.
gone multitude Of changes. In every
country where women are most highly
honored and most tender1y, cherished,
and where respect for women is most
complete and sincere, .it may be said
generally that the line. drawn by Miss
Cleveland is always ignored in full dress i
of the best women. 81
This style of dress has been worn by
the most admirable of women in all
generations. TWAS IA 1888 81. & Is
WORN BY OUR GRANDN1oTHERs, ;s'* y J.
the ball dress at the beginning of the
century, for instance, having been de.
scribed as nothing but q chemise OF
pink silk;' and yet Miss Cleveland
would hardly denounce the women of
That period as immodest, or deny that
in spite of their low-cut gowns, woman
~ purity continued :untarnished among
them. The evening costume of the
present time, SO far from being more
generous in its display of feminine
charms than that of past periods, is
rather more reserved in that respect,
even in its freest manifestations, al.
though those who have but lately be. Z
come familiar with the social customs
OF great capitals may think differently.
Perhaps dresses may now be worn
trifle lower in, the United States thar
was the case ten or fifteen years ago.i
but in Paris and London the line drawn
by Miss Cleveland has never been re.
spected during that time. 5 5&t
Nor is there intrinsically any more
immodesty in showing the i':5s t ~
BEAUTIFUL CURVE OF THE BOSOM
than there is in exposing the neck and
chest, the arms and shoulders. The ex.
hibition, too, is quite as unassailable on
esthetic grounds as it is on grounds 81
taste and morality. We observe also
that as general thing the denuncia.
ton of the fashion is apt to be more ar.
dent in the young to whom niggard na. 4
ture has denied the beauty they insist
should be concealed, or in the old and
sickly, in whom it has passed its bloom,
SO that they no longer dare to confront
the air IN fear OF ague and catarrh.
However, there need be no dispute
on the question. The beautiful will
continue to delight society with their
beauty, and the others will only follow
4 the law Of wisdom in avoiding the ut,
tempt to do what is impossible. Mean.
while for all those, beautiful or not,
who share Miss Cleveland's opinion,
only one course is open, and that is to
obey their conscience whether the
world agrees with them or not. -Nen
York San. 4. Il? n
Gen. Lees Foresight.
Unlike the vast majority Of his 4
Southern countrymen, Lee had q very
clear idea Of the tremendous odd.
against which the South would have tc :
contend, and was not sanguine as to u
the result. This is shown by an anec.