The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1886-01-05
Written for the sunday Morning Bazco.
DUDEISM VS.. MANLINESS.
Some Characteristic Concerning
this NOndescript.

Do you observe that stylishly dressed
young man staggering up the street under
the weight of q heavy packa OF goods
Well, he is a seven-dOllar-per-week clerk
in one of our large dry goods stores.
And now do you see the magnificent Wis
ion arrayed in all the glory Of the mi'lin-
ers' and dressmakers' arts, floating grace
fully, but swiftly, toward the unhappy
young man? She is the daughter OF one OF
our wealthiest citizens. The vender OF
tape and threads has revelled in her cos
metic smiles and dares to hope to one day
call her and her fortune his own.
Do you ask then why we say unhappy
young man? Because he is doomed. He
is collapsed bankrupt SO far as the lovely
vision above alluded to is concerned.
Why? oh that miserable package which
he is Juggling home to s customer has done
the business. Don't think stylish young
heireSses are going 20 smile on young men
who tote bundles for a living, do you? If
you do YOU are away off in your reckoning.
And now behold the meeting between the
impecuniOus dude aud his inamOrata.
The look Of despair on the Oscar Wilde
countenance of the young man is piteOus
TO contemplate. He wishes the earth
would open and hide his discontinue. He
tries in vain to dodge into some store but
no, he has been recognized and must meet
his fate The fashionable beauty almost
freezes her miserable slave with one
naughty stare, in which is included an ex-
preston of inquiring surprise, and sweeps
on. The young man has bestowed ON her,
instead of one Of the ravishing bows with
which he has been wont to greet her, L
piteous, pleading, helpless look, not unlike
that of distressed poodle ~hich has lost
its mistress.
That evening the unfortunate young
dude received delicately perfumed note
from his cruel eharmer, stating that owing
to sudden indispOsition she is unable to
fulfill her engagement with him at the
rink.
That settles. or it would settle it if our
dude had any sense, which like the hest of
his class he hasn't, and he persists in hay
ing grand finale TO this little melOdrama,
SO he continues mOnkeying with that
Broadway door tell until the old man &C.
commoda'es him by appearing in his great
bOX-toe act
Now, this is 4 sample dude, an animal
which of late years has sprung into exist
ence with almost spontaneous and very
luxuriant growth. He is one of a very
large class who earn from 81 to FLO per
week and spend $50. BY display of in
finite gall and adamantine cheek he man
ages to gain admittance TO the residences
of the wealthy and fashionable, in many
cases more fashionable than wealthy, and
there he does more able-bodied lying
i'm one evening than Tom Ochiltree can in
a month He talks tafiy TO the members
of the family and the daughter in particu-
lar, intimating that he will soon be ad-
vanced from the position OF superintend-
ent in the large house In which he is en-
plOyed to Junior partner. My, how his
tongue dos run about orr house, our
goods and our clerks. He speaks OF thu
seniox partner as Harry, old boy, and has
a familiar cognomen for each member o
the firm. In many instances courtship
progresses smoothly, the lover is fortunate
enough to avoid being discovered
carrying bundles and performing
other mental Offices, and he actually
is elevated to the position OF son-in-law in
a fashionable family. But as has been in
timated. all fashionable families are not
wealthy, and the honeymoon is scarcely
ended before the unhappy bridegroom
pronouuces life a delusiOn and n snare.
Oh. the contemplate. receptions which
have been practiced on both sides, and the
miserable future which spreads out like n
pail before them, made the more wretched
because neither one has the true moral
courage to rise superior TO this miserable
life of deception and fraud; and so the
days and weeks and months are passed n
q frantic struggle to keep up appearances.
Finally the husband becomes desperate
and begins systematic robbery Of his EN-
ployer He is finally detected in his pecu-
lations and becomes an inmate of aprison
cell. The wife of few short years be-
comes a soured misanthropic woman, often
resorting to opium eating and rendering
all around her unhappy. The children OF
this unfortunate union, If perchancs there
be any, God pity their future.
As befo re stated, this spirit of dudeism
has become more prevalent of late years.
Bows afflicted with this mania do not want
TO go TO school and receive
an education. Oh, no, they are smart
enough. You can't teach them anything.
The summum bOnum OF existence Is the
daily study Of the tailOr's fashion plates,
and the more intricate science OF wearing
fashionable clothes on mesgre salary.
But he must have them. He will almost
starve himself he will borrow he will
plunge into debt away beyond his dep h ;
he even steals in order that he may attain
the pinnacle of his ambition, marriage in
fashionable and wealthy family:
Ii does seem at times that the dude ele-
ment, which curses society and the conn
try. is i'm the ascendant. We say it see,:,s
so alter we have been sickened with dis
play of dudeism extraordinary after We
have seen a young man of whom We hoped
better thing, joining The ranks OF the
dude after we have witnessed young
women utterly ignore all of the noble, al;
most divine perogatives of their sex and
madly plunge into the very vortex oil
fashionable life. Oh, it is a sight to awaken
feelings of grief and alarm in the hearts
of the most callous 10 see glorious woman
4 - ,tc Grand u0SaihilItfps fOI