The Nicodemus cyclone. [volume] (Nicodemus, Graham County, Kan.) 1887-1888, 1888-02-03

lU6V Tue III dQ Ouu CdiIIdSes DI UlUb Oh per
petual application they would persuade the
world that they are perfectly Indifferent to
| public opinion. They are more proud Of be-
| ing 'Out OF fashion" than others are of being
| in. They are utterly and universally dis
| agreeable. Their rough corners have never
been worn off. They prefer hedgehog to
| lamb.
The accomplishments of life are In no wise
productive of effeminacy or enervation.
| Good manners and respect for the tastes OF
others are Indispensable. The Good Book
| speaks favOrably of those who are ''pecu-
| liar'' people; but that does not sanction the
| behavior of queer people. There is no excuse
under any circumstances for not being ana
acting the lady or gentleman. kudeness Is
| sin. We have no words too ardent to eX-
| press our admiration for the reinements OF
| society. There is no law, moral or divine. TO
| forbid elegance of demeanOr, or ornaments OF
| gold, or gems for the person, artlstlc display
| in the dwelling, gracefulness OF gait aud
| bearing, polite salutOn or honest compl-
ments; and he who is shocked or offended by
these had BETTER like the old Scythians, wear
| tiger skins and take one wild leap back into
midnight barbarism. As Christianity advan-
/ ces there will be better apparel, higher styles
! of architecture, more exquisite adOrnments,
sweeter music, grander pictures, more cor
| rect behavior and more thorough ladies and
| gentleman,
But there is another story to be told.
Wrong fashion is to be charged with many of
| the worst evils Of society, and its path has
| often been streWn with the bodies OF the slain.
! 1t has often set up a false standard by which
! people are to be judged Our common sense,
! as well as all the divine limitations on the sub
! iect, teaches Us that people ought to be es-
! teefned according to their individual and
| moral attachments. The man who has the
| most nobility of soul should be first and he
who has the least of such qualities should
| stand last. No crest or shield, or escutcheOn
can indicate ones moral peerage. Titles Of
! duke, lord, esquire, earl, viscOunt or patrcian
! ought not to raise one into the first rank.
| Some of the meanest men | have ever known
! had at the end of their name d. d., LII. ID.
| and F. r. s. Truth, honor charity, herOism
and self-sacritice should win highest favor;
but inordinate fashion says: Count not a
| WOman's virtues; count her adOrnments:"
! Look not at the contour of the head, but see
the way she combs her hair" ASK not what
| noble deeds have been accomplished by that
mans hand but is it white and soft!" ASK
| not what good sense is in her conversation,
but in what was she dressed" ASK not
whether there was hospitality and cheerful
ness in the house, but in what style do they
| live?n
| THE POWER OF SOCIETY.
AS a consequence, some of the most ignOr-
ant and vicious men are at the top and some
Of the most virtuOus and intelligent at the
bottom. During the last war we suddenly saw
men hurled up into the highest social posi-
tiOns. Had they suddenly reformed from evil
habits, or graduated in science, or achieved
some good work for society! No; they simply
had obtained a government contract. This
accounts for the utter chagrin which people
| feel at the treatment they receive when they
lose their property. Hold up your head amid
| financial disaster like a Christian. Fifty
| thousand subtracted from a goo1 man leaves
how much? Honor, truth, faith in God,
triumphant hope and a kingdom of inetfable
glory, over which He is to reign forever and
! ever. If the owner of millions should lose a
| penny out of his pocket would he sit down on
| a curbstOne and cry? And shall man pos
sessed of everlasting fortunes wear himself
out with grief because he has lost worldly
| treasure! You have only lost that in which
| hundreds of wretched misers surpass you;
| and you have saved that which the Caesars
! and the PharaOhs and the AleXanders could
never afford.
And vet society thinks differently and you
see the most intimate friendships broken up
as the consequence of financial embaTass-
| ment. You say to some one, "HOW is your
friendp' The man looks bewildered and says,
~ do not know" You reply: "Why, you
used to be intimate" "Well, says the man,
'our friendship has been dropped. The man
has failed"
Proclamation has gone forth: 'Velvet
must go up and plain apparel must come
down" and the question of how does tn c
coat fit?' and not "Who wears it!" The
| power LldG DearS Tue LIu6S Oh eXClLeu pOpula-
| ton up and down our streets and rocks the
world of commerce and thrills all nations,
transatlantic and cisatlantc, is clothes. 1t
decides the last office of respect, and how
long the dress shall be totally black, and
when it may subside into spots of grief OF
silk, calico or bingham. Men die in good cir
| cumstances, but by reason of eXtravagant
| funeral expenses are well nigh insOlVent be-
fore they get buried. Many men would not
die at all if they had to wait until they could
| afford it.
WRONG FASHIONS EVIL WORK.
Wrong fashion is productive of most ruin
Gus strife. The expenditure of many house
! holds is adjusted by what their ne ighbOrs
hav We not by what they themselves can affort
to have; and the great anxiety Is as to who
shall have the finest house and the most costly
eQuipage. The weapons used in the warfare
of social life are not MIME rifles and Dahl
gren guns, and Hotchkiss shells, but chairs
| and mirrors and vases, and Gobelins anC
Administers Many household establish
| ments are like racing steamboats, propelled a
the utmost strain and risk, and just coming
| to a terrific explosion. "WhO cares" sa'
they, elf we only come out ahead" There
| IS no one cause to-day OF more financial EN-
barrassment and of more dishouesties tina
this determination at all hazards to live as
well as or better than other people Their
are persons who will risk their etcrnit
upon one pier mirror or who will dash out the
splendors of heaven to get another trinket.
"Mv house is too small" But" says some
one, ''yOu can not pay for a larger" 'Nevel
mind that, my friends have better residence
and so will IL
"A dress of that style and material I mus
have / can not afford it by a great deal; bu
who cares for that! Ny neighbor had on
from that pattern, and | must have one"
There are scores of men in the dungeons O
the penitentiary who risked honor, business
everything, in the effort TO shine like others
Though the heavens fall they must be ''in tn
fashion,
The most famous frauds of the day have re
suited from this feeling. 1t keeps hundred
of men struggling for their commercial eX
istence. The trouble is that some are Caugh
and incarcerated if their larceny be small. |
it be great they escape and build their castl
on the Rhine. Men get into jail not becaus
they steal but because they did not stes
enough.
APOLOG les IN SOCIETY.
Again Wrong fashion makes people I'm
natural and untrue. 1t is a factory frOu
which has come forth more hollow ptetense
and unmeaning batteries and hypOcrisies thai
the Lowell mills ever turned out shawls an,
garments. Fashion is the greatestof all liars
1t has made society insincere. You KNOW no
what TO believe When people ask YOU I
I come sou do not know whether or not the
want you TO come. When they send their re
CARDS Won do not know whether ii is the e1
preston of their heart, or an external civility
I We have learned IN take almost eyervtbiuw q