The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-02-15
correct behavior and more thorough ladies

| of the worst evils Of society, and its path ha
often been strewn with the bodies Of thu
slain. Tt has often set up false standard BY
which people are to be judged. Our common
sense, as well as all the divine intimations OF
the subject, teach us that people ought to b:
esteemed according to their individual anc
moral attainmcntS. The man who has tn
most nobility of soul should be first, and HI
who has the last of such qualities SHOULD
stand last. No crest, or shield, or escutcheor
can Indicate ones moral peerage. Titles o
duke. lord, esquire earl, viscount or patriciar
ought not to raise one into the first rank
! Some of the meanest men I have evel
known had at the end Of their name DID.
| LII. D. and F. R. S. Truth, honor, charity
heroism self sacrifice should win highest
| favor; but inordinate fashion says: "Count
not woman's virtues; count her adorn'
ments." "Look not at the contour Of the
head, but see the way she combs heI
hair" "Ask not what noble deeds have
been accomplished by that mans hand; but
is it white and softM Ask not what good
sense is her conversation, but "1n what was
she dressed!" Ask not whether there was
hospitality and cheerfulneSs in the house, but
"In what style do they liveT'
AS 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
positions. Had they suddenly reformed from
evil habits, or graduated in science, OF
achieved some good work for society 2 No.
they simply had obtained government con-
tract!
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 Christian
Fifty thousand subtracted from good man
leaves how much' Honor, truth, faith il,
God, triumphant hope, and kingdom OF
ineffable glory, over which he is to reign for
ever and ever.
If the owner Of millions should lose penny
out of his pocket would he sit down on a
curbstone and cry? And shall man pos
sessed Of everlasting fortune wear himself
out with grief because he has lost worldly
treasured You have only lost that in which
hundreds Of wretched misers surpass you;
and YOU have saved that which the Ca:ars,
and the Pharaohs, and the Alexanders could
never afford.
And yet society thinks differently and you
see the most intimate friendships broken up
as the consequence Of financial embarrass-
ments You say to some one: "How is your
friends" The man looks bewildered and says:
81 do not know You reply: "Why, you
used to be intimate" We'll" says the man,
Our friendship has been dropped. The man
has failed"
Proclamation has gone forth. "Velvets
must go up and plain apparel must come
down" and the question is: sHow does the
coat titr' not Who wears it," The power
that bears the tides of excited population up
and down our streets, and rocks the world Of
commerce, and thrills all nations, trans
Atlantic and cis-Atlantic, is clothes. 1t de-
cides the last offices of respect; and how long
the dress shall be totally black; and when it
may subside into spots Of grief on silk. calico
or gingham. Men die in good circumstances,
but by reason Of eXtravagant funeral eX
penses are well nigh insolyent before they
get buried. Many men would not die at all
if they had to wait until they could afford it.
Wrong fashion is productive Of a most
ruinous strife. The expenditure Of many
households is adjusted by what their neigh
bors have, not by what they themselves can
afford to have; and the great anxiety is as
to who shall have the finest house and the
most costly equipage. The weapons used in
and Dahlgren guns, and Hotchlliss shells, but
chairs aud mirrors. and vases. and Gobelins.
and Administers. Many household establish
ments are like racing steamboats, propelled
at the utmost strain and risk, and Just COM
ing to terrific explosion. "Who cares
say they, eff we OILY come out aheadT'
There is no one cause to-day of more flnan-
cial embarrassment and of more dishonesties
than this determination at al! hazards to live
as well as or better than other people.
There are persons who will risk their eter-
nifty upon one pier mirror or who will dash
out the splendors Of heaven to get another
trinket.
my house is too small" "But" says
some one, you cannot pay for larger"
I" Never mind that. my friends have better
residence and so will l." "A dress Of that
style and material must have. cannot af-
ford it by a great deal; but who cares for
that? My neighbor had one from that pat.
tern, and must have onen There are scores
of men in the dungeon of the penitentiary
who risSed honor, business-everything, in
the effort to shine like Others. Though the
heavens fall they must be ''in the fashion,"
The most famous frauds of the day have
resulted from this feeling. 1t keeps hundreds
of men struggling for their commercial ex-
istence. The trouble is that some are caught
and incarcerated if their larceny is small
If it be great they escape and build their
castle on the Rhine. Men get into Jail not
because they steal, but because they do not
steal enough.
Again: Wrong fashion makes people un-
natural and untrue. 1t is factory from
which has come forth more hollow pretenses
and unmeaning batteries and hypocrisies than
the Lowell mills ever turned out shawls and
garments. Fashion is the greatest of all
liars. It has made society insincere You
you to come you do not know whether or not
they want you to come. When they send
their regards you do not know whether it is
an expression Of their heart, or an external
civility. We have learned to take almost
everything at discount. Word is sent mot
at home" when they are only too lazy to dress
themselves. They say: "The furnace has
just gone out" when in truth they have had
no fire in it all winter. They apologize for
the unusual barrenness Of their table when
they never live any better They decry their
most luxurious entertainments to win
shower OF approval. They apologize for
their appearance, as though it were unusual,
when always at home they look just So They
would make you believe that some nice sketch
on the wall was the work Of master painter.
"It was an heirloom and once hung on the
walls of castle and Duke gave it to their
grandfather" People who will not lie about
anything elsa will lie about picture. On
small income we must make the world believe
that we are affluent, and our life becomes
cheat, a counterfeit and sham.
Few people are really natural and unaf.
fected When I say this I do not mean to
slur cultured manners. It is right that we
should have more admiration for the sculp-
tured marble than for tho unhewn block OF
the quarry. From many circles in life fash
ion has driven out vivacity and enthusiasm.
A frozen dignity instead floats about the
room and iceberg grinls against iceberg.
You must not laugh outright, it is vulgar.
You must smile. You must not dash rapidly
across the room you must glide. There is
round of bows, and grins, and batteries, and
chs and abs, and simperings, and namby-
pambyism, world Of which is not worth
one good, round, honest peol Of laughter
From such hollow round the tortured guest
retirss at the close Of the evening and assures
his host that he has enjoyed himself.
Thus social life has been contorted and de-
formed until, in some mountain cabin, where