Milford chronicle., 1888-02-03
MILFORD, DEL, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3 1888.


mission to social custom, as though any con-
sultation of the tastes and feelings Of Others
were deplorable; but without it the world
would have neither law, order, civilization
nor common decency. There has been a
canonization Of biuntness. There are men
and women who boast that they can tell you
all they know and hear about you, especially
if it be unpleasant. Some have mistaken
rough behavior for frankness, when the two
qualities do not belong to the same family.
You have no right with your eccentricities
to crash in upon the sensitiveness Of others.
There is no virtue in walking with hoofs over
fine carpets. The most jagged rock is COW
cred with blossoming moss. The storm that
comes jarring down in thunder strews rain
bow colors upon the sky, and silvery drops
on orchard and meadow.
There are men who pride themselves on
their capacity to ''stickn Others. They say;
II have brought him down. Didn't make
him squirngn Others pride themselves on
their outlandish apparel They boast OF
being out of the fashion. They wear a queer
hat. They ride in an odd carriage. By dint
of perpetual application they would per
suade the world that they are perfectly in
different to public opinion. They are more
proud of being ''out Of fashion, than Others
are Of being in They are utterly and uni
versally disagreeable. Their rough corners
have never been worn of. They prefer a
hedgehog to lamb.
The accomplishments Of life are in no wise
productive of affeminacy or enervation.
Good manners and q 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 ex-
cuse, under any circumstances, for not being
and acting the lady or gentleman. Rudeness
Is sin. We have no words too ardent to ex-
press our admiration for the rehnements OF
society. There is no law, moral or divine, to
forbid elegance of demeanor, or ornaments
of gold, or gems for the person, artistic dis
play in the dwelling, gracefulness Of gait
and bearing, polite salutation or honest COM
pliments: 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
advances there will be better apparel, higher
STYLES of architecture, more exquisite adorn-
ments, sweeter music, grander pictures, more
correct behavior and more thorough ladies
and gentlemen.
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 It has often set up false standard by
which people are to be judged. Our common
sense, as well as all the divine intimations on
the subject, teach us that people ought to be
esteemed according to their individual and
moral attainments. 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 patrician
ought not to raise one into the first rank.
Some of the meanest men have ever
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 wOmans virtues; count her
adornments." i" ''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 softf' Ask not what good
sense is her conversation, but In what was
she dressedP' Ask not whether there was
hospitality and cheerfulness in the house, but
"In what style do they liver
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
positions Had they suddenly reformed from
evil habits, Or graduated IN science, or
achieved some good work for society? No,
they simply had obtained government con-
tractl
This accounts for the utter chagrin which
people feel at tine 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 in
God, triumphant hope, and kingdom OF
ineffable 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 cryl And shall a 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 surpess you
and you have saved that which the Cesars,
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
| friendr' The man looks bewildered and says
Il do not know" You reply: "Why, you
used to be intimate "Well," says the man
tour friendship has been dropped The man
has failed.n
Proclamation has gone forth. "Velvets
must go up and plain apparel must come
down, and the question is: "How does the
! coat fitln not "Who wears itw The power
that bears the tides Of excited population W
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 il
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 insolvent before they
get buried Many men would not die at al
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 car
afford to have; and the great anxiety is a,
/ to who shall have the finest house and the
most costly equipage. The weapons used il
the warfare Of social life are not Mimic rifles
and Dahlgren guns, and Hotcbkiss shells, bui
| chairs, and 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 a terrific explosion. who cares,
say they, "if we only come out aheadp
There is no one cause today Of more finan
ciaI embarrassment and Of more dishonestie
than this determination at all hazards to liv,
as well as or better than other people
There are persons who will risk their eter
nifty upon one pier mirror or who will dasl
out the splendors Of heaven to get anothe
/ trinket.
"My house is too small" But say
some one, ''you cannot pay for a larger
'Never mind that, my friends have bette
residence and so will II "a dress Of tina
style and material Imust have. cannot Of
ford it by a great deal; but who cares TO
thatl Ny neighbor had one from that pat
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