Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1888-02-04


their capacity to stick" Others They say:
II have brought him down. Didn't mako
him squirm| Others pride themselves OH
their outlandish apparel. They boast of
being out of the fashion. They wear queer
hat They ride i'll an odd carriage. By dint
Of perpetual application they would per
/, s,lalc tho world that they are perfectly in
different to public opinion. They are moro
] proud of being Tout of fashion" than others
arc Of being in. They AFRO utterly and uni
vcrsally disagrceable Their rough corners
have never been worn of. They prefer
hedgehog to a lamb.
Thoeccomplishmcnts of life arc il no wise
productive Of afTcminncy or cncrvation.
Good manners and q respect for the tastes
OF others are indispensable Tho Good Book
speaks favorably of those who are "pccu-
liar'ipcoplc; but that does not sanction tue
behavior of queer people. There is no cx-
c,lse, under any circumstances, for not being
md ecting the lady OF gentleman. Rudencs3
is SIM Wo have no words too ardent to cX-
press our admiration for tho rciinemcnts OF
society There is no law, moral or divine, to
forbid elegance Of demeanor, or ornaments
of gold, or gems for tho person, artistic dis
piay Al the dwelling, gracefulncss of gait
AMI bearing, polite salutation or honest COM
pliments; and he who is shocked or offended
by these had better, like the old Scythians,
wea1stigcr skins and take ono wild leap back
into midnight barbarisnl. As Christianity
advances there will lie better apparel, higher
styles OF architecture. more exquisite ndorr-
mcnts, sweeter music, grander pictures, moro
/ correct behavior and moro thorough ladies
and gentlemen.
But there is onother story to DO told.
Wrong fashion is to be charged with many
of tire worst evils of society, and its path has
often been strcwn 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 ill the divine intimations on
tho subject, teach us TINT people ought to DO
esteemed according to their individual and
moral attainmcnts The man who has the
most nobility of soul should be first, and he
whohas tile least Of such qualities should
stand last. No crest, or shield, or cscutc!lcon
can indicate ones moral pccraSc. Titles or
duke, lord, esquire, earl, viscount or patrician
ought not to raise ono into the first rank.
Some of the mcanest men J. have ever
known had at tho end of their namo
DID,, LII. D. and f. L. S. Truth, honor,
charity, hcroism, self sacrifice should win
highest favor; but inorlinate fashion says:
s'Count not wornans virtues; count her
adornments.n ''Lool; not at the contour of
the head, but see the way she combs her
hairn "Ask not what noble deeds havo
been accomplished by that mans hand; but
is it white and soft2n Ask not what good
sense is her conversation, but "In What was
she drcssed2" Ask not whether thcrc was
hospitality and checrfulness in the house, but
..In what style do thoy live?'
AS q consequence, some Of tho most ignor-
ant and vicious men are ut the top, and some
Of the most yirtuous and Intelligent Mt tho
bottom During the last war VIC suddenly
saw men hurled up into tho highest social
positions. Hud 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 ct tho 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 much7 Honor, truth, faith in
God, triumphant hope, and kingdom of
iueEable glory, over which be is to reign
forever and ever.
( sSif the owner of millions should lose apenny
3 GO Of his pocket would he sit down on
Gu bstopa mid c,.y2 And shall n man DOS.
sessed of everlasting fortune wear hlnself
ont with grief because he has lost worldly
treasure! You hnvo only lost that in which
hundreds of wrctched miscrs surprss you;
and YOU have saved that which the Caesars,
and the Pharnohs, end tho Alexanders could
never afford.
And yet society thinks differently, and you
see the moss intimate friendships broken up
as the consequence OF financial embalrass-
mcnts. You say TO some one: "How is your
frcndr' The man looks bcwildered AID says;
II do not know You reply: "Why, you
used to be intimate" "Well," says the man,
tour friendship has been dropped. Tho man
has failed"
Proclamation has gone forth. "Velvets
must go up and plain apparel must como
down" and the question Isl GLOW does tho
coat t;t.' not .'1Tho 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 cs-Atlaatc, is clothes. 1t de-
cides the last offices of respect; and how long
the dress shall be totally black; and when it
may subsidc into spots of grief on silk. calico
or Bingham. Men die in good circumstances,
but by reason OF extravaganza funeral cX-
penscs are well nigh insolvent 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 O. rlcst
ruimous 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 tho
most costly cqtlipage The weapons used i'll
the warfare Of social life are not Mimic rifles,
and Dahl,rcn guns and Hotchlliss shells, but
chairs. and mirrors, and vases, ard Cfobclins,
and Administers. l1any household establish
meits arc like racing steamboats, propelled
OF tho utmost strain and risk, and just COM
ing to q terrific explosion "Who cares,
say they, ''if wo Only come out ahead7"
There is 10 one cause today of more flnan-
cial embarrassment and of moro dishoncstles
than this determination ut all hazards to live
as we'll us or better than other people.
There nrc persons who will risk their eter-
nifty upon one pier mirror or who will dash
out the splendcrs of heaven to get another
trinkc5.
"Siy house is too small" But" says
some ono, "you cannot pay for c larger.
..Ncycr mind that, my friends have better
residence and so will IL "a dress Of tina,
style aud material must have. 1 cannot af
ford it by great deal but who cares for
thau9 My neighbor had one from that pat
tern, and I must have ono" There are scores
of men in the dungeons of tho pcnitcntiarg
who risked honor, busircss-cverything, III
the effort to shine like others. Though thu
heavens fall they must be sin tho fashion"
The most famous frauds of the day have
resulted from this feeling. 1t keeps hundreds
Of men struggling for their commercial ex-
istcnce The trouble is that some are caught
and incarcerated if their larceny be small.
Il IL l,n crnnt t!,cv l,sf.c;lc end bIllld thor