The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1888-03-03
WHOLE No. 2,3A1

corner, Is too apparent to need any
demonstration other than that which
observation of the fair navigators
affords.
Still, the march of Improvement
is visible in fashions as well as IN
other things. Very few steps are
now taken backward. Probably the
grandmother who reads this can re-
member when dresses, almost with
out exception, fastened behind. Even
|, though not yet as old even as nv
mother, have clear recollection of
being called on by my sisters to
hook them up" when really they
had not fallen overheard. Though
then but the me- est lad, | was the
hook and ladder c0mbany," as it
were, OF my sisters. And nice girls
they were-when young. Their taste,
however, never seemed to quite keep
pace with their growth. As time
moved along, they seemed to care
less and less for my company,
gradually coming to show prefer
ence fer that of others. In the end
we drifted widely apart. And even
the youngest of them was long ago
hooked on to, and for more years
than | care to recall has probably
been 'hooked up" by another.
In the olden time a lady meyer
turned her back on one-uniess he
were guilty of some fragrant offence.
Perhaps this is why gowns were
then made to fasten where it was
supposed that the fastening would
NOT be seen frequently. Now it is
thought advisable to make gowns fit
| their best in the back. | have fre-
quently been given opportunities of
criticising the handiwork of the dress
maker from this point of view. This
comes from being supposed to know
SO much about woman and her WAYS,
suppose.
But it were the merest fiction to
say that | am in favor of the present
long waists. They involve time. A
long waist cannot be made in haste.
And the moment that a waist-on
any side-is discovered. it cannot
too soon or too radically be cut
short. SO too with waist places. 1t
is a lovely idea to make these "bos-
som like the e"-become perfect
parterres, in fact, as they do with
the present floral adornment No
need now for d couple 10 retire into
the cons: rvatory when they wish to
ttlk of matters of interest to them
selves only-"not intended for pub
lication at all, but simply as a guar
antee of good faith. No, no, in
deed; it is but necessary for both to
retire behind the one corsage. bou-
quet to be fully secured from obser-
vation either pertinent or impertinent.
However, | am not sure that | like
the supplanting of The old fashioned
whalebone by steel and other artif
cialities. 1t yields less under pres
sure, and hurts the arm. There
may be economy in it, perhaps
fewer bones may be broken-but the
least said about that the soonest
mended. Economy is not always a
source Of wealth, and that of the
affections should not be wasted.
AS regards seamless gloves,
have but one opinion. Any thing
or things that would make ones
gloves seem less can but be regarded
with favor; and | ordered number
of pairs the moment that | saw the
advertisement The further ambi-
ton OF my lie is now to get hold of
shoes of such SOFT. The trouble
probably would be with the color.
Beyond question they would have
to be green invisible green
and how could this color be BACKED?
Apropos of invisible green" if
there be such a color in nature it
must be that of lettuce in winter. G
have never been able to ''see it" at
the price which the marketmen de-
mand.) And | find further color
for this opinion in a song once popu-
lar, verse of which recurs to my
| memory:
| Il stand at her window,
| The old familiar spot;
look through tie lettuce,
But, ah, see her not.''
Probably the reason he did not see
her was that she too was invisibly
green-in any event, not positively
green enough to come to the window
when young man was assuring her
in voice two keys above the proper
register that he stood there looking
| in.
The fashion, let me remark, of
singing beneath the window of ones
lady love has gone out. People don't
do it any more. Windows nowadays
are made so much alike that even if
the young lady got home from the
ball in time, it would be difficult to
tell which window was hers. And
projectiles fall heavily even from the
second story front, where the head
of the family is to be found gener-
ally. Guitars have gone up in price
simultaneously with the advance of
fiddle strings, and it does not pay to
have one broken Seldom in this
| degenerate day does the young wo-
man of the family get a chance to
lean out over the window-sill, to the
detriment OF her white wrapper. and
whisper, "Guitar, there, stay therep'
But insensibly | seem to have