Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-02-17

lave mistaken rough behavior for fronl,-
~ ne. 49, "nen the two qualities do not belong
,e;n ,he same family. You have no RIGHT
t na.n your eccentricities to crash in upon
~, ,i y, sensl'lVeness of others. There is no
virtue IN walking with hoofs over fine
carpets; The most jagged rock is covered
/ with blossoming moss The storm that
comes Earring down in thunder strews rain
oo" colors upon the sky, and silverv drops
Oh orchard and meadow. ' N'0i''
A., lnefe are men who pride themselves on
their capacity to stick" others. They sov.
:! have brought him down. Didn't make
~ niln squlrm" Others pride themselves en-
1 u outlandish apparel. They boast of
oelng out OF the fashion. They wear q
queer nat. They ride in an odd carriage,
by aln ~, or perpetual application they per-
different to public opinion. Thew nre
more proud of being "out of fashion" than
| otnefs are OF being in. They are utterly
ana universally disagreeable. 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 enerva-
uon. Good manners and a respect for
the tastes OF others are Indispensable The
Good Book speaks favorably of those who
are q peculiar" people; but that does not
~, VIZ ooAaN1oi VI queer people.
There is no excuse, under any circum-
stances, for not being and acting the lady
or gentleman. Rudeness is sin. We have
no words too ardent to express our admira-
ton for the refnements of society. There
is no law, moral or divine, to forbid ele-
Gance OF demeanor, or ornaments of gold,
or gems for the person, artistic display in
the dwelling, gracefulness of gait and
bearing, polite salutation or honest COM
pllments; 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 architect
ure, more exquisite adornments sweeter
music, grander pictures, more correct be-
hayior 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. 1t has often set up false
standard by which people are to be Judged.
Our common sense, as we'll as the divine
lntlmatlons 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
least OF such qualities should stand last.
No crest, Or shield, or escutcheon can in
dicate 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 4. r. S. Truth,
honor, charity, heroism, self-sacritice
should win highest favor; but inordinate
fashion says: "Count not woman 8
virtues; count her adolnments. "Lool1
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 her conversa-
ton, but "ln what wa< she dressed?" Ask
not whether there was hospitality and
cheerfulness in the house, but "In what
| style do they live?"
| AS o consequence, some of the most
| ignorant and vicious men are at the top,
and some of the most virtuous and intelli-
| gent are at the bottom. During the last
war We suddenly saw men hurled into the
highest social positions. Had they sud-
denly reformed from evil habits, or grad
uated in science, or achieved some good
work for society? No they simply had OBJ
tanned a government contract!
This accounts for the utter chagrin
which people feel at the treatment they re-
ceive when they lose their property. Hold
up your head amid financial disaster like
Christian! Fifty thousand subtracted
from u good man leaves how much?
| Honor, truth, faith in God, triumphant
hope, and a kingdom Of inefable 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 curbstone and cry? And shall man
possessed of everlasting fortune wear him.
self 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
AleXandeTs could never afford.
And yet society thinks differently, and
you see the most intimate friendships
broken up rs the consequence of financial
embarrassments. You say to some one:
"How is your friend?" The man looks
bewildered and says: II do not know. ,"
You reply: "Why, you used to be init
mate" SWELL, says the man, "our friend
ship 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: CHOW does
the coat ftp" not "Mho wears it," The
power that bears the tides Of excited popu-
lation up and down our streets, and rocks
the world Of commerce. and thrills all ma
tons, trans Atlantic and els Atlantic, is
clothes. 1t decides the last Offices of re-
spect; and how long the dress shall be to-
tally black: and when i. may subside into
spots of grief OH silk, calico or Bingham.
Men die in good circumstances, but by
reason of extravagant funeral expenses are
we'll 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 most
ruinous strife. The expenditure Of many
households is adjusted by what their nei gh-
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 the warfare of social life are not
MIME rifles, and Dahlgren guns, and
Hotchkiss shells, but chairs, and mirrors,
and vases, and Gobelins. and Administers.
Many household establishments are like
racing steamboats, propelled at the utmost
strain and risk, aud just coming to a ter
rifle explosion. "Who cares" say they,
eff we only come out ahead?"
There is no one cause to-day OF more
financial embarrassment and of more dis
1,Ao OF oil