The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1888-02-02

order, civilization, nor common decency.
There has been a canonization of blunt
ness. 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 SEN
sitiveness of others. There is no virtue
in walking with hoofs over fine carpets.
The most jagged rock is covered with
poisoning moss. The storm that comes
jarring down in thunder strews rainbow
colors upon the sky and silvery drops on
orchard and meadow
There are men who pride themselves
on their capacity to ''stick'' others They
say: II have brought him down; didn't
/ make him squirm!' 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 APP
plication they would persuade the world
that they are perfectly Indifferent to
public opinion. They are more proud Of
being tout of fashion" than others are
of being in. They are utterly and uni
versally disagreeable. Their rough cor
ners have never been worn off. They
prefer a hedgehog to lamb.
The accomplishments of life are in no
wise productive of effeminacy or ener-
walton. Good manners and respect for
the tastes of others are indispensable.
The Good Book speaks favorably of those
who are peculiar" people; but that
does not sanction the behavior of queer
people. There is no excuse, under any
circumstances, for not being and acting
the lady or gentleman. Rudeness is sin.
We have no words too ardent to express
our admiration for the refinements of
society. There is no law, moral or di-
vine, to forbid elegance of demeanor, or
ornaments of gold. or gems for the per-
son, artistic display in the dwelling,
gracefulness Of gait and bearing, polite
salutation or honest compliments; and he
who is shocked or offended by these had
better, like the old Scytnians, 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 ex-
quisite adornments, sweeter music,
grander pictures, more correct behavior
and more thorough ladies and gentle
men.
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 a
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 peer
age. Titles Of Duke, Lord, Esquire, Earl,
Viscount or Patrician ought not
to raise one into the first rank.
Some of the meanest men 1 lave
ever known had at the end of their name
d. D., LID. and F. r. s. Truth, honor.
charity, heroism, self sacrifice should win
highest favor, but inordinate fashion
says: Count not a woman's virtues;
count her adornments." Look not at
the contour of the head, but see the way
she combs her hair" stAsk not what
noble deeds have been accomplished by
that mans hand; but is it white and
SOFT" Ask not what good sense is in
her conversation, but I'm what was she
dressedF Ask not whether there was
hospitality and cheerfulness in the house,
but I'm what style do they ive?'
As consequence, some of the most
ignorant and vicious men are at the top,
and some Of the most virtuous- and intel
igent 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 contract.
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 disas-
ter like a Christian! Fifty thousand sub
tracted from good man leaves how
much? Honor, truth, faith in God, tri-
umphant hope, and kingdom of inef-
fable glory, over which he is to reign for
ever and ever.
If the owner Of millions should lose a
penny out Of his pocket would he sit
down on curbstons and cry7 And shall
a man possessed of everlasting fortunes
wear himself out with grief because he
has lost worldly treasures? You have
only lost that N which hundreds of
wretched misers surpass you, and you
have saved that which the Caesars and
the Pharaohs and the Alexanders could
never afford.
And yet society thinks differently, and
you sec the most intimate friendships
broken up as the consequence of finan-
cial embarrassmsnts. You say to some
ole: How ID your friend?'' The man
looks bewildersd and Says: 81 do not
know" You reply: why. you used
to be intimate" WELL" says the man,
''our friendship has been dropped. The
....-.. :..-s :se:.=5 :"
Proclamation has gone forth: "vel-
vets must go up and plain apparel must
come down, and the question is: '.How
does the coat ht?" 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, Transatlantic and Cis-At-
tantic. Is clothes. 1t decides the last
offices Of respect; and how long the dress
shall be totally black; and when it may
snbside into spots of grief on silk, calico
or Bingham. Men die in good circum-
stances, but by reason of extravagant
funeral expenses are well nigh insolvent
before they are 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
neighbors have, not by what they them
selves can afford to have, and the great
anxiety ID as to who shall have the finest
house and the most costly equipage. The
weapons used In the warfare of social life
are not Mimic rifles, and Dahlgren guns,
and Hotchkiss shells, but chairs,
and mirrors, and vases. and Gobelins,
and Administers. Many household
ara Ike roc;p<~ c+<,r,