Wichita eagle., 1889-05-01
pails = eagle
SLOVENLY MORTALS.
An Old Man Gives Vent to Some
Plain Opinions.
Untidy Habits as RepuIsive as Downright
Wickedness American Women, as
RuIe, the Neatest In the World
Disgusting Slovenliness.
TDenver Tribune-Republican.l


TDenver Tribune Republican,
Ihave seen the women Of many ma
ton. remarked an old gentleman to a
repo ter the other day, "both in society
and It home, and confess with pride that
think American women, as rule, are the
neatest the world over. Have you ever
lived in village and noted the fastidous
hab'n of the bellies, who are, perhaps,
mosY particular about their appearance
thsGE hey would be in large city, because
theJa1l know every body and every body
kno' them, and because they can not go
down the street without being scrutinized
closely by some admirers / have known
village maidens, after having married and
settled down in a great city, to take advan-
tage Of the wilderness of houses and
strange faces, and go about in such Stat
ternly attire as they would never have as
sumed in their native village; but these
cases are rare.
You take a girl who is neat at home ana
she will be neat everywhere else. If she
wears clean calico in the morning she VIII
wear spotless merino in the afternoon. II
she wears clean collar in the morning she
will replace it with a fresher one IN the
evening, and so on.
1.-THE habit of neatness or its opposite Is
an interesting study in women The char
acteristic naturally exists just the same in
men, but the circumstances governing
their lives are such as do not bring out this
phase in such pronounced fashion. / don't
doubt but that some of the greatest Stat
terms on earth are men, but they are sell
dom found out, you know. If you are sui
iiciently intimate with gentleman to gain
access to his apartment you will soon have
a very excellent method of judging OF his
habits. II you find his brushes full of hair
and lint, his towels and soiled clothes kick.
ing about everywhere, with bowl of dirty
water always on his wash-stand, you may
easily judge that he will go out on the
street with grease spots on his clothes and
half-soiled linen on.
Now, between you and me- l detest
dirty people. There is something as repul-
sive about untidy habits to me as there is
. in real wickedness don't think you can
be good man or a good woman without
possessing thoroughly clean personal hab-
its, and L will stick to it until my dying
day. They tell me / am a crank on this
subject. / don't care whether am or not
Cleanliness is next to Godliness.' This
is my sentiment to such an extent that ]
have studied slatternly people and theii
opposite all my life long. l can never for
get the altered condition within six months
OF pretty house where l used to visit
This house had been arranged with great
care; it was in fact a miniature center OF
the arts. Here you saw landscape in oils,
and there a steel engraved copy of some
famous picture. The dainty coloring har.
monized in wall and carpet, and the rich
shading in the stuffs with which the furni'
ture w 8 upholstered was in the most ar
tistic lues and designs. The rugs, too.
were the latest and most fashionable
pattern and material. 1 noticed them par
ticularly because of the great change which
was Swallowed forth in them within the
course Of half year.
''The nest was prepared, by which
mean, of course, the house was got in
absolute readiness, aid in due course OF
time the new mistress was introduced and
installed presiding genius of home which
any woman might have envied. She was
a fine-looking, scholarly, well-read woman:
one who moved in good circles and was
well beloved, but you can not imagine
what a change there was in those furnish
ings within few weeks. The apartments
which were in constant use were always in
order, in so far as nothing was out of
place. The floor was not strewn with any
thing. There was not book nor a photo
graph out of place, but the general air of
griminess that house assumed within six
weeks went ahead of any thing which
had ever seen in all my life. The pretty
coloring IN curtains and carpets soon
assumed dingy hue; the window shades
were never drawn; the rich Smyrna rugs
looked as if coal had been pounded fine
and stamped into them, and in fact this was
the case with the one which lay before the
fire. The exquisite statuary looked as il
1t needed a bath; the mirrors were spotted
the vivid embroideries were vivid nc
longer, but decidedly dark and somber, for
by Jovei sir, that house was never swept
nor busted and nothing was ever washed
''The change produced in the elegant
appointments Of that house emanated from
the effects of dust ground in-allowed tc
remain undisturbed until it colored the
very air you breathed in those
apartments. Only few months had
passed when that house looked like ar
old rookery--a place for birds to build
their nests in, and where gentlemen might
sit and smoke, but not at all as if it were {
home presided over by a woman. Now
sir, if that respected lady had been my wife
she could have packed at the end of 81,
weeks. / should have wanted nothing
further of her She could rot have offend
ed me more if she had had lovers galore oil
inoulged in any other piece Of folly. She
was fine womani o.! yes; but hang your
fine women, say, who let the beautiful In
teriors of their homes 60 to rack and ruiz
while they read good books and entertain
their friends.
THE particular type of woman that
despise," growled the old gentleman, Il:
that luckless creature who never tides hel
room or smooths her hair unless there:
company expected. When / was young
man used TO call at certain house where
the young ladies Were very interesting, al
though very plain in appearance. The frs
time l rang the door bell l heard a sound o.
hurrying feet as though flock of geese
had suddenly been discovered and wer,
flying, terror-stricl1en, to some place o.
refuge. l very soon discovered, however
that this noise WAS only occasioneo by the
young ladies hurrying TO their rooms fol
the purpose of dressing their hair aut
taking of their wrappers. l called there
of and on for a year, and that kind of thing
never failed once to occur. | kept up my
visits for time, but didn't choose my
wife from that house, you can depend upoI
that"
Mothers Neat Repartee-