Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1889-02-08
THE RATIONAL DRESS SOCIETY.
An Account of One of Its Very Interesting
Sessions in London.

Sessions in London.
Before meeting of the Rational Dress So
ciety in London, Viscountess Harberton
urged upon members the desirability of
adopting the divided skirt as a distinctive
costume. She would say that a woman
| dressed according to the present fashion took
UP at least the space of three men.
Hon. Mrs. Beaufoy Heneage desired to ask,
why not the time, also? Lady Harberton re-
piled that Mrs Heneage's interruption was
| outside Of the present discussion. Continu-
ing, she complained that when a woman
travelled with bag and a rug it was impos-
sible to enter a railway carriage elegantly
Lady Glencora Abernethy - Then why
travel with bag and ruga
Mrs. Civilian Civilian would be glad to
be informed why it should be considered
| inelegant to show half an inch of lace
| petticoat.
Lady Harberton thought that the good
sense, she would not say delicacy, of mem
bers ought to furnish them with the answers
| I'd such questions, if not point out to them
| the logical continuation of the inquiry. The
' calculation Of inches and half inches was
obviously no proper occupation for this
| society.
Mrs. Civilian Civilian was greatly obliged
| to Lady Harberton.
Lady Harberton trusted Mrs. Civilian
| Civilian would would not mention it. Con-
| tinuing, she remarked that ladies travelling
in sleeping cars could not dress quickly on an
emergency. Here the Warehouses Landraie
asked for five minutes Of Lady Harbertons
time. This was refused. The marchioness
then stated that she had had the advantage
OF strict bringing up among circles to
which the resolution of social questions was
haT1Sf 20 liot. -,
cording 10 the hest sense of these circles
ladies' did not travel N slaeping cars Lady
Harberton begged TO ask bow tins n,archioness
bad C2me on IRON Edinburgh last week
Lady Jandrsie replied that the journey
referred 10 .sed been taken under exceptional
circumstances. - report had reached her
5hat her son, Lord l1itl f11nes, was about ss7S
marry AZ actress She might oDse. % tnat
she had not gone 20 bed, but mad sat up IN O
chair all night
| The matter then dropped.
| A resolution that women ought me- el58s8
| quickly on any emergency was offered %
| Mrs Carnaby Brown and ruled out Of order
| by the chair
| Continuing, Lady Harberton said that fash
| ion had ordered that woman must wear but
| one or two garbs--that of Venus la voice,
''Oh, ohl''1 or that of Noah's Ark figure.
|
some agitation. She would beg to be in
formed to which of Lady Harbertons types
she was to consider herself compared.
Lady Harberton begged to say Venus.
Mrs. Civilian Civilian resumed her seat.
Dress reform, said Lady Harberton, should
be not half but whole measure. A voice:
lis not the divided skirt half measure.'1
Lady Herberton would not notice verbal
pleasantries. They might be meant as pleas
antries but their effect, especially upon the
representatives of newspapers present, was
not elevating III tone. She would say that
for obvious reasons the Noahs Ark figure
had been selected as the model on which to
clothe the female form.
Several ladies rose and would be glad to be
informed what We're the obvious reasons.
Lady Harberton replied, the dressmakers.
Hon Miss Revers begged permission to say
that the most sensible woman she had ever
known had been dressmaker.
Lady Haberton-That does not prove that
your Judgment is sound
Here there was some disorder and the chair
was appealed to. After discussion Lady
Harberton consented to withdraw the ex-
preston. Hon. Miss Revers request that
Lady Harberton should order a basque of the
dresSmaker referred to, was considered by
the chair to be unnecessary.
Lady Harberton must insist that she for
one had no desire to be mistaken for the wife
of either Shem, Ham or Japheth. "a voice
from the platform: "You are not so old as
all that, my dear.nl
Lady Harberton would be glad to know
who was the speaker. Unless the speaker ac-
mowledged herself the chair would order the
platform cleared
The speaker not acknowledging herself, the
chair did order the platform cleared. The
officers, however, were unable to carry out
the chairs orders and Lady Harberton en-
deavored to continue. Fashion, she said,
demanded small waist of women. Mrs.
Civilian: milne is natural''l and she ac-
cordingly contrived it. No woman ever had
small waist naturally; in no aspect of NO.
ture did two thick limbs ever spring out OF a
circumference smaller than themselves.
Many ladies here demanded to have the
speakers words taken down.
Lady Harberton was endeavoring to repeat
them when the meeting broke up in some
disorder Philadelphia Times
Embaimed by the Air.
There are on exhibition in the rooms Of the
state mining bureau at San Francisco four
"desiccated human bodies" that were found
by Signor S. Marghier in a sealed cavern, at
an elevation of 1900 feet, on the eastern side
of the Sierra Madre mountains in Mexico.
The bodies were found in a sitting posture,
with the hands crossed on the breasts, the
heads inclined forward and facing the east.
Two adults, male and femal, were side by
side, and by the side of the man was 8 boy,
and a girl by the side of tie woman. The
bodies were apparently dried by the air. no
embalming process being used. They are not
like any known Indians of today, the hands
and feet being particularly small, and the
womans hair brown and silken. The won-
ans forehead is large, and the reasoning
powers were apparently well developed. In
the lobe of each ear is piece of hollow reed.
The burial garments are of cotton hide.
grasses and the bark of willows. In addi-
tian the little girl Is covered with the sl.ir.