Omaha daily bee., 1890-08-03
4 PLEA FOR NOD ESrY.

A PLEA ,G0R MOD ESTF
In the August ,E51tn, Elizabeth Stuart
Phelps, in an article having the eX-
pressive little "TheDecolletc in NJ Moderu
Life" makes u vigorous arrai gnment of
the fashions OF the day as demoraliaing
to her sex, and presents n plea for more
modesty and delicacy among women
which deserves to be widely read by
them. In the preference which young
girls show for those plays in which the
ballet is prominent, in the pre-
vailing fashions of dress, in the
latitude of speech, and in fa-
mi liarity with the customs and prac-
tees which would once have repelled
pure women, Miss Phelps sees influences
under which the delicacy and modesty
OF womankird is steadily dcteriorating.
Referring to the attitude of the present
race OF young ladies toward the indeli-
cacics of the stage, she remarks that
there isa sang froid, an ease in the pres
ence OF atrocious scenes, which Is amaz-
ing. The dropped eyelid, the mounting
blush, the protest Of maiden mod
esty against sights and suggestions
from W hich any pure girl ought to
revolt-when do we see these signs of
outraged womanly nature?" The in
describable expression of the eye which
distinguishes modest girl from
matron so often missing and "replaced
by another 50 unwelcome, so worldly
wise, so unpleasantly experienced, that
we shrink with sense of having lost
the most precious thing in girlhood,"
The promiscuous dances favored by
what we call society,"" come in for a
share OF the condemnation Of Miss
Phelps. She admits that much may be
said for the beauty, innocence and grace
of the dance, but still the liberties of the
ball room are enough to startle any dis
interested observer. "Any fashion,"
says this critic, (which gives to a roue
the rightto claspa pure woman in his
arms and mold her for the length of an
intoxicating piece of music is below
moral detense' "Bluntly," she says,
ito one who knows the facts behind our
gayest social scenes, how far dove seem
to have advanced beyond the Congo idea
of a social ente rtainment?" The free
dom, or rather latitude Of speech
in society Miss Phelps finds
TO be deplOrable, and she
observes that ''in the old times modest
wife hardly conversed with her own hus-
band as young women may be known to
today with young men of acquain-
tance." Regarding the prevalent styles
Of undress Miss Phelps is unsparing.
What is the evening dress of fashion
able woman, She says, ''but "a burlesque
on civilization? 1t exposes the body
with an Indifference which nothing seems
to abash" And Miss Phelps talks in
this blunt and vigorous way: "a inn
modest dress does not cOvera modest
woman. If your costume is coarse and
vulgar, you can blame no voice or pen
which calls you coarse and vulgar too
If the dress is disgraceful, the weaver is
disgraced. The woman who dresses in
decently, never mind who, never mind
where, never mind WHY'S indecent
The woman who dresses without shame
is shameless"
OF course everybody will concede that
these structures are largely just but un-
fortunately there are very few who will
take them seriously to mind and
profit by them. The mandate of
fashion is so potent that the great
majority OF women will dare any
thing rather than disregard it, while
with regard to the social customs and
practices so destructive of female
modesty and delcacy, they are the out
growth of conditions which are respon-
sible for many other faults and defects
in our modern life, and which must run
their course However, it is well to
have these matters occasionally urged
upon our attention and cousid Grafton,
and no pen could be better qualified to
do this than that OF Elizabeth Stuart
Phelps, or as she is now, Mrs. Herbert
d. Ward.