St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1891-05-16

oLD-FAsHsoNEo NioHTcAPs.
The Neassn AssseSs o. CeapaseA wieA
That e OsAsa Times. =
Why has the old-fashioued nightcap
Of former age fallen into such lire
pute? - 800 -
No one i prepared - maintsin that
its successor, the modern nightcsp. has
not its possibly good pointa !. OF . win
ter's night when the wind howls sym
phonic poem IN the chimney and under
the caves, and the cold Of the day has
gotten into your bones and willnOt out.
who Is the ascetic spinster that viii
blame the man who finds = quite
Elysian comfort in the contemporary
nocturnal headdreas. steami1g bot and
with bit Of lemon on top.
No; this modern nightcap does very
well indeed. But becsuse II II doubt
less so eminently satisfactory consti-
tutes no reason for snpposing that its
predecessor was al wrong. When made
Of common white cotton. or possibly Of
Turkey red and furnished with tassel
ct the end Of . long point, il was Per
haps. not what would Be called IN
osthetic bit Of headWear. t was not
to be denied that it possessed character
when.it was seen, as In ancient prints.
perched ON the head Of some bald-peted
citisen Of rubicund visage, who. rough-
ly-aroused from his slumbers BY . brol
in the street, throws the easement open
and peers out, tallow candle In hand-
But character and beauty are different
things. Nor was the female of that e.
pecial order Of male nightcap any bet
ter. A big, rotund white bag, Ike .
sack of meal. with . gigantic rune
about the edge Of It and two substantial
white strings at the end. securely to tie
it under the chin.
All! but there are other nightcaps
than thiA There i . dainty creation Of
fine, sheer muslin. al foaming with lii
tie quillings Of laee. through which
runs bit Of ribbon, white Or rosy, q
blue p turquoise, ending In . denure
rosette, bow light - . butterfly On
the wing. Such . cap bat little larger
than IN infant'A covered the enT1y hsaa
Of . debutante not long ago - aha at
mp, propped in pillows and con
valescin9 from fever. Adogobly
pretty was the mntinous face peep
ing out from such . framing. And
imaginstioa, from this dslightful Start
ing point, took delicio1s flight Think
Of it! Could this one example. set By .
young creature possessed Of some osig-
inality, but be followed. what changes
there would be. No more noctural Wis
ions Of curl papers. wisps Of hair done
mp IN last months butchers bnl, no
more scrawny females rashing out in
case of frc into hotel corridors with
front hair quilted into iron eriDpinR
pins and standing aloft llke Tie quills
Of the fretful porcupine. No more un-
lovely exposures in like ipstanoes Of
thin gray locks straGglin9 about htGA
forehead sh0rn Of It's 'fskelstons haD9
or other elaborate ''ftuutpfece" forget
ten n ~ terror of tie moment.
There =as . deceney, . trimnea1s .
decorum about the pretty feminine
nightcap Of oehsrdays that could wol
make one wish 70 sec i revived. stWa8'
the natural, modest covering for ths
curl papers, the crinping pins Of IT,
young and for the bald spots Of tie.
elderly. Il was the respectable ven
supplied BY that art which h otlea %
much more considered than nature 70
poor humanity when OF dress paz1de.
A dame Of ancient regime would have
hesitated TO confront even . nocturnal
burglar With0ut . ehastely -en1oading
cap upon her locks en- deshabille. A
flowing. tangled coikws hsad suGgss-
tions not to he tolerated b.. se6-ss-
spectinG housewives. In her last N
ness she was still punctilious - 70 Tia
Wilderness and freshness Of her head
covering; and when she breathed her
last she would assuredly hsve felt that
death had come with indignity had Il
rufned thG@oothness Of tAe little ffnl
These denuEs little eapA QuakssisA
and sweet and priA are sloqueat OF N
manner Of gentle, old-tims deals Of
modest and dainty femininity. TAey
suggest vaguely the fainA old-fashiooed
fragrance Of lavender aud dried rose
leaves enA those quiet. decent loving
lives that were passed in al oder and
sobriety, in the shade Of quaint green
arbors and abost ths big. softlyllighted
rooms Of ancienE and sahstantial Alan-
sions in those streets of our nOdss1
cities that have pOw grown hepe1ess1y
obsolete.-N. Y. Mercury. 1tf ~ 4