The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1891-05-23
raloYENLr AmnnloANa.
a Womnn's Defen OF the Habits OF
Foreign Husbanda

a Woman's Defen OF the Habits OF
Foreign Husbands
The wish Of Robert Burns--that some
power would "the giftie gle us to see
oursels as ithers see usp-has often
served as a text on which to build up
we'll meaning homilies, and yet, in spite
Of Il, the best Of us are too apt to criH-
else not ourselves, but the other fellow
In q recent. number Of The Cosmopoli-
tan a writer who elects to be known rs
"Julien Gordon" (and q woman, by the
way) thinks, with Burns, that IL the lens
OF criticism should be inversed, tho
focus shortened and turned upon our
selves, instead Of upon foreigners, our
Know edge Of self might be very consid.
erably improved.
Her contention Is that the male Ameri-
can slamentably untidy when compared
with the average Englishman; that spot
ted clothes. unbrushed shoulders, frowsy
hair, and frayed shirt cuffs are not un-
common on many of the trains and fer
ries that carry American crowds TO the
cities OF a morning, and that the condi-
tion Of things is worse when these
~herds" TO use her own simile) return
&C o'clock, after the struggle Of the
day. The general principle which she
lays down, that taste in dress and the
art Of selecting the right thing for the
right occasion lead us one step higher,
may be admitted; but the sweeping and
unjust character Of The charges Of sloven.
illness which she makes shows preju-
dice that lessons the value of many of
her criticisms. There is no man more
careful of the proprieties than an Amer
ican gentleman; and that type of man-
hood is to be found IN all classes The
sight of "a depressed collar and soiled
cravat" in the late afternoon is in the
eyes of this female critic simply revolt
ing; but it does not argue want OF
cleanliness. The toll that is necessary
TO pay milliners' and dressmakers' bills
is not favorable to the constant posses
sion Of an Immaculate shirt front or q
glossy collar; and until invention shall
have made it possible for the busy
American to carry a bathtub and .
change of linen in handbag it is 10 be
feared that Julien Gordon will continue
to be shocked by the. somewhat forlorn
appearance Of many Of her countrymen.
In referring to the TRADES against the
American woman's prediction for for
eign lovers and husbands, our critic
says; Pray, remember, my indignant
gentlemen, that feminine creatures are
always Rllured by externals. The male
bird found it out long ago, If you did
not" And then she launches forth in
praise of the dude. She asserts that he
has helped to encourage outdoor life
among us, and that, over and beyond
this, he keeps himself Cleani that for
this women like him. And so they
should, and so they will continue to do.
There is, Of course, no accounting for
tastes, as the Irishman said when his
wife kissed the COW; but the assertion
may be ventured that neither the Eng
lish lord whose trousers bag at the knees,
nor the male caryatid whose ideas Of
outdoor life are confined TO posing on
the steps Of club house or opposite the
entrance to theater, will ever to the
mind of true American woman dis.
place the manly worker, even though
he wear depressed collar and asOiled
cravat "-[Philadelphia Record.