The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-06-27
COSTUMES IN FICTION.
The Gowns Of Some FavOrite His
tOrical Her0ines.

AAAAA - AN $3.50
Sir Joshua did the beautiful Duchess
of Gainsborough with his brush. And
to make the heroine's portrait clear,
one must see her costume; for to a
woman her clothes are only second In
Importance to her souls salvation,
aud not always to that. Even Milton
tells us of Eve as clothed sin the
flowing gold of her loose tressesn (;
but it has been some time since this
simple costume has been altogether
conceivable, and later writer's have
had to go somewhat more into de-
tail.
Each generation of has
paid a little more attention to this
important question. The heroine oil
the last century was rather apt to de-
spise the meretricious aid of dress and
adornment, and rely solely upon her
own surprising loveliness to awaken,
as Lord Mortimer in the Children of
the Abbey happily puts it, mot alone
the axe of admiration, but the throb
of sensibility." In that classic work
the material of Amanda's spencer is
entirely subordinate to her intelIec-
tual qualities and her virtuous char
acter. As a rule, these irresistible
ladies were attired in a simple book
muslin whatever that was, and their
only ornament was apt to be either
a blue sash or a cluster of natural
flowers, though / remember reading
of one i1lgenue who wore "a blush
rose in her reddish hair But the
display of this horticultural phenom-
enon was a daring innovation on the
custom of the traditional heroine. who
needed no such gaudy chaplet, having
no difficulty when arrayed in the
above mentioned chaste costume in
far eclipsing her naughty rivals, who
were invariably attired in silks and
satins."
Clarissa Harlowe prattles along
through hundreds of pages with an
immense amount OF fine sentiment
upon various elevated subjects, with
many discriminating remarks upon
the events of her time from the stand
point of a genteel young lady, and
with a lavish p~rofusion of italics, but
without once abiding to what she
on any of the occasions she mem
tions. 1t is rue the Vicar of Wake
field describes his wife gorgeous Tin
her crimson paduasoyn and his daugh-
tiers with their hair plastered with
pomatum. their faces patched to taste,
their trains bundled up in a heap be-
hind, and rustling at every notion"
but they are mentioned only to be
condemned for their love of finery.
Miss Austen, among all the multi
farious details of Pride and Preju-
dice" Sense and Sensibility,n and
the other alliterative romances which
our ancestors had time t. read, dwells
very little Upon the attire of the
Elizabeths and Carolines. The face,
figure, and carriage of these young
ladies is infinitely protrayed; indeed,
they go so far as to have 'deport-
mentn-a quality quite unknown to
the modern heroine. The amount OF
fortune they may expect from their
parents is usually stated with graft
flying precision, but the author scorns
such frivolities as clothes, except for
the most casual mention. The Curl
Gus reader may, however, usually OBJ
tain an idea of the heroine's appear
ance by a glance at the frontispiece.
where she is usually protrayed in a
fine steel engraving. wearing a white
muslin frock with a low necked
bodice, long sleeves extremely full, a
full skirt cut short enough to display
slippers of a superhuman narrowness
and pointedness, laced i~ntricately over
the white stockings with narrow black
ribbon, and with her hair tucked up
with a high comb behind, and falling
in front in a carefully curled cluster OF
ringlets o neach cheek.
But times have changed for the
heroine since these were
written. The day has gone by when
the poor but virtuous maiden in her
white muslin carried all before her, or
the plain but intellectual governess
vanquished the fastidious Rochester
in the ordinary black silk froek with
which she had replaced her black
stuff one. Simplicity is often indi-
Gated, it is true, but it is apt TO be the
costly simplicity that has a Redfern
ticket rampant on the lining.
Authors nowadays dress their nero
ines with a lavish extravaganza that
con only be justified by the fact that
this more than Solononian glory
does not cost its originator a cent
more to print than the bookmuslin
did. Whether the occasion requires
the dainty and piquant in costume or
the sumptuous and elegant, the
heroine always has it, regardless of ex-
pense.-Ha2per'S Bazaar.
Who Should Salute First?
A great deal of nonsense has been
talked about the question of whose
place it is to bow first when a lady
and gentleman meet upon the street
or in any public assembly.
1t is very absurd to say that a man
should always wait until a lady has
recognized him. In this, as In most
other matters, common sense and
mutual convenience are the only
guides. Many ladies are near-sighted;
many others find great difficulty in
remembering faces.
The important thing, of course, is
that a man should not presume.
When two people meet who are
really acquainted it is not the man
who should necessarily bow first,
or the lady-it is whichever of them
is the first to perceive and recognize
the other.-NeDark sunday CaH.
Hanging Up the Baby.
At the present day cribs are far
more popular than the old-style
cradles; and yet they can scarcely be
said to possess any superior adyan-
tages. Fashion has doubtless had
something TODD with the substitution,
but very likely even more active has
been the quite prevalent idea that
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