Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-07
WRITTEN FOR THE p1spArcR.t


ton-Advice to Practical Housekeeper
and Wives.
| WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPATcR.t
There is getting to be wonderful amour
of namby -pambyism in the world of book
and manners. Somebody says that this ha
become vastly more prominent since 81
many women became writers. That there
is some truth in this cannot be denied
Still, what is weakly sentimental ant
affectedly sweet" is not confined to then
alone Witness the ''slush" sent from thu
correspondents in Washington who are
mainly men. Read the stuff they write a.
to the beauty, the talents, the sweetness
the angelic manners of the wives anc
daughters of distinguished men.
| Such women as described never existed
They couldn't exist, because, as repre-
sented, they are not made of human stuff
Such daughters of the gods, as portrayed
are travesties upon good women. They are
simply bedizened with fine words and flat.
/ tering phrasea They are covered with
taffy and smeared with sugar. They are
made ridiculous by being shown up as i'm
possible angels or impossible hypocrites.
Ii IuC WOmcu were any tuluS llho
the descriptions given of them by the pen
dolngs of social life, they would be poor,
silly creatures indeed, in mind and of de-
cided vulgarity in manners.
A Case in Point
Some years ago a woman whose husband
was in great prominence at the time was
one of the stock themes of the correspond
enta To the 60, ZOO, 600 of people in the
United States she was described as beauty
of the type of Juno Her dark brown hair,
with glints of gold, shaded brow fraught
with rare intelligence. Her eyes beamed
with sweetness and bepevolence, and the
rch, ripe lips spake none but the kindest
words, and gave utterance to none but senti-
ments of purity and love. We remember
her figure was "statuesque and stately" she
had "regal shoulders" and "lovely rounded
arms" that, Judging by the glowing descrip-
tion thereof, must have been like those the
Venus di Milo lost. Her dresses were
Dreams poems, symphonies; her diamonds
were those of a princess; her manners such
as drew to her the affection and devotion of
every one she met
As fate would have 1t, and things hap
pened, we came to see her at close quarters
and saints and angels, what shock
Talk of shattered idols, statues knocked
off their pedestals, the destruction Of ideals,
the knocking out of old-time cherished
heroes. Actually that beautiful woman of
the Juno type-if she had been berett of her
rich dresses and gorgeous diamonds-would
have answered to the description of CON-
mon huckster She was as homely as the
proverbial mud fence.
The Ideal and the Real.
The beautiful ripping hair that shaded
her brow was a bang whose falsity was so
unmistakable that the least observing eye
could not fail to see it as disfguring, be-
cause so unnatural The mouth was as
large as that of Soldene, which when dis
played here in her singing of French opera
was described by Pittsburg critic of such
dimensions that an ecstatic listener
might fall into it and get drowned" The
rich, ripe lips from which came only kind
words were full to coarseness, and the kind
words being admitted, they were given in
such English as would have laid out Lind
lev Murray upon the spot could he
have heard it. The "regal shoulders
may have been regal. Those
of Queen Victoria are probably as
beefy and broad. The grounded arms NAV
have resembled those of Venus di Milo, but
if so it is lucky for our ideals that the arms of
the famous statue have been lost in an
tiquity 1t may be, however, that after all
she possessed the power over mems minds
as spoken of, and that her chief attraction
and virtue was the answer to the PRAYER Of
Socrates "beauty within" But, if so, there
was no occasion for anyone to falsely set
forth personal beauty she did not possess.
Talking of such gush and slush brings to
mind the late reports as published of
Presidential reception where the rich gowns
were described at length and held up to ad-
miration as being chiefly of French impor-
tation. Even the Presidents daughter is
said to have worn "confection'- that
is the word-a 'contection," composed by
the genius of Worth, and other CONNECTIONS
by Partisan dressmakers it was said would
be exhibited in the course of the season.
Protection IN CONNECTIONS.
This hardly speaks well for an admins
tration given over to the protective policy
and the encouragement of home manu-
facture. Men in France are employed to
make the rich gowns and garnitures for the
administration women of the United States.
Is it not strange that while it is claimed
that the Yankees have genius and skill
enough to make anything foreigner can,
that to make gowns for the women in power
in America is something that no one in
America-either man or woman-has the
skill to do? Cannot the powers of patriot
ism and protection be invoked, and
premiums be offered to secure in this great
nation some dressmaker who can compose
CONNECTIONS" to clothe the forms of Amer
lean women?
When the daughters of Victoria get mar
ried, or appear at drawing rooms, howl
would be heard around the world that
would shake the throne if they wore other
than gowns of English manufacture. Such 4
i
in silks or laces for the benefit of En- glish
labor. When the Queen was married she
set the fashion of Honiton lace to encourage
the trade at Honiton. Spitalsfeld's labor
weaves all of the silks and brocades of the
royal family. Scotland furnishes all of the
tweeds and tartans. To encourage Irish
labor Princess Beatrice had her trousseau
laces woven in ireland and In shamrock
pattern. But no such patriotism is shown
bv our American royal families, who must
have Partisan gowns, and that fact is pa
raded not only without scruple, but with
pride. Protection to American labor, for
soothl
Taste in Home Decoration.
Another piece of namby-panbyism that is
growing to excess is the constant increasing |
at women to be tasty-to show |
in their homes that they have souls for |
higher things-to put in the little touches |
Of color that show the artistic sense. They |
are told that none are so poor but they can |
10 decorate their domiciles in esthetic style
and in such manner that their husbands will |
love them better and find in their homes
more enjoyment. Then follow directions to
The dear sisters to secure this desirable state
Of affairs As consequence there are found
almost everywhere ta1drv fans nailed to the
walls, soiled prints and flaring exposition
cards stuck all around-little jiggers hung