Morning journal and courier., 1892-12-10
THE FLEETING SHOW.
Some of It's Facts and Fancies.

some OF Facts ana Fanc1egs
Written for the JOURNAL AND CoURIER.1
SHE HAD HER DOUBTS.
TRUE STORY.
Dora's wise little maiden,
Though of years she has only four;
The problems of life, the secrets of death,
She ponders them o'er and o'er.
Suppose I should die and leave you.
Would you worry and grieve, mamma,
When you knew was safe up in heaven,
Where the little child angels are?"
'My darling! speak not Of dying
Yet-were it the Fathers will
should feel you were happy forever,
Safe sheltered from every ill.,
'Then if one must die, said Dora,
81 think it had better be me-
For if it were you-just think, dear,
How dreadfully worried I'D be-"
HER SLEEVES AND SKIRTS.
Something will have to be done about
s.esves-some limit set to their expansive
ness, and some constraint placed upon
their eccentricities. When a sleeve costs
almost as much as a dress skirt, by reason
of its upper arm mvoluminousness, it is time
to consider the matter seriously.
Wonderfully varied as they are, one SIM
pie rule seems to guide the modiste in the
construction Of sleeves that is, smooth,
close fit below the elbow, and riotous pro-
fuseness above it. Billows of cloth appear
to be tossed up with fork-if it is allow
able to mention pillows and forks in the
same connection-and in some mysterious
way the folds are caught and held in wrin-
kles and pufings that are fantasticaliy
graceful or gracelessly fantastic, according
| to the skill of the maker.
The sleeves of all nations at all periods
have been adopted as models, and a HUI
| guenot sleeve of the sixteenth century Is
| grated onto nineteenth century bodice
| in a reckless way, as if to "annihilate both
time and space" by bringing these remote
| fashions together.
| Sleeves of Venice in the days of the
Doges and sleeves of Paris in the days of
"the Empire" add their vsgaries to the
rest. If sleeve is slashed near the elbow
80 that glinting lights from bright-hued
satin or brocade shine through the sombre
outer material, you may say to yourself
"bcrrowed from Venice;'' if the slashes ep
pear near the shoulder you may ssfely con,
clude that the suggestion came from q
study of some French portrait, painted
away back in the fifteen hundreds.
It is not enough to have a puff on the
top of the sleeve that shall measure one
yard in circumference before the shirrine
and plesting is done; there may be ovel
this drapery of another color, embroid
cred, braided or otherwise ornamented; OF
broad velvet epsulet, lined with silk ane
box plated into the armhole. Thus ex
panded about the shoulders a slender
woman presents top heavy appearance
and one must wonder how she keeps he
, balance; while short, plump woman will
no neck to speak of, and those aggressiv'
projections faring out on each side sug
gests sometimes a tombstone cherub ant
sometimes the prize for which Salon
danced before Herod. The line betwee,
the picturesque and the grotesque is mar
row and easily crossed. Beware then o
= the eccentric and voluminous sleeve-top
and let proportion be stndied as well as tn
prevailing fancy.
3 And here is another thing that need
Q attention All our skirts are close fttip
: and smooth at the top and just comfort
able walking width at the lower edge. Ou
1 new skirts have been cut and our old skirt
they are, too, and light, and graceful i
their simplicity. Now when we are all q
q we'll satisfied, as far as dress skirts are COZ
= cerned, distressing rumor smites our eaI
- and skaters our serenity. "They say
y that skirts are soon to be five and one-hal
Yards in circumference-nearly double th
D. present width-whether the material
d light or heavy. If it is objected that n
4 woman could walk with ease with yard
and yards of cloth clinging and swayin
about her locomotive members, even in
- skirt that clears the ground, we are tol
- that the aid of crinoline will be invoke
n to help her carry the weight. The retu,
" of the hoop skirt-the skeleton in IL
f. closets feretold by Worth and Redfe,
:. and other authorities, male authorities
70 1t noticed. Evidently there is combin
10 ton between the rulers of the fashion
ct and the manufacturers of dress good
al We are to be forced to buy greater nun
ber of yards for our new dresses, aud III
less we can in some way enlarge Il
he borders of the skirts we are now enjoyir
I,a they must all be laid aside. Then hoo
10 skirt manufactures will spring up 6
n over the land; the Patent Office will
IA flooded with applications for letters-paten
,et the white cages will swing in the bree
. before the doors of all stores where 9
ticles of women's apparel are to
'as found; women will have to walk In sinl
ne file, indulging in no delightful confident
O.. chat; all the humped-up sleeves will ha