Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-11-04
FIFTEEN CENTS A WEEK
A DEFENSE OF BLACK.
Reasons why Women In Mourning Wear
the Signs of Grief In Public.

Reasons why Women In Mourning Wear
the Signs of Grief In Public.
In an article entitled Against Wearing
Mourning" Il is urged that some civilized
nations mourned their dead In remote and
solitary places while wearing tie garb Of
woe. Today continues the writer,
such q garb is worn In the streets, the
shops, the lecture room and the concert
hall. We even meet 1t in some of those
Asdipgs Of graded grief prescribed by the
hsss18 aeSetsA q Aasfsen Asssstinq a
afternoon teas and those other f6nssfjhs ~
insipid entertainment which make up the
somewhat un-Christian year of this end OF
the century How can any one WHO has
ever known the crushing but refining
grace Of sorrow bear this wretohed trav
esty which seems to measure to the public
eye its successive stages of consolationH
AS matter of course the protest applies
more particularly to the wearing of mourn
ing by women. Now, whatever civilization
has done for women It certainly has not
perpetuated the Spartan type On the con
trary, the spirit which dominated the Spar
tan mother, leading her 10 put out OF ea
fstenee her siekly or defoSured babe, is at
ehe present day neither admired nor en-
couraSed. More popular attributes arc a
spirit Of love and tendesnsss toward tAs
weak and helpless; toleration of the foibles
of others. Therefore, although from the
standpoint of a small quota of the human
family---a quota, by the way, quite unable
to tolerate any efervescence Of sentiment
the wearing of mourning seems mean
ingless, vulgar practice, there is much
larger contingent with whom it is an ex
preston of the purest, tenderest sentiment.
Marion Crawford says, "Of women there
is no general statement which is true
Admitting there are women who assume
the garb of woe merely to follow fashions
dictates, it must also be admitted there is
a large majority who do SO actuated by
more praisewofthy motives. The removal
by death Of a near and dear one-perhaps
the nearest and dearest--eomes like the
shock of an earthquake upon many won
an. The very foundations of her being are
stirred; her little world is hideously trans
formed; perhaps an entirely new regime of
existence is presaged. Under such circum
stances putting away the gay gown,
adopting the somber one, is positive re
lief--indeed almost a positive necessity
no matter when or where 1t is to be worn.
OF course the mode Of living engendered
by a modern civilization, whereiH women
occupy SO prominent place, makes sea
son of absolute privacy and retirement i'm
possible except for the vored few. Elm
ployer and employed, entertainer or enter
tained, mistress or subordinate, must, rs a
rule, keep up with the procession, do her
part, or perhaps be dubbed useless and a
burden.
Under these circumstances the habili
ments Of mourning must of necessity be
seen in the street and in business circles
but their adoption serves useful purpose
masmuch as the wearer secures certain
immunity from attending the gayer and
more public forms of social entertainment
so repulsive to the heavy hsarted.-Cor
New York Sun.