The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-08-23
ABSURD SOCIAL SHAMS.
The Giving of Wedding Presents the Pill
mary Cuos
Phizadt,ptia Times.

mary Quo.
Philadelphia Times.
There is nothing commoner in ev=
eryone's experience than to hear refer
ence made to the good old times when
life was more genuine, men more hon
est, women sweeter and truer to her
domestic ideals, in short, existence,
generally, running along lines of su-
perlative excellence rarely attained in
the degenerate days We call our "own
times" Most frequently these walls
come from those who, from the van
tage ground Of the years, claim a
largeness of the vision that ad-
mits of no possible squint in favor Of
to-day.
These backward glancers are prone
to attribute all of the shoddy, sham
sleaziness that undeniably enter large
ly into the woof and warp Of the So
cial fabric of the present to the rapid
pace at which the world is driven.
The electric current on which we are
being whizzed through the loom Of
time consumes material so rapidly
that when the genuine gives out, the
inexorable weaver must perforce re-
plenish his shuttle with shoddy and
send it glittering in and out the wo
ven texture to make a gaudy showing
for brief while, but not warranted
to bear the strain of necessary or hard
usage.
Perhaps, after all, if the backward
glancers would do their work with the
thoroughness whose absence they de-
plore in the methods Of to-day, they
would find that the past hadits shams,
it's social masks, it's tricks that were
dark, and it's ways that were vain, 70
less patent to the pessimists Of their
day than are ours to the croakers of
to-day.
Starting out with the proposition
that all of goodness and genuineness
were not consumed by our great
grandfathers and our great-grand-
mothers, we can afford to give the
go-by to the shams of century ago
while we concern ourselves with those
which seriously mar the fair face of
to-day.
If that trite old couplet, GA sin
confessed is half redressed," have the
germ Of truth in it let us make quick
shift before the altar Of public opin-
ion, acknowledging some of the many
existing shams which will assume
the proportions Of sins against good
taste.
That they are going in num-
Der and in conspicuity no OBJ
server of the social current can fail to
note.
Perhaps the most conspicuous
among long list of patent encroach-
ments upon the boundary line between
good will and good form is the uni
versal pactice Of giving wedding pres
ents.
That it has it's advantages no one
will deny, especially those who have
entered into the holy bonds of we'd
lock since the era of compulsory we'd
ding gifts has dawned.
That it has its seamy side no one
will deny, either, especially those
who, by reason Of large social circle
Of friends and relatives, are called
upon frequently to exercise a gener-
osity that springs more often from the
iron dictates of custom than
from any heartfelt desire to expert
ence the blessedness of giving over re-
ceiving.
The heart and the hand don't al
ways act in accord on these occasions,
and when the head would act as um-
pire, it is speedily made to under
stand that reason has nothing to do
with the giving of wedding presents.
You are expected to lott. That is all
there is in it.
That man or woman would be hard
to fnd-I prefer believing-who can
see two ardent young souls agree to
take up the burden of a joint exist
ence, its pains and it's pleasures all
to be taken upon trust, but must find
their own hearts swelling with sym
pathetic interest and feel impelled to
wish them most cordially happy
and prosperous voyage upon the
untried waters of the matrimonial
sea.
But such mammoth Importance is
laid Of late upon the giving Of we'd
ding presents that the friend who
brings nothing in his hand sinks
timidly in and offers his empty con.
gratulations, oppressed with such a
sense of omission as never in his hon
est and upright life has he experienced
before.
We do not offer our good wishes in
words nowadays. We do not dare.
We offer them in gold and silver, in
precious stones, in rare bits Of porce.
lain, and even in cumbersome furni'
ture.
In effect we say to the intended
couple: ''My friends, you are about
to precipitate yourselves into a mud
die that will require all your ingenuity
to pull through. You are utterly in
capable Of making a home for your.
selves, but we will give you start and
hope you will scramble to your feet
eventually
What else are of us hidden
for Z? Are you quite sure, you Miss
x, that you would have been invi
ted to Miss Us wedding if your
well-establishcd reputation as a free.
giver had not gone before you ?
You did not know Miss T. at all
You and she do not visit in the same
set. But, several years ago, her in
tended clerked for your husband, three
whole months, perhaps, and then, Of
course, it is expected Of you"
Thank heaven, you will not be com.
PEELED to go yourself-you really could
not stand whole evening Of the rs
but"
Your present goes with your card
attached. It is assigned conspicu'
GUS place on the display tables. Your
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