Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1894-08-11

than we can pay for.
There arc clerks In stores and banks
on limited salaries who, In the vain
attempt to keep the wardrobe Of their
family as snowy as other folks ward
robes, are dying of muffs and diamonds
end shawls and high hats, and they
have nothing left except what they give
to cigars and wine suppeYs, and they
die before their time, and they will ex-
peot us ministers to preach about them
as though they were the victims Of ear
ly piety, and after high class funeral,
with silver handles ut the side Of tho
coffin Of extraordinary brightness, it
will be found out TINT the undertaken
Is cheated out of his Legitimate expensea
Do not send TO me to preach the funeral
sermon Of man who dies Hike that /
| will blurt out the whole truth and toll
that he was strangled to death by his
WHO'S ribbons. Our countries are dress
| ed to death. You are not surprised to
find that the putting up Of one public
building In New York cost millions Of
dollars more than it ought TO have cost
when you find that the man who gave
ont the contracts paid more than $5,-
600 for his daughters wedding dress
Cashmeros Of thousand dollars each
are not rare on Broadway. II Is estimct-
| ed that there are 10, 900 women In these
two cities who have expended on their
personal array "a, 900 year
What are men to do IN order 70 keep
|. MP such home wardrobosP Steul7 That
! is the only respectable thing they can
dol During the last 10 years there hove
been innuinerable fine businesses ship
wrecked on the wardrobe The teunpta-
/ tion comes In this way: A man thinlis
more Of his family than of all the world
outside, and If they spend the evening
! In describing to him the superior ward
robe OF the falnily across the street that
! they cannot bear the sight Of the man
Is thrown on his gallantry and on his
pride Of family and without tTapslAt.
, ing his feelings into plain language no
;goes into extortton and issuing falso
stock and skillful penmanship in wris.
ing somebody else's name OF the foot OF
promissory note, and they oil so down
I. togethor--the husband TO the prison,
the wife to the sowing machine, the
! children to be taken care of by those
1 who were called poor relationa Oh,
i fog come new Shakespeare to arise and
! write the tragedy Of human clothes
+ Win you forgive me II I soy in tiers.
est shnpe possible that some Of the men
: have to forge and to perjup and TO
Z swindle 10 pay for their wives dresses?
~ will say it whether you forgive me
or no.
is Again, inordinate fashion IS the foe
sof all Christian almsgiving. Men and
women put 80 much in personal display
that they often have nothing for God
sud the cause of suffering humanity. a
/ christian man cracking his Palais Roy
Isal glove across the beck By shutting up
I mis- band to hide the cent he puts into
lsthe poorbox A Christian woman, at
ii55itf.e story of. the Hottentots, crying CO.
/ pious tears into a. $s5 handkerchief and
linen giving q cent piece to the collec-
~ on, thrusting It urcer the bills so poo
pie will not know but it was 80 gold
piece Ono hundred dollars for incense
TO fashion; cents fox God. God gives
Us 90 cents out Of every dollar. The
other 10 cents By command Of his Bible
belong to him. Is lot God liberal 40
cording to his itching system laid down
In the Old Testament? Ia not God lib
eral In giving Us 90 cents out Of u dollar
when he takes but 10? We do not like
that We want to have 90 cents for our
selves and for God
Now, would greet doal rather steal
10 cents from you than from God. l
think one reason why great many peo-
pie do not get along In worldly aocumu-
lation faster Is because they do not OBJ
serve this divine rule God says We'll,
IL that man Is not satisfied with 90 cents
CT q dollar. then / will take the whole
dollar, and will give IL to the man or
woman who Is honest with me- 4" The
greatest obstacle to charity in the Chris
tim church today Is the fact that mon
expend 80 much money on their table,
and women so much on their dress, they
have got nothing left for the work OF
God and the worlds betterment In my
frst settlemont az Belleville, n. j.. the
cause Of missions wes being presented
one Sabbath, and plea for the charity
Of the people was bong made. when an
old Christian mon il the audience lost
his balance and said right out IL the
midst of the sermon, Mr. Telmage,
how ore we to give literally 10 these
grand and glorious causes when our
families dress as they do?' I did not
a,swer that question It was the only
time In my life when had nothing to
say.
Again, inordinate fashion ia distTao-
ton to public worship. You know very
well there are good many people who
come to church just es they go to the
racee-to sec who will come out first
What futtar 1t makes in church when
sonyo woman with extraordinary display
Of fashion comes in What "a love Of
oonnetl" says some one. what q
perfect frightr' say 800. Fos the most
merciless critics in tho world are fash
ion critics. Men and women with souls
to be saved passing the hour In wonder
ing whore that man got his oravat or
what store that woman patrorizes.
In many Of CUR churches the prelim-
inary exercises are taken up with the
discussion of wazdrobes- 1t Is pitiable.
Is IL not wonderful that the Lord does
not strike the meeting houses with
nghtninge What distraction OF public
worship Dying men and women, whose
bodies are soon to 10 turned into dust,
yet before three worlds strutting like
peaoooks, the awful question Of the
souls destiny submerged by the ques-
ton of navy blue velvet and long fan
train skirt, long enough to drag up the
church aisle, the husbands store office,
shop, factory, fortune and the admira.
tion of half the people In the buildtngl
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