The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1894-08-15
and faet and hands no more than we can

y as snowy as other folks wardrobes,
are dying of NUTS and diamonds
and shawls and high hats, and
they have nothing left except
what they give to cigars and wine sup
pers, ard they die before their time,
and they vii! expect US ministers to
preach about them as though they were
the victims Of early piety, and after a
high class funeral, with silver handles at
the side OF tie cotfil of extraordinary
brightness, It will be found out that the
undertaken is cheated cut of his leglll
mate expenses!
DO rot send to me to preach the iun.
eral sermon OF "a man who dies like that
7 will blurt out the whole truth and tell
that he was strangled to desth by his
yite's ribbons. Our countries are
dressed to death. You are not sur
prised TO fud that the putting up OF cne
public building IN New York cost NIL
iors of dollars more than it ought TO
have cost when ycu 6nd that the man
who gave Gu. the contracts paid more
than SIS 900 for hls daughters wedding
dress. Cashmsres OF thousand dol
lars each are not rare on Broadway. II
is estimated that there are 10000 Wo'
men in these two cities who have ex-
pended on their personal array $4,000 a
year.
What are men to do in order to keep
up such home Wardrobes? Steal! That
is the only respectable thing they can
do. During the last fifteen years there
have been innumerable fine businesses
shipwrecked on the wardrobe. The
temptation comes in this way: A man
thinks more of his family than IF all the
world outside, and if they spend the
evening ID describing to him the superb
or wardrobe of the family across the
street, that they cannot bear the sight
of, the man is thrown on his gallsntrY
and on his pride CT family ana without
translatiDg his feelings into plain lam
guase be goes into extorton aud lssulns
of false stock and skillful penmanship N
writing somebody else's name at the
foot of promissory note, and they all
90 down together-the husband to the
prison, the wife to the sewing machine,
the children to be taken care OF by those
who were called poor relations. Oh,
for some new Shakespeare to arise and
write the tragedy Of human clothes!
Will you forgive me if say IN terses'
shape possible that some of the meE
have to forge and to pe,jure and to swim
die to pay for their wives dresses?
will say it whether you forgive me ol
nor.
Again, inordinate fashion is the foe o!
all Christian almsgivi1g. Men and wo
men put 30 much in personal display
that they often have nothing LETT for Coo
and the cause of suffering humanity. a
Christian man cracking his Palais Roya.
glove across the back by shutting ur
his hand to hide the cent he puts into
the poor box. A Christian woman al
the story of the Hottentots, crying co
pionstears into S25 handkerchief and
rthen giving 2 cent piece to the coliec'
ton, thrustiDg it under the bills so peo'
pie will not know but it was a $40 gold.
piece. One hundred dollars for incense
to fashion; cents for God, God gives
US 90 cents out of every dollar. The
other 10 cents by command of his Bible
belong to him. Is Rot God liberal &C.
cording to bis tlthing system laid down
IN the Old Testament? Is not God lib
eral in giving US 30 cents out of a dollar
when be takes but 10? We do not like
that. We want to have SO cents for
ourselves and l for God.
Now, woulea great deal rather steal
10 cents fromyou than from God. I think
one reason why great many people do
not gel along in worldly accumulation
faster is because they do not observe
this divine rule. God says, "Well, il
that man is not satisfied with 90 cents oi
dollar then l will take the whole dol.
lar, and I will give it to the man or VIC
man who Is honest with me-" The
greatest obstacle to charity IN the Chris.
tlan church today is the fact that men
expend 80 much money on their table,
and women 80 much on their dress. they
have got nothing left for the work Of
God and the worlds betterment. In
ny first settlement at Belleville, n. j.,
the cause of missions was being present.
ed one Sabbath, and a plea for the char
lty of the people was being made, when
an old Christihn man in the audience
lost his balance and said right ought IN
the midst of the sermon, ''Mr. Talmaee
how are We to give literally to these
grand and glorious causes when our fam.
lies dress as they do?" I did not au-
swer that question. It was the only
time in my life when I had nothing to
say.
Again, inordinate fashion is distraction
to public worship. You know very well
there are good many people who come
to church lust as they 60 30 the races to
see who will come out first. What a
hutter it makes in church when some
woman with extraordinary display of
fashion comes in! "What love ofa
bonDet!" says some one: "What per-
feet fright" say FIVE hundred. For the
most merciless critics in the world are
fashion critics. Men and women with
souls to BE- saved passing the hour in
wondering where that man got bis era.
vat or what store the woman patronizes.
In many of our churches the preliminary
exercises are tskeh up with the discus
sion OF wsrdrobes. It is pitiabse. Is it
rot wonderful the Lord does not strike
the meeting houses with lightning!
What distraction ofpublic worship! Dy-
ing men and women, whose bodies are
soon to be turned into dust, yet before
three worlds strutting like peacocks, the
awful question of the SOULS destiny
submerged by the question OF navy blue
velvet and long ian train skirt, long
enough to drag up the church aisle, the
husbands store, Office, shop, factory,
fortune and the admiration Of half the
people IN the building. Men and women
come late to church to show their clothes
People sitting down in pew or taking
up q hymnbook, ali absorbed at the
same time in personal array to sing: