The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1894-08-11

give To Cigars ana Vine suppers, ana
they die before their time, and they
will expect us ministers to preach about
them as though they were the victims
of early picty. and after n high-class
funeral with silver handles at the sides
of the coffin, of extraordinary bright
ness it will be found out that the
undertaken is cheated out of his legiti-
mate expenses! DO not send to me
to preach the funeral sermon of n man
who dies like that. | will blurt out
the whole truth, and tell that he was
straugleI to death by his wife's rib
bons! Our countries are dressed to
death. You are not surprised to hear
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
ave out the contract paid more than
five thousand dollars for his wife's
wedding dress. Cashmercs of n
thousand dollars each are not rare on
Broadway. 1t is estimated that there
are ten thousand women i'll these two
cities who have expended on their per-
sonal array $4,000 a year.
What are men to do in order to keep
up such home wardrobeS? Steal-thaS
is the only respectable thing they can
10. During the last fifteen years there
have been innumerable fine
shipwrecked on the wardrobe. The
temptation comes in this way: A man
thinks more of his family than the
world outside, and if they spend the
evening in describing to him the supe-
rior wardrobe of the family across the
street. that they cannot bear the sight
of, the man is thrown on his gallantry
and on his pride of family, and, with
out TRANSMITTING his feelings into
plain language, he goes into ex-
tortion and issuing of false
stock. and skillful pcnmanship in writ
ing somebody else's name at the foot
of a promissory note; and they all go
down together-thc husband to the
prison. the wife to the sewing machine,
the children to be taken care of by
those who were called poor relations.
o! for some new Shakespeare to arise
and write the tragedy of human
clothes.
Act the first of the tragedy-A plain
but beautiful home. Enter, the newly
married pair. Enter, simplicity of
manner and behavior. Enter, as much
happiness as is ever found in one home.
Act the second-Discontent with the
humble home. Enter, envy. Enter,
jealousy. Enter, desire of display.
Act the acknowledgements of ex-
penses. Enter, all the queenly dress
makers. Enter, the French milliners.
Act the fourth-The tip-top of socie-
ETY.. Enter, princes and princesses of
high life. Enter, magnificent plate
and equipagc. Enter, everything
splendid.
Act the fifth, and last-Winding up
of the scene. Enter, the assignee. En-
ter, the sheriff. Enter, the creditors.
Enter, humiliation. Enter, the wrath
of God. Enter, the contempt of So
cietv. Enter, death. Now, let the silk
curtain drop on the stage. The farce
is ended and the lights are out.
VIII you forgive me if | say in ters-
est shape possible that some of the
men awe to forge and to p~erjure and
to swindle to pay for their wives
dresses? l will say it, whether you
forgive me or not.
Again, inordjnate fashion is the foe
of all Christian alms-giving. Men and
women put so much in personal dis
play that they often have nothing for
God and the cause of suffering human
itv. A Christian man cracking his
Palais royal glove across the back by
shutting up his hand to hide the one
cent he puts into the p~oor-box. A
Christian woman at the story OF the
Hottentots, crying copious tears into a
S25 handkerchief, and then giving a
, two-cent piece to the collection,
, thrusting it down under the bills
so people will not know but
: it was a $40 gold piece! On hundred
dollars for incense to fashion, two
,, cents for God. God gives us ninety
;. cents out of every dollar. The Other
, ten cents, by command of the Bible
i, belong to Him. Is not God liberal ac
: cording to this tithing system laiC
:, down in the Old Testament-is not Goo
!, liberal in giving us ninety cents out o
!, adollar, when He takes but ten. We do
!. not like that. We want to have ninety
nine cents for ourselves and one fol
God.
Now, ] would n great deal rathe
/, steal ten cents from you than from
God. think one reason why a grca
many people do not get along IL
worldly accumulations faster is be
cause they do not observe the divin
g rule. God says: well, if that man j
:, not satisfied with ninety cents of
n dollar, then l will take the Who'll
II dollar, and | will give it t
a the man or oma who j
Lo,ast with meo Tho greatest al