The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-04-16

S0S
than the head that carries it; a hat OF
the size of sixpence On a block not
worth a ~farthing."
Milk and wine have each been USED
for the bath of beauty. Poppea bathed
in asses milk. Modern young ladies
have had to be satisfied with that OF
COWS. When the wrinkles begin to
appear they have bathed in wine, white
wine by preference, because it's astrln
gency reduces these tell-tales. Lord
Shrewsbury demanded an increased al
lowance from the government when he
guarded Mary Queen of Scots, because
of the great expense to which that
royal lady's wine baths came.
In vain, from age to age, have stump
tuary laws been levelled against Osten-
tation and luxury in food and clothing.
The love of liberty has proved stronger
than the love of monopoly. ut is no
ones business how I spend my money"
say the persons who own it. This is
quite true il we make n exception.
The moralist has the right to criticise
their method if it should appear to be
against good taste and public morality.
Liberty allows US to do many things
that are not for the common good.
And it is from the lash Of the satirist
and the increasing good sense of the
community, and not from legislation,
that moral improvements are brought
about. Vices are killed by scorn and
ridicule and public Interpretation, and
notify Act of Parliament.
1t is competent, therefore, for any
one who a afford it to spend a thou
sand guineas on orchids to adorn a
single banquet, but it is also within the
right of the moralist or political eco
nomist to enquire if extravaganza such
as this is for the public good or evil.
One of the many proclamations of
Queen Elizabeth against ''the excess of
apparel" mentioned the wasting and
undoing Of a great number of young
gentlemen, otherwise s~erviceable; and
that others, seeking show of apparel to
be esteemed as gentlemen, and allured
by the vain show of these things, not
only consume their goods and lands,
but also run into such debts and shifts,
as they cannot live out of danger of
laws without attempting unlawful
acts" And so she threatened to have
them rated in the subsidy books accord
ing to the costliness of their dress. Yet
while Elizabeth babe every one else to
set a good example, she had in her
wardrobe three thousand dresses that
had only been worn once. We read in
Stuart times of five hundred pounds
for a knights cloak; of embroidery for
a lady's gown at fifty pounds a yard
of one lady wearing over a hundred
thousand pounds worth of jewels at a
time; of gentlemen in crimson velvet
and beaten gold" of a duke one blaze
of diamonds from head to foot, and
these he often shook from him to see
the maids of honor scramble for them;
and of the great and wise Sir Walter
Raleigh wearing on court days seven
thousand pounds worth of precious
stones on his shoes, having his armour
of solid silver, and his sword and belt
afiame with diamonds, rubies and
pearls.
Thus the ostentation of former times
was far in excess of ours. Neverthe-
less, there is still vast room for i'm
provement. From the highest to the
lowest the practice is much too preva-
lent Of living beyond ones means; of
making a grander show than ones po-
sition warrants; Of dwelling in houses
out of proportion to income; and, gen.
orally, of aping those who are superior
in wealth and rank. It is not the rich
alone who are thus guilty. The middle
classes and the poor are equally, and
often much more, ~ostentatious in their
way. We are told that costermongers
wear the most gorgeous and most ex-
pensive silk handkerchief that can be
obtained to adorn their manly necks.
He who has the costliest is the most
''killing" in the eyes of his fair ones.
The poorprefer snowy furniture, cheap
and fragile, to the humber but more
substantial articles. They had rather
a sham veneer than a solid reality. 1t
is the same in dress. Good woollen
material is the cheapest, most comfort
able, and most healthy in summer and
winter. Yet snowy, fimsy, unhealthy
fabrics take its place. The stomach is
often starved that the back may bear
finery. Education and parental train
ing are made Subsidiary to appearances.
The young are easily taught the i'm