The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-10-17

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NA4ElsaZ ~ t,dr auu the
hal<t swings high. 1t comes
thas< Is ike an angel, silver
winged. chanting glorias from its lips of
light Some profane person will surely
rise Ia ..&e4te at THIS point: Yes. but
cotton swings low" | am not discuss
ing the price of cotton: Editor Daniels
goes on i. other columns on this subject
every twenty four hours. Economics
and politics have no place in Sunday
social chat, though it is somewhat diff
fcuIt to keep ones hands off the con-
illusions to he drawn from the present
cotton situation. The fact is discussions
are tedious things any way and have no
more place here than an uncongenial
stranger. at a Christmas family re-un-
ion. What we all want to do is to come
to the Fair, shake hands, thank the
Lord and be happy. If North Carolina
had not been essentially agricultural
one big farm, one might say, it would
have built larger towns and more of
them. The farm is taken as the centre
Of reference among the people. The
Scotch strain in the folk must have much
to do with this-just as the same char
acteristics from the same race Of people
are found in the Valley of Virginia. OF
course, we can never have such fairs as
we used to have. The folks look a lit
tile different They are dressed finer
that is in more finery-and that always
mars the appearance Of an agricultural
fair. What we want in this country is
the family, monoganic group as it once
appeared upon the grounds The old
lady and all the children were there with
the old man, clothes all alike, cut and
made by the good wife from the same
piece of cloth. See that stout, some
what clumsy hem about the borders Of
the old mans coat-tails and those two big
buttons a little tout O. plum"-don't
iaugh-the old woman put 'em there,
and made those round-abouts for the
boys and saw that they had brass tips
on their shoes, and little Phoebe had on
a hat with brim on it wide enough for
her turnin' out sister, and colors to beat
the band and there We're no stupid re-
marks about the old mans whiskers
which he always brought with him TO
hide the big horn button on the neck
band Of his cotton shirt. The old wo-
man. she had on a dark steel grayish
something mighty trim dress, whale
bOned from the waist up and dress
that blossomed out below as crisply and
as capaciously as big cabbage. And
all these caught hold hands and walked
through the fair, and they never let go
hands till night. They did not grumble
or moraIize, in fact they had very little
to say to one another, and they didn't
know many others but themselves. If
the old man remarked on the points OF
a Jersey bull or lit up with recognition
M h.Nr
the children and the old woman knew
that nothing could be added to what had
been sufficiently remarked and the seven
linked family moved on to the next
stall. Now what do we have? Dances to
be sure-but not forward-twos and
balancc-alls-the city-foks have come,
trying to press themselves down upon the
brow of the farmer And see the dress
of that young dphutapte. What bnsi-
ness has she at the fair anyway? She
is going to see the races-such as they
are-hut what are the races beside Bos-
ton and Polly Hopkins and all those
famous old TO- milers that used to be
at fairs? 1t is true the dabutante's
dress. too. stands out-nobody among the
men-not even the husband knows how
or why-do they call 'em "fared skirts"
They look like an umbrella half open
with their diagonal folds or plaits-and
yet they say there are no ribs under
meath such as the umbrella has, nor such
as the hoorskirt of old had to a dead
certainty There is some kind of mys-
terious and social faisehood of fashion
that warps them from the Ewing truth
Of the sincere and honest old hoopskict.
And if a man sits by one of these young
ones on the grand stand-if he be a
mere married man-she looks absolutely
rudely at him for drawing his arm hack
in way to unballoon the shoulder
swell Of the sleeve; if he be her beau.
she contains herself but like a self-winl-
clock the words gather around the main
spring and when she gets home she
strikes the hour on that man: if shr
be a woman who crowds her. the debu-
tante's ewes go off like two fire-crackor,
while she says with that lady-like self
controlled society smile which mum
mer" taughtf her: would you be 81