The Red Cloud chief., 1897-02-19

~ az htotof VI
gun with her as she seemed In 1880.
and ended with her as she appeared In
1850 and ~thereabout, the account
would offer fine argument against the
higher education OF women. Fortunate
ly history goes on. and he who VIII may
read II. The lady OF 1880 was meek,
ignorant, and lovely to look at, III you
can forget her relaxed shoulders and
wee mouth. The lady-woman of 1850
has started out to get an education. The
pretty ways Of 1880 are becoming mem
cries, and I really have had to search
for attractive pictures of women In the
middle of the century. A little learning
ever has been a hazardous quantity.
Our sister Of 1850 Is our sister OF 1880
~undone-the end-of-the-century woman
in rudiment.
As was natural with the first intima-
tion that woman is not a toy, that she
Is a factor in matchmaking. a force
toward the good time always coming.
the immediate effect of this knowledge
became the eschewing by the more in
tense, Of feminine material vanities.
Pretty curls, as soon as womel began
to think, were snatched from their cud-
ding place by cheek-sides and brushed
fatty to the head. Pelerines and grace
full fchus were renowned in favor of
straight lines In stiff fabrics.
Skirts, however, In the '40s and on.
az II in rebellion from the reforms that
were going on above the waist. larg-
ened. Between 1885. say. and 1867.
when, as in 1880, We again are enjoy
Ing a moderation In mode and a reign
Of comparative taste, the outlines in
woman's dress have expanded and con-
tracted with persistent though varying
disregard Of the figures beneath.
The study of consecutive fashion and
demeanor makes, In some sort. evolu-
tionists Of most persons. Each century.
as our nineteenth. has had It's crudities
and vulgarities OF mode and manner.
Yet It will be found, | think, that enor-
mites in dress accompany the quicken
ing OF new thoughts and the ripening
Of types that never were before. When
woman's dress Is reasonable, beautiful.
ard graceful. the times are in her favor
a little respite is at hand. Her ideals
and powers of expression are tOlerably
equivalent. The costume of the nine
teenth-century-end has no marked alb
surdities; though. In the spiral of his
tory, several gaucherles, such, for ex-
ample. as the hoop and the towering
head-dress, may be about to come upon
us.
l feel rather called upon to ask the
reader to think with me sympathetical-
ly Of the charm OF the p~resent-day
costume, and OF the end-of-our-century
women, because II seems anti-climatic,
after the pretty maids and lovely
danes Of 1880 whom we viewed in
Godey's for January, 1897, to recall In
February the less obvious beauty OF
those who came just after the '30s.
The veritable Snowman entreats:
But wait, ladies and gentlemen; only
wait until the next act. 1t Is going to
b. the best thing on the programme"
May ! ask a would-be showman's
license to bid you wait for the next
number before concluding, from the ac-
companying text and illustrations, that
bo0k-learning spells women?
The first argument for women's men,
tai growth was that man could not be-
come perfect while she was ignorant.
There was slight question OF advantage
to her self and her sex In the use of her
brain. So late as 1912 GOdey's says:
"AN the external regulations of gov
ernment. all the honors and offices of
public life belong to men; but to quail
fy them for these high and responsible
duties, they must have the aid of the
enlightened moral sentiment OF
woman. She must be educated wisely
in order that man may attain his high.
est elevation. He never can be wise
while she Is ignorant. Next in honor
to the woman who looks well to hei
W household" and so promotes its
best interests that her husband II
known in the gates when he sittett
among the elders of the land, and he
children rise up and call her blessed,
We hold that those excellent womeI
who are at the head Of our female sem
inaries should take their place"
There are many interesting para
graphs upon these subjects. One writ
sSh ioThp qNptS2 hOiS, 6iNSo Soilt III
formation.
Within the last fifteen or twent
years more has been written upon tn
necessity and advantages of female ed
ucation than Is to be found In all litera
ture of the preceding ages since tn
world began: and what a change, to,
In the style Of mans writings upO
this subject. Instead Of the mockin
ridicule. or bitter satire, on every effol
OF female genius, every attempt to In
spire the sex generally with the hop
OF some higher atainments In learning
and a more respectable station in socis
life than merely that Of househol
drudge or pretty %tritier. We now find /
almost every new publication, wha'
ever may be It's design or characte
the education and influence of woma