The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1898-04-26
WOMEN ON
DRESS PARADE
Masculinity Prone to Regard
Woman Daft on Dressing.
Spain Anxious to Make WaKfn
SNOWY Costumes.

DO DeleNe most men THINK woman
can be brought back from the verge o
the grave by imeEely whispering int,
her ear the promise OF piece of finery
writes Dorothy Maddox. This is pa
thetic. Not long ago since a young
wife lay at death 81 door. Her distract
ed husband .hovered about the sicl
room in terror. After long hours Of
! suspense word came that the crisis
had passed and that a change for tn,
| better had taken place. What did the
| poor fellow do but steal to the side oil
! his beloved and. in softest and most
caressing tones. say:
| There, dear; now do be sweet cir
| and try, o, try so hard to get well, and
Will get you one of those things, you
know. that all the women are wearing
You shall have the prettiest one that
money can buy"
"One of those things" proved to be a
Russian blouse. and as they had at that
time been done to death, the patient,
i'll as she was, felt like shrieking with
laughter. l noticed, however, she can
not tell the story without showing a
suspicious moisture about her eyes.
Men are such clumsy dears, and such
fools as well. We always resent this
idea that we are daft upon the subject
of dress, and yet l cannot see for the
life of me how we hope to escape being
punched with our clothes, no matter
what our aspirations. We never do at
tempt any move that we do not mix up
our finery with our ambitions. Take
the patriotic woman. She is cropping
up here and there with request to be
allowed active service in the present
rumpus with Spain. She claims she can
night, that she can endure hardshipS of
the camp as well as any man. and
quotes examples of the fighting wo-
man in history who have splendidIy
served their coUStry. Just as ones ad-
mtration is at white heat IL is quench-
ed by lacking on of clothes to this
fiery burst of enthusiasm. The would be
soldieress tells with great gusto of her
plans for a uniform. and il is to be a
becoming one or fight she will not.
The man who writes up the patriotic
sister never fails 10 offer her a hon
eyed bit Of hattery in the direction of
her wardrobe He has a little to say
about her love for country and a great
deal about the way she is To dress up"
TO this patriotism. In fashioning all our
thoughts we keep beauty well To the
front. 1t is because of constant train
ing rather than that we are either
heartless or idiotic. Masculines have
been our teachers since the world be-
gan. We dare not take any stand I'M
less We can take il in our best bib and
tucker. If to war we could go we should
give of every ten thoughts one to our
peril and the other nine TO our looks
1t is born in us 70 seek adulation. We
should not forget ourselves under fire,
but would pose before the cannon
mouth and in the very best we could
muster As il is. if We cannot go into
active service we will go about seeking
10 capture hearts in ambush.
Our ammunition is to be varied. Here
is a sample: Girls. l have got an
Army blue tailor dress and it is being
trimmed a la militaire. l shall be a
peach in it," or. You should see my
cadet blue gown, II is too dear. and l
shall be among the first TO wear it,
Cadet blue is going TO have such
run
Or. have you a belt clasp of Uncle
Sans? Two big eagles, you know"
or. the Cuban COlOrs are lovely. / am
going TO wear them in all sorts Of
ways. They will be just too becoming"
and so on.
This is our frivolous war side. We
have another. 1t is divine. 1t takes us
into the midst of suffering which de-
mands nerves of steel to endure. Our
touch is so tender. our voice never so
softly pitched. our step never so light
as when we go from ward to ward min
istering TO the comfort of the sold er
boy with as much solicitude as though
this stranger lad were a brother
We are dainIily clad ministering
angels. Daintiness is an excellent
prop upon which to lean in time of
trouble. We are women and realize that
the garb of hospital nurse is becoming.
This very knowledge helps wonder
fully to bear the strain of nursing
Laugh at our fondness for clothes if
you will" We say To the men but
clothes. we have learned, play a most
important part in war as well as in
peace.
The vision Of a uniformed nurse is a
restful one. and is many times worth
all the drugs in the pharmacy. The very
crispness of the apron, the very snowi-
ness of the cap appeals to the senses.
In our flight to paradise we shall, wo-
manlike. stop to consider the becom-
ingness of our wings. 1 feel certain of
it.