The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-06-17

h.6 beeu reading, with throb of en-
,husiasm which I will explain later.
J because Iilda, who is eighteen and
.,.nn,ng the frock for her contingent
- had lust asked me this appalling
n1vr, Prudence. do you think 1t pays
s,,t 20 try TO be lady nowadays"
observing that ! was speeches., she
-.rt on hastily, "Of course hope l am
=. ana | don't mean that really want
!. set rid OF II, but I was just thinking
-, decidedly fl could not be counted
~-nnx my social assets. lists more
- liability than anything else. Really.
~or know. II you have high ideas OF con-
80, they-they cut you of from lot OF
sh,,gs other people do. OF course /
.,,rk mother is Just lovely, and I'd rather
!. m. her than anybody on earth. but
-. great deal more easily shocked
.h.n Florence Anderson's mother, and II
v7orence were her daughter she'd simply
- shocked stiff all the time. But Flor
snee has been out a year. and she has
hesutfful time She's simply bowling
Nile; and Lily Whitaker, whom you ard
,,osher admire so much. doesn't have half
- much fun as Florence. ! don't think
NJ fair. II Lily Is the incest, she ought
n have the best time. What Is niceness,
anyhow. but being what people like you
a be? And II people like Florence beet,
,vhv isn't she the incest? l think stand
ads have changed. l think girls are
AiFerent. OF course. inside me, i think
mother is probably right. but sometimes
I wonder why I should try 10 pattern
NV manners after the standards of forty
wears ago. any more than my clothes
Mother wouldn't want me to dress inter
the Bankruptcies In the old Graham
Magazines or the Peterson ladies that ]
used 10 make into paper dolls"
1 sighed before / answered. for the
subiect Hilda had opened up was large
ma and I hate to preach extemporane-
oua sermons with n historical basis.
.Hilda. II you will question the bases
a character you must take the conse-
suences. I am going to read you copious
attracts from letter in the Sun. which
contains moro good sentiments and well
sxpressed' than I have seen in print for
many q long day. II is from a man who
s,rns himself An Old-Timer,' and he is
explaining tho differences between New
York society as Il IL and as II used to
b. whom he was a young man. or super
ncia elegance'--that means clothes and
champagne and general furbelows-there
b more than formerly. for. until the
reneration which came up after the civil
war, there was really no wealth In New
York society as measured by the stan
dard OF today Tho greatest wealth then
existing In town surrounded itself with
none OF the state possible to wealth The
gtuyvestants. tho Rutherfords, the Nor
rises, tho IAvingstons. the De Peysters
the Rhinelanders. notable in the society
Of those days. eschewed II as savoring OF
vuigarity. and nowhere was anything APP
proaching IT observable In families OF
good breeding. however rich they might
be relatively When IL was hrst intro
duced, as u consequence of the new and
great wealth heaped up In the days OF
the civil war. It was called and esteemed
"phoddy." The quality please pay es-
peciel attention to this. Hilda- for II Is the
point OF tho whole thing-"the quality OF
personal distinction was prised rather
than tn. possession OF much money. and
the discrimination TO recognise IL was
deemed AS evidence Of the validity OF
title 10 social superiority. Now, men and
xouitn who were looked upon as social
,mpogs,blllties then. have become social
d,ctators, II not exemplars. but they do
not sccIn 10 be endowed with the old quail
hy'"
'"rhere IL where Florence Anderson's
mother comes in" unused Hilda- Tho
po,nt Of !, seems TO be that the love
Of money IL the root Of all vulsarity. Do
YOU think IT'S 20. Aunt Prudence7"
Ia ~ EAf
In its proper place. as compared TO char
setsr. the end of all individuals and all
societies In which the relative positions
OF the two are reversed Is vulgarity ana
worse our friend of the sun has more
10 say on that subject. lilo goes on, The
consequence has been to give "a more COM
monplace character 10 society. except 80
Tar a. Il is varied by eccentricities which
once would have been frowned upon as
evidence OF had breeding The ability 10
recognize distinction that Is intrinsic and
apart from mere abundance OF material
POSSESSIONS has been lost to a large OK
tent. and with Il has departed the sra
ciauSneas which used to be considered
the attribute and test ~ good-breedlng-
the outward and visible sign of an in
ward and spiritual grace, The form raih-
r than the substance seems 10 attract
the present society. And as the social
revolution has become more complete.
dali and commonplace level has been sub
sstnted fer thu earlier society az disttne-
ton Imitation OF an English model,
snehhish prctcnslon. tlmidity In dlscrim-
hating between pcoplc-~caused 10y thu un-
ssfsalnty of the position OF the social
-
A GnY 80 = ~