The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-04-25
Offensive Vanity.

new idea has been evolved in one OF
the cities of the Middle West. which need
not be mentioned, because the city as a
whole is really not 20 blame for it, The
matter is not one which the municipal au-
thorites could control 1t is purely a So
ciety affair
Several young ladies of that city re-
Gently conceived the idea of figuring in
JableauX copied from famous pictures
This notion is not al all new one One
Of the favorite forms IF entertainment at
church sociables ard other places where
theatricals would be considered improper
has long been the tableau. especially that
reproducing some work OF art. This de-
vice satisfies the longings of those OF the
audience who crave something. "instruc-
tive" it gives the people concerned an op-
portunity to display their various charms
to advantage. 1t requires no dramatic abil-
ity whatever. and it produces all the envi-
Gus feelings. iealousie5. and heartburnings
that could possibly come from an amateur
dramatic performance. II has, therefore.
continued in favor Cor several generations.
But this set OF Ia 5'eaux was Of a differ
ent order II may hare been produced I'M
der the patronage Of some church for now
adays il is a little difficult to say what a
church will or will not do under given cir
cumstances. Some religious organizations
are carried on in such peculiar ways that
they seem more like amusement clubs than
anything else. except that most of those
concerned seem to get more hard work
than amusement out of it. The chances
are however. that there was nothing re-
lgious about it except the pictures that
were copied. The list of those selected in
Guided the Sistine Madonna. the Madonna
della Sedia, the Madonna Of the Lilies. and
several others.
Some people might think that the as
sumption OF modern young women that
they could successfully counterfeit the ex-
quisite beauty ef these paintings saEored a
little Of self-coneeit. It might be possible.
by making selections from all parts OF the
country to find a dozen American girls as
beautiful in feature and expression as the
ten or twelve Madonnas thus copied, but
Il Is hardly likely that such a galaxy OF
loneliness would be discovered in a single
city. and that not a very large one 1t
would seem to the casual observer that
that amount Of self-conceit would be hard
to find in any one place.
But that is not the most unpleasant as
pect OF the occurrence. Not only did these
ladies assume to represent the Mother O!
Christ as pictured by the greatest masters
of all ages. but they found children to rep
resent the infant Jesus. To people who
are devout believers in the Christian reii-
gion this would look very much like saeri-
lege. Ii seems 10 = iang 10 the old age
of miracle plays. .shar villagers took the
parts OF all the characters in the New Tes-
lament. with more or less testing and hi
larity oftentimes- 1t is TO be noted that.
on general principles, anything which can
fairly appear saerilegIous 70 intelligent
and earnest believers in any religion Will
be avoided by people of good taste. Such
persons would. even In the presence OF a
fetch worshiper. refrain from wanton
mockery of his genuine feeling. There is
some excuse for one to whom all religions
are nothing but an empty name, if he
speaks lightly Of the belief OF others, since
he is incapable OF entering into their feel
ings- But these young women probably