The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-12-04

Cor like many minor virtues, though
soarceIy taken notice of in its pres
once. it is sorely missed when absent.
. careless or ~slatternly woman, for
instance, is one of the most repulsive
ohipcts in creation and such is the
force Of public opinion in favor of
the d~elicacies of taste and feeling in
the female sex, that no power of in
teIIect or display of learning can
COMPENSATE men for the want of
nicetv or neatness in the women with
whom they associate in domestic
life.
The fitness of dress is a subject
that ought to be regarded by all
with earnest solicitude, that
they may. constantly maintain in
their own persons that strict atten-
+ion to good taste and delicacy of
feeling which affords the surest evi-
dence of delicacy of mind a quality
without which no woman ever was,
or ever will be, charming. Let her
appear in company with what &C
complishments she may, let. her
charm by her musical talents, attract
by her beauty, or enliven by her wit,
if there steal from underneath her
graceful drapery the tattered frill,
or even the coarse garment out of
keeping with her external fnery,
imagination naturally carries the
observer to her dressing-room, her
-private habits, and even to her inner
mind, where it is almost impossible
to believe that the same want of
order and purity does not prevail.
II is prevalent but most injuri-
Gus mistake to suppose that all wo-
men must be splendidly and expen-
sivelv dressed to recommend them
selves to a general appreciation. A
very slight acquaintance with the
sentiments and tone of conversation
familiar among men might convince
ALI whose minds r open to cOnvic-
ton. that their admiration is not to
he obtained by the display of any
kind of extravaganza in dress. There
NAV be occasional instances of the
contrary, but the praise most iber-
ally and uniformly bestowed by men
uDon the dress of women, is that it
IS neat, up-to-date, becoming and in
good taste.
There is scarcely any subject in
art or nature calculated to excite our
admiration, which may not, from
being iII-placed, excite u ridicule
rr disgust. Each individual article
If clothing worn by a woman may
be superb in itself, but if there is a
want of fitness and harmony in the
whole, we turn away.
Admiration of a beautiful object,
how intense sOever it may be, cannot
impart that high tone of intellectual
enjoyment which arises from our
admiration of fitness and beauty
combined and thus the richest silk
and the finest lace, when inapproprl-
ately worn, are beautifully manu-
featured articles, but nothing more.
While there is u moral degradation
in the consciousness Of wearing
soiled OF disreputable garments, there
is also d gross violation of good taste.
Good taste is therefore most essential
to the regulation of dress and general
appearance and wherever any strik-
ing violation of this principle ap-
pears, the beholder is Immediately
impressed with the idea that a very
important rule of her life and con-
duct Is wanting. 1t is not every
woman who possesses this guide
within herself, but an attentive OBJ
servation of human life and charac-
ter, especially a due regard to the
beauty of fitness, would enable all
women to avoid making themselves
un~attractive in this particular way.
Ledger Monthly.