The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-11-29
THE "POSE DEGENERATE ?
.EEBoston tcorl New york sun.l


What's the matter with her? Oh. moth
crate, that's all Shes nice and her hus-
bands nice and they're as fond of each
She fancies thai the pose degenerate is
her way of thinking
She's a coIlege-bred girl you know
continued the woman of sense. as she
sstued herself more comfortably behind
the dainty inlaid table. but instead of
being proud of her brains and her breed
ing. she has somehow jumped to the
conclusion that the rather fast Bohemian
II trying as hard as ever she can to ape
Its manners and customs. In her it's fun
came from an old Boston line, but IN him
IL 5. positively absurd He hates it so,
anu ne morning At All oI an actor, he
sionally about o clock or so to bring me
has been interested and he acts at being
so wicked that you would think II were
OF the evening. Then when tell him Mr..
Williams IS busy finishing the outline of
PREF that has to be done in a hurry
ana inquire OF MIN concerning Mrs: Farm
hams whereabouts. he replies with the
most comicai attempt at jauntiness that
she mas gone to the theater with Jack
Knight, she goes where she likes, you
know
silly children they are, nothing more.
They have got it into their infant heads
that the degenerate pose is the surest
method of getting on and get on they
must. The worst of it is that they are
both clever enough to be able to do harm
by passing their own distorted ideals.
In fact continued the woman of sense,
stirring her tea energedcally as she
warmed to the unaccustomed labor of
preaching. in fact it seems to me that
if ] We're asked to put my finger on the
worst possible specimen of the evil done
by the light plays of a certain type I
should point to such young people as the
friends of whom I am sDea king They
had fine ideals when they came out Of
college and settled down in their little
suburban cottage to enjoy together the
come to the conclusion that the best thing
in the world is to have the appearance
without the Inconvenience of wtckeGness.
The modern novel and the modern play
has done this for them.
"Of course YOU are right when YOU say
that they must have been light stuff I'M
der it all if they were so easily to be
blown about by the latest whiff of degeu-
crate doctrine and in a way that would
be true. But you must remember that
they are only infants. Neither of them
has father or mother living and being
strictly up to date they no longer go to
fold me once she thanked God she hadn't
been inside church for years. You see,
they've absolutely no one of their own to
tell. them that wise people still cling to the
priety. that well-bred married people still
are. seen sometimes together, and that
smile at the French jokes about women
and the C1ever thrusts at the morals of
daughters TO be pure and our husbands
TO be faithful. Perhaps we, too, are vic
must stick to my text.
LAS for me. I tell her to stay at home
and study Browning as she used to do
when she and her husband were first mar
ireland Mr.. Williams tells him that it
is really Just as we'll to appear virtuous
in case one is so happy as to be above re
proach. Was it Shakespeare-you are far
more clever than I-who said assume a.
virtue if YOU have it not2' Strange isn't
it. that those silly children next door
should seem to think that it reads, AS
sumo a vice If they only knew their
Shakespeare as they do their Swinburne
they'd have made no such pitiable mis-