The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1900-12-09
THE pose DEGENERATE.-
Boston Fashion Among Young People
Of Playing at Being Wicked.

Boston Correspondence Chicago In
'ter-Ocean-
Whats the matter with her? Oh,
nothing really She's doing the pose
degenerate. that's all. Shes nice and
her husbands nice. and they are as
fond OF each other as two people ever
need 10 be, but she fancies that the
pose degenerate is rather a fine thing
and he has fallen into her way of
thinking.
She's a college-bred girl, you know
continued the woman of sense, as she
poured her friend another cup of tea
and settled herself more comfortably
behind the dainty inlaid table. But IN
stead OF being proud of her brains and
her breeding, she has somehow jumped
10 the conclusion that the rather fast
bohemian set is the one best worth
while. and she is trying as hard as
ever she can TO ape its manners and
customs. In her it's funny, for she
really is a Puritan, you know, came
from an old Boston line, but in him it's
positively absurd He hates it so. and
he's nothing az all of an actor. He
comes around here in the evening,
about O'Clock or so, to bring me
magazine or a new book in which he
has been interested, and he acts at be-
ing so wicked that you would think il
were al least midnight instead OF the
beginning OF the evening. Then when
tell him Mr.. Williams is busy finish
ing the outline of brief that has to be
done in a hurry, and inquire of him
concerning Mrs. Farnham's where
abouts, he replies with the most conf
cal attempt at jauntiness that she has
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 in
FAINT heads that the degenerate pose
is the surest method of getting on. and
get on they must The worst OF 1t Is
that they are both clever enough 10 be
able to do harm by passing On ,hcir
own distorted ideals.
In fact" continued the woman OF
sense, stirring her tea energctically.
as she warmed TO the unaccuStomed la
Dor OF preaching, ''in fact. it seems to
me that If were asked to put my
| finger on the worst possible specimen
of the evil done by the light plays OF
a certain type ! should point to such
/ fv,A of VII
| am speaking. They had fine ideals
when they came out OF college and set
tied down in their little suburban cot
! tage to enjoy together the fruits of the
culture for which they had arduously
striven. but they have now come 10
| the conclusion that the best thing in
| the world is 10 have the appearance
without the Inconvenience of wicked
ness. The modern novel and the mod
ern play have done this for them.
-'Oh. Of course you are right when
YOU say that they must have been light
stuff under il ali if they were so easily
to be blown about b. the latest Whit
Of degenerate doctrine, and in way
that would be true. But you must re-
member that they are only infants.
| Neither OF them has father or a
mother living, and being strictly up-to-
| date they no longer go TO church and
| hear sermons on Sunday. She told me
once that 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 old-fashioned notions OF
virtue and propriety: that wellbred
! married people still are seen some
times together. and that while most NJ
us are weak enough to smile at the
French jokes about women and the
/ clever thrrsts at the morals of men. a
| few among us still expect to be faith
! full Perhaps we. too. are victims OF
I the pose 10 some extent. but | must
stick 10 ny text
| AS for me tell her TO stay at home
and study Browning as she used to do
when she and her husband were first
married--ana Mr.. Williams tells him
( that il is really inst as well to appear
yirtuous in case one is so happy as 10
+ be above -eproach. Was il Shake
+ speere-you are far more clever than
+ Who said: Assume a virtue il You
have il no;T Strange, isn't it. that
those silly children next door should
seem 70 think that il reads Assume
a vice. II they only knew their
Shakespeare as they do their Swim
burne. they'd have made no such pitt
able mistakes