The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1901-03-23

The Epoch Of the Legs.
By ROBERT j. BURDETrE.
S@sa@sst@S,@@@sa~g@@@te@

Sisters, the pallor In the east tells
us that the herald daily edition-of
the dawn is speeding up the slopes
of the orient; little while and the
rosy fingered hours will paint the day
red. Emancipation is on its way by
Adam and Ewes express. Yea, it is
even now here, with both feet.
How do I knew this? How does the
cautious prophet become dead certain
OF anything? BY keeping his eyes
open, taking both papers, and wait
ing patiently until the event has
prophesied itself. That's how.
A day or two since 1 was tying to
bring order out of the eternal chaos
which ever rules in the Jungle which
call my den, debating within my
self whether to go on with the regu-
lar order or go out and set fire to
the house, the shorter and sometimes
more profitable, and certainly under
any circumstance, least expensive
method of cleaning house. A hasty
but hurried investigation revealed
the depressing fact that my fire in
surance had lapsed some twain years
erst. ] sighed and went on with tn
task of restoring semblance of or
der inside. The women folk sighed
twice to my once, SO l was also out
sighed. Signed copies of this will be
sent on application. A ten cent stamp
must accompany each request, not
necessarily for publication, but to
make little noise with Where
there is absolutely no sense, there
should be some sound.
Well, emptying box containing
much antique literature, a large as
sortment of fieet-footed spiders with
sinister countenance, and the cliff
dwellings of colony of irascible mud
wasps, there tumbled out an old
bound volume of Godey's Lady s
Book. Dear old Cooley There was
the old familiar colored fashion plate
folded at the beginning of each num-
Der. A lady with head the size of a
hazel nut, and cloud compelling
bonnet as large as a clothing ham
per, with whole conservatory of
fabulous and highly colored flowers,
all in full bloom, swarming over and
under and around it. The lady had
mouth not quite so wide as her nose.
A long and gracefully curved necF
trailed it's sinuous length from her
head until 1t gradually tapered into
a pair of shoulders which sloped
downward until they lost themselves
in what was left of the body after the
neck and shoulders had been formed.
From waist not so large in circum-
ference as the thinnest part of tho
neck, swelled a vast, wide-circling
skirt. Legs, or semblance or sug-
gestion of legs the lady hand none.
Barely visible at the front of the
skirt a.wee, tiny point like the ver-
tex of triangle peeped timidly OUT
into sight and family suggested that
the rest of a foot was concealed
somewhere behind it. There is never
any suggestion of more than one
foot. I looked at the picture, and
naturally thought of Sir John Suck
ling's Ballad Upon Wedding
Her feet beneath her petticoat,
Like little mice stole In and out,
AS IL they feared the light"
Although I want you distinctly to
understand that nothing so coarse or
vulgar as petticoat went with that
sort of a fashion plate. No, stree
ma'am. We didn't wear such things
In those modest days. Not mothers
son of us.
Well, lifting mine eyes from thaf
fashion plate of long ago, and look
Ding out of my window upon "Anno
Domini 1901" automobillng, and gal
Looping, and striding, and driving, and
tally-hoing past, the prophetic vision
came upon me. / heard the deep,
rotund chest tone of woman-none of
your weak, piping, masculine falsetto
calling out of to-day into the depths
of tomorrow, that woman is free
free-fer-ree! Emancipated all the
way. Ay, from the ground up. Thar
is where she has begun. At the
ground. With her understanding.
It is the epoch of legs. The ballet
girl may put on her longest dress With
the most sweeping train. She is no
good. She is in evidence-and very
expensively-an hour or two every
evening in the season, maybe. But
the beginning of the century woman
cavorts all day long, and It doesn't
cost cent to see her take her pedals
out for an airing.
Her feet beneath her petticoat,
Like little mice stole In and OUT
Oh, they did, did they? Well, back
in the bleak, desolate days, when she
was the sul-lave of the tyrant man,
maybe they did. But they don't steal
out now. Steal in and out, hey?
They come charging out Like pair