Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-11-08
HISTORY TOLD IN FANS.
Politics. Religion, and Learning Were
Celebrated In Fine Ladies' Wind
WATERS


WATERS
The decline and fall of the fan furnish
es "A good illustration of the caprices of
fashion, which cause us to discard at
one time what we highly cXalt at another.
Not that fans have been by any means eT-
tirely discarded. but they have sunk from
their former high position as woman's
sceptre to mere insignificant adjuncts of
her costume There would he little point
nowadays in Addison's charming pleas
antry in the Spectator about the 'acade-
MY for training up OF young women in the
exercise OF the fai," The whole dainty
art by which the unfurling, flutterinR and
furing of the fan became a language ex
preesive of the most delicate shades OF
sentiment and coquctry has been sweep.
away in these days Of hurry and hustle.
Further. the designing of the fan it
self has much deteriorated. No logger do
great artists cxpend their talents in this
direction. That infinite number Of GU
pids, Earlands affairs. birds. beasts. rain
bows and the like agreeable figures" Of
which Addison writes, have for the most
part given way before the advent of the
ostrich feather fan, whose main purpose Is
TO set forth, not the taste, but he wealth
of its possessor.
But it would be q mistake to suppose
that even in their most palmy days fans
were wholly frivolous. intended for the
use Of only society butterflies at balls
and routs ard other gay gatherings. No,
there were in the eighteenth century po-
litical fans, religious fans, learned fans.
and literary fans. Fans were publish
ed il, those days. and often bore such an
amount Of small type that the use of the
word is completely justified.
one can hardly Imagine the present
bishop OF London giving his lmprimature
to fan, though he might to a novel Yet
not much more than a century ago, in
1896, a fan was duly published, with the
approbatictI of the right reverned the lord
bishop of London. It a church fan,
ard was doubtless intended to serve as
substitute for a prayer book in case Of
need, for it was inscribed with the Lords
Prayer, the Ten Commandments the
Creed ard the Prayer for the Kings Maj
esty and the Royal Family.
According to some fnshcrpble preach
ers, the morals of smart society" can
hardly have improved since the days of
the Georges. but, at least, their manners
in church. when they do happen to at
tend. have undergone some amendment.
Complaint of fair worshlppors who gRgled
at the preacher behind their fans are to
he folrl In the Spectator, while at a later
date a writer In the Gcntlemans Maya
zine murmured bitterly that the fans
themselves We're wholly unsuitable for
use at a religious service. Pictures Of
Vauxhall Gardens. Darby and joan" or
THE Judgment Of Paris were not, he
urged, adapted to the solemnity Of the
occasion; and doubtless the good bishop
hoped by his recommendation to lead
some of these fair ones 10 the adoption Of
fans in more serious style OF de gn.
But the greatest interest attaches II
the political fans Of the eighteenth CEN
fury. Their number and variety go to
show the keen interest which ladies OF tn,
period took in politics, Gre Of the most
| remarkable was issued when the whole
| country was in fever of excitement
over the attempt of Sir Robert Walpolc
to pass the excise bill.
"Tis the Power Of every British Fair
To turn Excuses ~ all Kinds to Air,
| is the appropriate motto on this fan
which is thus described in an advertise
mert in the Craftsmi,r
This day June g. 1880 is published for
| all Loyal ladies an Excise Fan or the
| Political Monster as described in Fogs
| Journal. May s. curous,y delneated. Re-
! ing Memorial for Posterty. 2s Cd"
! The fan is further recommended as
very useful at all meetings for nom!rr-
| ting members Of Parliament. not only
for cooling the heats which may arise, but
to show the nature OF an arbitrary mon
stcr."
cautiously delneated" the fan most GER
! tainly is. Besides the motto already quo
ted. 1t bears an extraordinary elaborate
allegorlcal design, in which the Excise
| Bill itself is represented by n PROSTATE
monster" Inscribed with the words:
printing Salt, Malt, Gin, Usquebaugn,
Cider, Mead. Beer, Ale, Hops, Metheglin,
Perry, Rum, Soap. Candles, Sta rch, Leath-
er, Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, Paper Pasta
board Millboard, Calicoes Gilt and Sill
yer Wyre, Vellum and Parchment, Sill
verand Dying Stuhs silks, Lnnens, Pa
pors." Around tho monster stand a
crowd of figures. carrying schools vita
such hcart-stirring notices as "Llber-
| ty and Property" Down with the En-
else and ''Huzza, the Glorious 2Gi" an
allusion to the division Of the bill.
More ncomprehens.b however, than
tho political fan is the leaned or instruc-
tive fan One wonders how such an ar
tlcle could possibly have found any mar
ket at all. 1t Is a contradiction in terms.
| We know that the great Miss Barbara
| Plnkorton of Chiswick used to present
| her departing pupils with a copy of Dr..
Johnson's Dictionary. Did some earlier
head mistress find in these learned fans
a fitting gift for girls who were just
looking forward to freedom from lessons