The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-07-11
Nv WILLIAM r.. ELLIS.

>hf''.
Ry WILLIAM +. ELLIS.
C~I4ouafra Is fam0uS-Or infamous
IN history IS the woman VINO ieu
kings captive 10 their ruin. Her lhllu-
c1ce is said to have changed the eur
rnnt OF history. More potent thah
Eevpt's beautiful queen. however, III
affecting the fate Of nations mas oeel
the force whom we sometimes Pc
s3nifv as Madame Grundy or Dame
Fashion. That old lady has
Id kings and empires about as a so
ciatv girl leads poodle dog; and she
is still IN suSine sS. The assigned story
Of the mjsdeeds and misery OF Ma
naSseh. because he slavishly followed
the days vogue. may be Interpreted by
countless instances from cnntempOr-
airy history. Madame Grundy is still
the worst woman in the world. ana
the chief handmaiden OF the ENli
one.
The tendency which gives power to
f shion-following is as old as man,
and as young as last years BABE. me
greatest Of Hebrew seers discerned 1t
when he said, all We like sheep have
gone astray.' The manner, rather
han the fact Of the a~strayness, is the
point Of that observation. Men do not
go astray in ~purposeful. resoiute self
direction; rather. they wander like
witless sheep, flocking stupidity after
any wicked old bell-wether that
moose to jump the fence into for
hidden fields. The Indian mothers
Who proudly put gaudy, tinseled,
shapeless limitations of European
frocks upon their little children are
in the same class with Manasseh, and
with the sheep, and with the boys who
learn to smoke. and with the man who
buys an automobile which he cannot
afford; all are indiscriminateIy follow
ing q fashion, poor slaves of Madame
Grundy.
An Unkingly King.
1t is the place of kings to lead
fashions. and not to follow them. 50
also. OF all royal men and women.
ihat is 4 hard truth to get into the
head OF the average person. Consider
the multiiudes OF persons Who his
month are leaving comfortable homes
in order to endure the discomforts of
expensive summer resorts, simply be
cause 1t is the fashion to go away
from home for a vacation. Contem-
plat" the weary women who strain
nerves and purses to wear the hats
and sleeves and skirts nat Dame
Fashion arbitrarily prescribes. Behold
an entire nation like Japan, giving up
its distinctive and beautiful art. and
Its Very sense Of color. IL order to
lni,tate western ways. 50 thai it is
easier to buy gaudy German litho-
graphs in Toxic today than it is to
buy the traditional japanese prints.
Alas Tor the crowns that are flung
away. A single glance into the mir
ROT OF our times and practices makes
- more gentle with poor old Manas-
sen. Let us remember that he started
out a spoiled child, a victim Of the
oriental harem system. Called to the
throne at twelve, he was the prey Of
sytoph3nts,; fiatterers and ~courtiers.
Everybody bl9mes the spoiled child,
WHY not pity him? The rich mans
son has not a fair chance today"
declares J. Campbell White. Manas-
sch was given a bad start. perhaps by
counsellorS Of the Assyrian party.
Certainly. some evil genius was at his
side to teach him a contempt for the
religion Of his father; he thought
that Hezckiah was AN old fogy.''
would be 'up-to-date," and in the
swim" Little he reckoned of the mael-
stromS ahead.
A Long. Bad Career.
'for fitty-fiNe years This misguided
man was king of Judeah-the longest
reign in the nations history. He lived
at The time of Assyria's greatest DOW
Ell. and he was doubtless a vassal of
that World-empire- His father had
been a nOn-cOnfOrmer: he himself was
a conformer. and undid, so far as lay
IA his power, Hezekiah's great work.
HE l3t,er sought to serve the living
God; his son sought to follow the AS
syrian fashion. He did not want to rule
over Il little, O~ne-hOrSe peculiar
kingdom: his ambition was to make
judah as like as possible to Assyria
In Japan today Manasseh would be
called "a high collar" or one who apes
foreign styles.
He enters that familiar arch-enemy
OF the Jews. the denominations of the
nations After all the past experience
OF the Chosen People. and the drama.
TIC reminders that Jehovah was great
er than all the false gods. from the
drowning OF the Egyptians in the Rec
Sea TO the mysterious defeat Of the
AssYrians in HeZekiah's day. On7
wouid suppose that the lesson of the
Wickedness Of idolatry had been vel