Bogalusa enterprise and American. (Bogalusa, La.) 1918-19??, 1919-11-06
CHAPTER /.


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Major Anderson had "made a for
tune" in 1873, when other people were
losing fortunes, and the magnifcence
pf the AmbersOns began then. Their
spiendor lasted all the years that saw
their Midland town spread and darken
into a city, but reached its topmost
during the period when every prosper
GUS family with children kept New
eoundland dog.
In that town in those days all the
women who wore silk or velvet knew
NH the other women who wore silk or
velvet, and when there was a new
l purchase Of sealslzin sick people were
rot to windows to see It 60 by. Every
body knew everybody else's family
horse and carriage, could identify such
y silhouette half mile down the
btreet, and thereby was sure who was
going to market or to reception or
coming home from Office or store to
noon dinner or evening supper.
During the earlier years Of this pc
Rod elegance Of personal appearance
was believed to rest more upon the
texture Of garments than upon their
shaping. A silk dress needed no re-
modelling when 1t was year or SO old /;
It remained distinguished by merely
remaining silk. Old men and COVER
nors wore ,broadcloth; ''full dress" was
broadcloth with "doeskin" trousers;
and there were seen men Of all ages
10 whom hat meant only that rigid,
tail silk thing known to impudence as
4 s'stovepipe." In town and country
these men would wear no other hat,
and, without self-consciousness, they
went rowing in such hats.
Trousers with crease were consid-
cred plebeian; the crease proved that
the garment had lain upon shelf, and
hence was ''ready made" these be-
kraying trousers were called "hand-
me-downs," in allusion to the shelf. In
the early eighties, while bangs and
bustles were having their way with
women, that variation of dandy known
ms the "dude" was invented: he wore
trousers as tight as stockings, dagger
pointed shoes, a spoon "derby,"
rfngle-breasted coat called Chester
Meld," with short fiaring skirts, a tor
turing cylindrical collar, Numbered to
d polish and three inches high, while
his other neckgear might be heavy.
puffed cravat or a tiny bow fit for n
dolls braids. With evening dress he
wore a tan overcoat so short that his
black coattaiIs hung visible, five inches
below the overcoat; but after season
or two he heightened his overcoat Ill
e touched his heels, and he passed out
uf his tight trousers into trousers Ike
great bags. Then presently he was
seea no more. though the word that
had been coined for him remained In
the vocabularies Of the impertinent.
Surely no more is needed to prove
that so short a time ago we were liv-
ing in another agel
At the beginning of the AmbeRsons
great period most of the houses or the
Midland town were of pleasant ar
chitecture. They lacked style, but also
pretentiousness, and whatever does
not pretend at all has style enough.
They stood in commodious yards, well
shaded by leftover forest trees, elm
and walnut and beech, with here and
there a line OF tail sycamores where
the land had been made by filing
bayous from the creek. The house Of
q prominent resident" facing Mill
tary square or National avenue or Ten
nessee street, was built of brick upon
a stone foundation, or of wood upon a
brick foundation. Usually it had a
',front porch" and ''back porch )"
often "side porch" too. There was
a '.front hall = there was "side hall"
and sometimes a ''back hail." From
the 'front hall" opened three rooms,
the ''parIor," the sitting room" and
the 'Ilbrary;" and the library coulu
show warrant to It's title-for some
reason these people bought books.
Commonly the family sat more In the
library than in the Sitting room,
while callers, when they came for
EnaIIy, were kept to the ''parlor," a
place Of formidable polish and discom-
fort The upholstery Of the library