A volume of "Godey's Lady's Book" for the year 1364 came into Daan foe out perils and struce'us again how the Tine la definitely measured by the fashion and fetbles of the feminin Incredible as it may now seem to, and jean, as stiff-as a lamp-post. those of us who are privileged to|Did you ever waltz with a tight sean these quaint pages, the Godey's Iaced young lady; it's like spinning Lady's Book was once' the inter- round with a clothes prop... but national authority' on the chic injlet's drop the subject and talk of Isdies" fashions and a sort of something else freneral criterion and dernier ort in all ultra fashionable directions, If The Stamp of the Age one found a frill or girdle or hair Of course the Godey's book would ret depicted on its pages, one might portray somewhat futuristic ideas be sure that to copy it would stamp on its pages in matters of this tone ae the essence of good taste, [kind. Stories, poems and general And good taste in those days was 1 far more complicated affair than lines, however, reflect the 60's. For present when to be simple means there is the poem splashing over to be chic and when the lines of the, into five stanzas about human body form the basis for Going,"
"Fast my burning tear-the outward show. Formerly style- drops @ow" and another eulogizing makers elaborated upon the human "only a withered rose-bud, but she figure; one wore clothes with a/wore it in her hairy" each poem a dignity and importance that a' gem of the well of true sentimental modern age knows not of, and the, ity, from which we of the modern all sorts of sentimental ideals on age disclaim a draught, but from many subjects held by the genera-which nevertheless, we, doubtless, tion had their effect upon the beet of us, surreptitiously sip costume, now and again.
In the volume under perusal, may be found not only fashions for the month, indications of the trend of Paris and London and Philadelphia, ut sprightly discussions upon many whjects capable of arousing the lively interest of world-wide readers in the century.
For example, "Mr, Surly Hard-Dake, just returned from a lengthened' tour over Europe." wearing a beard that "reaches down to the first button on his waist-coat" deigned to give an interview to an enterprising representative of Godey's, on tight-lacing. Like ghost from out the past comes ti echo of tight-lacing, Here is what he says:—
"TIN tell you what it is, sir," said Mr, Surly with vehemence. "tight lacing is the same sort of thing as Dutch gardening. Have you a yew-tree such as Nature made it—graceful, if rather heavy, nicely' proportioned, beautiful as overything natural is; but it doesn't suit your gardener of Dutch William's days? Nature, pooh! So he takes his shears and' goes to work on the unfortunate tree. He clips here and clips there, and shapes it into a pyramid, oF @ peacock, and then ids _afar off contemplating his vk in silent eestisy. But what hho done. Ruined the tree se... Nature never intended that the body should be half cut.
9 two by staylaces, and she revenges it, of course, by ruby noses." Thus the clarion note of advanced thinking is sounded in the interview. But hear again. don't believe that the young fellows like these waists. Every few with sense likes an armful of humanity, not a waist of buckrum 'And in those vanished days of. Godey's Lady's Book, a lady must trast' to luck in many situations Wherein she now takes her own reins in hand and applies a tick of the lash to circumstance. Especially was the Indy of 1864 the discreetly hunted, rather than the candid flapper.
A word to ladies is encouraging, however, ina quotation from' Jane Eyre which Godey's Book sponsors, "I know that if women wish to escape the stigma lof husband seeking, they must act!
14 look-like marble or clay, cold, Jexpressionless, bloodless; for' every appearance of feeling, of joy, sorrow, disgust, are alike construed by the world into an attempt to hook a husband, Never mind! Well meaning women have their own consciences to comfort them after all, Do not, therefore, be too much afraid of showing yourself as you are, affectionate and ood hearted, not too harshly repress sent ments and feeling excellent in them selves because you fear that some puppy may fancy that you are letting them come out to fascinate him; do not condemn yourself live only by halves because if you showed too much animation some pragmatical thing in breeches might fake it into his pate to imagine that you designed to devote your life to is inanity." spoke the caustic ponents of women's freedom in the pages of Godey's Book so many years ago that one won dors a little that the germ of independence has really gone further along than the Eton Clip and International Suffrage Meetings,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.