The fountain : with jets of new meanings . nt dresses of thereigning fashion ; for the feathers and laces and ribbonsand curls; and for the artificial flowers and grasshop-pers for head ornaments,—all these crowd into thefeminine imagination with aggravating mens imaginations are exasperatinglywrought up to the problem of supporting all thisuncontrollable folly; to which few of them dareopenly oppose their will; for they, too, are largelyinvolved in the popular magnetism of a despotic, im-placable, and diabolizing fashion. Thus the boys andmen give their time to machinery a
The fountain : with jets of new meanings . nt dresses of thereigning fashion ; for the feathers and laces and ribbonsand curls; and for the artificial flowers and grasshop-pers for head ornaments,—all these crowd into thefeminine imagination with aggravating mens imaginations are exasperatinglywrought up to the problem of supporting all thisuncontrollable folly; to which few of them dareopenly oppose their will; for they, too, are largelyinvolved in the popular magnetism of a despotic, im-placable, and diabolizing fashion. Thus the boys andmen give their time to machinery and to the mulplica-tion of world-subduing inventions ; while the girls andwomen are passing their time in constructing the home-beauties, and in multiplying the manifold fleetingattractions of personal exist-ence. 4&P^ By this false state is estab-lished that modern absurdity,known as a fashionable parlor,which leads one to ask : Howmany people do we call onfrom year to year, and knowno more of their feelings, habits, tastes, family. GIRLS MUST GROW LIKE THEDAISIES. 36 JETS OF NEW MEANINGS. ideas and wajTs, than if they lived in Kamtschatka?And why ? Because the room which they call afront parlor is made expressly so that you shallnot know. They sit in a back room—work, talk,read perhaps. After the servant has let you in andopened a crack in the shutters, and while you sitwaiting for them to change their dress and come in,you speculate as to what they may be doing. Fromsome distant region the laugh of a child, the song of acanary bird, reaches you, and then a door claps hastilyto. Do they love plants ? Do they write letters, sew,embroider, crochet ? Do they ever romp and frolic ?What books do they read % Do they sketch or paint ?Of all these possibilities a mute and muffled room saysnothing. ... A sofa, six chairs, two ottomans, freshfrom the upholsterers, a Brussels carpet, a centretable, with four gilt books of beauty on it, a mantelclock from Paris, two bronze vases—al
Size: 2108px × 1186px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectspiritualism, bookyea
