WEST SHORE.
October.
TTT K,
. T ...:n hnl I
my rOOIllj I i uim&
only lo read as we ran. But not alone are
the small-fry of writers and wits and humor
ists to be proved implicated in this very
common and almost universal practice.
We find that even learned and dignified
personages sages, divines, philosophers
and scholars, some of the world's most
honored and best known, have stooped to
aim a shaft at the petticoats, to assail the
pride or the vanity of the fair sex in the
tendcrest part. The gentle and philosoph
ical Addison, in the Spalalor and also in
the Guardian, in good natnred satire hit off
what ho conceived to be the follies and
foibles of his time, but it is noteworthy that
his mild raillery and entertaining irony is
oftcner and more pointedly directed against
the fnsliinnnhlo flames and maidens than
against the gallants and fops. To the styles
of ladies' dress we know as "low-necked "
and as "short," he resolutely stood op
posed, and makes one of his shocked and
protesting correspondents say that the lady
who keeps all muffled or wrapped up while
at home, but appears divested of much that
she should be careful to wear when in so
ciety, and thereby exhibits so much of her
charms to more than satisfy the desire of
her lover, and to leave nothing to the ex
quisite bliss of eager imagination virtuously
warmed and honestly indulged, docs but
simulate the folly of the showman who
places his principal attractions at the door
of his exhibition place for the outside crowd
to see, and leaves but little for those who
pay to enter to enjoy, He may cry out
" Pray, gentlemen, walk in I" as often as it
pleases him lo do so, but they, having al
icai'y viewed the rarest of his offerings to
free gratification if not to tiresomeness, pay
no heed to his solicitous invitation in his
own behalf, and walk away to be better and
less publicly entertained. The venerable
and amiable sage pithily remarks that though
the ladies have white skins and beautiful
faces and lovely forms, it is not expected by
cither worthy suitors or devoted husbands
that they should go less than decently clad
to demonstrate their possession of such
precious licrsonal gifts from Nature, or to
manifest their proper pride in the rare en
dowment. So quaintly and amusingly docs
he comment upon the sort of fichui of this
day llut the ladies of fashion in his day
wore which Addison calls a "modesty
piece," that we would commend the pe
rusal of that number of the Guardian lo
our lady readers, and to the married as well
as the maidens. And also, wherein he re
fers to the difference inaugurated by the
married ladies in those days from the regu
lation of l.ycurgus for the matrons of Siarta.
The great law-giver obliged the maidens to
expose, or rather disclose, their charms in
order to excite the Spartan youths to
honorable union; this accomplished they
were lo dress with severe discretion, so that
no part of their person below the neck
should be exposed or seen. But the great
Knglish essayist and moralist called atten
tion to the fact that they were llie matrons
and not the maidens who were the readiest
to reveal to the gaze of all " The yielding
marble of their snowy breasts;" and to this
in mild expression but in strong sense he
opposed his influential pen. But Addison
has long since gone to the immortal life
fiom out of this world, and Imperious Fash
ion, universal queen of an unsliaken realm,
which diners only in degree and never in
kind whether between the tones where
highest civiliiaiion and grandest barbarism
exists, or in those wild and barren regions
where only the lowest grades of human be
ings grovel and survive, is il as despoti
call)' regnant as she was when the lovely
successors to the fig-lal and to the ml
of richest stuffs in the most ancient periods
among the world s wealthiest tribes and na
li.xu surrendered their beauteous forms to
Uie cunning of her garniture and the skill
ner costliest adornments.
Resulted not to enter upon ihe danitcr-
ous ground of criticism ounelves.-niind-ful
of that paraphrase, of how "Fooli nun
in where Angels go to dress," and also of
the fate of AcUeon for having barely glanced
at Diana where she had gone to undress,
no living mortal in man's shape that may
appear can persuade or constrain us to say
a word in raillery or satire as to the "latest
agony" of this day (which, if it be not an
agony the use of the word is paralyzed in
one sense, our Don Giovanni avows), the
"pull back" style; but "goodness gra
cious," as Tom Collins says, wouldn't we
like to read what Addison might have hu
morously and satirically written upon the
swelling subject. And, worse to befall
suppose the ladies should control the press
and become the critics to slash away at ran
dom at men's fashions! Whewl How
the " Wrecks of matter and crush of worlds "
of little people in their own fancy greatly
important would be scattered upon the
shores of remorseless oceans ever dashing
fresh victims in its rollers to the unpitying
sands, and from beneath the overpowering
weight of indignant and long persecuted
but at length paramount and avenging fem
ininity would in the end be extricated
fragments of padding and batting and all
that, from vests and coats and pantaloons
torn out, and remnants redolent still of the
original perfumes which had been used in
the process of the toilet of the arch exqui
sites who were in their day the lady-killers,"
and on whom the lirrinnyes of long-
endured but galling outrages upon female
forms inflicted at length paid off old scores.
To point a moral and adorn a tale here let
us men reflect on what might happen if the
dear ones should, according to Readc, put
themselves in our place and compel us
into that we have forced them, and then
go for us " in print on the score of our
absurdities or extravagance in dress, and
in slavishingly following the fashions 1
Wouldn't they have us or, Snobs might,
referring to his own case, dolorously wonder,
Would they, or his fond particular, have
him ? Yet which of us, with columns at
our disjiosal that have been so used, or who
have been given to such ungraceful and un-
gallant criticisms, could fairly consider the
exchanges from the ladies as retorts discour
teous or undeserved ? They would simply
cause us to feel "how it is ourselves," and
in the study, perchance, from such engaging
teachers this rhymes with charming crea
tures what an impressive and blissful les
son wc might learn? Thus would Wo
man's Wrongs lead finally to Woman's
Rights, and Fashion's Queen should main
tain her sway undisputed, let "pull-backs"
or circumventing crinoline as extremes
will oppose or meet lo cry her from her
everlasting throne. And this brings us to
discover that this long article on the sub
ject proves the correctness of the Persian
King that no matter what it is men will do
or suffer, be sure we may that, after all,
oman is at the bottom of it she the ful
crum, we the lever.
matter,
it
A STRANGE ENEMY.
A Irue record of incidents which occured
here not many years ago. The affair made
some talk in private circles, but never "got
into the papers. For obvious reasons I
have substituted fictitious names in the sub
joined narrative. D. G. F.
1 never liked him. Nsv mi whf.U H.
lure fairly recoiled from him in terror when
mv elance first mi his cmnll
eves, as he suddenly passed through the
nxepuun-parior, wnere 1 sat gayly chatting
with Limtrnant rhnrla TKa 1 .
noticed my terrified start, and the change
of color which doubtless accompanied it,
for he snranir un instantly anrt wniil.l t.,-.
followed the intruder had I not promptly
uuxseu mm, anu, wun torced smile, en
deavored to resume the conversation 10 un
pleasantly interrupted.
"And you will not give me the picture,
r.uiny r asxeo. tne Lieutenant, alter a few
moments neadinrr crwminrr a trb
tlllt) which 1 had Ulrltr hml nUn ' V
-ii. mn jive ii ro me r ne echoed, sadly,
alter reading his answer in my countenance;
uui wumj you will show it to me I
Certainly I will," 1 mswered, quicklr,
nail regretting the coquetry which had
prompted me to deny him at all in the
"It is in
to you in an instant.
Risimr from my seat as I spoke, I
hastened into the hall. Good gracious I
there he stood, at the very foot of the stair
urav motionless, as though he had been
listening to our conversation. I sprang
DacK into tne room wun a. ucuiug uta,.,
and tears of vexation gushing to my eyes.
"You have seen him againl" exclaimed
the Lieutenant, starting from his seat.
But before the door was reached my
hand was upon his arm
" wo, l urgea, uo not go; ii wui uc
useless, and excite an unnecessary alarm in
the household. In a moment he will go
away, and I will then get you the picture,
and laugh at my folly at the same time."
"Your folly in getting me the picture?"
bantered the Lieutenant, gayly. " Forgive
me, ranny, he added, hastily, ana an
anxious cloud passed over his countenance.
"This matter is more serious with you
than I at all imagined. Surely there is"
"Say no more about it, I interrupted,
trying to smile. " There are some influ
ences which it is useless to attempt to ex
plain. We can only recognize them, and,
it aaA i. el.-,.r.l. In ,i.am t
ashamed of the weakness on my part which
you nave witnessed tnis morning, ana must
trust to vour eenerositv not to intemret it
too harshly."
tie prcssea my hand respectlully, and
was silpnt. Hilt lyhrit mranl thai ehrpu-rl
almost sarcastic smile, when, a moment
afterward, as we heard the hall door shut
heavily, he said, "Your enemy is probably
out of the way now; will vou brine me the
picture ?"
this "enemy, as, alas I the Lieutenant
hsrl rtnlu Inn llart I.J lit
myself, a lodger in my boarding-house.
The landlady, Mrs. Hone, heard me sym-
n-.lt.alir.nll.. ...I,an in r.nnr..lnnn T I.!-.-A
r'uiii..ii.aiir nut.ii, ii. williucilic, A llllllCU
at the annoyance he caused me, and, in
t i:- ' I i - . , ... -.
nei pctuuur piuaseuiugy, promisea to na
the house of him " as soon as she possibly
COuld: hilt hPGfrprl mr tn cavnnlhinn- .f ha
, -DO . w ..wv.....r, VI ..lb
matter in the meantime, for there was
notning, snc said, which she dreaded so
much M "ll stir" amnnrr tinr Iwinl.M
among her lady boarders she was sure
i,.l.: i : ' ..u . . . . ...
una uumucss wouiu maKe a stir it any
thing could."
I promised to remain silent, though more
than Once afterward I u-ao lMnml m
gret my hasty acquiescence. There was
l- win: .
... , ,Wm..b ...an, W1U.
whom I was a favorite, living on the third
floor, who, could his assistance have been
asked. WOulrl Hniihtlpca sunn t,a .irMl.j
, ..vuw uw,. im,w fciii.-,n;u
the removal I so much longed for. As for
leaving, myscu, tnai was impossible. I
was an orohan a rlpm.nHr.nt m n n-ani,t...
.iiwgii iuvunu unue, wno, Deing once com-
luiuwy Ktuicu in lure, none s excellently
kept house, would not of course be tempted
to leave it extent for com .w .
. .. i ..tw.v fJV.GIIl
and tangible reason than IJcould offer.
netner my tormentor, knew my senti
ments toward him
but 1 never, during the uneasy days that
nun nurrying along the
hall, or stealthil V mucin it mv riun hU..
its very door-sill, but I felt an involuntary
au mm uiuicu.ry suppressed the
crv that arose to mv lino rw t MAt v:
vhvv uici mill
on the stairway, and, scarce conscious of
what I was doing, I bounded past him with
iri t ' ,usneu into my room.
vL- i "J TLteII lhat my whole
wins .milieu me creature, and felt a pre-
senumcnt 01 com mo- v rrnm v.:.
Not one word had we ever exchanged, and
I do believe if he had spoken to me I
should have fainted with terror; but his
restless, intense ahnre ),-,.t m ,t
-- m.w.v ..uu. uinc
met min, and lhat was enough. There
h antipathy between us; we
..v. .. iu uc enemies.
In the mrianlimn n... T . l . .
gone back to the Modoc campaign. He
hflr! aflrr all l ..... " . ..
. my picture wun him,
and mv hart a Brt nni.. .i .. . . . '
and are beloved in return, and are doomed
iuic ro oe parted, with chances of
danger and death between them and their
loved ones, can know of the eagerness
with which I awaited his first letter? Soon
it came, one glorious summer afternoon
with its more glorious news: "Our army
u moving rapidly, and we shall occupy the
Lava Beds (the Modoc stronghold) in a few
sfu'"'nt' Weshallconquerl"
ihe letter said, "and some of us must fall
but, living or dying, dearest, remember that
one heart shall"
I read no more; forw thc.bare thought
of the possibility of losing my hero the
half-reaJ sheet fell from my Lds, and
there, in the solitude of my room, I leaned
upon the window-sill and wept long and
ule, r- brave- noble 'overl If he
should perish what would the world or the
light o Heaven itself be to me ? Suddenly
. rustling outside of my slightly-opened
door aroused me; and recalled ti n le
ter. I stooped to pick it up. mat
gone i
Bewildered and alarmed I hastily shook
the folds of my dress, and searched floof,
table, and chair, quite certain that no other
human being had been in the room since I
had entered it with tne letter wnen the
door opened wider, and our landlady's
head, decked in all the pride of her gor
geous dinner-cap, was thrust into the apart
ment. Her lace was paier man usual, ana
her manner somewhat flurried, as she
laughingly exclaimed,
Miss fanny, it you leave your love-
letters lying about the halls you can't ex
pect to keep your secrets long. Not that I
have learned them, she added, quickly;
"but some less trusty personage might have
picked it up, you know."
"Mrs. Hone," I gasped, scarcely heeding
her words as I almost snatched the precious
sheet from her hands, "I entreat you to
tell me how you came in possession of this
letter."
"Why, I've told you already," she re
plied, rather sharply, "I picked it up in
the entry just outside of your door. It was
no ghost dropped it there either (so you
needn't turn so white), but only that
R "
A sudden thought seemed to check her
intended confidence, for she muttered
something about people being so "awful
nervous," and breaking into a disagreeable
laugh, nastily left the room. A moment
afterward I heard her angry voice checking
Betty, the house-maid, for some real or fan
cied neglect of duty; with the sharp repri
mand not to "leave that door open again if
she valued her place."
That doorl Could she mean my door ?
And was I, as far as practicable, to be kept
shut up in my room, so that Ht might wan
der unrestrainedly about the house ? And
what had meant my landlady's flurried
manner, her sudden reticence, if in some
way my tormentor had not been concerned
in this mysterious occurrence? For though
I by this time knew well enough wha
had taken the letter, how it had been ac
complished without my knowledge was a
mystery. It was not more than a week
since I had first spoken to Mrs. Hone of
the object of my fears, and already she
would flush up angrily if I even alluded to
the conversation and her solemn promise
to relieve me of his odious presence. She
had even gone so far as to say that "some
persons were too fidgety for comfort; and
for her part she couldn't, for the life of her,
see what there was to make such a fuss
about. Goodness knew I she didn't want
any such creature as him in her house, and
if I thought she did I was mistaken, that
was all 1" After this singular change of
feeling evinced itself I kept my own coun
sel in the matter, though I was fully re
solved to avail myself of the first opportunity
of persuading my uncle to change his
boarding-place.
This was the way in which matters stood
on the day that my letter was so mysteri
ously borne away almost from my very
hands. After recovering it I eagerly read
it through again and again shuddering, in
spite of myself, at a certain passage which
the reader shall have the privilege of
perusing. The Lieutenant, considerate iri
all things, had evidently tried to express
himself so as to annoy me as slightly as
possible; but it thrilled me for all that
Here is the passage:
tl."?ka''nJ m7?w Finny, you must know
that there cam! into our tent fait night what
eemed to m. the nry identical bein who h
from No. 123? II to, it wu himself. If not, it
Hm. ntTi J c?lor.'
ame. He bad the identical quick, glancing eye,
harp white teeth, and pointed noU. Can tier.
TS 5 u mg!' f" " from yPMhr with
;on that 1 felt such an instinctive aversion to him f
I made a dash at the fellow, but he escaped into
the darkness as m jsterionsly as he had come. Oar
ojptoin and a few of our boy. were in the bent at
III A tlntiV ahri suihaJ 4. I. - a . .
, "wou w ua uiucd uioDiitiea M my
T1fttnt tnnsml. J -a . . , . , L
.... ovUH, win my remarking (u i
quietly wt down tinong them again), 'That fallow
rru Ti . , iTCUiYUig aiM DDlMUDff tOUCIt I
Th.y all prot.tml that they had tm no one enttr
.... . ugtiu mi- an explanation, Dot l
5 u a rtmi their my,tiad n"
" ,17 -v-.vt.vu. wmciueuce, ai Man, waa it
not t Doea it portend any thing f
t To me it would have been a terrible
Circumstance, and sn T i-,u
ply; but my brave hero knew not the
weaning or iear.
At last after nvirlmiy !..
.uumg WIC plenum, epiauc
over (l am ashamed to tell how many
u..., . sougm tne bedside of my uncle,
and endeavored to render the long summer
alternoon less tedious to the dear surTerer.
He was aged, and the natural infirmities of
his years had been hastened and increased
by a slow, incurable disease. How my
heart went forth toward him as, with loving
hand, 1 brushed hack the beautiful silver
locks from his temples, longing that my
touch might heal as well as soothe! Ere
long he passed into a tranquil slumber, and
carefully adjusung the sashes so that the
soft brcese might play refreshingly about