people. There is no excuse, under any circumstances, for not
being and acting the lady or gentleman. Rudeness is sin. We have no
words too ardent to express our admiration for the refinements of
society. There is no law, moral or divine, to forbid elegance of
demeanor, ornaments of gold or gems for the person, artistic display
in the dwelling, gracefulness of gait and bearing, polite salutation,
or honest compliments; and he who is shocked or offended by these had
better, like the old Scythians, wear tiger-skins, and take one wild
leap back into midnight barbarism.

As Christianity advances there will be better apparel, higher styles
of architecture, more exquisite adornments, sweeter music, grander
pictures, more correct behavior, and more thorough ladies and
gentlemen.

But there is another story to be told. Excessive fashion is to be
charged with many of the worst evils of society, and its path has
often been strewn with the bodies of the slain.

It has often set up a false standard by which people are to be
judged. Our common sense, as well as all the divine intimations on the
subject, teach us that people ought to be esteemed according to their
individual and moral attainments. The man who has the most nobility
of soul should be first, and he who has the least of such qualities
should stand last. No crest, or shield, or escutcheon, can indicate
one's moral peerage. Titles of duke, lord, esquire, earl, viscount,
or patrician, ought not to raise one into the first rank. Some of
the meanest men I have ever known had at the end of their name D.D.,
LL.D., and F.R.S. Truth, honor, charity, heroism, self-sacrifice,
should win highest favor; but inordinate fashion says--"Count not a
woman's virtues; count her rings;" "Look not at the contour of the
head, but see the way she combs her hair;" "Ask not what noble deeds
have been accomplished by that man's hand; but is it white and soft?"
Ask not what good sense was in her conversation, but "in what was she
dressed." Ask not whether there was hospitality and cheerfulness in
the house, but "in what style do they live."

As a consequence, some of the most ignorant and vicious men are at
the top, and some of the most virtuous and intelligent at the bottom.
During the late war we suddenly saw men hurled up into the highest
social positions. Had they suddenly reformed from evil habits? or
graduated in a science? or achieved some good work for society? No!
They simply had obtai