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A Scotchman's Opinion Of Americans

A Scotchman's Opinion Of Americans image
Parent Issue
Day
5
Month
December
Year
1862
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

We give a passage from a book just Britten by a Scotchmmipwbo ha traveled q thts ütiitcd Sutes, and who thuis epóaks of thu extravagante of American wornen : The ladios of the ünitcd States are great dressors indeed, thu dresses of Arnuricau womeq genera! ly - at least ol the moru rich class- :iro Bomethiaf fabulous in expunse, takïng into omitideration thu rank and fortuno of the wearers anü thair husbands. The drcsses often oqual, in riuluiuss and expense thoaé of oor crowned head.s in Europo. Vhut do you think ol a Indy's dress powdered over w'tlj diamondt! ! - her busband probubfy a cotton broker! Ladiea thero ihmk nnthing of expending a large proportion of tho profite of a year'a trade in a few dress. es. Of course, we must snpposo thut this is, in most cases, dono'with tho knowledge and approvul of tho hual band. He vvorks, or ppecnlates, and. his wife woars the spolia opima. Thero issorne ezcue, or at least, exp!anatiün of this, to us, a.stounding oxtravagnnce, in the circumstances of American houeekeeping. As a rule, the iÓBíWtaat of an American city doea Dot keep house. He hasno oppörtunity, theruforo of dispkiying his woalth, as our parvenú merchante and man. ufacturers do, in fine hoases, plate and equipages. Neither is there the same passion for landfid estates in America as with us. With land at five shillings an aoro, its posession cannot confcr social distinetiou. The New York stock jobber doei not lay about one hundred thousand pounda ster!in,7 on land at two per cent, to give hini the entree to the houses of' half n dozen nuighbors, who drink his clarct and laugh at him. He is makmg, probably, fifty, perhaps one hundred per cent per annum on his capital ; and al) his hst-gotten gain ho can only display to the public "in one way- by clupping it on his wife's back. Ai) Araerican'fi wiíe is a peg on which he hangs out his fortune. Ha dresses her up that mon may seo her wealth ; sbe is a walking udvertisement of his importance - tho " nandwich nnnoun. cing to Broadway or Cana] etreet, that her husband is a man of money and station. All tiiis is very sorry work, but 1 do not see that it involves any greater absurdity than those displays of píate and upboletery, by which our icíi vulgarians announce their wealth ind hide their want of real refinment. If a sham gentility is to bo set forth, it mattere liítlo whether it bo dona brougb tho iustrumentality oi'the up. íolsteitr or tho müiner. The Englishman loves bis house, and he decks it out when he rnakes money; the American loves his wife, ainl duck. her ont 'or want of a house. NeUher hare much to boast of over the other ; if }t s the samo vulgar ostentation iu different fonns.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus