How complicated in comparison appears female costume! And yet, on a close examination, it is not only simple and clear and sensible enough in its original plan, but it will be found to bear a strong resemblance to that which we have just been describing.

Given the skin-covering of linen or cotton for daily or bi-weekly change, common to all ages and both sexes, there is then the covering for the chest or upper region of the trunk, corresponding to the waistcoat worn by men, or rather to that of small boys before their promotion to braces, when the trousers are buttoned to the waistcoat. As its name indicates, it is a body to the petticoat; it is usually made of jean, although a better material, and one which it is satisfactory to see coming into daily use, is knitted cotton work, soft and pliant, cool in summer and warm in winter, admitting of perfect freedom to the part of the body which it covers, and forming an elastic point of attachment to the garment which it is intended to support. Nothing could be better designed than this garment,-unless it be its continuation, the petticoat itself when properly fashioned, i.e., of soft flannel, closely and fully plaited, draping around the lower limbs and terminating midway between ankle and knee; admitting of perfect freedom of motion, and yielding adequate protection and warmth. Here we have an entire covering, corresponding to the trousers and waistcoat of the other sex; and that the comparison is not a fanciful one will be admitted when it is recollected that the petticoat has formed, and still forms, part of the dress of the hardier sex in countries not very remote. There remains then the upper garment, overlying these, and covering the arms, corresponding to the jacket of the boy and the coat of the adult; and this is suitably and sensibly provided by the frock or gown, made of cotton, silk, or wool. The extra or upper coat worn by men in cold weather is variously represented by jacket, cape, cloak or mantle, scarf or shawl. Recently, too, the little round hat of straw or felt, common alike to boys and men, and equally good for either, has, with the not unsuitable addition of ribbon and feather, been readily adopted by ladies.

With this system of bodily covering it would be difficult to find fault. Wherein then the evil, of which we hear so much, of female costume? What is the nature of the evil, and in what article does it lie concealed? Let us examine the different articles. We begin with the first-mentioned, the covering for the chest. The more it is examined, the more it will be found to answer its purpose fully, i.e., to yield adequate covering and protection to the back and chest, and, while supporting the petticoat, to transfer its weight to the shoulders. And this it does entirely when properly made; which, however, is unfortunately not always the case. On the contrary, in a majority of instances, it is made with the arm-holes too small, and the shoulder-straps too tight-by which the arms are, as it were, pinned down by the sides, to the sore confinement of the chest, and consequently the prevention of its proper development. For a large portion of the upper region of the trunk is dependent on the action of the arm for exercise; and the healthy development and healthy condition of the vital organs which the chest contains will, of course, be injuriously affected by that which injuriously affects the size and shape of the chest itself. This is important in another aspect besides its strictly sanitary one; for the confinement of the arms, especially with young and fast-growing girls, causes the shoulders to droop and lean forward, prevents the filling in and rounding of the column of the neck, and perpetuates in undesirable prominence the bony ridge at its base. Or, if this garment be not made sufficiently wide to admit of the full expansion of the lungs, evinced by the rising and swelling of the chest at every respiration, the same results will be produced. We must not therefore take it for granted that this garment is entirely satisfactory, although to it we are indebted for much help in the expulsion of stays; for we may now look upon tight-lacing

tight-lacing as a thing of the past, and can no more believe in its existence among persons of ordinary information and education than we could credit the use of thumbscrews in a court of justice in this the nineteenth century -save indeed that we occasionally find tight stays worn by persons who, from long and fixed habit, find it impossible to relinquish their artificial support, now become a necessity to them. But we have yet need of care and watchfulness, lest the present otherwise unobjectionable garment should perpetuate some of the evils of its predecessor.

To the petticoat also unrestricted praise may be given, when made of suitable material, of proper fulness and length, and suspended to the body. But it is too often made of heavy, bulky, and stiff material, with no inlying yielding folds to open and close with the action of the limb which it covers, and therefore fails in affording the necessary warmth. Duplicates and triplicates of the garment are therefore added; and these, instead of being fastened to the body, and suspended from the shoulders, are, with broad and heavy bands, bound around the loins-the portion of the body of all others which, with young girls, should be left perfectly unconfined and unencumbered. This is not the place to particularize the nature of the evils which this pernicious practice would originate, and, where they already exist, would aggravate; but every one who is acquainted with the structure and functions of the human body will agree with me in condemning a custom so fraught with danger to the health and happiness, present and prospective, of the

wearer.

Equally sensible is, and equally sanitary might be, the frock or gown, provided always that its shape and size bear relation to the duties, ordinary or extraordinary, of the wearer. Sanitary and comfortable, convenient and elegant, might this garment be at all times and seasons; but, just as we sometimes see a simple bequest from honest industry to charity proving a never-ending source of ruinous litigation, so has this garment, blameless in its original conception, proved from generation to generation a nidus in which Fashion has hatched her brood of endless absurdities, aimless follies, and meaningless caprices. For the mutations of this article of dress are endless, as they are aimless. The mode of to-day will be obsolete to-morrow-to be revived, it may be, on the day after; or the crotchet of a hundred years ago will be resuscitated without motive or cause. There is no certainty, no security, no pause, no resting place; because all change is dictated by Fashion, and Fashion disdains and disclaims all obligations to rule, law, or principle of beauty, utility, economy, comfort, or common sense. It has but one aim, one object, one desire-Novelty.

And yet out of the worst feature of this evil springs present hope; for all change must now be for the better. We have at last attained a point at which the force of Folly can no farther go.'

Were the subject less serious, and did it not concern health and happiness, there would be something quaintly absurd and comically amusing in the sight of a lady of the present day when out for a walk-literally carrying her clothes, holding them up, bearing them along, a burden in both hands. Either this absurdity must be, or there is the unpleasant alternative of letting them trail behind her, sweeping the dust from the road and from the pavement at every step.

The vices of this garment render nugatory the virtue of the others and originate fresh vices in them. It is to this evil of long, heavy, and bulky skirts, flounced tier above tier, that we owe our present infliction of crinoline. For it is simply impossible for a lady to walk about at all and have the use of her hands without some machine to assist in holding up her skirts; and here the propagation of evil by evil begins. The mass of skirt necessitates crinoline; crinoline necessitates additional petticoats for warmth and decency; and these are bound round that part of the body which most

requires

requires to be left unencumbered and free. And all for what? That young and old, ungainly and elegant, may look and move alike-may look and move like nothing feminine, like nothing human, like nothing endowed with life or power of natural motion-may possess the size and shape of a hay-cock, and the motion of a Jack-in-the-green.- From Macmillan's Magazine' for September.

OUTCASTS.

Oh! sinn'd against and sinning,
How wails my heart for ye,
While, all in vain, I strive to reach
Your fate's sad mystery!

Abject, and lost, and trampled on,

With snares and death around you sown.

Why am I here? Why are ye there,
With such abyss between,

Parting our mutual destiny?

Here foliage fresh and green,—

Around your path the scoriæ drear,

And sultry lava, all the year.

Here young fresh violets, roses, bloom,
With fruits of heavenly taste,
While deadly nightshade hedges in
Your upas-growing waste;

And rank weeds shelter slimy things
That crawl about the water-springs.

Why am I here, in free sweet peace,
With deathless hope within,
Borne up by all-prevailing Love
Far from the wastes of sin,-
While ye, alas! I weep to see
Your footsteps chain'd to misery?

Why am I here? O Father, God!
My spirit calls to Thee;

These are Thy children, let me go
And share their misery;

So I may lift one brother up

To drink from Love's o'erbrimming cup.

From Poems, by B. H. Farquahar, Author of the 'Pearl of Days,' &c.

Glasgow: Bell and Bain.

REVIEWS

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

an observant eye and a reverential mind, and whose pen, facile and well able to describe, has produced a work for which, no doubt, thousands of readers will be disposed to thank him.

Notices of Books.