Remtroduction of Feather Millinery. 



207 



floating masses of ice spotted its surface, 

 and wiiich required some care to steer 

 clear off; but these to my surprise in less 

 than a day's sailing totally disappeared. 

 Far from being concerned at my new situa- 

 tion, I felt my heart expand with joy at the 

 novelties which surrounded me; I listened 

 with pleasure to the whistling of the red 

 birds on the banks as I passed, and con- 

 templated the forest scenery as it receded 

 with increasing delight. The smoke of 

 the numerous sugar camps rising lazily 

 among the mountains, gave great effect to 

 the varying landscape; and the grotesque 

 log cabins that here and there opened from 

 the woods, were diminished into mere dog- 



houses by the sublimity of the impending 

 mountains. If you suppose to yourself two 

 parallel ranges of forest-covered hills, 

 whose irregular summits are seldom more 

 than three or four miles apart, winding 

 through an immense extent of country, and 

 enclosing a river half a mile wide, which 

 alternately washes the steep declivity on one 

 side, and leaves a rich forest-clad bottom 

 on the other, of a mile or so in breadth, 

 and you will have a pretty correct idea of 

 the appearance of the Ohio. The banks 

 of these rich fiats are from twenty to sixty 

 and eighty feet high, and even these last 

 were within a few feet of being overflowed 

 in December, 1808." 



REINTRODUCTION OF FEATHER MILLINERY. 



WE learn from sources that are un- 

 fortunately but too reliable, that 

 the Parisian mondaines or demi-mondaines, 

 who dictate the fashions to the women of 

 the civilized world, have decided that 

 feathers are to be de rigeur this winter. 



It might be interesting, but would prob- 

 ably be difficult to ascertain whether the 

 movement set on foot in England and the 

 United States for the protection of birds 

 had in any way roused the antagonism of 

 the leaders of fashion and provoked a de- 

 termination to put forth their strength and 

 demonstrate their omnipotence within their 

 chosen domain; but we candidly confess 

 we do not believe they gave the Audubon 

 and Selbourne Societies even a passing 

 thought. It is so much a matter of course 

 that the lead of a certain coterie will be 

 followed with blind obedience by all the 

 world, that the idea that women anywhere 

 would recognize any higher authority, 

 ■or allow themselves to be influenced to 

 reject the fashion set by the recognized 

 leaders is one seemingly too absurd to be 

 entertained seriously. The suggestion that 

 the Audubon Societv or the moral idea it 



represents could influence the women of 

 America to reject the Paris fashion of 

 feather millinery while feathers were ob- 

 tainable for money, would do no more than 

 provoke an amused smile. 



It is not quite a fair statement of the 

 case to say that the demi-mondaines set the 

 fashion, and that the average woman will 

 follow them regardless of all considerations. 

 Demi-mondaines frequently, perhaps gener- 

 ally, suggest the fashions by daring to ap- 

 pear in public in a costume which is some 

 departure from the prevailing mode, but 

 this departure must commend itself to a 

 few leading dressmakers and leading women 

 in society before it can become the fashion. 

 These arbiters of fashion being essentially 

 women of the world, realize instinctively the 

 considerations or impulse by which the aver- 

 age woman is influenced and would never 

 run counter to the popular sentiment, nor 

 consciously endanger their imperial sway. 



The proposed return to feather millinery 

 is evidence that the leaders of fashion have 

 either not taken the movement for the pro- 

 tection of birds into consideration at all, or 

 they assume that it is confined to so incon- 



