Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-05-19

must be q perfect paradise for the man who
desires TO obtain an insolent notoriety in the
cheapest and readiest manner Ii is very
possible that some Of my readers have heard
OF an ancient teacher of Languages who re-
solved few years ago in Paris, TO become
notorious By his dress What pains, what
agony OF invention and Of extravaganza tho
unfortunate was obliged to undergo, ere he
could attract attention. Bands Of blue, scar
let and yellow ribbon, six inches wide, twined
around MS nat and trailing six feet from it
scarlet velvet cape and gilt shoes hardly
caused as much observation as would be
granted In America TO a man with a cloak
over his arm.
There lived not long since in New York. a
man whose peculiarly was that be wore very
old, very ragged and very dirty clothes: and,
IN addition TO this had no fixed place of
abode, but slept in lime kilns or barns mo
thing very remarkable, this, - one would say,
in Europe, where every city has thousands Of
such vsgrants. All but you do not UNDER
stand America. That lime kiln yagabond
was one of the lions of New York-his ap
pearancc in Broadway was chronicled in the
hrst papers; when some one gave him a new
oid-coat, 1t was put down as an event in their
reports-when he died, the press embalmed
MS memory in obituaries, thousand cdnards
were let fly TO his early life, drama intro
ducing him in his dirty coat, drew tears from
Il
entitled :" The Limekilu Man" lies before me.
Asa the frs. New Yorker whom ysu meet, if
he has ever heard of the Limekiln man.
There is man who forms one of the ''insti
tutions" of Philsdelphia-everyth thing is an
institution in America-to whom there oc
CURED one day the brilliant idea Of walking
with the gait of young recruit undergoing
ms first drill. This startling, this wondrous,
thus amazing conception was crowned with the
fullest succeSs-a success which he further Sc
cared by wearing his hat on the back part Of
his head and tucking his pantaloons iato his
6Go-s Wonderful genius happy man. On
hne days you may see him walking along
Chesnut street.-the fashion able street of Phil
adelphla-cOndesceldiD touching bis hat
TO every lady, while all the wyrld murmurs
after him, There goes the Man with the Mil
itary Walk
Ii is needless to say that the few young or
middle aged men in America who are gifted
With wealth and leisure, and who give them
selves up seriously to living for dress alone,
succeed GWeyUcLLe in attracting admiration
envy ami hatred--as in all parts of the world
And when we reflect on the manner in which
Americans succeed in dress when they give
themselves entirely up to it, it is really amaz-
lnG that such lions are so rare among them
The ''gilded youth Of European capitals are
not more elaborate, more butterfy-like, more
perfectly e1ogenoHS, as they say in botany of
those plants whose growth is entirely out
ward, than are the young men who appear at
sOirceS and receptions in Atlantic American
cities.
have not exhausted this subject-nay, I
have not begun it. But have said enough
to show you that in America, as in all parts Of
the world, the social spirit Of the people. its
government and its morale, are all, to a de-
gree, mirrored in their dress