Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1858-07-08

not aware that long frock-coat with fur collar
and lappets, and a low-crowned, broad topped,
curly-rimmed hat are rather behind the style
of the present day; or, if he has the slightest
suspicion of the fact, he waits patiently in the
full belief, that the giddy. ficEle world will
gladly come back to the old real fashion i'm due
time. His umbrella is made after a pattern
that must have descended direct from Jonas
Hanway, who is said to have been the bold in
troducer OF these defenders from rain, towards
the middle of the last century. The umbrella
of my Corinthian friend is baggy from the
ferule upwards, green in color, edged with
white, cotton in material frightened in towards
the top with great brass ring, Qike the short
wasted ladies of the period,) bamboo sticked,
and surmOunted with large ivory clenched
hand. In n corner of the coffee room, where
my COrinthan friend takes his ease, it stands
in defiant attitude, seeming to shake its fist
at any of the company who dare to be more
modern than its master. In contrast to this
umbrella stands another, belonging to an
equally antique owner, the meckness of which
has strange fascination in Iny eyes. 1t is
green and baggy. like its companion; but in
stead of the defiant casped fist it has a bird
beaked handle of the mildest aspect, the brass
hole for the tassel (which is not there) acting
as an eye. look at IL until fancy il is alive,
and L am almost betrayed into the absurdity of
utterng some audible term of endcarment suit
able to a bird.
Thcn there is my sturdy, independent, old
lady friend, who firmly fastened underneath
an umbrella of gig proportions, pays what
may call periodical visitation to the city, to
see her stOckbroker, or receive her dividends
call her visit a visitation, because (suppOsnC
the day to be weD her course is marked by a
crowd Of indignant foot passengers scattered
right and left along the line of her progress
Some make loud remonstrance with their
mn hi 10 oh II
the first attack of astonisbment is over, at
tempt to rally and strike the offending stock
holder to the ground. Regardless of abuse
regardless of blows, the single minded old lady
pushes on her way through the crowded citi-
zens, who are compelled to fall back as she ad-
vances, strong in the strength of an implement
that was made for rougher work. In the man.
agement Of the umbrella she fairly represents
the general body Of walking ladies, and there
has been no hope Of her ever riding in public
vehicle, since that fatal day when the evil &C.
MUS OF an omnibus-conductor prompted him to
overcharge her sixpence sterling.
Sometimes, fitting across Leicester Square
and suddenly disappearing in one of the murky
streets of Soho, L fancy have seen the purple
picked d-cabbage colored parapluie of the French
grlsette and know that have seen the light.
bright blue umbrella Of boulevard exquisite.
temporarily eXiled from his native land Some
times L fancy when see gentlemanly man
entering cab with a very shabby umbrella.
that he must have borrowed it at night to 90
home from party when no conveyance was to
be had and that it proved to be such a dis
graceful spectacle when exposed to the light of
day, that he is compelled to hire carriage to
return it to the owner. l have suffered-oh,
how L have suffered from the Joke about the
best umbrellas always going first. Whether L
am destined to be more unfortunate than nv
fellow-creatures l cannot tell; but L never
venture out, either in public or private circles.
without having that mouldy pleasantly dinned
into my ear. l have sometimes weakly taken
the Vicar of Wakefeld's advice and endeay-
ored to rid myself Of troublesome acquaint-
aDces, by lending them umbrellas, bought for
the purpose in Tottenham Court Road on a
Saturday night, and warranted sound at a shil-
ling apiece. / have, in all such experiments
been miserably deceived the umbrellas, it is
true, do not return, but the acquaintance in
variably do
In my wanderings about town, my eyes have
been once, and once only, RECALLED with the sight
Of real dr0ver picking his way gingerIy through
the mud, as he guided his sheep to their des-
tined slaughter house, and holding an umbrella
over his head to protect him from the rain. He
must have been a gentleman who had seen
better days, or descendant of the Gentle
Shepherd.
Long have | watched foy, but never have
seen, a real saltwater sailor with IN umbrella
Many things that pertain solely to the earth he
buys, but never an umbrella. / have seen
naval men occasionally with such things, but
they have been stout respectable retired skip
pers, who have saved money, and gone into the
ship-chandler line.
Sometimes as L watch the clerks vending
homewards from the city, L fancy that can
tell from their umbrellas more than anything
else-which are the married men and which
the single ones; which the free unfettered
young lOungers about town, and which the
struggling fathers of families Sometimes On
a wet night, after being dazzled with the gor-
geous pageantry Of theatrical spectacle,
have a strange fancy for wandering round to
that dingy back street, where the stage door is
always situated, and under the diIapidated
umbrella of some thin, meek shivering hurry
ing man, trying to trace the proud lineaments
of that stern monarch who, few minutes be-
fore, had lorded it magnifcently over his fell
low creatures.
Sometimes when pay morning visit at the
family mansion Of Mr.. Midas, late of the Stock
Exchange) find an old rotten pair of goloshes,
and frail, handleless umbrella standing in the
hall. They belong to poor widow who walks
miles in the wet to teach the young ladies mu-
SIC. Once she was waited on herself, before her
husband Mr.. Midas's late partner) failed, and
shot himself one morning in his bedroom
have never seen her face; but have often seen
her umbrellas, and it tells her story