Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-04-18

"Cure him, No, When Tom Quartz
was sot once, he was always sot-and
you might blow him up rs much as three
million times and you'd never n broken
him of his cussed prejudice agin quartz
mnin -
Use OF Trousers Pockets.
THE CUSTOM OF SLOWING THE HANDS THrREIN
MORAL AND KsTHETIc CONSIDERATIONS
THERETO APPERTAINING.
One of the numerous cruel devices con-
celved by women consists in sewing up the
trousers pockets of boys who have trick of
putting their hands into them. Such a pro-
ceeding is doubly pleasing to women. First,
1t gratities their instructive love OF inflicting
petty punishments and secondly, il affords
them the indescribable pleasure of depriving
the opposite sex of privilege and comfort
exclusively its own. Trousers pockets may
not constitute the most romantic portion of
| what Americans call garmenture, but they
not the less form highly characteristic fea-
| ture of the male costume of the period and
| if poets have not yet immortalizej them in
verse it is not from having failed TO make
much personal use of them.
In every nation, and in every stage of
social progress, some special attitude of
semi-repose is adopted, which may perhaps
| best be described as non-official standing
| at ease Thus, the Neopolitan leans
| against wall, the Spaniard folds his arms,
| the Eastern sits cross-legged, and the Afri-
can squats. In the United States fingers
seem TO derive rest and refreshment from
whiting bits of stick, end the old Quakers
! found repose in twirling their thumbs The
Cavalier rested his LETT hand upon the hilt of
his sword and thrusts his left hand into his
douhtlet; and in the days of the Regency,
one hand found repose benath the coattails,
and the other recreation with an eye-glass.
The iavorite position of Napoleon /. was
with one hand within his waistcoat and the
other behind his back, and less distinguished
personages seem to find consolation in
twirling their moustaches biting their
nails, or even scratching their faces. 1t will
thus be perceived that, while some attitudes
of temporary Incidence are graceful, others
are very much the reverse. 1t must, how
eTer, be remembered that the inspired
Watts assures us that the angel under whose
patronage idle hands are placed is fallen
one. 1e enlarge upon the varieties OF ''mis-
chiei still' which he finds for them to do
might not lie easy, but it is less difficult to
point out the places which he finds for them
to pnt themselves in. We have described a
few of the ftvorite attitudes of other nations
and other times than our own. and We may
add that the special position Of ease dear to
Enslishmen in these days is to stand with
their idle hands III their trousers pockets
1t is true that the fashion OF habitually wear
ing the hands in the trousers pockets" has
long since passed away with the peg-top
trousers which made it exceptionally coDve-
nlent but, although no longer customary in
ladies society. the practice is still dear to
the Briton, and it is much indulged in when
men are emancipated from the company OF
the opposite sex. As all roads lead to Rome
SO do all movements Of the hands OF some
men seem to lead eventually to the sanctu-
ary of their pockets and between these re-
cep,acles and their fingers there appears TO
be Il strong natural affinity. When men had
swords to rest one hand upon and loose
doublets into which to thrust the other, it
was easy enough to be graceful but now
that We have neither swords nor doublets.
and are severely buttoned up, our trouser
pockets are the only available creyces in our
unGainly garments We have not even easy
gauntlets INTO which to slip our hands, and
the gloves of the period are an occasion of
constant torture and anxiety. The habit of
placing our hands in our pockets is, there
fore simple exigency of costume. With
the exception Of our faces and our hands,
our whole bodies are clothed. As We cannot
see tine former the only members which are
apparently naked are our hands Being gen.
orally gloved IN public, they never feel well !
assured Of their decency when uncovered, |
and SO they instinctively seek their only |
available shelter Then, again. Englishmen |
generally seem to regard their hands as in
convenient additions TO tLeir bodies. of |
which they are ashamed and OF whose use |
they are ignorant 1t is. therefore, an I'M |
portant consideration to find place IN which |
10 stow away these ungainly membranes. |
and thoy like to keep them hidden IL tho. |
pockets, ready, like their coppers or their |
pocket-kniyes for any srdden emergency. |
We are well aware that there is little grace |
of curve or outline about man standing |
with his hands N his pockets that his atti- |
tude savors strongly of undue eself-confdence, |
and that II may tend TO his moral deterora- |
tion. Indeed, We may saw that We fully ad- |
INIT the custom Of thrustipg the hands into |
the pockets of the trousers to he gravely Oh
jecuonable and are quite unprerared TO de |
fend it upon any moral or artistic ground |
whatever at the same time honesty and |
love of veracity compel us TO allow that such |
a position is extremely comfortable. There |
Is u proiane saying that most things which |
are nice are either wrong expensive, or un-
wholesome and We do not claim for the |
consoling practice in question that it can
fairly escape from being placed in the first Of
these categories. The most celebrated nu-
thority on the subject OF meditation gave it |
his opinion that there was no definite and |
exclusive rule as to the position Of body |
most conducive TO that exercise that some |
people could best mediate when standing. |
others when sitting. kneelng. walking, and |
SO on. If he had lived III our own day and |
country, We think he would have added, |
land Englishmen mediate most easily when |
they have got their hands in their pockets.
There were times when men had habit OF |
tapping their heads when short OF ideas. As |
the old stauza has II
y gu knock your head and fancy it will come
KNOCK AS you Will there 4 IobOdy It home.
In these days they search their pockets with |
an equally laudabic motive, and too often |
with an equally futile result We remember |
a weuknown Oxford don who spent three |
fOurths of his waking existence IN apparent
ly searching for penny bit IN his trousers |
pocket, which, up TO the present date, there !
Is no evidence of his having found In his |
lectures in Lis studies, at chapel, and in his |
walks abroad this employment seemed to
refresh his mind and afford him considerl- |
bic qualification, and most of his pupils will |
ever associate his memory with this inele- |
giant habit. The custom Is much affected by |
many legislators, not so much in addressing |
the House as III the smoking rooms and lob |
bies. The British Bar. too, seems to derive
much inspiration from 1t. Perhaps no men
are so much addicted to tricks of manner as
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