Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-07-24
CONCERNING CANES.
The Heightened Way Of Carrying Them. and
the itiiotic WAY

'iieNtcu With tue cane Ia vogue IN P1fiS. nave
been reproduced for the bcreht OF French ini-
tafors in this country. Ii a gentleman carries
his cane inverted in his LETT hand the interpreted
ton is, 8 I'm widower." If the cane iscarried
IN the right hand. ferruie up, the significance is
supposed 70 be, - I'm . bachelor" IL the cane
Is carried horizontally, and the gentleman shifts
1ts position in passing lady, she is TO UNDER
stand that her acquaintance is desired. When
the cane is carried across the back with the arms
clasping it. the significance in this country
usually is that the man is trying to brace
up''-shoulder brace, as it werc but in France
it is supposed to mean, 81 would like to
marry" If the stick is carried in the arms like
a bundle, It implies. ''I'll flrt but am not
marrying man"-which is like a Frenchman's
egotism in regard to the other sex. In Ameri-
ca-and we dare say in France-the ladies have
something better to do than to watch cane sig
nais And in this connection, we are reminded
that fashion has, on several occasions sought to
introduce the custom ofcane-carrying by women.
The effort never Went further than a squirt in
TINS country. 1t was thought to be little ''tOO
rapid" Not unlikely the ladies saw the I'M
oeconlingness OF such an appendage. for skirts
are Incompatible with graceful transporting
Never until some modification OF unmention-
abie5 Is adapted to female wear is the walking
stick likely to lose its sex distinction. But
natty rattan would look quite too, too awfully.
etc, supporting shapely '.lowcr extremity"
or whipping trim ankle. 1t is. per-
haps. what migat be called the ''lardy-dah, or
swell, use of canes that has brought them into
d!srepute with many sensible men. The force
full, energetic circumstancc-compelling and fate
conquering men, who have done the great.
things OF the world in al directions. have neither
time nor inclination to dwadle much with walk
ing sticks. They have wanted both hands free
and have only regretted that they had not MANY
pairs to carry out the projects OF their teemi1g
brains The young cane-nursers. who have all
the idleness and amlessness of the lilies OF the
field, without their excuse for beinc-that of
oeauty-and who look out upon life from their
c.ub windows. non-particpants not only, but in
capable of enthusiasm at other mems accomplish
ments are indeed an exaSserating set
The different modes Of carrying the walking
stick have often been remarked as quite as in
dicative of character, or at least Of mental
habit, as the gait itself The methodical man
plods with his cane The nervous individual
announces his coming behind you by the sbarp.
quick ring Of his ferTule on the walk The
saunterer swings his stick hitting off the clover
or dandeliOn, if he be in the fields The proud
pedestrian, who makes a business of his Icon
stitutional," brings his stout staff up and down
with regularity and emphasis of drum
majors baton. The cane-carrying idiot may be
distinguished by his habit Of shouldering his
stick, or thrusting the point backward from
under his arm, In reckless disregard of other
peoples eyes and stomachs. This is a fayorte
trick OF the idiot in crowd. where it advcrtises
ms piSglsh uHcOncern for others. The proper
treatment for this peculiar type Of manners isfor
some able bodied man to grasp the idiots cane
nrmly by the end snatch it quickly from his
hand and throw 1t upon the ground If the
subject INDUCES in any idiOtic remarks the re-
naming treatment is to again take the cane
ahnrpf 10 loo
shoulders in a lively fashion for minute or two
The idiot then subsidies. The only direction for
carrying the cane in a genteel manner which
the writer has been able to find are embodied in
the suggestion that lit should be carried with
gentle swing, the arm held quite near the BODY
IN careless. natural manner apparently exer-
cIsng no special strength as the cane is raised
or lowered" If these directions be faithfully
observed truly sweet effect should be the re-
SUIT Particular care should be taken not to
seem to exercise especial strength i'm lifting a
cane; one doesn't want to seem too weak. but
Just weak enough is the idea. we suppose
The subject of the manufacture and trade in
canes, says q Boston Herald writer is an inter-
estins one. Many of the sticks are. of course.
and are gathered from the four quar-
tiers OF the world. There is large industry in !
the manufacture in France and Germany parti-
cuarly in the odd carved heads. The large
American dealers do a great part of their own
and finishing. At stores like the
speciality. many hundreds of different STYLES and
varieties are displayed. The prices range from
III cents for an ordinary southern or eastern
bamboo, to % to S. for fancy cane. and from
So to SIS for gold an, silver mounted ones
curious Chinese and japanese sticks, beautifully
command large prices There are
goods, like the different varieties of
cane proper, the Irish blackthorn. English hazel
and black ash. olive wood, Florida orange hick-
DRY, ETC., and long line Of rare and fancy
sticks. Among the latter are the ebony Malacca
cinnamOn-bearing the marks in the wood of the
worms that cut their way up under the pungent
bark, often fine specimens of natural carving
the Whang Wee, choice Japanese stick, the
witch-hazel, a beautiful wood, having a natural
and enduring sweet odOr; also the sandal wood
of cork, exceedingly firm, even and fine grained
admitting of effective working. Another was
stalk of tea wood the bark of which is made ND
of small. sharp knobs new fancy style is the
snake cane, brightly notified in color like a
snake, with reptilsh head, having wicked bead
eyes and an open mouth. To add to the effect. a
slender steel rod concealed in the center gives to
the cane almost q serpentine limberness A man
must be very fond Of disagreeably odd things to
carry such cane, but the Odder the better seems
10 De the rule With many. AS a general thing
however, good taste suggests that a walking
stick De not conspicuous any more than
any other part of gentleman's outfit The
more expensive canes have carved heads. In in
unite variety. DOth as to material and design
Ivory is the most common, but bucks horn is a
faVorite. Some very clever wood carvings are
shown, and contest the palm with knots and
roots. The plain crook is trifie Old-fashioned-
for there are fashions in canes as in everything
else. Small silver heads are still genteel. If
chaste In design and not too conspicuous Deer
and chamois feet have been used for cane heads
with very pretty effect. Rare woods, having
historic associations of some sort, are ALWAYS in
demand. Enough canes have been sold "a
made from the timbers of famous war
frigate to sink the bulkiest LIVERPOOL racket
Noah's ark has contributed to the rare woods OF
the adventurous manufacturer and the graves
OF Burns, Wordsworth and other favorite poets
must hsEe produced an annual crop equal to a
section OF the Black forest, to Judge by the
souvenir sticks sold with certified pedigree
Sword canes have been sapplantedb by the pocket
pistol, as a rule, though handsome one are still
sold. An innocent looking stick, with a plain
brass head, disclosed giittering blade six
inches long, upon being reversed and given a
slight jerk, the knife going back to it's place as
spring was touched In the side. Loaded canes
have been prohibited in some states by law, and
are less frequently carried in civilized COM
munities than formerly. With a tough stick,
they are an ugly weapon, but if the fibre is at ali
brittle, one blow will shatter them. Gold
headed canes are chiefly used for presentation
Nobody likes to carry one, unless it be some
gentleman the old school Nathan ro ohopy