Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-03-10
THE TWENTY-FIVE HATS.
A French Passengers Story.

He was q Frenchman-no doubt
about that. He was very pleasant
fellow-no doubt about that, either
But what his occupation might be was
puzzler to US all. A sailor he could
never have been, as any one could see
by his unsteady walk on deck. and his
very poor performance at dinner the
first day out from Lisbon.
He was too polite for a Government
official, too quiet and thoughtful for a
commercial traveller, too well informed
for a newspaper correspondent, too
grammatical and refined in his language
for popular author.
From a certain jauntiness in his air
and manner. and the semi-miltarv cut
OF his short, gray moustache, some of
our party were inclined to set him down
as retired army officer; but the sud-
den start with which he clapped his
hands to his ears when the signal-gun
was fired close to him, was quite sufii-
cient to knock that theory on the head.
1t was in rather curious fashion
that the truth came out at last On the
third afternoon (when we were already
well down the African Coast toward
the Cape Verd Islands) Monsieur
Cartier suddenly stopped short in
series of very entertaining anecdotes
about various European celebrities
whom he seemed to have known quite
we'll, and stared fixedly straight before
him, as if he had seen a ghost.
looked somewhat anxiOusly in the
same direction. expecting to see. at the
very least. the ship on fire or somebody
falling overboard; but nothing was to
be seen more remarkable than a very
sickly-lookihg saloon passenger crawl
ing up the cabin hatchway for the first
time since we started. He was certain
ly quite pale enough to have passed for
aghost. but l could see nothing else
about him to justify my genial compan-
ions excitement.
In another moment, however, l no.
ticed that Cartier's eyes were fixed not
upon the sick mans face, but upon his
hat, which was certainly very extra
ordinary head-gear for the open sea.
1t was genuine "stOve- pipe" as ever
blew off in a high wind, but all of a
Light mouse-colOr. and curving down.
ward both in front and behind, as res
olutely as if some one had sat down
upon it.
Cartier eyed it with the startled air of
one suddenly meeting IN old acquaint-
ance in very unlikely place, and l
could hear him mutter:
"That's the first of the sort that I've
seen since made twenty-five of them
myself, the year of the Paris Exhibi-
ton"
49," thought 1, "the murders out
atlast; this mysterious old gentleman is
neither more nor less than a halter.
NJ. Cartier" l added, aloud, I'm sure
there's some good story connected with
that hat, and nobody can tell one better
than yourself. If it's not asking too
much, would you oblige me by doing
so?''
"Well," said the old gentleman.
laughing, II should have thought l
had bored you enough for one day al
ready with my "reminiscences. It's not
every young fellow who would listen
30 patiently to an old mans ramblings."
''n all old men 'ramble' like you, my
dear sir, shall certainly make the &C.
quaintance of as many as possible. Now.
will you oblige me?'
swell, it really is curious story; so,
nyou're SO good as to be interested in
1t, it's at your service:
"ln the spring of 1867, little be-
fore the opening of the Paris Exhibi-
tion, had Just moved into a new shop
in the Rue Saint Honore. and was do
ing pretty fair business. though per-
haps not quite so good as I had ex-
pected.
But one day business had been un-
usually slack, and l was beginning to
be rather put out about it, when, to-
ward afternoon, in came a fine-looking
gentleman, dressed in the height of the
fashion, saying that he wanted some
hats made after pattern of his own,
to be ready by q certain day. There
we're to be twenty-five of them in all,
and the pattern that he gave me was
exactly the same IS the hat of that gen.
tleman yonder.
at struck me at the time as rather
an odd idea. for although the shape
happened to be in fashion just then, the
color certainly wasn't
But, after all. it was no business of
mine, so long as he chose to pay for his
fancy; and. as he began by paying me
III advance q good part of the price,
went to work with will, thinking tina
most likely it was only some new club
That wanted a distinguishing badge.
When the hats were finished, hap
pened 10 try one of them ON. and it
suited me so well, in spite OF the queer
color. that decided to make one for
myself as well. And so did; and a
Gay or two after the others were paid
1or and sent home-which was Just
ABOUT the time when Paris was egin-
ning to fill with the first rush OF visit