Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-10-28
ABROAD
The Careless American and the Well
Dressed Englishman.-.The IN
tidy English Lady and Her
Natty American Cousin.
Robert Laird Collier1


The American gentleman travels and
walks and dimes in the same suit of clothes,
and those of the elder sort are in the ever
lasting broadcloth suit Much wear has made
it shiny, usually. He is also careless-that is,
unprecise-in his walk and bearing Mind
YOU, am not describing my friends whom
am meeting, but great lot of Americans
whom I am daily seeing in public places. On
the other hand, when the American affects
dress he rather Ovcrdoes it. lie makes
point of it. He centres his mind so much
upon it that he lets tllecat out of the bag and
saws to the beholder: "This get up is the
result of thought, not unconscious habit. :"
The English gentleman is always well
dressed He is dressed much the same as
every other English gentleman, and this Is
certainly monotcnous But, to the Tor
eigner, all life in England is monotonous.
Still, the English gentleman is neatly as well
as suitably dressed; his boots are clean and
bis clothes and hat well brushed before he
makes his appearance in the morning. When
in Paris he has something to DO more suitable
to his taste than sitting and smoking about
the hotels and public places
But the American gentleman is a less con-
siderable factor in domestic and social life
than the American lady. And SO it is that
the American lady takes her place easily,
gracefully, and has about her all the out
ward signs Of her relative and ADVANCED
position in the family and in society. In the
matter of dress the English lady cannot hold
candle to her. Here is the fact. The En-
glish lady does not know how to dress well.
She is the worst dressed lady in Europe. She
goes to the extreme Of the American gentle
man She is careless and untidy on the enc
che 10 nil ,,1 --%n
other. She wears no end of feather and rib
bons, velvet and lace. She is usually short
and stout, but all the same she has flounces
and fuss.
Her American cousin is natty-she has
"just the thing" on usually that suits her,
and she appears neat aud trim. She IS quite
as well dressed as the French lady, and
lean toward the opinion that the American
lady is the best dressed lady in the world.
Certainly when young she is the prettiest
and the most interesting. Dress is the out
ware: sign. But not only the outward sign.
Mark this one: Here comes into table
d'hote lady and @ gentlenan-this is the
order The lady is slim in figure and refined
in features. She is neatly, indeed prettily,
dressed. She is usually unconscious and at
her ease. Just little behind her, following
her up rather shyly, consciously i'll at
ease, is her husband, IN the everlasting black
broadcoth suit. She has been sightseeing,
perhaps, and perhaps not 1Iore likely be
has been sitting in the court of his hotel
talking business with his fellow countryman.
He comes to table just as he has left the
street or the hotel court lie follows his
wife with confident admiration and is dutiful
as all good husbands ought to be- Reverse
these corjjugal relations as revealed in social
life and you have picture of the English
man and wife The gentleman takes the
lead, is as unconscious as any Englishman
| ever can be, is as much at his ease es an
Englishman ever is. He is well dressed.
His clothes, whatever they are, have been
well brushed, and his boots are clean and
well fitting. He usually travels with half a
dozen pairs. Now in this case it is the good,
simple, home loving, rather dull, but Telig-
iously dutiful wife who enters the salon just
behind the husband. She is very conscious
poor thing; she is in all sorts OF colors and
ribbons and laces. Short or tall, she wears
the regulation cap, which has no grace or
t,ryth in IL