Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-10-28
ANGLO-SAXONS ABROAD
The Careless American and the Well
Dressed Englishman---The I'm.
tidy English Lady and Her
Natty American Cousin.
Robert Laird C,nllier.1

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 careiess-that is,
unprecise-in his walk and bearing. Mind
you, l am not describing my friends whom
am meeting, but a great lot of Americans
whom I am daily seeing in public places. On
the other hand, when the American affects
dress he rather overdoes it. He makes a
point of it. He centres his mind so much
upon it that he lets tEecat out of the bag and
SAYS 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 monotonous. But, to the for
eigner, all life in England is HOMOGENEOUS.
Still, the English gentleman is neatly as well
as suitably dressed; his boots are clean and
his 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 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 i'll society. In the
matter of dress the English lady cannot hold
a 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 che
hand, or she is fine" and smart" on the
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 hounce5
and fuss.
Her American cousin is natty-She has
"just the thing" on usually that suits her,
and she appears neat and trim. She is quite
as well dressed as the French lady, and I
lean toward the opinion that the American
lady is the best dressed lady in the world.
Certainly when young she is the prettiest
AID the most interesting. Dress is the out
ward sign. But not only the outward sign.
Mark this one: Here comes into table
d'hote lady and gentlen2n-this is the
order. The lady is slim in figure and refined
in features. She is neatly, indeed prettly,
dressed. She is usually unconscious and at
her ease. Just O little behind her, following
her up rather shyly, consciously i'll at
ease, is her husband, il the everlasting black
broa3cloth suit. She has been sightseeing.
perhaps, and perhaps not. More likely he
has been sitting in the court of his hotel
talking business with his fellow countyruan
He comes to table just Is be has left the
street or the hotel court. He follows his
wife with confident admiration and is dutiful
as all good husbands ought to be. Reverse
these c0njugal 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 Englisilnan
ever can be, is as much at his ease as 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
dozen pairs. Now in this case it is the good,
simple home loving, rather dull, but relig-
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
truth il it.