Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-02-22
THE BOOT.

THE BOOT.
The obstinate survival of the human boot,
SAYS New York paper, has long been a
subject of amazement to the student of So
ciai customs. Even in the summer, when
the thermometer is among the nineties, and
Manitoba is sending hot waves in all direc-
tons, thousands of comparatively intelli-
gent men wear boots that heat their feet
and legs cruelty and unnecessarily. They
wear boots merely because previous gene
rati0ns of men living under peculiar con-
ditions found boots useful. This is the
dullest and most ineXcuSable Kind OF con-
servatism.
The boot was originally an outside article
of dress. In earlier days Europe was terri
bly, muddy, and trousers and stockings were
costly. The male European, therefore,
wore boots with enormously long legs. BY
this means he protected his lower garments
from mud and kept his feet comparatively
dry. With the progress of civilization the
mud of Europe dried up.
Weather bureaus were established which
continually prophesied areas of rain and
frequent local showers. OF course, these
never made their appearance, and one
necessary ingredient was therefore want
ing. Street paVementS became common,
and street sweepers occasionally swept them
clean. In these circumstances boots ceased
to be either necessary or useful, but the con-
servative European mind was unable to
abandon them. .....
Instead of wearing boots outside of their
trousers, the Europeans drew their trousers
over their bootlegs. This was an open con-
fession that boots were useless, and that all
the wants of the human foot could be met
by shoes. The boot leg survived merely
because of the stupid conservatism OF its
wearers and should the climate of Europe
ever become so hot that Overcoats would
lose their reason for being, we might en-
pect to see the respectable conservative
wearing his overcOat under his shirt.
In the civilized parts of this country the
boot is worn for the same reason that it is
worn on the other side Of the Atlantic In
the far West, where rattlesnakes abound
and where paved streets are unknown, the
boot fultills its normal purposes and is worn
outside of the trousers. Elsewhere, how
ever, it is merely an illustration Ofhuman
folly, and there is not the slightest excuse
for its existence.
It has been maintained with much plausi-
bility that the black-silk hat is the highest
development of human idiOcy. This is
probably true, for the black hat has not the
excuse of ever having been useful or justl-
fable. While in behalf Of the boot it can
be urged that it once had its uses, its reten-
ton in civilized communities is at least as
prepOsterOus as the continual wearing OF
the black hat, and the day is coming when
both will be discarded, except by profess
sOnal tramps lost to all self-respect.
THE COSTUMES OF OUR GRANDFATHERS
We saw picture recently describing the
style of dress worn by gentlemen slXty-tiVe
wears ago, and beside it was woman array
ed in the prevalent fashion of that period.
TO our eyes of to-day it would at once be set
down as caricature, and amonstrOus, wick
ed caricature at that. But the printed de-
scription which accompanied the graver's
art cOrrects such an impression. 1T was an
honest portraiture of the accepted style OF
the day The man in the picture was drawn
as very tall and very lean, lank gentle
man, with his back to the reader. His coat,
the collar of which was Oh a line with the
top of the shoulder and tightly encircling
waist that reached no lower than the mid
die of the back, from which depended two
scanty skirts which tapered gracefully to a
point, nearly the heels and prOvOk-
ing the guests that the pattern of the gar
ment was suggested bya partially opened
pair of barber's shears. The lower limbs
were 50 tightly encased in trousers or SO OBJ
scurely drawn that the doubt remains Wheth-
er the artist had not forgotten to complete
his sketch in this particular, leavinga wide
margin for the On-lOoker's imagination to
fill out at his leisure or discretion. Two
large buttons, which no doubt would have
shown as gilt metal, had printers ink per-
mitted, showed where the waist began and
the back ended
Thepfcture gives us a woman drawn after
the Grecan type, with bend in 1t which
makes the fashion of a dozen years ago seem
natural and far from an eXtravagant or I'M
graceful curvature of the body. The waist
of the gown was nearly on line with the
arm-pits, and the short skirt-bell-shap
and balloony-was sharp reminder of the
widest days of crinoline. The sleeves OF
the dress were in keeping with the style OF
trousers supposed to be worn by the man
beside her and the bonnet, which unless
the artist was lacking in a sense OF proper
ton, occupied more space in the world than
the wearer, was of the cOal-scuttle variety
that out-scrttled any specimen of head-gear
that the modern world of fashion has ever
worn or witnessed.-N: Y. Ere"ing Press
THE QUAKER's HAT.-The first occasion
whenit came publicly into trouble was in the
year 1856, before no less parsonage than
Chief Justice .Glynn, in connection with
which writer quotes the following, partly
in FOX's own words: "When we were
brought into court we stood pretty while
with our hats on, and all was quiet, and L
was moved to say,
"Peace be amongst YOU"
"Why do you not Eut Oft your hats" said
the judge to us.
We said nothing.
"Put off your hats" said the Judge again.
Still we said nothing.
Then said the Judge, "The court COM
mands you to put off your hats"
George Fox then asked for some scriptur-
al instance of any magistrate commanding
prisoners to put off their hats. HeneXt ask
ed to be shown, "Either written or printed,
any law of England that did command such
a thing" Then the judge grew very angry
and said: =,
81 do not carry my law book on my back"
"But." said Fox, "tell me where it is prin-
ted in any statute book, that may read It,"
The chief justice cried out, "Prevarica-
tor!n and ordered the Quakers to be taken
away. When they were before him again,
the chief Justice asked whether hats are
mentioned at all in the Bible? "Yes," said
the Quaker, sin the third of Daniel where
thou mayest read that the three children
were cast into the fiery furnace by Nebu-
chadnezzar's commands, with their coats,
their hose, and their hats on" Here was
a proof that even Il heather king allowed
men to wear their hats in his presence.
"rhs plain instance stopped him. said
Fox, $50 he cried again, '"rake them away,
"Accoriingly, we were taken away and
thrust in among thieves, where we were
l,nnt 4 GREAT Whilc.V EOX's last declaration