Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1884-04-18
NEW YORK'S WASHERS,
A Few Distinctive Types Selected
from o Limitless Variety.
Tho Broken Down but SELF. Cow
placent Dude---The Hold ana
Dangerous. the Reprobnte
and the Romantic.
raDurandal- in Cincinnati HnouIr,r.,

less. In London the term "inasher" IL di.
tinctive OF one particular typo The London
masher is a magnificent creature who wear.
half dozen suits day, frequents thu green
room OF the theatres given up to comic opera
and burlesque at night. patropsns tho music
balls, and drives his own horses In the park.
He is dissipated to the last degree. and nm In.
veterate man-abouttow The London
nsasher Is magnificent. He dcvot.~ all his
time with the girls, and goes 10 picccs with on.
traordinary rapidity. New York cannot
boast Of class Of mashers Of this sort In
all the city, however. there arr not moro than
three men who are at all like tho London
plungers- These three, however. ~ far to
make up In wild living for their poverty IN
numbers They Keep the town talking from
morning to night, and their freaks and esca.
pades are a source Of incessant amusement 81
their cronies
After all. tho youth who un,lertakes 10
mimic the London masher must suffer ac.
cordingly. He must, in the FIRST place. give
up all pretensions To decent society, for
mothers here do not overlook wild living In
young men as they do In London. The
ambitious boy who starts In 10 sow his Wild
oats in this prodigal manner mus, therefore
women, be scowled at by fathers of families
and generally shunnei. The life IL likely to
pull him down rapidly, aud In the end make
him prematurely old Whether II pays or
not is an open question; everybody say. u
doesn't. But II 1t doesn't, why are there
those who follow III
THE BRoKEN-DowS SWELL.
Another type Of masher, anl one who IL
very prevalent In New York, IL tho brokon.
down dude or swell. He may he .sen every
where, from the Battery b. Harlem river
He Is always abroad, and hence one must
conclude that he has no home lie lives In
the street-ears, the stages and hotel corri-
dors, elevated railroad stations and tho side
walk in front Of the great dry-goods houses
are his special haunts I saw q typical
specimen Of this class In tho sixth Avenue
Elevated Railroad car this morning when I
came down town. There was q drixslina
rain, and the mud was half a foot desp,
while the wind blew fitfully. when tho
trained stopped at Fourteenth street the
masher drifted In. ! should imagine
from his appearance that he had been
standing In front Of Macy's all night
long. He wore . standing collar, which was
very much broken down ut the sides, and .
white satin tie, which had evidently becn
rained upon several hours His well-crownsd
English beaver hat was dentsd and disrepnt-
able-looking, and his brick-colorcd glove.
were all out at the fingerl His spare form
was clad In bob tailed coat which had oncs
been stylish drab, but had become MOI
tied gray, and pair OF light brown trousrs
were rolled up at the bottom, exposing pair
~ H.A L..
either side. He carried q cane with an
enormous silver bead, and wore naughty
and reserved expression. He evidently hadn't
been shaved for two days, and his eyes were
bunged up, but his self-complsccncy was un-
disturbed and he was apparently ~ satisfied
and contented with himself - 10 was possible
for him TO be
The mans appearance was absolutely gro
tesqua It would have been pitiful II hs were
not % well Atisfied with himsslf. He puilsi
q rumpled 1-cent morning paper out of his
pocket, and read IL placidly until hs came 70
Park place. The well-drssssd and pruspsruss-
looking men on their way b business looked
ct the masher askance, or opsuly ma.is fuu
Of him, - he pranced through The car and
alightsd at the station. Hs skipped RAPIDLY
down the stairs and went Oh toward Broad.
way with his arms akimbo, his hat On ous
dde Of his bead, and his cans swine.
ing jauntily In the air. Mcanwhtls the
rain poured down on him, the wind
blew at him and the mud splashsd ail over
him, but his self-satisisd air did not dsssrt
him for an instant, and he seemed utterly
unconscious Of the gibes OF tho strest boyp o.
the paternal advice OF the paaing truck
driverA Does anybody know why he didn't
carry an umbrella Because this wessthsr ~
minded him Of ~Dear ole Lounon.' Ths duds
masher, however, in rapidly drifting out of
favor. Even tho Bowery girls rsfuss 10
notice him now, and he spends HE tims In
dreaming Of his conquests Of . year ego,
when he enjoyed short-livsd popularity.
THE REALLY DANGEROUS.
Sdll another typs Of the men who srs
known a. mashers ID the rejuvsuatsd sport.
Of other days He has lately appcarvd on up
per Broadway In considerable numbssA
Formerly be confined himself 10 tho lower
wards Of the city or 10 Grand street and
Third avenue Gradually hs crsps up Into
Sixth avenue, and now hs may bc sssn on
Broadway. I presume eventually he will
stride into Fifth avenue. Among his init
mates he II known a. ono who "travels on
his shape" As q rule he h square
shouldered and athletic In build He
wears . high hat big amsthyst rings,
and usually he has q hugo mustache
curled ct the ends. oils his hair and smokes
strong cigarA It u . popular imprs.alon
among his kind that women love him q ART
sight, and husbands and fathers ere afraid
Of him because Of his powerful proportions
This is particularly aggravating typs He
accosts women on the street boldly, insslts
them in cars aud stages. and makes thslr
afternoon walks source of annoyance and
terror. He b persistent and fearless n Q
woman gi-es him tho slightest encourage
ment he will follow her for hours about town,
dog her footsteps 10 the door Of hss own
house, and wait for her day aftsr day. He b
by sl odds the most dangerous Of the many
different sorts Of mashers In New York.
THE OLD REPRoBArE.
A type which Ii growing alarmingiy uu.
merous ID composed Of mashss who havs
passed 10 years Of aga Thcss ars the nsoss
soulless, iniQuitous and abandoned mnslsesv
Of them al. They are usually rather Gns-
looking old men, scrupulously neat and
fashionably attired. They all tcnd toward
one style Of dress. and . description of one
describes them all He wear~ blue or black
frock coat, buttoncd high In the neck. Q
white collar. . bit Of scarlet tic, light
trousers, white over-gaiter, and patent
leather boots. He Il always well glovsd,
and carries . rcspectable-lookiug cana He
shaves every day, and his white mustachs
is carefully waxed. II he has any
hair It h parted behind. This gentleman is
always roundshouldered, always weak In thu
back, and always has . mincing gait lie
leers into the faces Of young girls ~ he makes
his way along the moro populous strssts, asd
smiles continually. Every able bodied man
who comes along fairly aches with desirs 10
seize this particular style of rufiiAn BY Ne
neck and to1 him into the street He sssms
happy and contented He b never sen %
night, and does not venture forth unlso the
day Il clear. Warm. sunshiny days bring
out hordes Of these vampires Damp weather
gives them the rheumatism and lumineo,
and they are Obliged to stay at homs and
nurse their painA
THE ROMANTIC SNEAK.
There h one other typo that should not