Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1884-09-10
QUITTING ABOUT PLUMES.
v,sronY FROM EARLY TIMES
sGrIH A 70 THE PRESENT.

80
sGSiH A TO THE PRESENT.
-. vxere Used BY the An.
Esw tanning 10 the Front AGAIN
eie"., .,.nuaI Adornment'
20, -. after a long period OF COM
fes'n'' reolect are again being gener-
parau = ar personal ornament. They
ay W., to the purpose, for they are
sN p,'F and snowy: Their natural col
gF''e,." nsually handsome, but where
y az hos been niggardly in this respect,
5siuI' n and makes their neutral or
81 49, .a hues correspond with the ar
sal.. tints demanded by fashion.
bla. hats are richly ornamented with
- IN. which either droop In a willowy
pun non the shoulders, or point straight
W.! Inc zenith in a half-martial, half
IOWA. ..,isb fashion. They enter largely
81 M material Of dresses; fans are
nv II them. and once more after the
D'a' II several generations they reap
AZ h modest way in the female
eO' tae other articles of dress plumes
- =" ,beir history, which has been pic
l.,s and romantic. 1t dates from
~ I'm epoch They were obviously
-, used Oy those nations living
ul ,...ot TO the deserts where the
KIN lives. In ancient Egypt they
20 worn by certain officers of the
.',lv The natives of Central and
sasbcrn Asia, who almost lived on
....oback. ornamentcd their helmets
I'm IN horses tails. A horses tail fell
.,acefpIly from the crown Of the Thra-
~ helmet The nodding plume that
t,igltened the babe Of Hector is the mo-
i've Of one Of the most touching cpl
.,des Of the Iliad. The Greeks used
fathers or horse-hair indiscriminately on
,be erests of their helmets. The use of
,be horses tail has survived among the
Turks. not az a decoration of the helmet
bgt upon military standards to indicate
olHcial rank. Plumes were not used on
he helmets Of the Roman soldiers. The
o,oaments Of their warlikc uniforms
we're solid like their batalions. Their
helmets we're surrounded by crests.
Their standards were poles having at the
end some fgure-not waving banners of
rxtiIe fabrics like those which had been
from time immemorial in use by Eastern
armies. There was no reason for the
regularity, for the Roman legions whose
eonauests were made in Asia and Africa
brought back among their spoils all
forms Of warlike paraphernalia in use
among the conquered.
The Romans, not wearing plumed in
sgnia, could not transmit them to the
Germans, Gauls and Brltons when they
extended their conquests northward and
westward through Europe. The Ger
mans. when the Romans penetrated their
forests, wore no head covering. The
Gauls bad derived from Asiatic ancestors
a war helmet, ornamented with horses
plume and name. The Britons and
other inhabitants of their island had
barbnric notions of color. The Scots
used pigments on their persons, and the
B1tons wore bright colored feathers
plucked from the birds that frequented
their marshes at the vertex of the leather
caps which were their headgear in war
time, Art there was none in Europe, and
the Romans were luxurious in ways that
I'D not cause special change either In
their own dress or that of those whom
they subjugated. During the first cen
turlcs of the Dark Ages there was little
nightly decoration. The improvement
o. arms and armor went on slowly.
Salwart warriors dealing ponderons
bows with spears and battle axes made
! necessary that armor should be capable
q outstanding such terrible weapons.
Hence chain armor was first invented.
men greaves, cuisses, breastplates and
helmets. In time these were skillfully
made, and when the armor was FURNISHED
lne knight wearing it was a stately and
imposing object. These were the days of
esalvalry,o OF devotion to ladies, of noble de-
'eaSe OF the defenseless. The barbarous
SaeVallers Of Europe learned from the
oNacens during the crusades a civiliza-
uOn ana refinement never before known
!; 'aelr forests. They gained new skill
:. we mechanic arts and fresh concep-
IONS Of beauty. Among other things
'aey adopted from the East was the use
NJ N. p'umes, which were first known in
tuV. ' -
aueSe afterward became so common
~A' knights dress was not considered
Iso1@plete unless they nodded from the
Gun Is'ale'. They were not always of
s 'sa'eerS Tor feathers were not always
sS'alaaole. For a hundred wears or
s -g'e they were made generally of horses
AL S feathers gradually came into use
r ~ 'ne purchase and sale of them de-
,v'otto INTO an important branch of
~ Frolssart says that the cans of
= Zee companies tina. infested Europe
= ! 'ae fourteenth century were all
s gs''eu with them, and that they gave
H.. vonuuct to the feather merchants
tSs;. 'aey might have the first cha;ce of
-