The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1884-06-28
The Emperor PauI's Aversion to Hat
alive except Of
Temple Bar.

The Emperor PauI's Aversion to Hats
Temple Bar
The issue of an imperial decree forbid
ding the wearing of round hats, frock-
coats, vests without sleeves, and panta-
looms was supposed to be a means of
gratifying a grudge Paul bore toward
Englishmen. His aversion to round hats
seems to have been constitutional. It
was more expedient that the hateful gar
ment be prescribed than that the tran
guilty of Car should be disturbed.
The apparitiOn of crowds of bare-headed
gentlemen on the streets of st. Peters
burg announced the new decree: wher-
ever round hat appeared it was snatch
ed by ambushed policemen, and the mus
cular pedestrian who ventured to repel
the assault and knock down the thief
was carried before the guard and fined.
The COmbative Englishmen was of course
the chief actor in these street broils. By
the influence Of Sir Charles WhitwOrth,
the ukase, so far as it affected foreigners,
was modified; the chief of the police was
instructed not to cOnfiscate the head
dress, but to detain sts wearer till evi-
denCe was produced that he was not q
Russian either by birth or naturalization
Paul's hatred of hats was of old standing
While grand duke, and living at Cats
china, he saw q workman wearing one.
He caused the man to be brought before
him and administered to him a lecture
on his indecent attire. Turning TO the
! grand duchess, Paul asked for some pins
and raising the flaps of the round hat
| transformed it into a cooked one, and or
| dered the workman to wear it so till it
was past service. The ukase caused a
run on the shops for the head-dresses
that were not civil Offense and as the
stock was soon exhausted, people had to
walk the streets bare-headed, or batter
| their hats into another category. An
ambassador who ventured to laugh toe
loudly at these eccentricities had his
passports returned. Paul paid the dress
of Englishmen the compliment of a spe-
cial police decree. The costume he en-
Joined was a three-cornered hat, Ions
cue with curl at the end of it. a single
breasted coat and vest, buckles instead
of latches at the knee-breeches and the
shoes. On one occasion, seeing one o.
the hated race wearing long boots, he
sent some policemen to cut them int
the size of shoes; but as the man refused
to be reformed, they dragged the boot
off and left him to go home in his stock
ings. 1t is written somewhere that ;
lady at court provoked the imperial dis
pleasure by wearing her hair too low al
the neck, and that as punishment sh,
was ordered into close confinement anC
fed on bread and water. Again. al
English servant was dragged from ;
sledge and caned on the street for wear
ing too thick a neck-cloth. The inhabit
ants of st. Petersburg fled in all direc
, tions when they saw the Cars carrriag
in the distance. only to be followed b.
5 mounted Cossacks, who brought then
back and compelled them to prostrat
themselves in the mud before his males
ty. A short-sighted Englishman, VIII
f pleaded defective vision when asked VIII
t he had skulked down a back lane, wa
: ordered to wear spectacles. He wa
4 known in the capital ever afterward {
fthe gentleman who wore spectacles b
ukase."