The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-03-10
THE HANDKERCHIEF.
THE HISTORY OF THIS NOW IN.
DISPENSABLE ARTICLE.
No Handkerchiefs Among the An
cients-First Used in Italy.
The Chinese and Japanese
Handkerchief.

The history of every article of human
clothing has been written over and over
again with one exception-the pocket
handkerchief-an indispensable part of
modern dress. History is silent as to its
use among the earliest races, whether In
dians, Egyptians, Chaldeans, Assyrians,
Persians. AS for the Greeks and Ro-
mans, they had no pocket-handkerchiefs
in our sense of the word, but merely a
cloth called 'sudorium," to wipe perspi-
ration from the face. Various Latin wrl-
ters tell us that in Rome the orators IN
the tribunes and the poets in their pub
lie rccitations made use of this ''sudo-
rium," which was usually carried in a
fold of the tunic or loosely tied around
the neck. Pliny in his "Rhctoric" even
describes how the orator should make the
most effective use of it. The
Roman historian, Tacitus, relates
in his "Annals'' that the EN-
pcror Nero boosted he had never had in
the theatre to wipe the perspiration
from his face! With the dandies of
Athens and Rome it was the fashion to
carry one such "sudorium' in the hand
and another in the girdle, but these were
never used as we use pocket -handker-
chiefs. Such use would have
been deemed a gross breach of good
breeding, and even cleanliness, for the
Greeks and Romans had profound re-
spect for dry noses, and only children
and old people were allowed to blow
their noses in public. Any lady who
appeared with pocket-handkerchief in
her hand must have renounced all her
suitors, and even all claims to respect.
Husbands could divorce wives who had
the infrmity Of needing a pocket-hand-
kerchief. Plautus relates that in Rome
a man, before taking a wife, made a
point of ascertaining if she was endowed
with nose not likely to give rise to
unpleasant consequences" and Juvenal
records a case in which such ''conse-
ouences" actually led to divorce.
About the beginning of the seventh
century, in the Decretats OF st. lsidore,
archbishop of Seville, we find it ordered
that every monk should be provided with
a "facialis" (face-cloth), though it is
doubtful whether the monks used this as
a pocket-handkerchief. The famous Al
chin, the trusted counselor of Charlie
magne (SO4), speaks distinctly of cloth
called ''facitergium," which the clergy
carried at their left side, and with which
they wiped eyes and nose during the per-
Torrance of their services In church.
Nevertheless, these cloths seem to
have heen intended rather for ecclesias-
tical state and show than for ordinary
use.
The sensible habit of carrying pocket
handkerchiefs began in a country of
which cleanliness is not usually consld-
cred the strongest point-Italy. The
Emperor friedrich H., of Hohenstaufen
n209-5O), with his passion for regulating
the minutest details of private as we'll
as public life, found time to attend
to this matter. He ordered one Of his
Sicilian stewards to give all the young
girls and children Of the estate "duos
faciolas de panno lineo," which can only
mean pocket-handkerchiefs.
The noble ladies of the middle ages
used to give their knights and champions
not only scarfs and bows, but also hand
kerchiefs embroidered with heraldic arms.
Hence these gradually became so costly
that we find sumptuary laws directed
against them in the sixteenth century.
About the same time the Italian passion
for perfumes began to prevail in Ger
many also. Fashion required that hand
kerchiefs, like gloves, should be per-
fumed. the scented waters used for this
purpose serving at the same time for
beautifying the complexion.
In 1860 Jean Nicot, French ambassa-
dor at the court of Portugal, presented
Queen Katharine de Mcdicis with the
first tobacco leaves ever seen in France,
and this event must be considered as
marking an epoch in the history OF the
pocket-handkerchief. for with the intro
duction and spread of snuff it became
indispensable. But though used in pri
vate it was not till long afterward toler-
atcd in public.
The Empress Josephine is supposed to
have done more than any other great lady
to give the handkerchief it's present So
cial status. She had the misfortune to
have very bad teeth, and to conceal this
defect used to hold delicate lace hand
kerchief as much as possible in front OF
her mouth, when engaged in CONVEX
sation. The ladies of the court natur-
ally followed her example, and it was thus
the elegant and useless toy gained the
place which it now holds in lady's toi-
lette.
The Chinese have solution of the
pocket-handkerchief problem altogether
different from the European. They carry
in their pockets little silken cloths, each
of which is used once, and then thrown
away. The japanese follow the same
custom, though substituting for silk lit
tie four-cornered pieces of paper, of which
they carry supply in their wide
sleeves.
There is common but mistaken no.
sion that in Turkish harcms the '!throw-
inc of the handkerchief" to an adalisque
is the pasha's mode of showing his pref
erencc for her. In the old days the lady
would probably not have known what to
do with the gift; nowadays she might con-
slider it mean sort Of present. Beside
this, if any pasha had vcntured thus
openly to show his reference to any
one member of his harcm in presence of
the rest, they would probably have made
things very unpleasant for him. The
likelicst explanation of the phrase is that
the day after the marriage the pasha
sends to his bride ''morning gift, " and,
as in Turkey they use neither caskets nor
chests the presents-usually ornaments
are wrapped up in a handkerchief often
of the finest material and workmanship.
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