Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-12-21
ABOUT A MANS HAT.
A Lesson Of Courtesy Never to be For
gotten.

A Lesson Of Courtesy Never to be For
gotten.
From Once Week.
A woman's role is to seem utterly oblivious
OF her bonnet after the parting look into the
mirror establishes the pleasing truth that it
Is settled safely and becomingly. The man
who forgets what he has upon his head is
boor, incorrigibly absent-minded. The right
manipulation of his hat ia like spelling-it
must be learned early and thoroughly, or it
comes hard, and is always skittish possession.
A mother habitually indulgent to her chill
dren, called her eldest born-a boy Of ten
back when he had left her on a street corner.
The lad covered under the severity of eye and
accent.
Never dare to leave me in the street again
without raising your hat!' she said. .'It is a
token OF respect you owe to every woman. and
never forget that your mother is q womanr'
The reproof was double-barbed. Associa-
uon with mother and sisters is excellent practice
IN an exercise that cannot be abated without
injury to him who takes the liberty. THE
FELLOW" who mods a cavalier welcome or fare
wen 70 his sister at the window, or in the
street, Will, with the most gallant intentions,
some day, in tit of abstraction, or when hur-
r1ed by business into forgetfulness of his COM
Pany manners, nod as carelessly to some other
ieIow sister, and score point in favor of
the rival whose hand, from the force of early
napit and long usage, moves involuntarily to-
Waro the cap-brim at the approach Of any
woman whose face is familiar to him.
A nod is not bow.
10 nod to woman is open disrespect
Inc mother who carves the two sentences
anu the import thereof upon the mind of her
boy builds 80 much better than she knows as to
merit the gratitude of her sex. The bob or
duck OF the covered head which salutes a COM
race OF his own gender is barely pardonable,
in AvV,n N,4 GA,,l. r.
sites would be sent to Coventry were they to
practice it on meeting in corridor or thorough
fare. Equally general in the older lands,
where external courtesies rank higher than
with US, is the custom Of doffing the hat on
passing lady-stranger or acquaintance-on
the staircase or in the halls of hotel or other
public building. In witnessing the effect of
the neglect of the gracious little ceremony in
the country that FURNISHES the best husbands
in the world, it is impossible to restrain the
regretful sigh:
"These things ought We to have done, and
not to leave the other undoner'
The undoing is carried to disgraceful eX-
cess as we descend the social scale. The lower
we go the more scanty is the observance of the
etiquette and moralities of the hat until we
are forced to consider the important adjunct
to the outdoor toilet as an almost infallible ba-
rometer OF breeding. Respect of the rules
regulating its management in refined circles is
the last sign of better days and better manners
with which the decayed gentleman parts
When his hand forgets the way to the hat brim
he is very near the foot Of the hill. What
slangy lad once called in my hearing 'the hat
trick" is likewise that which the self-made man
OF plebeian extraction is slowest to learn
have seen millionaires forget to remove their
hats in superb drawing-rooms.
One Of the most notifying experiences Of
my earlier married life was the visit to our
country-house Of a distinguished man, than
whom the state held none ADLER of his profession
We had invited several friends to meet him.
and the dinner given in his honor passed off
smoothly. The lion roared in a perfectly sat
lsfactory manner, winning universal admira-
ton. Coffee was served on the veranda. and
the evening being cool, the great man called
Tor his hat. He might have asked permission
from the women present to assume it, we
thought, but orators must preserve their vocal
cords from rust. As the chilliness increased
we adjourned to the library, where fire had
been kindled. There, in the assembled presence
OF our choicest neighbors, the great man wore
his hat until the hour of separation! The
recollection is an agony. The inference. borne
out by subsequent discoveries, was inevitable
He was a commoner of the commonalty and
vulgar ingram. 1t ought to have been impos-
sible Tor him to commit such a breach Of good
manners In any circumstances. The varnish of
| surface-and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS like
other cheap and patent dressing, requires fire.
quent renewal, and cannot be warranted to
wear.
As grateful contrast offer another au-
thentic incident. A true gentleman driving
through the country with his wife and children
| stopped at small farmhouse to inquire the
way. A child on the front seat of the carriage
had view Of him as he knocked at the door
"Papa's talking to a lady," chirped the little
one. Il can't see her, but know, because he
| took off his hat when the door opened snd is
standing with it in his hand"
The "lady" followed him to the steps as he
returned to the carriage. Her sleeves were
rolled up to her shoulders; she wore shabby
calico gown without collar. Her hair was
unkempt; her arms and hands dripped with
suds. Her parting directions were shrilly nasal
and ungrammatical. The man, who appeared
beside her as prince beside a serf, stood with
his noble head barred as in a royal presence
How could you?" queried the quick oc-
cupant OF the front seat. '.She wasn't bit of
a lady,"
''She was woman, my boy; and a gentle
man is always gentleman for his own sake"
Men can do no end of pretty things with
| their hats, sighed belle to me. ''The tactics
OF that useful article (masculine) are science
one Of the fine arts. Yet two-thirds of them
don't half appreciate their privileges in that
line, or suspect their possibilities
saw q man who calls himself a gentleman
kiss his betrothed the other day, with his hat
set as immovably on his head as II it had grown
there with his growth, and strengthened with
his strength!
Fancy a condition of mind and body that
could make such thing practicable in q Chris
tan land, and in the nineteenth century.
How He Played Lady's Maid.
From the Boston Saturday Evening Gazette.
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