, 1888-04-26

solar waT-mn. ,a- PROBABLY imported
from Persia. and is origin LGs no more TO
do with Epruia- rtf ram than with keep
iu- of li-h;ulu- uT thuudcrJOlt-. The
Pcr--au-. il IS wei known, were worship
crS If the heavenly Antiy=- the sun ocCU-
Tv.r.- the -.G.. rIser among their hier-
aTyly Of Gr.iir, a. i.c auc- among his own
Orh=. Viewing him rs all powerful, as
all intelligent. Cp-uIZgEt Of the smallest
act ,f their lives. the PcTsiaHS hit At last
upon 4 sort of portable screen which they
might iutcrpu-e between themselves and
h, beams. securing for The former pri-
vacy and for the latter ignorance Of what
lis Gnvotccs were dong This may sound
a rather far fetched theory, but it IS prob
ably The true cEr. and whether or no, it is
certain umbrellas d:d not originate in
either Europe or America.
THE UMBRELLA aBEOAD.
In Siam the possession of umbrellas is
restricted to those Of high rank. Nj Sren-
GER telling Us that one of the titles of the
du-ily monarch there i king of the I'M
brcIII Wearing Chiefs Iuthc two great
university towns Of England etiquette dis
CoUutCHuuCCS under graduates appearing
on the streets with umbrellas, and only
permits the airing Of these IuxUries to fel-
lows and graduates. In fiction the person
Of hrs. Camp has conferred on the UNI
bTeliH an Immortality which not even the
muse If tragedy could 30. Indeed, the
umbrella cats but Il poor figure in the
tragedy, while Ii i quite at home in the
flights Of comedy CT farce. Mrs. Camps
suEsAadc is 50 famous that it las given its
name to those fluffy, obese looking articles
which one Is apt to associate with the
rantcr of old times and with modern rep
FCSvHtGtiVCS OF the Lime Kiln club. The
fashionable umbrella is rs different a
looking affair 10 one of these as ii is pos
sible to imagine. \ greater contrast does
not exist between 4 racer and Il Clydes-
dale than between the modern umbrella
and its wCully prototype of 4 generation
ago. The former is made of silk, IS in
variahly black, brown or green in hue, is
fitted to a light but strong framework,
and whether viewed as a use or an orna-
ment is an eminently pleasing object to
contemplate,
The umbrella is sometimes used as q
weapon OF OGcnsc ard defense, but is
rather poor affair If You want to
| strike your enemy Il good ''swaShiug
| blow You had better have recourse to
| some other implement than an umbrella.
| Viewed in this Light, il presents more IA
| cilities for being used stilctto wise than rs
a claymore or cUtlasS Everything TO its
uses, and a. you can't expect 10 keep rain
| off with n foil, SO You must not hope to
| draw blood with an umbrella. If the lat
| ter is disappointing rs weapon of oifense
| SO it is rs weapon of defense.
THE SILK UMBRELLA.
If you are the posscssor of Il silk um-
| breliI and are DESTROYS of appraising its
merits, see what proportion the spread OF
| it when open bears TO the diameter when
| shut. To the extent the relation partakes
| of the nature Of an inverse ratio, to that
| extent is your umbrella good one. Fold.
ing up Il silk umbrella is quite an art, the
acquisition of which seems wholly impos.
| sible to some people. You should gather
| the tips firmly together in your right
hand, elevate Your umbrella to an angle
of fOrty-fiyc degrees with the trunk of the
body; then, commencing at the bottom
| with your left hand gather the folds OF
| the umbrella rapidly together, working
all the while toward the top. When you
| haze got rs far as the confirming band
| stop, adjust il, and your umbrella is
| folded. \ folded silk umbrella which has
| ''bights'' in il or measures more than two
| inches i'll diameter is Il fraud, or else its
| owner does not possess the kuack of fold
| ing it up properly.
| In the case of Ashantee the umbrella
| mas HSufcu rs trophy, the great sun
| shade OF King Coffee being all the British
| have TO show for their waste of blood and
| treasure in equatorial Africa
The material, hue and poise of an um-
brella are so many critcria of respecta.
bility. y man may deceive with his hat
often, with his gloves seldom, but with
his umbrella never. II is an uncrrino
! test of character, Il passport TO gentility,
| and nobody is quicker to recognize the
| ring of the true metal in another or Ia
detect the pretensions of the spurious ones
than the true gentleman himself.-San
| Francisco Chronicle