St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-19
COURTESY AND A MANS HAT
Some Anecdotes About a Custom
of Society.

70 1899
Once Week.
A woman's role is to seem utterly Oh
ivious 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, III
corrigibly absent-minded The right
manipulation Of his hat is like spelling
it must be learned early and thor
oughly, or it comes hard, and is always
| skittish possession.
| A mother, habituallS indulgent to her
| children, called her eldest born-a boy
| of ten-back when he had left her on IL
| street corner The lad covered under
| the severity of eye and accent.
''NevCr dare leave me in the street
| again without raising your haiti she
| said. ut is a token of respect you owe
! tO every woman. and never forget that
| your mother is WOmanH'
The reprOof was doublc-barbed. As
ISOLATION with mother and sisters is eX-
cellent practice in an exercise that can
not be abated Withoutiniur to him who
takes the liberty. 1.-The fellow" who
mods acaYalier welcome OF farewell to
MS sister at the window, or in the street,
will, with the most gallant intentions,
some day, in fit of abstraction. or
when hurried by business into forget
tulnesSOf his company manners, nod as
careleSsly to some other fellows sister.
and score point i'll favor OF the rival
whose hand from the force OF early
habit and long usage, moves inVOluntd-
rally toward the cap-brm at the ap-
preach of any woman whose face is fa-
miliar to him.
A nod is not bow,
To nod TO woman is oDen dlsrC-
spect.
The mother who carves those two SEN
fences and the import thereof upon the
mind Of her boy builds SO much better
than she knows 10 merit the gratitude
of ilcr sex. The bob or the duck of the
covered head which salutcs comrade
of his gender is barely pardOnable, even
in America. Students in foreign uni
versties would be sent to Coventry were
they to practice it on meeting in corridor
or thoroughfare. Equally general in tine
older lands, where external cOurteSieS
rank higher than with us, is the Gus
tom of dof1ing the hat on passing lady
stranger or acQuaintance-On the
stair ease or in the halls of hotel or
other public buildings. In witnessing
the effect of the neglect of the gracious
little ceremony III the country that fur
niSheS the best husbands in the world.
it is impossible to restrain the regretfui
sigh:
and not to leave the other undOneW
The undoing is carried to disgrace
| full excess as we descend the social
| scale. The lower we go the more scanty
is the observance of the etiquette and
| moraliteS OF the hat. until we are forced
to consider the important adjunct to the
al IlNINI
barometer of breeding. Respect of the
rules regulating its management in re-
fined circles is the last sign of better
days and better manners with which the
decayed gentleman parts. When his
land fCrgets the way to the hat-brim, he
is very near the foot of the hill. What
slangy lad once called in my hearing
1.-The hat trick" is likewise that which
the self-made man of plebian extraction
is slowest to learn. have seen millions
aires forget to remove their hats in SUI.
perb draWlng-roomS.
One of the most notifying eXperi-
enceS Of my earlier married life was tho
visit to our country-hOuSc of diStin-
guished man than whom the state held
none ADLER of his profession. We had
invited several friends to meet him, and
the dinner given i'll his honor passed off
smoothly The lion roared in per-
fectly satisfactory manner, winning
universal admiration. Coffee was served
on the veranda, and the evening being
cool, the great man called for his hat.
He might have asked permission
from the women present to assume
it. we thought, but orators must
preserve their vocal chords from rust.
As the chiliness increased, we adj
jourDed 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 cOmmOner of the comlnOnalty
and vulgar ingram. 1t ought to have
been impossible for him to commit
such breach of good manners i'll any
circumstances The varniSb of sur
face-and unaccustomed-cou like
other cheap and patent dressing, re-
quireS frequent renewal and can not be
warranted to wear.
As a grateful contrast, | offer another
authentic incident. A true gentleman,
driving through the country with his
wife and children, stopped at small
farm house to inquire the way. A child
on the font seat of the carriage had Il
view of him as he knocked at the door.
"Papa's talking to Il lady," chirped
the little one. Il can't sec her, but /
know, because he took off his hat when
the door opened. and is standing with
his hat 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 calico gown without collar.
Her hair was unkempt, her arms and
hands dripppd with suds. Her parting
directions were Shrilly nasal and un-
grammatical. The man, who appeared
beside her as a prince beside seTf.
stoOp with his noble head barred as i'll a
royal presence.
How could you?" queried the quick
eyed occupant OF the front seat. "She
wasn't bit of lady,
''She was woman, my boy; and
gentleman 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 (mas-
culine) are Science-One of the arts.
Yet two-thirdS of them don't half APP
pretiate their privileges in that line. or
suspect their possibilities"
i saw man who calls himself q gen.
tleman kiss his bethrOthed the other
day with his hat set as immovably on
his head as if it had grown there with
his growth, and strengthened with his
strength
Fancy such condition of mind and
body that could make such thing prac-
ticable in Christian land in the niue
tceuth century.
1t Was ScanfalOus.
Washington Post.
The DopuIar chestnut i'm society cir