The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-07-10
A MILITARY DUDE.
THE HERR LIEUTENANT OF THE
GERMAN ARMY.
Intelligent and Manly, With Care
fully Trimmed Moustache, He
is Social Lion-aiS
Daily Life.

ever, IN common With the American CuQe
He is intelligent and manly. He wears
no ultra-fashionable attire, and talks nc
ultra-foreign jargo2. He has no yellow
top coats, nor wide trousers, nor pot hats.
nor patent leather shoes, nor big-headed
cane. But there is red stripe on eacE
of his trousers legs, a big imperial eagle
on his helmet, red straps on his heavy
ulster, spurs on his boots and at his side
a sword in massive scabbard, which
strikes the pavement at every step. Hc
often wears a monocle, and always Q
moustache.
A Lieutenant's moustache is probably
the most carefully trained bit of whiskers
in the world. It's proper development
involves more labor than the combined
moustaches of any three dudes in the
whole United States. Three times every
week the Lieutenant's barber devotes half
an hour or longer to oiling it, twisting it,
patting it and burning it into shape with
hot irons. When the Lieutenant Is
shaved the ends of the moustache. are
done up in tissue paper, so that the lather
brush and the BARRIERS fingers cannot
muss it. A very fastidious Lieutenant
puts little fiat wooden clamp on each end
of his noustache every night when he
goes to bed, to keep the hairs straight
and even. The result of all this training
Is q moustache which all German girls
dream about, and all German men, out
tide of the army, ridicule. The hairs are
tiff, crinkled and spread away from the
corners of the mouth in fan shape.
They shine with oil and are odorous of
perfume. The Lieutenant has his hair
piled daily, curled in front frequently and
rubbed down with German elixirs OF all
colors, odors and effects.
After the Lieutenant has been refreshed
by his barber from the fatigue of early
morning drill, he goes to the mostpopular
cafe to show the poor humdrum chaps
without swords or spurs or trained NOUS
taches or curled front hair what mighty
6ne fellow Lieutenant of the Guards is.
As soon as he enters the cafe his faVorite
waiter begins all sorts of feats of aero
batic politeness. He bows himself double
whenever the Lieutenant turns a hair.
He scurries around like mad after the
military periodicals, and shouts himself
hoarse in ordering for the Herr Lieuten-
ant the very best caviar, the freshest rolls,
and the strongest coffee which the cafe
affords. He never addresses the Lieu
tenant directly as "you." That would
be too disrespectful to real Lieutenant,
though it is good enough for men in bob
tail coats and trousers without stripes.
No, the waiter always asks: "Will the
Herr Lieutenant kindly have sugar in his
cofee2" "Will the Herr Lieutenant have
q 2-cent beer or 2s-cent beer2" 'Wil
The Herr Lieutenant have a fine domestic
cigar for 3 cents, OF superine imported
cigar for cents?" All this servility
costs the Lieutenant a cent. It would
cost an American double that amount. A
German civilian would have hard work
to getit at any price. A Frenchman
could not get it at all.
After coffee the Lieutenant takes two
little brushes from case in his pocket
and brushes his moustache. Then he
goes out to give the girls treat. In
Berlin he exhibits himself on Unter den
Linden; in Leipsic, on the Promenade;
In Dresden, on the Bruhl Terrace. He
marches along in the middle of the walk,
as erect and conscious as if he were on
dress parade. He turns neither to the
right nor left, save for an officer of
higher rank. Civilians make way for
him, for he is bad man to bump
against. He is keen to resent any inciv
ility, and the man who shoves him
rudely or gets on his toes, is apt to bring
up opposite him with swords OF pistols
the next morning in the Grunewald or
Rosenthal. The Lieutenant on this
street parade, however, is not so busy ad-
miring himself that he has no time to ad-
mire all the girls, who admire him. He
ogles every pretty woman through his
monocle.
At dinner in restaurant the Lieuten-
ant always gets the pt iest waitress, her
incest smiles, the fatsest bit of roast
goose, and the biggest piece of cheese.
He is admitted to the theatre for almost
nothing, and attracts more attention
there than the rich banker who has pro-
scenium box all to himself. Between
the acts he brushes his moustache before
the whole house and firts with the pref
test girl whose Frau mamma isn't look
ing or whose Herr papa has gone out to
see man. He knows all the soubrettes.
His card is attached almost every evening
to a bouquet that is handed over the
footlights. He leads at all the dances.
His red and blue coat attracts more IA
vors than a dozen swallowtails. In the
damentour he is the first man on the
floor. In fact his social domination is so
complete that of late years disgruutled
critics of German high life usually speak
of it as sLieutenant-beridden society"
The Lieutenant's social success is not
due entirely, however, to his fine clothes,
perfected moustache, curled front hair,
and good dancing. The German Lieu
tenant is generally nobleman and gen
tleman. He is always well educated and
well informed concerning topics Of the
day. Long after entering the army, he
frequently subscribes to university lecture
courses, and appears in the lecture room
regularly with his little leather bag full
of notes, just as if he were an ordinary
student. He reads great deal about
civil government, political economy, Bis
marck and the Hohenzollerns. He car
say his Goethe backward, and can cite