The Bessemer indicator., 1893-11-25

When tho bill for madam's best
bonnet comes homo the man OF the
family generally makes some wise ro'
self out with stylish hat mt little
cost and as rule he enters into
long dissertation upon tho joys OF
masculine wearing apparel as com
pared with tho fal-lals Il fashionable
woman requires in order to keep up
with the procession. After all.
though, how little he knows OF the
real history OF the hcadgcar he sees
fit to praise so highly.
Though there is no mention in his
tory OF any models OF millinery such
as adorn the feminine head OF to-
day. it is recorded in the earliest
ages that man wore some sort OF COW
ering upon his head. and it is doubt
full II single generation OF men ever
lived that did not wear certain
iorm OF hat. In early Asiatic times,
though no particular and separate
article was used distinctively for tho
head. there was the hood, a portion
of the outer cloak that could be
drawn up at will to protect from the
cold and rain.
From Rome. wo all know. comes
the model OF the liberty cap that is
as familiar to most of us as tho ever.
lasting derby. This cap was given
to those slaves who were allotted
their freedom, while another style
went to the graduates and the fools
cap to the poor miscreant who Jagged
behind in tho race for educational
honors.
On Grecian coins one can sec the
"pilcus," n style of hat that resem-
blcs greatly the beaver hat of mod
ern times. II is cone shaped, and
was evidently made OF felt or some
other soft and piable material, for
many historians declare that tho
making OF felt was not discovered
until ST. Clement, the fourth bishop
OF Rome and patron saint OF hatters,
in his strolls as wandering monk
found that the tow that he put into
his sandals was compacted into n
solid substance from the moisture
and pressure of his feet. This hint
led to the production of felt, though
substance resembling it in every
particular Is described by Pliny.
The "petasus" OF the Greeks had
wide brim anu was something like tho
sombrero in its picturesque droop or
dashing curve in tho wide circles of
felt that constituted tho rim.
Chaucer speaks OF tho hat in these
lines.
And fro the bench he drove away the cat;
| And laid ndownc his potents and his hat
In many OF tho English museums
are shown pictures and manuscripts
that prove that hats were worn by
men in England us far back as the
eleventh century. The carly Briton
wore skull caps and also hooded
capes- In tho fourteenth century men
wore n curious arran cement with
floating ends thai WAS neither pic
turesque nor convenient In the
next century the soft round hat came
into vogue, though ut the same tiine
stiff, narrow crowned form4 with Il
single dropping feather were popular.
In the reign of King Henry tho
Eighth and also in that OF Elizabeth
the masculine hcadwcar was most
picturesque. the various degrees OF
oTHaHicuiutioH !hurhiuS ino Occnnl-
tion and standing OF the wearcr,
writes Edith Townsend Everett in
the Philadelphia Times Satin, vel
vet, laco and pearls weio all worn by
noblemen, while the button cao indi
Gated the countryman. The beaver
was at first worn oni5 b. those Of
high degree, and TO this da; Is kept
largely for occasions OF ceremony.
The plain furitan hat sans ornament
and the dashing cooked hat led up to
the present era when tao high silk.
ungainly tile and tho stiG, uncom
promising Gerby are the two distlnc.
tive styles in hcGdwcar. Whether
the next fifty years will LEAD to any
thing more picturesque 1t is hard to
say, but OF one thius W. may be cer-
tain. that If fashion dcman Is IN ss and
feathers for masculine wearing the
millinery bills OF hlsbln1 az father
will be as large, IL rot lar. or, than
those OF the feminine clement in the
home, for men are as vain Of thci.
appearance rs women. and it is Gus.
tom, and not economical motives. that
keeps them in check.
There are la.0on Americans residing
in France, according to til. census cf