The San Francisco call., 1895-11-24

ordinary circumstances, it would be diff
cult thing to remove. A man could go to
the opera without buying front seat and
get his moneys worth and the scene was
uninterrupted by, the much-abused head
gear of others, but, alas the Joy was des-
tined to be short lived. aid high hats have
again returned even in quantities exceed
ing in number and size those OF the past.
They have apparently come to stay.
Proud man hath again fallen victim TO
woman's whim, and he can kick and COM
plain as loud and as long as he desires, but
the hat will continue to rise upon and
glover on him with its old familiar stare,
and he will have 10 stand it. lie can twist
and squirm to get glimpse of the stage
all he pleases, and make all the attempts
in his power to get seat where the vista
through the headgears gives him 1eetlng
sight of the ballet, but the woman with
the big hat will manage to do just little
more squirming, and he will have an ex
cellent opportunity to study the latest de-
signs in back-hair decorations. There is
no hope for him. He may occasionally
get snapshot sight OF dimpled arm or
pair OF bright eyes, or, perhaps, q we'll
turned ankle, but that is all. The woman
in front of him will see all he overlooks,
and if she is acquainted with him he will
be informed of what happened after the
play.
and second acts ne will not be disturbed
so long as he is contented with staring at
the curtain, but the instant it goes up and
the play begins woman will sweep down
the aisle and plunk herself down in front
of him, with that glassy-eye expression so
common in the woman who accepts your
seat in the streetcar.
Any attempts to overcome the obstruc-
ton by comments and remarks in an un-
frni hou ha
temerity to say very cutting things, but
the woman has got the hat and that is
one thing like nine-tenths of the argu-
ment.
In the olden time when the maids of
Greece went to see the gladiators perform
a song and dance on the front face of a
brother and friend they adorned their
heads with a slight wreath of leaves or a
silken band wound round the forehead
and tastefully dropped over the shoulders.
The very extreme was a little crown of
gold or silver, and even the finest went
with uncovered heads to witness the games
in the arena. When the men happened to
be in a back seat they had the extreme
pleasure of looking over heads of smoothly
laid hair, and the programme was uninter-
rupted by an assortment of ostrich feathers
or pillar of woven straw kinked and
twisted in such shapes that the scene was
shut out. In those good old DAYS the bald
heads were not driven to the parterre for
just fieeting glimpse OF coryphees whose
performance was visible from any part OF
the arena.
To-day, however, the past is almost for
gotten and is only referred to in poetry.
There is nothing like it known to the peo-
pie of this century. There never will be
again it is feared. and down-trodden and
inferior man can prepare to be completely
removed from the elevating influence of
the drama. If there is anything there for
him to improve his absorbing mind with,
it will be denied him and he will have to
be satisfied with close attention to the
straw-knit, double-sewed, interchangeable
fall bonnet or a mass Of hand-prepared
hair.
If this causes revolt, the space for So
called bald heads will have to be enlarged
and the women must sit alone.
The high hatis an abomination, q dis
temper food and a wrecker of serenity.
There are two ways to overcome it-one is
to go down among the old boys and the
other is to get up in the chandeliers.