St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1896-10-10
AN AMUSING HAT STORY.
vt Resulted In Heating the Eeads Instead

4 va SUOAAAG
Necessity is the mother Of invention.
and among those which this hot wealth
i sr has called into existence chapeaux
1 glace are perhaps the most ingenious
md extraordinary. This new article
S neither more nor less than top hat
fitted with an inner apartment for the
PERCEPTION of a fair.sized lump of ice,
/ which freshens the layer of air about
| the head, and is yet SO thoroughly
|waterproof that You may wear it for
hours after the ice is. thawed without
Experiencing the slightest discomfort.
/ An individual who, wise in his genera
tion, was provided with one of these
i |head-refreshers took his seat outside
Icafe on one of the boulevards the other
! afternoon, shortly after the dinner
hour. The seats on the sidewalk were
almost all taken, and he was about to
retire in dudgeon, when the waiter es-
4 pied free table and invited him to
take it. After he had freely INDUCED
in books of Munich beer, it occurred TO
him that now was the time to renew
the ice in his hat. No sooner thought
than done. He poured out the water
from the receptacle, and then noticed
1 that there was no ice about, whereupon
| he replaced his hat on the ground and
called out to the waiter, who usually
4 takes good deal of calling at that busy
/ hour of the day. Meanwhile another
individual, whose curiosity was mqyed
| by the strange spectacle of water issu-
4 ing from a silk hat, surreptitiously
| took the headgear in his hand, inspect
/ ed it, and put it back, but not, as it
chanced, in exactly the same place.
/ Now, there were many top hats ON the
4 ground at the moment. for the heat was
excessive, and the bulk of the visitors
4 had INDUCED in abundant dining, and
4 were eager to be refreshed When at
last the ice came, the gentleman for
whom it was intended was busy com
versing with friend who had just
arrived so he took the ice III his hand,
and, without looking under the table,
temporarily placed il, as he thought, in
the watertight receptacle of his patent
topper, intending TO arrange it proper
ly later on.
But the conversation was long and
interesting, and might not. have. ended
as abruptly as it did but for an unfore-,
seen accident. A neighbor of the pose
SCISSOR of the patentshat, having paid the
waiter, leisurely donned his own silk
headgear, rose up, stretched himself,
and then exclaimed htrriedly to
i friend: "Tiens! it is killing hot this
evening. The perspiration is coming
off my head in torrents!" "Ab, yes;
II Ia fxrfaa
he stands and leave nought but a stag
nant pool to mark the place he occu-
pied.' replied the friend. 'Do you
know what it is, mon ami? said the
other, in a sepulchral tone, rs he slow
/ ly resumed his seat. Il am seriously ILL.,
That accursed fever that contracted
in Greece is on me again, and / feel
as if Good heavens, look at that p
i he exclaimed, as little stTeamiets OF
icy cold water flowed rapidly over his
eyes, nose and chin on to his white
pique waistcoat His companion looked
in sheer amazement at the horror
stricken face Of his friend, which was
as pale as a sheet. Then he said: 1--WE
/ had better drive home at oree. What
ever have you been eating for dinner?
Not mushrooms, i hope? But first take
| off your hat and unbutton your vest"
i The moment the hat was removed q
| large chunk of blush ice dropped into
the wineglass on the table, knocking It
on to the ground, where it smashed
with loud crash that aroused the. at-s
| tention of the public. sMillie ton.
nerres!" cried the white vested indi-
vidual; what mauvais drole has been
trying to play his practical jokes ON
1 me? What the - is this r. he contin-
ued, looking. at the patent headcoyer-
ing; and then, in fit Of passion, lie cayed
in the unoffending crown against his
humid knee. Nom dune pipe, shout-s
ed the owner of the .ehapeal1 q glace,
/ 'thow dare you treat my property in
/ that unceremonious fashion? ! will
teach YOU manners;" and with that he
seized upon hat that lay near the Off
fender, and reduced it. TO a shapeless
pnlp. "Mais, mon Dieui that's my
1 property exclaimed q third individual,
/ putting his face proyokingly up beside
chat of the other. "What, right have
/ YOU, monsieur ~ "He is 1nadman,
who carries ices and soups in his hat
/ and pockets, . exclaimed another.
sThen be should be sent to Clarendon,
i remarked bystander. No, Francois;
no fghting,n whispered one man to his
i friend, the hero of the hat. It was with
extreme difficulty that free fight was
avoided, but the gentlemen duly ex-
/ changed cards, and, having nearly lost
/ their heads, went home hatless and
/ cooled to bed-London Telegraph.
4 Mixed Salad.
/ Tn winter when s0reen thirrsv ara