Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-03-08

coming mo the Solchuu dUOUt Hiu-
ulght-his usual hour and OF inspira-
,icn-aRd saying, Il have inyel,ed a
new word. HIS face expressed an Eu-
reka; and he continued, Il have just re-
turned from d reception n Mrs. --,
where there were a dozen aimless jeu-
nesse d0re. and I named them dudes.
One OF them was asked TO entertain the
company with a comic song. and ne
complied with one that had for a cho-
rus. "Duda du, duda dude, and sang
% a catchy tune. which was taken up
by his fellows, who seemed 10 be well
addicted 10 its context and music. And
the idea came 10 me, this chorus eX-
presses the i0anities whom they are
they are all dudes" Then and there
Hurlbert sat down and indited a sarcas-
tic semi-social editorial in which for
he first time the word dude, now so
current in the social, club and newspa-
per gossip of the city, was used. And
two years ago it crept into London
dictionary of Americanisms. and was
defined "a fop, a eOxcCmb, foolish
youth But that is not sufficiently eX-
pressive.
4 <
A New York dude is indeed foolish
youth-always under 80 years of age
VINO. having an income either by inner
i,auce or parental indulgence, and be-
ing without business or professional
employment, wastes his adolescence in
studying how to best adorn his person
with triumphs of tOilets and to obey
Jle scriptural sarcasm, Fat, drink and
be merry, for tomorrow you die. His
father cOnfeSSOr and Telemachus is
either a tailor, a barber, or a valet,
which latter he dsnominates to his in
Inmates my Man land who generally is
the better man of the twol. The Dude
dlsdaius athletics. and takes no other
exercise than is made by daily loung
ing along Filth or Madison avenues
swinging q cane, as glancing into club
windows for tbs hope of gl,4ms of adj
mira,ion from fellow dudes. or watch
ing for glances eff imagined compli-
nents from ladies whom his vanity
Ogies Re rises late. is addicted 10 the
peTfumed bath. is served with chocolate
or c0ffee-which he invariably pro-
nOunces cafe-and disdains cocoa be-
cause it is cheap and vulgar and drank
by wlOm he cails-a faint Renaissance
of the Greek of his collegiate days-oi
pOllOi Fl takes the route TO his club
calls every one he meets or salutes odd
man." talks about himself and is pro-
life of using rs ''my's," and moi
memes;' calls for his Manhattan cock
TAIL and makes a pretense of looking
over the newspapers.
II Hr4na- Ha fr-Ff1 ,FsG
politics is such a demnitiOn bore; for
I have never voted, don't cher know.
But he is careful TO read accounts OF
the theatre and music halls. or Of So
ciety dOings; and if his name appears
among invited guests fingers his eye
long over il; or if the horse races; or
of what the cable says London is doing;
but avoiding any topic that might be-
get thought as sedUlOusly as Tramp
Weary Waggles avoids hearing sugges-
tons about work Cocktail and news
papers finished, he joins his fellow
dudes 40 club windows. and aids them
in vapid remarks upon the eGuipageS
or the sauntering ladies on the side
walk-that they all pronounce trottoir,
and brightens his feeble wits with al
the mails with out mourning an arrest
by Anthony COmgOck. He diSdains
the club luncheon. 10 which ne may be
invited by some member who would
take cynical pleasure in obtaining such
amusement from him as himself could
get from a spOrdye puppy or trick
monkey on a chair beside him.
THE DUDE IN THE PARK.
mo. thanks. awfully; but the VALID
orr is now the proper caper for lunch
con. and I'm going there. Next, more
exhibition OF himself on the prOmen-
ade. After luncheon. new exhibit OF
himself in his drag in Central Park,
where, to quote himself, Il give my
groom an airing on his back seat;
which is another proper caper. The
dude declines invitations 70 accompany
a lady in a victoria Tor. don't cher
know, she wants to be talked TO, and
that is such a bore
Returned from the Park he perhaps
visits his tailor to receive adulatiOns
from snip, as they consult over some
new device Of trousers, vest, or coat,
or q chic lining 20 an OvercOat, and
with all the earnestnCss of Venezuela
Commissioners over boundary maps.
In the dude is Narcissus incarnated:
and he is his own god to worship. Dim
ner 70 the modern Narcissus is simply
means OF exposing an Immaculate
ellipdcal sAirt-tront or a new device
OF cOllar-stud and vest button; and he
regards a bali room, the opera, or the
theatre. as a place TO be avoided if ex-
ertiOn of mind and body must then be
come necessary. while Roster and
Bials. ProctOr's. Olympia and other mu-
sic halls become preferable. for there
he can at least be the most admired
by the middle classes.
THE FOP DIFFERENTIATED.
OF this class New York City is full.
The dude does not travel; for that
brings trouble and dis-urbs ease; and
he does not flourish in any other city
and is not indigenous elsewhere. he
can become a curiosity for Eastern or
Western tourists to witness Whenever
visiting this city.
The definition Of the dude in the die
ti0Dary referred to DETAINED both fOp
and coXcOm5. These do have brains.
Were not DisraeN and Dickens tops. and
the poet Willis? And was not Charles
Sumner more or less of a cOXcOmb?
The fOp and the cOXcOmb may possess
mental abilities; but the New York
dude, never.
A. Oakley HALL.