The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-08-21
K NEW FLANNELS.
DIsREGARD or CIRCUMSTANCES At
HOME COT HIM INTO TROUBLE

Suit Of Clothes" Something Novel; He
Said to His Tailor soon He Fled 10
HIS Home and the Clothes Are Missing.
A faded taste for plaid shirts aud carnation
neckwear had led Mr.. Hopkins TO excess. In
the matter Of dress he had outlived all Brook
lyn styles. and thus had come into a way Of
clothes that leads on TO notoriety. In his mind
he had lannels-not the quiet. gentle fabric OF
idle tone. but something broad and decided.
something with a stripe. something original
and intense. Arising in the first flush Of his in
%tention. Mr.. Hopkins assailed the Brooklyn
shops.
Something in ~iannels." said he TO him Of
the yardstick. Got anything that's right real
and new 2"
The yardstick person rested his chin in
thought, while Mr.. Hopkins looked bland and
innocent.
Something like this ?" asked the tailor.
dragging down a bolt OF cream-colored cloth.
That makes a nobby s~uiting-Fifth avenue
style all through"
Huh" said Nj. Hopkins. haven't you any
thing more decided than that-something with
n stripe in it?"
The tailor showed something else. 1t had a
narrow hairline through the texture and was
worn by our best gents" as the tailor said.
Mr.. Hopkins shook his head and the tailor tried
again. This time 1t was a pearl blue flannel
with a lutestring groundwork Of salmon pink.
1t was enough TO break up a dog fight or cast
confusion on a riot. But Mr.. Hopkins was not
pleased.
See here" said he. II want something de-
c~ided-something that won't look like a hand
me-down slunG-together from a department
store. Show me something of the real kind.
something that really has a character"
The tailor stuck out his chin.
sorry. sir said he. but we're all out OF
awning cloth. But mebbe you can get suited at
the boiler factory down the street. This is as
| loud as We dare in flannels.'
Mr.. Hopkins slammed out. He forsook the
quiet precincts Of Brooklyn borough. and jour
neyed into Manhattan. When he fought his
way home over the bridge that night a smile of
peaceful gladness sat upon his placid brow.
He had found his Hannel-but where. the gods
alone know. His friends think II was Chatham
Square. and have said so. Perhaps il was. But
a cursory glance at the Hopkins flannels leads
also to the belief that it was Bloomingdale or
the Watervliet Arsenal. As flannel IL was unique
ponderous, reverberating. sonorous.
Also had Mr.. Hopkins purchased boots. They
were Of patent leather with kid tops. and to
match. with harmonious cantillation. the SYM
phonious nannel. they were strung with
white silk laces. The day came and the fan
nels came home. They entered that solemn.
peaceful Brooklyn home as invidiously as a
warning torpedo boat slips into a peaceful har-
Dor. In the morning the explosion came. At
tired in fannels and patent leather. Mr.. Hop
kins descended to breakfast. Earring down the
front stairs, he burst upon his erstwhile happy
family. Ahollow moan went up from the as
semblage.
Samuel. asked his mother. when the cha
otto diseord became stilled upon her benumbed
sense. wherever did you get it,
perhaps. 4! the tsiIor's, Of course. what's thu;
samuel's mother acknowledged that she
didn't know; TIL napnels APPEARED strong
Then suddenly She became sad. - ~
Ny sGn;" aid she Srayeiy;t = Il must sntw warn
horse racing. You have been before this always
n 2, sa,,i and pnTee' and T / trust that mySSSSH n ssels
reason before you do anything rash. Do You
think you can have them dyedf" I
abo REsdI dans want %h any fGs Eaa al 1,n aa R6inS
When he reached the front door. he found the
You'd better take this. Mr.. Sam" said she.
kins as he hung himself down the steps. AS il
In response. there was q violent Tattling Of
might have been due to the way Nj. Hopkins
slammed the front door. but more likely it was
car the vibrations died away. leaving him alone
with his thoughts. the patent leather boots.
He leaned forward to catch the hand rail as It
ment. the car came to a violent standstill.
When the 1 PsssenGers had picked themselves
salutations 10 the motorman in the presence OF
Mr.. Hopkins's apparel.
In front stood the motorman with his face
wide open. Three several times the conductor
yauked the bellcord before he came. out OF his
trance. and from thence onward the cars
progress was a succession OF narrow escapes
for pedestrians, the motorman being enGrossed
S entirely Ea with n6 the aGBedips fRs s aesep MFi H fSe
glances bestowed upon him as evidence. OF
he licked a fecf from his coat sleeve and then
bestowed approving looks upon his boots,
shiny and radiant as the front door OF a brand
q SINAI and dirty fist clutching at his collar;
Turning around. he saw a small. innocent child
from its mothers arm and laid a blurring hand
upon the Hopkins coat, -,
trust that the child bore evidence. Of a recent
oh. that's all, right. Sir" said the woman.
t t4sE? Hes sI head dft boy G IN the G & stable"
pending Intimacy Of the infant When HnHSt the car
reached New York he got of and hurried down
% Ehs s had benz snst dri2Sk fnsuITFkS Tie mysseEious ine arH
ate followed, him with a loud whisper. desiring
City Hail Park. Mr.. Hopkins turned into, Broad
way. s ne hurried over the crossing Doth an
When he crossed again further up two more
cars stopped. Once again he crossed, and
other cars halted.
What's the matter with the cars p asked
Mr.. Hopkins Of a bystander. Has Sampson
cut the cable ~
He was still chuckling at this joke when the
bystander took his hands of his ears and his
eyes of Mr.. Hopkins's clothes.
"What's that p he murmuredt to Mr.. Hopkins.
What d,ye say2 I'm hard o. hearin'."
That afternoon Mr.. Hopkins went to Coney.
He was pursued there by the impression that
he was creating a sensation.
Can there be anything the matter with my
clothes p he asked himself. Has any one
pinned anything 10 my back ~
No-nothing was pinned to his back. His
hannels were as ~untrammelled as at the mo-
ment when they left the tailor's. On the way
down to West Brighton the attentions in
creased. A red-faced person. attired in a red
and blue shirt, a scarf patterned with American
flags. slate blue trousers. and a tweed frock