The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-11-25

Jokes about the mlssppopriation Of UNI
brellas that We have come TO regard tho
article as something altogether humorous.
| losing sight entirely Of its origin ana ear
Iiy history We are al familiar with the
anecdote % the man who. because OF his
earlier experience. when he Left his UNI
brella 10 stand .n public place wrote
upon clip Of paper which he attached
90 tho handle. This umbrella has been
left by a man who Will return ia an hour
and who wnen he came back in the stat
cd time found merely The slip ~ paper
with these words traced underneath. Ard
/ has been taken by a man VINO VIII not
return al nll" This ana kindred bits OF
Ipicasautry have led US by degrees 20 look
with ughtness ulon one or the most use
ful Of our personal effects.
A. a study the umbrella Is deeply In
terest.ng. II has is place in history my
thology and religion. Ia the sculpiured
remains OF Nincveh and Egypt there arr
Representations OF Kings and occasionally
I % lesser potentates. riding IN state or
going In procession with umbrellas over
their heads This would seern as II IN
those early days umbrellas we're more OF
I a mark az distinction than for either U.s.
or ornamental purposes And. indeed.
many OF tho writers persuade uE that
this is 80.
SUGGESTED byNthe Mushroom.
II has been quite solemnly averred that
[ the very nrst suggestion Of the umbrella
was Ia the humble mushroom and toad
stool and to this day the farisians cAl!
the ercctious SCI up IN the Bols de Bou-
locne as shelters for their pedestrians
I 'chnmpguons" The shape Is certainly
In a crude way similar In spite 81 our
present humorous attitude. we are told oy
those we'll M Ia umbrella lore that IN me
early times. because % its royal signin-
canoe. proof OF this the Mahrlta princes
Of India had among their august titles
lord Of the um hrella."
In China the umbrella has always play
"a a prominent part In che second inva-
sion Of China by the Tartars the Emper-
or's son was taken prisoner hy the Tar
tar chief and made 10 carry his umbrella
while out hunting. In religious ceremo-
mics the nncients regarded ~ seriously.
their gods being frequently shaded by um-
brellas and cauopies. in HindoO myth
o.ogy No find that Vishuu once paid a
visit 10 the Internal regions with his um-
brella over his head. We can hardly inn
aEine what usefulness or protection the
thing afforded IN those shady quarters.
and 10 the question why he could not
carry Il there as well as elsewhere we
should be inclined 60 reply the game was
as to the conundrum. Why can't che devil
shadef But possibly Vishnu had some
private reason OF his own for carrying
his sunshade In hades The haliachins
erected over ecclesiastical chairs and al
tars and tho canopeE Of thrones. pulpits
and portals are in their original closely
related 10 umbrellas and have the same
symbolicnl meaning In each OF the ba-
silican chur hes OF Rome there stu hangs
urge umbrella.
Used An Greek NNorshIO.
In Greece during the feast Of Athene
Sciras a white parasol was borne a.
symbol by each OF the priestesses OF the
goddess from the Acropolis 70 the Phaie.
rum. In the Panathenaea the daughters
Of foreign residents carried parasols over
the heads % Athenhn women as a mark
OF inferiority In the Roman classics
also We fiud that q was a post OF honor
for maid servants TO carry the umbrella
over their mistresses In more modern
times. however. o. was considered the
greatest effeminacy for men 20 carry a
parasol or umbrella. Those who ventured
10 DO 50 were looked upon probably as we
should now look upon a man who carried q
powder pun or "A vinaigrette though Ovid
" his advice to a lover did suggest to
him to make himself agreeable by hold
ing his lady's parasol: "Ipse tene die.
tenta suis umbracula virels"
II IS strange 20 think that the fair sex
alone required protection from The ele-
ments and we learn with no little sur.
prise that the traveller Jonas Hanway
who died In i7ss. is said to b. the frat
Engiishman who habltualy carried an