The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-09-12

power. With it he covers himself in the royal presence, and if the king should enter court where civil or criminal cases were being tried the presiding judge would immediately don his black caa.
 The same significance attaches to the wearing of the hat in Parliament. It is a declaration of power and rank, though some authorities describe it as a survi- val of the time when members went down to Westminster clad in arm0r, and retained. their helmets, owing to the difficulty of removing the same. But the importance of the hat in the Com mons is great, and the House resents nothing So much as an infringement of its unwritten rules as to covering and unc0vering, much the the discontinue of the new M. P.
 The right of Lord Kingsale to wear hs hat in the presence of the sovereign is we'll known, and emphasizes the sig nificance attached in past ages to the covering of the head, which significance is still unconsciously retained in the usages of good society in these days. Lord Kingsale's privilege is shared only by Lord Forester and the master of Trinity college, Cambridge. When Queen Victoria visited the univ .-city the master of Trinity exercised his right, but, feeling that some eXplana- ton was necessary, he reminded her majesty that the holders of his office were entitled to retain their hats iu the presence of the sovereign. In the presence of the sovereign-yes," replied the queen, but not in that of lady"
 Second only in importance to the im- perial crown is the cap of maintenance, a high conical cap or crimson velvet turned up with ermine, which the king wears during the preaching of the coro- nation sermon. As spiritual princes de- irving their authority from no earthly source, the archbishops and bishops wear their mitres throughout the cere- mony, and their headgear has passed into a synonyme for their office, while the shovel hats of their daily wear are inseparable from episcopacy. The car- dinars oval hat, with double purple frieze having thirty tassels falling be- hind, is the similar prize of the Roman church. It is the most costly and un- comfortable of headgear, but, neverthe- less, thousands have lived and striven only to obtain it. Though the gowns of various universities differ in shape, the possession of degrees is marked by the colored hoods, just as in ancient days pilgrims were distinguished by cookie hats. Jews by yellow caps and heretics by steeple crowns. The blue bonnet of the Scots is notorious, and many Qua kers are still faithful to the broad brimmed beaver. Sixty years ago the white hat was the badge of radicalisrn, from its use in and out of season by Orator Hunt" Of the significance of the hat in foreign lands it is sufficient to mention the fez of the Moslem and the turban, descendants of the Prophet proclain1ing their lineage by green headgear Though in England the sym bolism of the hat is no longer so evident as of yore, it's existence is sufficiently proved by its supremacy in the toilet and in the exchange of courtesies. To doff one's coat or boots would be a tedi- ous salutation, and without meaning, but the removal of ones hat is the nat = ural manner of acknowledging merit. And materially also the hat proclains the man, for, as the autocrat would ask, What is more eloquent than a glossy Lincoln and Bennett or a napless, frayed specimen of the same genus, a rakiIy worn bowler, a neglige Trilby, or a greasy cap?" Power and poverty alike reveal themselves in extremities. Pail Mall Gazette.