The Southern herald., 1902-02-07
EEeLIsH swELLs IN RAGS.


made to Appear Old.
Itissueh bad form to be in anything
but shabby when rigged out in shoot
ing kit-thst is, if you are 5 smart
peTsoa-thst only the most ignorant
Of newly-rieh people are 50. II you
see q man in Norfolk jacket and gait
ers that look anything less than three
years old, you can put him down as a
poor imitation Of sportsman, says
London Answers.
When the tailor shows bis customer
the hestuff-ifheis the right man-ital-
ready looks limp and rough as posi-
bic, with hairs and ends sticking out
here and there, for il has been careful
" manufactured for that end, and
fetehes big price. But that isn't
enough. When you've got the suit
home, your man-who must be about
your own size, or he is no good-must
wear them for at least a week, and,
after taking them off, hang them
abOut-in a hsyloft for choice. II
looks dreadfully bad to wear new
shooting things, as though you
"weren't used to it," and had just
bought your first outfit for sport.
Some gilded youths hand their new
"Norfolk" over to their grooms and
stable boys, to stake the edge Off a
bit. A true Swell" will only wear a
Norfolk jacket that, though beaut-
fully cut, and fitting well, is thorough
ly shabby, and preferably frayed on
the shoulders and at the sleeves.
Your tOp-hat, for hunting, must
be Of perfect design and quality; but
it must have at least one or two
"erackles" in it, as though you had
fallen on it. Some Of the Midland
hatters-who often cut the London
hatters out for hunting ''toppers"-
are even asked to break the hats
slightly, and block them outagain. A
good hunting topper costs f2 2 shil-
lings; but only old men, or "outsid-
ers," wear hats that look as though
"got up" for Piecadilly. Again, g
''bowler" in the country should have
an ugly scar on the brim, as though
riding-cord button had been there,
and been torn away. ANY good valet
will make the right mark on hat Of
this kind.
Caters and leggins are worse than
useless as the maker turns them out;
they must be well stained and dark
ened, and almost worn thin on the
inner sides. At the same time, they
have to be Of the current fashionable
cut, last years seldom being up to
date. And, as only few men ride SO
much as to "color" their CATERS well
and early every season, a trained serv-
ant has to stain the gaiters well, and
rub them with a leathered iron in the
places where the friction against the
saddle is mostapt to wear them.
Again, many Swell" riders require
their grooms and stable boys to give
the CATERS a thorough good wearing
before the winter season begins. Top
boots for the "shires," too, must be
well worn on the inner sides of the
tops, though Of the current years
make, and this is generally managed
by vigorous pounding with a leath-
cred hammer, followed by darkening
with harness composition.
As for ties, white stocks, which are
the favorite cravats, ought TO be well
flattened out, and ironed thin, if the
wearer is a careful dresser, and to OBJ
tain this they must be sent to a rather
second-rate laundry several times be-
fore they are worn at all. Then a
"French dresser" will give them the
right degree Of whiteness, and they
will have the appearance Of having
been Country washed" after being,
ostensibly, worn many times at the
coverts and in the hunting field.
Waistcoats should be spotless and
neat, as they are kept covered up;
but the third buttonhole and its but
ton should be pulled about and badly
frayed, as it is from this buttonhole
that the cartridge extractor hangs.
Snipe shooting is mostly carried on in
wild districts; and in rainy weather,
over rwet ground, the best of cartridges
will stick, and the extractor for pull
ing them out is hung handily from
the third waistcoat button by a piece
of flexible wire. This spot thus gets
badly frayed, and if the waistcoat's
owner likes to be considered snipe-
shot--a great accomplishment-hi his
tailor or his man must treat this but
ton and buttonhole in such a way as