The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-05-31
Y A WOMAN

\ Knight Templar is beautiful
~ creature. Women all agree to
4 \ that. A certain halo of distinc-
tion l1overs over him (when he has on
his war paint which is almost unique.
To some degree it attends the army
and the navy since halo is a special
attribute of a uniform, but the Knight
Templar's halo is a tritle more bur-
nished. little larger in circumference
| to wonan's eyes. than even the one
poised over the head of her favorite
saint
1t is chiefly a matter of feathers. If
the American man. who is said to be
so completely relegated to the back
ground by the women of his family.
! wishes to regain his lost sceptre of con-
troll he should make an effort to have
plumes adopted as an important Access
sorry to the masculine costume. You
can't .snub a man who wears\a long
plume, even if 1t does look as If 1t had
been attached to his leadgear by the
safe and sure assistance of tenpenny
nails and a pot of glue. You simply
can't do it. No matter how insignf-
cant he may be in his other clothes,
that long plume fetcheS you and un-
consciously you bow down to his dig
nifty and Importance. He knows it. too,
and he takes on airs because of being
clothed in q little brief authority over
feminine self-confdence. He may he
very ordinary sort of parsonage minus
his feathers. but somehow he manages
to live up to the feathers, and every
woman sees in him a reincarnated Sir
Launcelot, or another Galahad, or Sir
Percival riding down to many-towered
Camelot in the sweet May.
Generally. however, he is about what
femninity believes him to be--a pretty
good sort with reasonably high ideals
and ambitions. The strenuous life of
knight of old wouldn't especially ap-
peal to him. for he has lived long
| enough not to be anxious to go through
the world looking for trouble. He
doesn't yearn to fight every other man
he meets, because of some fancied
grievance. and he isn't advertising for
lorn maidens to champion, but he will
fight for the right. and he is chivalrous
to all women and honorable with all
men, and perhaps. in his steady-going
unromantic way. he redresses' more
wrongs than the knights of old, with all
their dazzling feats Of arms and the
prevalence of gore in their immediate
vicinity.
Most women labor under the hallucl-
nation that Knights Templar live. move
and have their being for the sole pur-
pose of giving an annual ball. Yet it is
said that this is really an error. There
are few other things they have to do
besides bother with balls. They learn
verses and recite them to each other
much as we used to do in Sunday
school, and then they do limitations and
other weird things. The remainder of
their time during the year they devote
to devising souvenirs, in order to see
bargain counter rush or a, tea fight OH
reception nights. Really, you never
would have believed what a lot of
graspng women there are in Scranton,
unless you should have seen them try
ing to get things from the Mary COM
mandery Monday night. Such crowd
ing beat even circus. One very large
and very handsome man at the door of
st. Luke's parish house had job that
some OF the others envied him, and
tried to dislodge him from the same in
vain. 1t was to keep the people in line,
and the crush was something fearful.
The way he kept them an line was to
give an imitation of London Bridge Is
falling down." He would catch a wo-
man in the front rank and hold her
very firmly-not particularly tenderly,
but firmly in both his arms-and no one
could get past that combination. My,
hut he was strong man, and the way
he kept that crowd back was remark
able. '''
When the women got past and finally
reached the goal, which was the SOU
venir table-after forming u line like
the patrons of "a soup-kitchen-they
received a beautiful silver and crystal
box; that is, If they We're not in the
dolorous condition Of the foolish virgin
and had not neglected to provide them-
selves with ticket of invitation. Then
they ate some ice cream, and went out
through the cellar. Then they said
pompously. to their friends struggling
on the outside: I'VE had the most
beautiful time. Lots of room I'm there"
Over at the kadosh commandery
there were souvenir pins. and there was
also crush. The same scenes We're
witnessed at Guernsey hall, where the
Dieu lie Veut commandery, of Wilkes
Barre, bestowed sterling silver hat pins,
adorned with coal breakers. s-s
Beautifully gowned ladies aud stately
knights held a reception at the Jermyn.
and served mild punch and little cakes