New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-02-07

Way down IN the lana Dcl""
And among the professors who are thus cal
y,nisticaIly foreordained TO descent there is
mr. used to be-one who went down rain
bow necktie.' His seemed the hardest tate oil
all. A professor who is forever sending his
classes on a search for the lost digamma, or
compelling them to hand in their themes on
time or insisting that they shall read the intro
auction TO the lyrical ballads during a course
Of English literature quoting Aristotles
Poetics as a God given word. Of course deserves
no better fate. But when the poor peidEogu"s
only offence is n very harmless and entirely
human fondness for bright ne kwear u is diff
ncult to see how even the Undergraduate heart
can be so hard as 10 condemn him utterly. In
deed dad the passion for neckties in truth con-
stitute one OF the cardinal sins. the price OF
good pit coal" would suffer serious decline in
the land below"
For breathes there a man with soul IS" dad
who never TO himself hath said. while standing
i'm front of a haberdasher's window and gaz-
ing on a particularly beautiful and brilliant tie.
All, There is my affinity and straightway
hath gone into the shop and bought it: II
such there be-" said a broadway New-Ens-
lander the other day. he deserves never to
wear any tie save such as his second cousins
give him at Christmas time! lie is a man TO be
Stunned, avoided not. as he himself might tell
YOU because ne is above considerations OF per
sonal adjournment but because he is below them.
No man can be above such considerations II he
fails TO entertain them be is 50 far lacking ia
what goes to make a wei rounded man. and
lac king in a very important essential The man
who mas glimmer Of interest in neckties. you
may be sure would tolerate rubber plant in
his front hall and bad manners in his guests.
and il may furthermore be justly inferred that
10. ~ he
ton of the Tub almost Puritan fortitudc. An
interest in neckwear indeed. Is the first meas
ure OF a gentleman
Yet. like every branch II good manners. IT
may be carried to excess. Just as man may,
with the utmost sincerity. be too profuse in his
apologies overdo the merely polite custom OF
rising when ladies enter the till he con-
Nc,ts a social gathering into travesty on the
Anglican Church service. a man may carry to
excess the passion for neckwear. and. by vary
ing his ties too often by going from a color
just bright enough to too bright. become
offensive In the sight Of the fastidiously cultured
observer OF humanity. who is the ultimate
bitter of the worlds amenities. Many good men
have gone wrong this way. Indeed, to a fad for
red neckwear which broke out not many years
ago may be directly traced many further atroc-
tiles Of taste In matters of general masculine at
tire. and the consequent swing Of fashion back
TO a plain and severe black. which is hardly
nearer the ideal OF correct neckwear than
the cTimsOn-lake strips OF silk of the previous
season How many men. after the first mad
rush for red was over. had acquired the habit
and were not able to climb aboard the pendulum
for the return swing will never be known. But
they were undoubtedly legion And Ii was a
right instinct too. which led them to their
DOWNFALL So hard is 1t to keep the good and
bad. the right and wrong. separate and distinct
in this hopelessly tangled world!
But. after all. this concerns the more obvious
side Of the passion for neckwear. In it3 recon-
dite aspects the passion may be observed to
work in curious ways that the world never
Guesses Of. II works Ia the collector Of neck
ties. for example. and the world doesn't know Of
hat. because your collector of fourth hands
md ascots. and string ties. and puffs, and
scarfs. never wears the treasures he has
aTnassed. any more than q true book collector
ever cuts the leaves Of his first editions or reads
the volumes In his own library. This the tie
collectors family frequently find hard to under
stand collector OF any sort. In fact. is sell