The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-12-03
IN THE BEGINNING.
The Origin of Some of Our Modern
Fashions.

erS, Gates from the DAYS OF armuT.
when men wore iron SaHntlets, which
were removed before shaking hands.
not on account of al conventional idea
but for the best OF reasOns-that o.
avoiding doing real injury TO an un-
armed hand. And it is on this ac-
count that We see men struggling with
their hand coverings in these days. as
if they had lived four or five centuries
ago and not in an age when the cause
for this unnecessary ceremony has been
nonresident for generations
Another law imposed OF man, namely
that of removing his hat. dates from
the same period. on arriving at q cas-
tie IN the days gone by YOU took off
your helmet ON entering the ball 10
show your host and his friends that
such confidence had you i'm his good
Will, you We're not afraid OF your head
being unarmored. and did not antici-
pate a Surreptitious buffet" from
sword or mace. To enter helmeted or
TO delay barring your head within a red-
sOnable time, was tantamount 10 say
ling that You did not feel sure Of re-
ceiving a friendly greeting. and pre-
ferred TO run no risks. And from this
eminentiy practical custom our pres
ent ideas on the subject have been
y
tutes what soldiers call going through
the motions" and the meaning of it is
that YOU would be ready to uuhelm out
Of politeness. if the eXigencies of the
moment did not forbid you doing so.
y third custom which comes to US
from those days IL that Of hring al -
tllery saluteS. When guns first came
into use long before alJn0r was given
up. ii was considered an act of graceful
courtesy TO any great parsonage who
happened 10 arrive at YOUR castle J.
you loaded all your guns with shotted
rOundS-nOt biank-and fired them off
as he approached. Your reason was
the same as for removing your he'll
met-tO show how perfectly you trusted
your visitor by emptying all your guns
just before he came within their range.
AS there were no quick-firers in those
days. and as loading and firing gun
took a considerable time this meant
good deal more than the same cere-
mOny does now, You had, indeed. rem
dered yourself open to attack at a dis
advantage, and if your visitor chose to
make things nasty Tor you you We're
ia q very tiGht- Garner thanks m yOur
pOliteness. However. this practice was
not kept up in its original form for
very long. There must have been too
large a number Of accidents among
approaching visitors To allow of such d
custom ever becoming really popular.
and it was decided very soon that blank
rounds ans ered the purpose equally
we'll and were not so dangerous. al
least to the oncOming visitors.
The origin of Offering the right hand
is the same as that of barring the head
and firing salutes. Formerly. when one
man met another and wished TO show
that his intentions were friendly. ne
held out his unarmCd sword hand
thereby giving TO understand that has
sword was in its sheath. and was not
going to leave it. and that his friend
had no reason to fear an attack. The
sword is also responsible for our habit
Of mounting a horse on the near side
4 custom IN all probability, Of COM
paratively modern origin. for the
swords of civilized nations before ana
at the commencement Of the Christian
era were not only very short, generally
speaking, but worn on the right side
of the person. But when blades began
10 lengthen the sword Of necessity was
worn on the left. as very long weapon
cannot be drawn with any speed or
convenience by the hand on The SIDE
at which il il worn, and, ln conse-
quence, men took to mounting their
horses frem the near side because IL
was impossible 10 do il otherwise WITH
any convenience. The consequences OF
attempting To mount from the off side
when wearing a sword are apt 10 De
disastrous as any military man can
testify. To the sword likewise We owe
the two buttons that are placed at the
back of a tail coat. Their original
raisOn d'etre was to support the sword
belt. as they do on a soldiers tunlc 10
this day. They are not of any great
antiquity probably not 200 years.
Those who have ever been on board
a man-Of-war know that you are eN-
pected to salute the quarterback as
soon as YOU come onto il, but perhaps
not many are aware of the origin OF
this practice. A good many people
probably, have a hazy idea that the
white ensign is its object, While some
perhaps, think that II is merely naval
fad. In a certain sense il IS naval
fad. but of venerable age. being q sur
vival from days long gone by when
crucifiX was placed at the stern of q
vessel and was saluted as matter OF
course by every one coming on board.
The crucifiX was taken away, but the
old feelings remained. and meH still
saluted the place where it had been.
The younger generation which sue
ceeded the survivors OF the old order
knew nothing of the sacred emblem,
but initiated their seniors, and so the
salute became q habit to them as it
had been to their fathers. Thus the
mark of respect. though the object Of
it has gone. continues to be given down
to this day.
Most people viii be somewhat sur
prised to hear that the idea of women
requiring escort, especially Of really
protective nature, is Of comparatively
modern origin. But such appears 10 be
the case. Nothing strikes one more
forcibly in the study of medieval lit
erature than the absolute freedom
women enjoyed TO travel and wander
alone without fear of mOlestauion. The
times were unsettled. undoubtedly, and
men lived for fighting only. But. new
ertheless, the helpless and detenseless
were safe enough, so far as one can
Judge from contemporary literature.
do not deny that they came 10 grief
occa siOnally, but as a general rule men
respected the other sex III the days of
chiValry, and even the worst of scoun-
drels allowed an unprotected woman to
ride by unharmed.
If there is one thing presume bly, Ger
tain on this earth, in the opinion of
most of US. it is that skirts are essen
TALLY feminine. and that the special
feature of masculine attire is bifuF-
Gated garment. But nothing is further
from the truth. To this day the ma
joritX of the male element of the
human race. so far as il wears clothes
! at all, is skirted. And ia past times,