Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-12-31

1t : sypriSing how outrageous
carelcfs ~ their personal appearanc
many famous men have been. Geniu f.
may r. ma NOT be allied 10 madness
but has certainly very often BET
inkef swi,1 an utter disregard r
cloth Is anu Clearly habits.
IT said ~ Turner. the great lar
seal pairt"". that his hands were :.
sna.'eSt ar djEucst hands on recor
ferhNiS .lt = al eXaggerationxa
be was certainly very sloveny
dress. lie wore It black swal
dress coat very mach in nee
clotheSbru>s vigorously used.
the varn'>f us well rs in the G
we".hc, De- wore round his thss5t
sort Of vHap or ma&gr. which hx
wo".d un Sc, letting e ends dangt'
down I'm Int and diYiuto the colorS
Of his Il cite. lie always worked
ei,lpr with his old hat on his head orr
VIII This slme large muller over hi1
he'll Ills appearance was more like
thar Of an I'D time coachman than on
famous Royal Academician. fer Be
was short and stout with q red andI
blrlchy face
Or. JOhu,on's slovenliness has nj.
most passct iato proverb. There are
many contemporary accounts OF hist
turning out Of his house In Bolt court
with his VIZ back 10 front and his
stockings down. When Boswell visited
him nj Inner Temple lane he records;
Ills brown suit of clothes looked very
rusty: he hal on little. old shriveled.
uarowdered wig. which was too sm;ili
far his head his shirt neck and the.
knees of his breecheS were loose. his
black worst,d stockings III drawn up,
and by way 81 slippers he had on
pair of unhU.,led shoes" When IL ia
added that This great man was CON
stantly tvit hing. =ruuting. shaking
his head. pulling his cheeks and blink
ing his eyes. il must he admitted that
his appearance was not only uncoutir
but groteS, -.
Thomas { lyle. coming of n peasant
race. never conformed TO society garb. /.
He was always the inspired peasant :
He would sometimes 20 out in his
old dressing gown. over which he but
toned a big coat, gray with age. when
he was left alone In the house he de-
lighted in svilinG his 1agstones with
pals of waiter. and many n distin-
guished friend found him thus en-
gagged with a kind Of smock on and
his huShy h ir all touslcd He went
about all the summer among 7he high
est aristocrI'y In Il frieZe jacket which
was part of IN old dressing gown. e y
the cabmcn and bus drivers Chelsea
way knew Ian. one said, He may
wear queer at. but what would yer
give for the eadpicce inside OF it?'
1t would lot ice secmly TO describe
Tennyson AZ sioveniy in any real
sense lie was singularly noble
looking man, Dut he did not care jot
w hat he wore His old SLOUGH hat had
seen unnumbcred years and tapped
about at all angles. and the Inverness
cape which he invariably wore was
about as old ms bis hat People who
met him without knowing his immense
distinction would have regarded him
as rather quaint character. and
tailors cutie would not have assessed
him ut half dollar. all told.
This is n description Of the daily ap-
pearance OF Edward Fitzgerald the
immortal translator of The Rubaiyat
OF Omar Klayyam: struggling gray
hair and slCyenly in dress. wearing an
ancient. battered black banded. shiny
edged tall hrt. round which he wouId
in wintry weather tie handkerchief
to keep il n, place; his clothes OF
buggy blue cloth. as though he were
seafarer; his trousers short and MS
shoes low. exhibiting a length or white
or gray stockings With an nnstarch-
I'd shirt front. nigh. crumpled, stnndnp
collar. big black silk ne IN a careless
how: i'm cold weather trailing green
ani black AMI gray piaid shawl. IN not
weather even walking barefoot WIN
his boots sling to stick" Surely
odd Fitz." a- Tcnu}son called MN.
took the cal for slovonIiness Of all
the immorta, ~,-Pearsou Weekly.