The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1914-01-02
FAMOUS sLOvENS
They Had a Fine Contempt For
Personal Appearance.
GENIUS IN UNC0UTH ATTIRE.

turner, tne Artiat, Oreeee0 Like ~
Old Time Cab Driver-Dr. johnson
Was 0rotesque, and ''Oid Fitx" Out
RACED All the sartorial Conventions.
II is surprising how outrageously
careless OF their personal appearance
many famous men have been. Genius
may or may not be allied to madness,
but II has certainly very often been
linked with an utter disregard for
clothes and cleanly habits
1t Is said of Turner, tho great land
scape painter, that his hands were the
smallest and dirtiest hands on record"
Perhaps that Is an exaggerAtion, but
he was certainly very slovenly In his
dress He wore black swallowtatl
dress coat, very much In need Of .
clothesbrush vigorously used, and In
the warmest as well as In tho coolest
weather he wore round bis throat q
sort of wrap or mutfier. which he
would unlooSe letting the ends dangie
down In front and dip into the colors
OF his palette He always worked
either with his old hat on his head or
with this same large muffier over his
head His appearance was more like
that Of an old time coachman than Of
q famous Royal Academieian. for hs
was short and stout with q red and
blotchy face
DR.. Johnsons slovenliness has al
most passed into proverb There are
many contemporary accounts of his
turning out of his house In Bolt court
with his wig back to front and his
stockings down. When Boswell visited
him al Inner Temple lane he records:
His brown suit OF clothes looked very
rusty; he had on q little. old shrivcled,
unpowdered wig. which was too small
for his head; his shirt neck and the
knees of bis breeches were loose, his
black worsted stockings III drawn up,
and by way of slippers be had on a
pair OF unbuckled shoes" When 10 10
added that this great man was con-
stantly twitching, grunting. shaking
his head, putting bis cheeks and blink
ing his eyes. 1t must be admitted that
his appearance was not only uncouth
but grotesque,
Thomas Carlyle, coming OF peasant
race, never conformed to society garb.
He was always the inspired peasant
He would sometimes go out In his
old dressing gown, over which he but
toned big coat. gray with age. When
he was left alone In the house be de
lighted In swilling his 6agstones with
pals OF water, and many distin-
guished friend found him thus en-
gagged with d kind OF smock on and
his bushy hair all toused. He went
about all the summer among the high
est aristocracy in frieze jacket which
was part OF an old dressing gown. All
the cabmen and bus drivers Chelsea
way knew him One said, He may
wear a queer at but what would yes
give for the 'eadpiece inside of itY'
1t would not be seemly to describs
Tennyson as sIovenly in any rea
sense. He was singularly noble
looking man, but he did not care tot
what he wore. His old slouch hat hat
seen unnumbered years and nappet
about at all angles. and the Inyernest
cape which he invariably wore was
about as old as his hat People who
met him without knowing his Immense
distinction would have regarded hin
as rather quaint character. and Z
| tailor's cutter would not have assesset
| him ut half dollar. all told.
This is a description Of the daily ap
pearance OF Edward Fitzgerald, tn,
| immortal translator Of THE Rubaiyat'
Of Omar Khayyam: Struggling gray
| hair and slovenly in dress, wearing al
| ancient, battered, black banded. shin,
edged tall hat, round which he woul(
| In wintry weather tie handkerchie
to keep IL in place; his clothes O
baggy blue cloth, as though he were
seafarer: his trousers short and hi!
shoes low, ex hibiting g length of white
or gray stockings. With an unstarch
ed shirt front, high. crumpled, standuI
collar, big black silk tie In careless
bow; In cold weather trailing greer
and black aud gray plaid shawl. In ho
weather even walking barefoot witt
his boots slung TO stick" Surel,
"Old Fitz" an Tennyson called him
took the cake for slovenliness OF n
| tha atmmortaIsi-Pearso Weekly.