nce. Besides, people want us to wear no hat
at all. What does your wife do?"

The interviewer replied that his wife thought it her duty to take off
her hat.

"She behaves better than many ladies of the theatrical world. The other
day I could not see a bit because of the enormous hat worn by Miss ----,
and Miss ----and Miss ---- were just as bad."

It would be pleasant to give the names which would identify popular
actresses who are great shiners in this matter.

"Moreover," she continued, "there is the difficulty of putting it on
again. You men wear your hats on your heads, and can easily get them
straight; we don't, we wear them on our hair, or our scalpettes, or our
transformations, or on any _postiche_ that may be fashionable or
necessary, and can only tell whether they are straight, or even the
right way round, by means of a looking-glass. A pretty thing if I were
to sail out of a theatre with my hat really askew, or before behind;
people might fail to take a charitable view of the situation, and
suspect I had had a glass too much instead of a glass too little."

"All this is irrelevant," said the interviewer, "and the whole
difficulty is--you are too mean to go to the ladies' room and pay or
give sixpence to the attendant."

She smiled pityingly.

"My dear man, you grumble about our being late at the theatre. What
would happen if fifty of us were to take off our hats and touch up our
hair in a room too small for fifteen, before taking our seats? I know
one ladies' room where there is only one looking-glass, and there are
only a few horrid little hooks on which to hang hats and veils. I would
gladly patronize the waiting-room if there were ample accommodation, but
that would be out of the question in most theatres, and one would have
to come much too early and get away needlessly late; and there might be
little mistakes about the hats and furs unless half-a-dozen attendants
were provided, for it can't be a simple question of handing hats and
coats over the counter as it is with you men."

It is undeniable that in some cases the ladies' cloak-rooms have not
been designed so as to deal with the question under discussion, because,
of course, theatres are primarily built for the evening performances,
and matinees are only a little extra as a rule.

"The matter," said the lady thoughtfully, "is more important than you
think. I consider that the matinee hat has settled the fate of many new
enterprises. If the l