nd simply lay them
on the top of their heads. I suppose they feel that hats are meant to
cover the brain, and they are satisfied, in their modesty and
consciousness of their value, with covering the small quantity of brains
given to them by Nature.

The absent-minded man is recognised by his hat brushed against the nap,
the tidy man by his irreproachably smooth hat, and the needy man by a
greasy hat.

A shabby coat is not necessarily a sign that a man is hard up. Many men
get so fond of a coat that they cannot make up their minds to part with
it and discard it; but shoes down at heel and a shabby, greasy hat prove
that their wearer is drowning: he is helpless and hopeless.

Only the well-off man, who serves nobody, wears a white top-hat; this
hat is the emblem of independence and of success in life.

Man's station in life is shown from the way he takes off his hat. Kings
and emperors just lift it off their heads. A gentleman takes off his hat
to whoever salutes him. Once a beggar in Dublin saluted the great Irish
patriot, Daniel O'Connell. The latter returned the salute by taking off
his hat to the beggar.

'How can you take off your hat to a beggar?' remarked a friend who was
with him. 'Because,' he replied, 'I don't want that beggar to say that
he is more of a gentleman than I am.' Parvenus keep their hats on
always, unless before some aristocrat, to whom they cringe.

The Englishman takes off his hat with a stiff jerk and puts it on again
immediately. The Frenchman takes it off gently, and, before a lady,
remains uncovered until she says to him: 'Couvrez-vous, monsieur, je
vous prie.'

The Italian takes it off with ceremony, and with his hand puts it nearly
to the ground. Timid men keep rolling their hats in their hands. Very
religious ones pray inside them, making a wry face, as if the emanations
were of an unpleasant character.

Soldiers and horsemen fix their hats by pressing on the top of the
crown.

* * * * *

Men who belong to decent clubs and frequent 'at homes' never need be in
want of a good hat.

In Paris, in London, and in New York during the season no gentleman can
wear anything but a silk hat after lunch-time.

When you pay calls, you must enter the drawing-room with your hat in
your hand and keep it all the time, unless you are on very intimate
terms with your host and hostess, when you may leave it in the hall.

A well-put-on hat is the proof of a well-ba