owever, we have only one hope that the fashion, which seems
to be dropping lower and lower every day, will gradually drop off
altogether, and then the marital cry will be "_Il n'y a plus de_
Bonnets!" and Cranbourne Street will be ruined. But after all, the
eccentricities in the way of dress do not lie exclusively on the side of
the ladies.

We must not throw every absurdity on their backs. The gentlemen come in,
also, for a large share of the ridiculous. Look at an elegant young gent
of the present day! His hat you must confess is faultless. It combines
every quality within its lovely chimney-pot form. It has not only beauty
of shape, but utility of purpose. The brim is admirable. A lady-bird can
about settle on it, and that is all. There is just sufficient width to
enable you to lift the hat with, and what more do you want? As for
keeping the sun off, it is not needed for that purpose, for when is the
sun ever seen in England? and as for keeping the rain off, as it is a
well-known fact that no Englishman ever ventures out of doors without
his umbrella, it cannot be needed for that purpose any more than for the
sun. Then look at the shirt-collar! It is a high linen wall, behind
which the face is securely protected from the sharp, cutting winds that
are continually flying about our climate, like so many aerial
guillotines. One's head would infallibly be chopped off, cleaner than
any head of asparagus, if it were not for some such protection; and
besides, we should not find fault with our young men if they do try to
hide as much as they can of their beautiful features. You may be sure
they only do it out of charity to the ladies! The small ribbon that
fences in this high wall of collar is, likewise, most beautiful. It is
almost an invisible fence that is planted evidently more for ornament
than use. The wall would look cold and naked--a kind of workhouse
wall--without it. We may say that every part of the dress bespeaks a
degree of taste that would win the admiration even of a savage. In fact,
get a savage--a greater savage, if you can, than one who beats his wife;
then select a Young Lady and a Young Gent in the present year's
costumes; let the former be as fashionable as you like--let the latter
be as green as you can find him: then put them before your savage--turn
them gently round for five minutes, and then ask him his candid opinion.
We will wager our next week's receipts--no small wager, by the way--that
he will b