IT has been aptly said that "the bath deserves an Order." The
first requisite of a gentleman's toilet is undoubtedly the bath,
which should be as bracing as the constitution will allow, and
used morning and evening in summer, and every day in winter.
Country gentlemen, who live much in the open air, and take plenty
of exercise, have no excuse for shirking the cold shower-bath; but
denizens of cities, and men who are obliged to lead very sedentary
lives, cannot indulge with equal safety in this luxury, and must
never continue it in the teeth of reason and experience. Only
physiques of finest quality can endure, much more benefit by, a
cold-water shock all the year round; and though physique is always
improvable, great reformation must not be attempted rashly. Let
the bath of from sixty to seventy degrees be freely indulged in by
the strong, and even by the less robust, in summer time; but in
winter a temperature varying from eighty-five to ninety-five
degrees is the safest. The flesh-brush should be vigorously
applied to all parts of the body, after which the skin must be
carefully dried with Turkish or huck-a-back towels. It is well to
remain without clothing for some little time after bathing.
Nothing is so healthy as exposure of the body to air and sun; a
French physician has recommended the sun-bath as a desirable
hygienic practice. A bath in fresh water should always be taken
after a sea-dip.
The next thing to be done is to clean the teeth. This should be
done with a good hard tooth-brush at least twice a day. Smokers
should rinse the mouth immediately after smoking, and should be
careful to keep the teeth scrupulously clean. The nails should
also be kept exquisitely clean and short. Long nails are are an
abomination.
Our advice to those who shave is, like _Punch_'s advice to those
about to marry "Don't." But it must by no means be understood that
suffering the beard to grow is a process that obviates all
trouble. The beard should be carefully and frequently washed, well
trimmed, and well combed, and the hair and whiskers kept
scrupulously clean by the help of clean, stiff hair-brushes, and
soap and warm water. The style of the beard should be adapted to
the form of the face; but any affectation in the cut of the beard
and whiskers is very objectionable, and augurs unmitigated vanity
in the wearer. Long hair is never indulged in except by painters
and fiddlers. The moustache should be worn neat, and not
overlarge.
Beau Brummell spent two hours in dressing; but a gentleman can
perform all the duties of his toilet to perfection in less than
half that time.
A great French writer has said, with as much grace as philosophy,
that the artist and man of letters needs only a black coat, and
the absence of all pretension, to place him on the level of the
best society. It must be observed, however, that this remark
applies only to the intellectual workers, who, if they do
occasionally commit a minor solecism in dress and manners, are
forgiven on account of their fame and talents. It is not enough
that a man should be clever, or well educated, or well born, to
take his place in society; he must be acquainted with all that
this chapter, and, indeed, this little volume throughout,
professes to teach.
A gentleman should always be so well dressed that his dress shall
never be remarked at all. Does this sound like an enigma? It is
not meant for one. It only implies that perfect simplicity is
perfect elegance, and that the true test of dress in the toilet of
a gentleman is its entire harmony, unobtrusiveness, and
becomingness. Displays should be avoided. Let a sensible man leave
the graces and luxuries of dress to his wife, daughters, and
sisters, and not seek distinction in the trinkets on his watch-
chain, or the pattern of his waistcoat. To be too much in the
fashion is as vulgar as to be too far behind it. No really well-
bred man follows every new cut he sees in his tailor's fashion-
book. Only very young men are guilty of this folly.
A man whose dress is appropriate, neat, and clean, will always
look like a gentleman; but to dress appropriately, one must have a
varied wardrobe. This should not, on the average, cost more than a
tenth part of his income. No man can afford more than a tenth of
his income for dress.
The author of _Pelham_ has aptly said that "a gentleman's coat
should not fit too well." There is great truth and subtlety in
this observation. To be fitted too well is to look like a tailor's
dummy.
In the morning, wear a frock coat, and trousers of light or dark
color, as befits the season. When in the country or at the
seaside, gray or shooting costumes are best.
In the evening, though you spend it alone with your family, wear a
black dress suit; and if you have sons, bring them up to do the
same.
It is the observance of these trifles in domestic etiquette that
marks the true gentleman. For evening parties, dinner parties, and
balls wear a black dress coat, black trousers, black silk or cloth
waistcoat, thin patent-leather boots, a white cravat, and white
kid gloves. Abjure all fopperies, such as white silk linings, silk
collars, etc.; above all, the shirt-front should be plain. At
small, unceremonious parties, gloves are not necessary; but, when
worn, they should be new and fit well. Economy in gloves is an
insult to society. A man's jewelry should be of the best and
simplest description. False jewelry, like every other form of
falsehood and pretence, is unmitigated vulgarity.
Elaborate studs and sleeve-links are all foppish and vulgar. A set
of good studs, a gold watch and guard, and one handsome ring, are
as many ornaments as a gentleman can wear with propriety. For a
ring, the man of fine taste would prefer a precious antique
intaglio to the handsomest diamond or ruby that could be bought.
The most elegant gentleman with whom the author was ever
acquainted--a man familiar with all the courts of Europe--never
wore any other shirt-studs in full dress than three valuable black
pearls, each about the size of a pea, and by no means beautiful to
look upon.
Lastly, a man's jewelry should always have some use, and not, like
a lady's, be worn for ornament only.
Colored shirts may be worn in the morning; but they should be
small in pattern and quiet in color. Fancy cloths of conspicuous
patterns are exceedingly ojectionable. With a colored flannel
shirt always wear a white collar and wristbands. The hat should
always be black; and caps and straw-hats are only admissible in
summer.
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If spectacles are necessary, they should be of the best and
lightest make, and mounted in gold, or blue steel. For weak sight,
blue or smoke-colored glasses are the best; green glasses are
detestable.
A gentleman should never be seen in the street without gloves.
Worsted or cotton gloves are not permissible. A man's clothes
should always be well brushed, and never threadbare or shabby. No
gentleman can afford to wear shabby clothes.
For the country, or the foreign tour, a gentleman will select a
costume of some light woolen material, flannel shirts, thick
boots, and everything to correspond. Dandyism is never more out of
place than on the glacier, or among the Norwegian salmon
fisheries.
There are three things one should consult in the matter of dress
if one would always appear like a gentleman--viz., expense,
comfort, and society. If there is one thing in this world about
which we can entertain any degree of moral certainty, it is that
we must pay our tailor's bills. If, therefore, our means are
disproportionate to our wants, we must remember the old proverb,
"Cut your coat according to your cloth," and dress as well as you
possibly can upon little money.
MISCELLANEOUS;
OR,
ONE HUNDRED UNCLASSIFIED LAWS OF ETIQUETTE.
1. A GENTLEMAN must always hand a lady a chair, open the door for
her to pass in or out, remove anything that may be in her way, and
pick up anything she may drop, even if she is an entire stranger
to him.
2. A gentleman or lady will never look over the shoulder of
another who is either reading or writing.
3. No gentleman or lady will ever be guilty of personality in
conversation. No wit, however keen; no sarcasm, however humorous,
can make personal remarks anything but rude and vulgar.
4. A gentleman, in passing a lady where he must stand aside to
give her space, must always remove his hat, and incline his head
slightly.
5. A lady, in such a case, must always acknowledge the courtesy by
a slight bow.
6. Exaggeration trespasses so closely upon falsehood that it is
not safe to trust it. To adhere strictly to truth can never lead
into error.
7. Conceit is the vice or folly of the shallow-minded; so if you
would not be thought so avoid boasting or affectations of any
kind. The truly wise man is modest, and the braggart and coxcomb
are valued but little.