No More Stovepipe Hats

His Eoyal Higlmess the Prince of Vales says so, and that will probably ettle the matter. At least, he says lie sn't going to tiike any more in his'n. He nffirms that, early the present spring, ie will appear on Botten Kow in a 'low-crowned hat." There is no place n the wide world like Kotten Bow in which to introduce a nèw fashion, while here is no one like an heir to a throne o bring a new fashion into vogue. For more than three centuries no Engh'sh gentleman has dared to walk or ride on ;hat famous street without having his ïead stlrmounted by a Btove-pipe. In early times they were made of Spanish vool, were very hot in warm weather, and vér? heavy in all weathers. After the Hudson Bay Companywas organized the fur of beaver was substituted for wool, and a lighter and much more elegant hat was made. The hat was called the " beaver," and its use was almost entirely limited to the nobility and gentry. "Stovepipe" hats became fashionable among the masses aboUt the year 1840, when an ingenious Frenchinan invented and brought out a hat with a light body and a covering of silk plush. Though the style has been changed to some extent twice a year ever since that time, hats made of the material above named have genernlly been worn by gentlemen on dress parade till the present. When Kossuth visited this country he wore a low-crowned, soft, feit hat, and a similar hat, i-ejoicing in his name, soon became "all the rage." During the politica! canvass that resulted in the election of Gen. Taylor to the Presidency the " rough and ready" hat made its appearance. Fremont, it is said, was the originator of the hat known as the " wide-awake." It was very similar to the "ragged-edge," wliich was named for the pastor of Plymouth Ohurch. The Mexican sombrero has long been the favorite hat in the Southwestern States and Territories, whilo the planter's hat has been much worn throughout the South. In Boston, however, and in all places that desire to be like Boston, the genuine, orthodox stovepipe has alone been regarded ae fust the thing for a gentleman to wear. There are few bad qualities that cannot be set down against the stovepipe hat. It is at once ungraceful, awkward, and unoomfortable. It is üie favorite target f or boys armed with snowballs. It is the delight of the wind, while a new one is sure to bring up a shower, if the owner has no umbreUa. It invites sunstroke, and is said to be the leading cause of baldness. It is very uncomfortable when on tho head and very unlumdy when it is off. A man looks as nwkward when holding one in his lap as when holding a baby. If he puts it on a seat beside hini, some one is sure to sit on it, while, if he places it on the floor, it is certain to be mistaken for a spittoon. It is not the thing for a sunny, a rainy, or a snowy day. It only looks well when it is now, and the shine will not remain on it imioh longer than it will on a pair of boots. An old-fashioned stovcpipe only serves to remind people that the wearér of it has seen better days, while a " warmed-ovcr " plug conveys the idea that the owner is trying every rnakeshift he can in order to bridge