London at the End of the Century:A Book of Gossip
a Beckett, Arthur William
1900
SIMPLICITY VERSUS ECCENTRICITY.
I have been told that the simplest costume is the best for a private fancy ball. The first dress of Claude Melnotte in , is an excellent example of the simple combined with the effective. All you require is a a belt, blue trousers, and gaiters worn over your shoes. But simplicity can be carried too far. A friend of mine once went to a costume gathering as the Ghost in . All he had to do was to take off his dress-coat and waistcoat and paint a bloodstain on the left side of his shirt over the region of his heart. But the effect was rather repulsive, and before the end of the evening I found the deceased Louis dei Franchi hiding behind curtains, and in other ways attempting to escape observation. On the occasion to which I refer I appeared myself as a Crusader, and I thanked my lucky stars that I had not lived in the time of Peter the Hermit, as I certainly should have shrunk from visiting Palestine in such an embarrassing costume. The weight of chain armour is enormous, and if you do the thing | |
222 | thoroughly, and allow the chains to cover the soles of your feet, dancing of the most elementary quadrille becomes next to an impossibility. The dress itself was certainly imposing. It had been lent to me by the late Mr. Alfred German Reed, and had been worn by Mr. A. W. Law in a at the St. George's Hall-the site of the far-famed after the clever "illustrators" had migrated from their first home, The costume was perfect. One of the details was a heavy helmet of the saucepan-minus-handle order of sartorial architecture. This head-covering caused me infinite trouble. If I put it on it tumbled off, and if I laid it on a seat it was sure to be the cause of considerable inconvenience to those who rested without noticing its presence. I remember that it was the means of making adopt an expression never seen in any of her numerous . Another drawback to the Crusader's armour was the facility with which the wearer dropped his rings. I found that my peregrinations could be easily traced by my steel castings. Under these circumstances I cannot conscientiously recommend the costume of to anyone who values peace and comfort. |
Another awkward dress is the habit of a North-American Indian. When I was a young man I was | |
223 | pursuaded by a friend to appear as in a long leather robe, a complicated headgear of eagle's feathers, and moccasins. To I was induced to stain my face. I certainly escaped recognition, and had the further advantage of hearing myself called but these pleasures were scarcely sufficient to compensate for the nuisance of being universally avoided by dancers as well as wall-flowers. At the time I was editing a London evening paper, and left the ball (it was held at Brighton) by an early train for the metropolis. I had no time to change my costume before meeting my sub-editor, and I shall never forget the look of surprise on the face of the late Mr. Brockwell Dalton when I asked him |
