THE HOAX OF THE MONTH.
" YOUR English never know when they have had enough of a good thing." Theononthly hoax of " Novelties in Gentlemen's Dresses" is becoming rather stale ; but, to compensate for that circumstance, the extravagance of it is prudently increased. For example-
" A hunting-dress now likely to he much in favour with men of fashion is preparing ; it consists of a round jacket of a Mexican green ; a knit pair of pantaloons of English thread ; ticking gaiters ; and a light helmet-cap of lady- birdjirown Morocco, with a low., rounded visor. The waist is tightened by a broad belt abOut four inches in width, with a pocket in front covered with sea-calf skin. No pouch. A servant follows to take care of the game." What ? the foxes !—delicate game indeed. " Men of fashion" do not, however, condescend to hunt hares ; or if they did, the care of the game neither belongs to them nor their servants : but this wicked paragraph is conceived merely with the design of mystifying the rural Nimrods, and entrapping them into the assumption of that prepos- terous costume—the round green jacket, ticking gaiters' lady-bird- brown helmet, with a long rounded visor !
" The Exquisites are very partial to Nankin pantaloons ; they fasten under the foot ; with these are often worn grey or blue silk stockings, either striped or ribbed. An Exclusive has been seen with his shoes fastened by sntall buckles of polished steel ; he had yellow slockinzs with large triangular clocks of violet-colour. His Nankin pantaloons fastened under the feet, and were buttoned at the lower part by two small gold buttons ; he had a white waist- coat, and a coat of light brown."
Some of these Exclusives, we may acid, are now to be seen at St. Bartholomew's Fair; where they are vulgarly recognized under the shockingly familiar description of Jack Puddings, or Merry-Andrews.
" Some gentlemen, fond of new inventions, have sported a new kind of purse : it has a secret spring; but this is not so useless a precaution as may be imagined ; for if .a dishonest servant suffers himself to be tempted by op- portunity, he would, perhaps, not scruple taking a soiereign from a purse he could open, while he dare not possess himself of the full purse itself."
The newest and most entirely original fashionable invention, would consist in having money in the purse. The idea of the secret spring is, however, ingenious,—not with the intention of preveniing the ser- vant's robbery, who has so many other excellent modes of accom- plishing that end, but to guard against the discovery of the emptiness of the treasury. A purse with some silver-paper and coppers in it, would, by virtue of the secret, make a creditable appearance, without specie being specious.
We have before illustrated the artful way in which this wag passes off his most preposterous inventions by mixing them up with repre- sentations of the most .familiar practices—such as that " men. of fashion" walk on their feet and carry their heads uppermost. In the last hoax there is an excellent example of this artifice, by which the trite fact obtains credit for the broad hoax ; for he circumstantially describes the leather thong to umbrellas as one of the last novelties in gentlemen's equipments. • The rogue minutely informs his gulls of the eyes in the handle of the umbrella, the loop, the leather tassel, Soc.— just as though such a contrivance were the very last and rarest dis- covery of " Exquisite" man.
Previous page
