no shopman's boy could emulate, than the cheap and
ugly thing in which many a man still seems to delight! How admirably did
these bands of rich lace contrast with the silken coats or the polished
cuirasses of their wearers! how truly aristocratic was their appearance!
how entirely without effort, without pretension, and yet how very
distinctive of the type of their wearer! But you will say, if we fail in
the matter of white cravats, surely we excel in that of black-silk ones
and brocaded stocks! We _might_ excel, we allow; but we do not know how
to wear these things. We ought either to limit ourselves to the smallest
possible bow in front, or else we ought to let the square ends of the
scarf be pendant and unconfined. Instead of this, we either put on a
stock with a sham tie, (now all _sham_ things, of what kind soever,
militate against good taste,) or else, to make the most of our scarf, we
fill up the aperture of the waistcoat with an ambitious quantity of
drapery, and we stick therein an enormous and obtrusively ostentatious
pin. This is both vulgar and foolish. If we want a stock, it should be
_perfectly plain--a la militaire_, for it is, in truth, an article of
military attire, worn for the express purpose of giving stiffness and
smartness to the figure. If we want a scarf, do not let us misconceive
the nature of its form, the law of its curves, and huddle it up into an
untidy, unmeaning mass, fit for nothing but to serve as a field of
display for what is commonly cheap and bad jewellery. We may be wrong,
but we strongly suspect that the tie-stock and the large silk scarf were
brought into use by some dirty fellow, whose linens would not stand the
test of public examination; and, indeed, whenever we see a man more than
usually adorned in this way about the neck, we conjecture that all is
not right beneath. A small black or judiciously coloured cravat, with a
very small bow, and just sufficient stiffness to give dignity to the
head--this should be the morning wear of the real gentleman; in the
evening, let him put on the finest fabric of the flax-loom, and the most
expensive lace he can afford to purchase--they will be very becoming,
and will be duly appreciated by the ladies, who know the cost of such
things; all silks and stocks let him leave to men-milliners.

Which side are we to take in the collar question--ups, or downs, or none
at all? We confess ourselves to be practically in a dilemma; although,
aestheticall