WALKING STICKS.
[ILLUSTRATION]
[Description: 628EAF. Page 049. In-line Illustrations. The first image is of a man walking with his cane raised in the air
in front of him. The second image is of a man and woman both holding
umbrellas and pointing them at a painting they are viewing.]
Dr. Fred. Anderson says “walking sticks at Saratoga—articles
of use and ornament to the view—are
abominations in the hands of the many.
Every male at this summer resort considers
it the correct thing to “wear” a
stick, and, moreover, that it is essential
to keep it in constant agitation; when
the tyro is not tripping himself with his
awkward little cane, after the fashion of a
green adjutant on trainin' day, he is hazarding
the vision of his neighbors, or
punching the short ribs of the nervous
classes. This fashion should be regulated
by an Act of Congress. It calls for legislation
loudly. It should be the privilege
of the halt, blind, and infirm to carry canes, and of dexterous
swells to wear sticks only. Every afternoon, while the band
performs, those who are not hammering in consonance with the
leader's baton, are twirling their sticks like Fourth of July pinwheels,
and attempting to appear composed. The danger of
these weapons is understood at art galleries alone, and ignored
totally at Saratoga.”
