And What We Gain 215 



patched trousers would be viewed with suspic- 

 ion? There are no end of stories which illustrate 

 how strongly the traits of our simian ancestors 

 are marked in us. Some years ago the Prince 

 of Wales could not find the overcoat he wanted 

 when about to leave for the opera one evening, 

 and picked up a rough shooting-jacket he had 

 brought from the Highlands; result: ulsters 

 appeared all over the world. More recently, 

 the same leader of fashion dropped one glove 

 in the street and put on another of a different 

 color; result: people begin to wear gloves that 

 do not match. The Prince of Wales is grow- 

 ing bald ; result : the sale of magic hair-growers 

 has fallen off by two thirds in the United 

 Kingdom. The traces of the monkey are to 

 be seen all around us. Not one man in a thou- 

 sand knows that the two buttons to be found 

 upon the backs of most coats date from the 

 time when men needed these buttons to hold 

 on their sword-belts. The swords have gone, 

 but we continue to insist upon the buttons 

 because "everybody wears them." The necktie 

 once held the shirt together at the throat, and 

 thus served a useful purpose. Buttons now fill 



