THE APPOINTMENT FAD 



sense appropriateness. Everything very plain, 

 and very neat is the acme of good taste. 



Of course one realizes that we are passing 

 through a curiously abrupt transition stage in 

 these matters. So many more people "keep a 

 carriage " than formerly, such a number of us 

 have become suddenly and extremely wealthy, 

 and, this being the case, desire that our equipages 

 shall produce upon the general public the same 

 feeling of amazement and gratification which we 

 ourselves continually experience in such contem- 

 plation, believing that by garish display such ends 

 may be attained. 



Among the most common of our failures is our 

 curious habit of keeping horses, carriages, har- 

 nesses, servants, etc., all (or most) excellent of 

 their kind, but, in their relations to each other 

 total misfits. One constantly finds pretentious 

 equipages thus appointed : the smart miniature 

 brougham drawn by a pair of coach horses, and 

 having two fat and heavy servants on the box ; 

 the imposing landau " turned out " with a couple 

 of slight and light servants, a pair of small and 

 narrow horses at the pole lapped in harness suit- 

 able for light phaeton use, or some huge old family 

 brougham similarly appointed. Liveries are 



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