THE APPOINTMENT FAD 



one has given thought and attention to the matter 

 in hand, and has an individual opinion ; but 

 slavish and unreasoning imitation is less than 

 nothing, especially the imitation of methods and 

 customs which have no reason for existence ; 

 and in no detail of appointment matters does this 

 imitation reach such dangerous and ridiculous 

 lengths as in that connected with the harness, its 

 " trappings and its strappings." Thus, once up- 

 on a time, the punctilious pundits who adjudicate 

 upon such matters, proclaimed that no harness 

 was properly arranged for use with a carriage 

 owned or driven by a lady, unless it included lace 

 housings, fronts, rosettes, and loin straps ; sub- 

 sequently it was determined that such trappings 

 were en regie only when a servant drove, and 

 were a part of the full dress equipment imperative 

 only where he was to take active part. At the 

 Garden, 1901, not a single carriage was thus 

 " turned out " (in the brougham class for pairs), 

 and the only housings were those borne by a pair 

 which got fourth, — these being of brass curb-chain 

 pattern ! In view of these absurdities — for really 

 they are nothing else — why pay any attention to 

 details ? One cannot change frequently enough 

 to be correct. Judges endorse at one show the 



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