He can neither look this way nor that, nor up nor down, without being
reminded that he has imposed upon himself an extra to the universal
penalties of Adam. One who lives in London tells me of the load of
clothes he is compelled to wear in winter to preserve animal heat. He
fights for life thus arrayed--thick woollens next the skin, the decent
shirt (badge of respectability), the waistcoat of heavy cloth, the
cardigan jacket (which hides the respectable shirt), the coat of cloth,
strong and heavy; the overcoat long and incommoding, the woollen
comforter, the wool-lined gloves, the double-woollen socks, the
half-inch soled boots, the leggings, the hat. To carry this burden of
clothes all day, pursuing ordinary vocations, were surely the grossest
of bondage. While my three-garment costume--is it not convenient and
fashionable enough?
A smart cutter appeared in Brammo Bay. A man, apparently in a pale red
shirt, let down the sails and anchor, and by-and-by one in a black coat
buttoned to the throat paddled himself ashore in a dinghy. Like a great
many worn on state occasions in country parts here, the coat had seen
better days. It was black with greenish lights; the stitches round the
button-holes and along the seams brown and grey; it smelt fusty; the
buttons were--well, various and assorted.
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