FOR THE GIRLS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 10, 12 January 1929, Page 2 (Supplement)

FOR THE GIRLS.

THE STORY OF THE UMBRELLA,

THE DISTINGUISHED PAST.

My Dear Girl;,— In thU fascinating age we lire in, when science has simpTined tk» us* of the most commonplace mechanical objects, we are far too apt t* take their existence for granted. We never stop to think of the intfresting history behind almost OT i household article we nse at the present time. Of all the everyday objects in use the umbrella is perhaps the most homely and familiar, yet it ku quite a distinguished past, and the umbrella is really a Royal symbol. Tβ* first evidence we have of it is found in the sculpture and wall paiatiag of ancient Egypt. It was used at the time of the Empire of Nineveh as a mark of sovereignty and prestige, being carried over the king's head in tunes of both peace and war. From its us* as a Royal symbol in Asia and Africa. it travelled after some years to Greece and Rome, where it was look*! upon as an emblem of great distinction and luxury, and was caHsd th* Day Shade, which has com* down to us through the years as the dusty colourful and useful sunshade. At this time in Rome umbrellas of leather and skin were mad by young Roman dandies in the theatre when the sun was extra strong. Frosm the fall of the Roman Empire, until about 1600, the umbrella seems to bav* fallen out of favour. Then we hear of it again in Italy as a. M new invention which people do carry about the streets as things that da minister shadow unto them for shelter against the scorching heat of tk* sun. ,1 In England the umbrella was not used till the beginning of the 18th century, and then only by women. It was not until the end of that ceatary that the umbrella was used by both sexes. The first man to use an umbrella in London was one Jonas Hanway, a man of extraordinary courage. He was mobbed by a jeering crowd, who made fun of l»«T t »»j called him a "mincing Frenchman." In time, however, the wmlmlki came into its own in England, and to-day the Englishman and that usafsi article are seldom parted. Who of us have not enjoyed reading ahssjt Robinson Crusoe's famous umbrella, which he describes: "I covered it with skin, the hair outwards, so that it east off th* rsisi like a penthouse, and kept off the sun so effectually I could walk in tk* hottest weather with greater advantage than I could before in Jk * the coolest." * iJrS^^^ In admiration of this, in Eng- § g \OJ**^*^r land one of the first of the old XT' heavy umbrellas was called "Th* Robinson."