The "Ridger" is quite a different person from the Mountaineer. He looks
upon the latter individual as a sodden and benighted unfortunate, whose
inaccessible habitation entitles him to the pity of the favored dwellers
on the "Ridge."
That the Ridge is but a low out-put of the Mountain, that it is barren
and isolated, does not disturb the comfortable theory of its
inhabitants. To the people of the Valley the Ridger is a twin brother of
the owner of the hut on the top-most peak of the range.
They look alike. Their bearing and habits are similar. To the Valley eye
their clothes are of the same material and cut; but to the Ridger
himself there is as wide a difference between him and his less favored
brother on the "mounting" as that to be found by the stroller on Fifth
Avenue when he gazes with profound contempt upon the egotistic biped who
plainly hopes to deceive the elect into a belief that he, also, belongs
to the charmed circle and has not simply "run over" from Jersey City, or
St. Louis, or New Bedford.
The Mountaineer is frequently a Tunker, the Ridger rarely. Therefore the
Ridger is likely to have a shaven face, and, for the younger contingent,
a mustache is the rule, a "goatee" the fashion. To the Tunker none of
these are permissible. The beard may not be cut, a mustache may not be
worn, and, with the first of these propositions in force it will be seen
at once that "a goatee" is quite out of the question.
When I say that the Ridger is likely to have a shaven face I do not
intend to convey the impression that he ever uses a razor. He shaves his
face with the scissors. His Tunker neighbor up the mountain performs the
same feat on his own upper lip. The result is effective and satisfactory
from both a religious and artistic outlook in the eyes of these
sticklers for fashion and dogma, albeit, it might be looked upon as more
or less disappointing by the habitues of the Union League Club or the
devotees at St. Thomas.
If the rivet, which at some previous date had held the two halves of the
scissors together, happens to be lost, or if it has worn so loose that
these members "do not speak as they pass by," a jack knife or even a
butcher's knife is no stranger to the tonsorial process of these
followers of the elusive god of style.
I do not know that I have ever met a Tunker so lost to a deep sense of
religious duty, or a Ridger sufficiently devoid of the pride of personal
appearance, that he would "go to town" without having first performed
this rite.
It is a serious business.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account