I think it was Lord Chesterfield who said:  “A man is received according to his appearance, and dismissed according to his merits.”  There is a bit of truth in this we would all admit, I have no doubt, if we studied the question.  Clothes affect our own poise, ease, and attitude toward others and the expression of others toward us, but, after all, we rely upon the man or woman instead of upon the impression we receive from the clothes.  The garments, after we have noticed them in a superficial way, are chiefly interesting to us, because they are arch-betrayers of the physical and mental poise of the man.  No matter what the cut of the cloth, no matter what cachet of a fashionable tailor a suit may have, or what its richness of material, the attitude “a la decadence” of No. 93 would make the best clothes in Christendom look shabby and unattractive.

[Illustration:  No. 93]

This too familiar carriage of the American man makes one wish to have the power to reverse the faces—­as Dante did those of the false prophets, so those who stand “a la decadence” might see what ridiculous figures they cut in drawing-room and street.  The curved backs and rounded-out shoulders would make fair-looking chests, and the flat chests would represent respectable-looking backs.

A man owes it to the spirit within him not to stand or walk in such an attitude.  He should brace up and keep bracing up persistently, unremittently, until he attains a more manly bearing.

[Illustration:  No. 94]

The wholly alive fellow pictured in sketch No. 94 would make homespun look elegant.  His chest is forward.  He does not sag in front at the waist, protruding his abdomen in not only an inartistic, but an unhealthy manner; but he strides masterfully forward with an air of inspiriting “aliveness.”  The perfect poise of his attitude is not unsuggestive of the Apollo Belvedere—­the model for all men—­a picture of which every college boy should have to place beside the prettiest girl in his collection of pretty girls, to constantly remind him to carry himself like a young god.