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1905 ]
Custom and the Shatrunjaya Hill.
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prayers or going in presence of a high official he would scarcely be persuaded to leave off this ancient and thereby consecrated custom ; he would rather take offence at any intruder who recklessly dares to cross the threshold of this sacred court. Whatever the injurious and unhealthy klimatic effects of the ancient custom of doffing the hat while saluting, the European; alike the Indian, would find it difficult to extricate himself "rom this time-honored trap and notwithstanding his erudite learning, he would passively yield himself to be yoked to the obnoxious formality.
The learned editor of The Advocate of India" in his leader of "Hats off and on" in the issue of Wednesday, 1st March, 1905, has pleaded that
the methods of showing respect are so varied in the world that what in one country is a mark of respect is something quite different in another." Confining himself to the examination of the modes of respect prevailing in the heterogeneous communities of India, he might have been up to the mark in pronouncing the verdict that what in one community is a mark of respect is something quite different in another. In support of his contention he might have drawn the attention of his readers to the Hindu and the Jaina communities doggedly following the custom of putting off shoes while entering a sacred place in contradistinction to the Christian community who do anything and everything with shoes on. As custom is our nurse we cannot easily shake off its force which the able editor admits by saying "At social functions in India, such as levées, there is always an element of hitch of some kind regarding these things. The Hindu gentleman, in his flowing robes, is in trouble with his shoes when approaching the presence." - The European gentleman, in his tight-fitting, uncomfortable garments, has his bell-topper for his chief care, and, between his gloves, his hat and his cards, he has, practically speaking, his hands full. But the Parsee gentleman cares for none of these things except the cards; he neither unhats nor unboots, and his salutation and marks of respect are quite as good and first as much appreciated. » The italics are ours. It is the predominant force of custom which compels the European gentleman to square himself" in his tight-fitting, uncomfortable garments. ". Further on he says:- " It has been suggested that it would be a good thing if women made it understood that they do not expect men to salute them out Of doors by taking off their hats. It is suggested that touching the hat or holding the hand to the hat in military fashion ought to be sufficient. As in the case of the Parsee community noted above, this would seem to meet the case. " While reading these words, we were expecting a reformatory conclusion from the pen of the able writer, but to our astonishment we saw that he was not an immortal beiug and working under the influence of
