but there appears to us not the slightest doubt that the introduction
of the Umbrella at the latter part of the former, and commencement of
the present century, must have greatly conduced to the improvement of
the public health, by preserving the bearer from the various and
numerous diseases superinduced by exposure to rain.

But perhaps we are a little harsh on our worthy ancestors; they may
have possessed some species of protection from the rain on which they
prided themselves as much as we do on our Umbrellas, and regarded the
new-fangled invention (as they no doubt termed it) as something
exceedingly absurd, coxcombical, and unnecessary; while we, who are
in possession of so many life-comforts of which those of the good old
times were supremely ignorant--among these we give the Umbrella
brevet rank--can afford to smile at such ebullitions as we have come
across in those books of the day we have consulted, and to which we
shall presently have an opportunity of referring.

We can happily estimate the value of such a friend as the Umbrella,
the silent companion of our walks abroad, a companion incomparably
superior to those slimy waterproof abominations so urgently
recommended to us, for, at the least, the Umbrella cannot be accused
of injuring, the health as _they_ have been, as it appears, with
very good reason. In fact, so long as the climate of England remains
as it is, so long will Umbrellas hold their ground in public esteem,
and we do not believe that the clerk of the weather will allow
himself to be bribed into any alteration, at least for trade
considerations.

Another remarkable proof of the utility of the Umbrella may be found
in the universality of its use. It has asserted its sway from Indus