text:  were not benefactors to the human race by introducing stiff cravattes and endless swathes of linen round the region of jugular veins and carotid arteries; if a man wishes to be comfortable any where it is surely in his neck; let old gentlemen with scrofulous chins muffle themselves up to suffocation if they please but why should we who have nothing the matter with us and wish to turn our heads _ad libitum_ be thus girt about and half stifled? Our climate no doubt requires some protection for the neck and while beards are not worn a cravat of some kind or other may be said to be necessary; but if comfort and use can be combined with elegance and good taste and yet the old starched thing got rid of so much the better