a fine gold watch-chain, and his jacket and vest may be of a rough black cloth or blue serge.  The trousering may be of a suit with the jacket, or tasteful, and the shoes must be long.  The betting man, adorned, is a perfect Blade.  There is often a large and ornamental stick, which is invariably carried head downwards.  And note, that the born Blade instinctively avoids any narrowness of pose.  In walking he thrusts out his shoulders, elbows, and knees, and it is rather the thing to dominate a sphere of influence beyond this by swinging his stick.  At first the beginner will find this weapon a little apt to slip from the hand and cause inconvenience to the general public; but he must not mind that.  After a few such misadventures he will acquire dexterity.

All Blades smoke—­publicly at least.  To smoke a white meerschaum in the streets, however, is very inferior form.  The proper smoking is a briar, and, remember, it is not smart to have a new pipe.  So soon as he buys it, the Blade takes his pipe home, puts it on a glowing fire to burn the rim, scrapes this away, burns it again, and so on until it looks a sullen desperado of a pipe—­a pipe with a wild past.  Sometimes he cannot smoke a pipe.  In this case he may—­for his stomach’s sake—­smoke a cigarette.  And, besides, there is something cynical about a cigarette.  For the very young Blade there are certain makes of cigarette that burn well—­they are mixed with nitre—­and these may be smoked by holding them in the left hand and idly swinging them to and fro in the air.  If it were not for the public want of charity, I would recommend a well-known brand.  A Blade may always escape a cigar by feigning a fastidious taste.  “None of your Cabanas” is rather good style.

The Blade, it must be understood—­especially by the Blade’s friends—­spends his time in a whirl of dissipation.  That is the symbolism of the emphatic obliquity of the costume.  First, he drinks.  The Blade at Harrow, according to a reliable authority, drinks cherry brandy and even champagne; other Blades consume whisky-and-soda; the less costly kind of Blade does it on beer.  And here the beginner is often at a loss.  Let us say he has looked up the street and down, ascertained that there are no aunts in the air, and then plunged into his first public-house.  How shall he ask for his liquor?  “I will take a glass of ale, if you please, Miss,” seems tame for a Blade.  It may be useful to know a more suitable formula.  Just at present, we may assure the Blade neophyte, it is all the rage to ask for “Two of swipes, ducky.”  Go in boldly, bang down your money as loudly as possible, and shout that out at the top of your voice.  If it is a barman, though, you had better not say “ducky.”  The slang will, we can assure him, prove extremely effective.