That is evident from the distortion of the brim. The important corollary
is, that this hat fits his head exactly--is, in fact, a perfect mould of
it; and this fact, together with the cheap quality of the hat, furnishes
the further corollary that it has probably only had a single owner.
"And now let us turn it over and look at the outside. You notice at once
the absence of old dust. Allowing for the circumstance that it had been
out all night, it is decidedly clean. Its owner has been in the habit of
brushing it, and is therefore presumably a decent, orderly man. But if
you look at it in a good light, you see a kind of bloom on the felt, and
through this lens you can make out particles of a fine white powder
which has worked into the surface."
He handed me his lens, through which I could distinctly see the
particles to which he referred.
"Then," he continued, "under the curl of the brim and in the folds of
the hatband, where the brush has not been able to reach it, the powder
has collected quite thickly, and we can see that it is a very fine
powder, and very white, like flour. What do you make of that?"
"I should say that it is connected with some industry.
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