CHAPTER IX

MARIE ANTOINETTE.

The paniers grew daily in size, and evoked the inevitable denunciation which waits punctuallyupon the heels of any favourite of fashion. Marie Antoinette varied her corsets to suit her bodices, therein showing much wisdom, since obviously the short-waisted bodice asks beneath it a stay totally different from that needed beneath a bodice which is cut in a long point in front. Her fichus were as elaborate as dainty, and the method of their adjustment varied in half-a-dozen different ways—they would be crossed over the bust and tied at the back, or tucked into the waistband, or fastened high on the bust with bunches of ribbons or flowers.

A PEIGNOIR.

No garment more attractive can be imagined than thedéshabillé galant: a teagown of hers which was ruched from the neck round to the short train, and displayed a frilled front of lace or muslin tied with ribbons, and daintily flounced round the hem. Silks, satins, and brocades were used to make these, but shot silk enjoyed supreme patronage; and the favourite dressmaker, MadameBertin, was a heroine of vast importance, a genius of diplomatic habits, who played most successfully upon the fancies of her royal patron, bringing her every day some new device in paniers or sumptuous train which it was impossible to resist.

A COIFFURE.

Marie Antoinette adored feathers, and the panache flourished under her favour, and boldly survived her mother's reprimand. "You have sent me the picture of an actress, not of a Queen," she wrote, upon receiving a picture of her daughter in a prodigious head-dress of feathers and jewels. Jewels, it is well known, were amongst Marie Antoinette's weaknesses. Did not they inspire that romance of the Queen's necklace which has pursued us for many years in various works of fiction and drama, and is still regarded as vitally interesting?

But let me return to England, and repeat that French fashions were treated with servility, if not with complete success, for somehow the English women were too ponderously exact in their method of adjustment to toy triumphantly with the many accessories of lace, and ribbon, and velvet, and buckles, and ruchings which were essentially the distinguishing features of these styles. And, also, the small feet of the French women encouraged much attention to dainty shoes, with coloured heels and embroidered toes, and to these the national deficiencies or superfluities of the English women were rather a drawback. However, they followed the French fashions at a distance, and bestowed most earnest attention upon hair-dressing, whichassumed formidable proportions during this period, and rose higher and ever higher, to be topped by ornaments as incongruous, as hideous. The skilful hair-dresser who could "build" a head was at a premium; the art of hair-dressing being reckoned as one of the most important, and as rare as difficult. No lady's maid, however clever, was entrusted withthis difficult task, and very complicated was the work of constructing the popular coiffure, which was piled half a yard high, and decked with pads, and false hair, and curls so stuck down and plastered with pomades that they might hold for weeks without being pulled down. So monumental were these erections that collapsible frames had to be made, so that ladies could pass through doors and get into their sedan-chairs. Windmills and ships in full sail, fruit and balls were added to the pile, and ostrich plumes nodded boldly amongst a profusion of ribbons and flowers.

A VARIETY OF HEAD-DRESSES ADOPTED IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

The aristocratic was of course the only class that could afford these most elaborate styles, where so much curling and frizzing appeared in large masses in front that iron hairpins were used to keep these in place at the top lest they should fall crushed beneath their own weight.

The hats were worn rather far back to show these curls, and many had long ends of ribbon hanging down at the back, and others had low crowns and wide brims trimmed with flowers. What was known as a "fly" cap was a large butterfly edged with jewels, and crownless hats became the fashion; invented so as not to spoil the high coiffure, they boasted nothing but brim, and were delegated to do duty only in the finest weather. The calash, which resembles comically the hood of a baby's perambulator, could be drawn back or over the face at will, and was tied with strings. Straw hats obtained, as well as those of silk and velvet, and a mob-cap created such a sensation at Ranelagh, the popular resort of the moment, that all the women were crying out for one before the sun had risen and set again. The mob-cap was made ofblonde, flowers, ribbons, and muslin; but so great was the craze for hair-dressing and head decoration that every sort of cap and hat gained some attention in turn, and amongst them were hoods of lace or velvet, edged with fur, and crêpe turbans held with jewels, with a group of feathers waving proudly on the top. The famous "Devonshire" hat of black with white feathers showed well the curls and rolls, which extended to the back of the head when it had been realised that the straight clean upward sweep to the top pinnacle of the puffs was a disadvantage to the contour not to be permitted. Of the prettiest of the fashions were the broad-brimmed hats of black chip, and the Rubens hats of black velvet; and the straight-crowned gipsy hats were really quite charming; but the winged Mercury hat received more popularity than it deserved.

A CAP AND HOOD.

The perruques of the men, even when fresh from the embraces of the curl-papers, must have looked very insignificant by the side of the huge erections which towered above the women, who did not scruple in their martyrdom to sit on the floor of a hackney coach so that the head-dress should not be disarranged, or to go to bed with their hair surrounded by a basket, or held in position by pillows and tapes. Happily the dancing of the period was of a stately kind, for the coiffure would have brooked no such frivolities as the "two-step," and the uproarious lancers of to-day would have made short work of the hair-dresser's labour of time and money.

The question of complexion was seriously studied, the colour of the chin and cheeks being carefully suited to the gowns. Patches were lavishly indulged in in England and France, the eyebrows were blacked and even false, and China, Spain, and Portugal all contributed—for a consideration—rouges and white lead and wash balls, scented lard and lip salves, and toilet waters and soaps.

The fan was an indispensable complement to every gown, and its best conduct was an art which might well have been added to the scholastic curriculum for women, always supposing the like in existence. The fans were made of chicken skin and painted; and chicken skin also had the privilege, with lace and an embroidery of gold and silver, in making gloves and mittens for evening wear.

Tight-lacing wasde rigueur, and it is indeed impossible to imagine any discomfort omitted from the toilet. I cannot picture conditions more entirely unpleasant than to glaze the face with paint and grease of red and black, to decorate it at intervals with devices of sticking plaster, to supply it with false eyebrows, and to mount on the head some pounds' weight of stuffed hair, while reducing the waist at least three inches below the natural size, expanding the hips with whalebone and hoops, compressing the feet into narrow shoes, and carefully studying every movement of the arm so as to hold a fan at a significant and becoming angle. And to add to all this, the dresses were of the stiffest brocades, decked with gold and silverembroideries and tinselled fringes, velvet and fur increasing the burden.

SOME STICKS.

The excessive elaboration of the hoods and the scarves and the aprons dangling with silver tassels and fringes was responsible for some criticism from Beau Nash, the autocrat of Bath, where he had established the strictest rules of dress and procedure, covering all delinquencies of conduct with a bearing of convincing dignity set in an atmosphere of punctilious etiquette. Goldsmith gives an instance of the despotic rule of Nash, and of the special liberties he arrogated to himself. "I have known him on a ball-night strip even the Duchess of Q." (the "Kitty beautiful," as the poet Prior called this Duchess of Queensberry), "and throw her apron at one of the hinder benches among the ladies' women, observing that none but Abigails appeared in white aprons."

Women had indeed to suffer in those days to attain what they were pleased to call the beautiful, and it is quite a relief to remember the moment when Marie Antoinette took a sudden caprice to appear without hoops in a soft satin gown with wide sleeves, which set the fashion in London as well as in France. For a short time only, however, such moderation ruled, and the hoops came back larger than ever in 1784, when the Duchess of Cumberland swept the floor in five yards of brocade, and a stomacher blazing stiffly with jewels.

The pastoral simplicity of the Petit Trianon should have really made more lasting impression than it did. For the Court ladies played at milkmaids under the rule of their farmer Queen, and churned butter with their own fair hands, and found a wide field for dainty disguises in rustic and ruinous simplicity. The peasant girls' dresses of stuffs and muslin were glorified by rich silks and muslin and challis decked with lace fichus and crowned with rose-coloured and be-ribboned straw hats, and embroidered holland and Persian cambric were affected economies no less expensive than the maize-coloured silk and striped green and white satin of avowed prodigality. The Trianon was a happy hunting-ground for flirtation, but that is another story, indeed a great many; but it served too as a pretext for innumerable new frocks, and the colour-prints of the time convincingly prove the dainty possibilities afforded by the artifice of simplicity allied to a nice taste in ribbons.

We have to go back to the days of Marie Antoinette for a practice which aroused some interest and amusement when a dressmaker in London last year was fired with a desire to revive it. Gowns were invested with the power to express special emotion, and Molière held the notion up to ridicule in his famousPrécieuses. Long narrow shoes with the seam at the heel, whose socket was studded with jewels, were calledvenez-y-voir; and this suggestion of forwardness was again evident in a ribbon which went by the name of "marked attention." Other absurdities often quoted were the gown known as the "stifled sigh," trimmed with "superfluous regrets," andthe cap of "assured conquest," and a muff of "momentary agitation."

Towards the end of the reign of Louis XVI. the low head-dress came into fashion, the short curls being gathered into a knot of ribbon or "catogan," and the fair moderated their transports for powdered hair which had abundantly obtained in white, reddish blonde, and grey.

Marie Antoinette knew all there was to know of the art of dress, and recognising the supreme charm of caprice, she would ring every change in turn; and perhaps she never looked more exquisitely beautiful than when, her hair powdered and her face faintly lined by sorrow, she met the scaffold and the mob on the last day of her existence, in her plain black dress and simple white fichu.

IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

On trying to set down a chronicle of dress as it lived in the earlier part of the nineteenth century, my mind becomes immediately obsessed with short-waisted gowns; and a vision of the hapless Josephine—whose name, by the way, I should have added to the list of the few who have stood godmother to a fashion—immediately appears before me in her graceful short-skirted evening dress with its high Empire belt.

That all women kill the style they love might with truth be said of the enthusiasm which raged for that Empire belt, for it grew smaller by degrees and grotesquely less when it commenced its career immediately beneath the arm, pushing the bust under the throat, presenting but an apology for a bodice, and needing the completely slim figure to withstand its liberties with any degree of decorum. Decorum was, however, not among its ambitions.

For walking wear the high waist was no less a desideratum, and cloth skirts, long and full, were completed by short velvet coats with long tight sleeves, vests of white, and stocks of black. The whole was crowned by small hats with feathers on one side, or high hats of masculine conventionmade of cream-coloured beaver. Napoleon, following in the footsteps of many of his predecessors in the profession of Royalty, showed a nice appreciation of the charm of costume, being alternately disapproving and encouraging in his criticisms, and always leaning towards the side of prodigality.

SOME QUAINT EXAMPLES OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY HEADGEAR.

Princess Pauline Buonaparte made dress the religion of her salon, and there are records of her audacious grace in a fancy costume as Minerva, and of one of hersoiréegowns which expressed the last word of extravagance in pink tulle over pink satin, trimmed with marabout feathers, and diamondagrafes, with the bodice encrusted, and every seam of the skirt glistening, with diamonds.

In England Queen Charlotte evinced a decided predilection for the greatcoat and the cloth pelisse with a velvet collar, crowned by the circular hat of beaver, veiled with green muslin; and much favour was granted to such masculine properties as the silk cravat and the boot with the high military heel, the feminine situation being saved only by the sprigged lace veil. An alternative to the pelisse was a garment not unlike the Greek chiton, which, however, never received the attention bestowed upon the boxcloth driving-coat with heavy capes, and the manly etceteras to do it honour or dishonour.

It goes to prove my suspicion that there is a leaven of contrariety in the soul of women, when I remember that beneath these was worn a cambric or lawn dress of most diaphanous detail, and so close-fitting that the feminine form, unfortunately not being divine, lacked under its influence the best grace of reticence. Besides being of cambric andlawn, these skimpy dresses were made of clear silk net over a foundation of white satin, and all were very short in the waist and in the skirt, which was trimmed with rouleaux of satin.

In warm weather the thick cloaks were discarded for the short cloaks and mantles shaped as the Zouave, or in the short sacque style extending only to the waist. A spencer in a contrasting shade of silk achieved popularity and was considered the fitting complement to the muslin gown; and about the year 1814 this was made with full sleeves and upstanding collar and worn over the morning dress, which was either cut high to the neck, or filled in with a ruff and kerchief of lace or muslin. A fold of muslin also did service, crossed in front of the popular evening bodice, whosedécolletagewas more remarkable for its breach than its observance of the best ideals of modesty.

A favourite ornament was a gold chain and heart, which would open to reveal the eye of a lover, relative, or friend executed on ivory and bordered with enamel; and this limned eye is a love token which seems to be coming once more into fashion.

French fashions again became the mode at the beginning of the century, when white chemisettes were worn with the Swiss petticoat, and powder fell into disuse, and the hair was long or short in curls falling over the face, a style of coiffure which was followed by the crop, in favour of which even the most tolerant can find little to put forward. With the crop a narrow fillet was placed round the head, holding a rose in front, or over it an immense panache of feathers would nod with foolishmonotony. The cropped head had for its successor the style known asla chinoisefor which the hair was tightly dragged back from the forehead, with a long ringlet falling at the side, a plait set in a cluster of roses crowning the top, which was further decorated with gold pins, tasselled with small gold balls.

Many garments had foreign names. A robe known as the Mameluke had a Delta trimming; a coiffure adorned with jewels and a double row of beads on the forehead was dedicated to Egypt; and Austerlitz expressed a nankeen-coloured gown with blue trimmings. And there were caps recognised as Patmos and Tyrolean; and there were Spanish dresses, and Etruscan borders to Pyrenean robes. The Patmos cap had charms which easily pushed it to the height of success, when it was made of satin and lace cut into points at the front, was covered with diamonds, and had tassels falling at either side.

Beau Brummel, as he walked upon the Pantiles, carefully cultivating towards everybody an insolence that would not be tolerated nowadays, even in the richest member of the Stock Exchange, laid down the law of dress for men. About 1811 he held supreme sway, and was the "Arbiter Elegantarium," contributing doubtless to the gaiety of nations many a new stock and new button. It was not long after this, however, that man gave up fashion as a bad job, ultimately contenting himself for his adornment with the details of his waistcoat and the cut of his whiskers, begging the question at first by full-skirted coats with velvet collars, frilled shirts and stock ties, tasselled canes, and light beaver hats, then gradually drifting into the safe harbour ofbroadcloth and linen, where he permitted himself selection only in the colour of his necktie and the option of the hard or the soft hat. Gone are his glories of brocade and satin and tight breeches, which revealed silk stockings and buckled shoes; banished are the lace ruffles, the nankeen, the mulberry, and the blue cloth with brass buttons; diminished are the curled heads; and frankly I regret all these as losses to the beauty as well as to the humour of social existence.

It was in the earliest days of the nineteenth century that artificial flowers began to obtain considerable popularity, and they were used in the hair and on the bodices and in festoons on the skirts, and on the hems of trains. After the return of Napoleon from Elba, violets were the conspicuous fashion, being regarded as an emblem of Imperialism, and no faithful follower was seen without a bunch of violets in her dress; while the ladies of royal sympathies would, in honour of Louis XVIII., decorate their gowns with eighteen tucks, and supply their cashmere shawls with vermilion borders.

Shawls, the manufacture of which had begun in England in the eighteenth century, were in great request later in the century. They were made of cashmere, in imitation of the Indian shawls, which were respectfully considered articles of luxury and importance during all the days of Queen Victoria, who chose these as wedding gifts for the brides she delighted to honour.

But I progress too fast.

After the battle of Waterloo, fashion decidedly changed, and the clinging gown, with its skimpy skirt hanging from a short belt or Empire bodice, was discarded in favour of a much-trimmed dress standingwell away from the figure, and fancy would work its elaborate will on the trimming of these skirts with scollops, many-coloured embroideries, fringes and gold braid. The bodice still remained a minor quantity, supplied with two short puffed sleeves and filled to the bust or somewhat below it with a jewelled clasp or some decoration of embroidery or lace, whose indiscretions were presumably to be concealed beneath a dainty scarf of silk or coloured gauze, an elegance which failed in its duties lamentably, and hung limply over the arm as if ashamed of its delinquencies.

The fashionable outdoor dress could hardly have been suitable to the English climate, unless indeed its habits have altered strangely, and its detractors have reason for their abuse. The loose robe was of jaconet muslin open at the neck and covered with embroidery, and round the shoulders would hang the scarf, usually dropping to the waist, and held in the hollow of the elbow; and on the head appeared a French cap of blonde lace trimmed with ribbons.

In the 'thirties, dress was merely a travesty of the 'twenties; huge sleeves and stiffened petticoats were universal, and the tight-fitting bodices, cut with sloping shoulders, gave a thin flat appearance to the waist, further accentuated by the ballooning sleeves, setting closely to the wrist. The skirts were short, and still further enhanced the immense effect of the sleeves; and round the waist a plain band added angularity to the outline. Revers, shaped like capes at the back and pointed in the front, were on day and evening bodices alike, and pelerines of all kinds established their popularity, being tucked into the waist, or having wide long ends crossed at the backor front. Blonde lace was a favourite trimming to all gowns; and a style of dress that took the fancy for a short time was known as the "tunic." This was made with a sleeveless bodice and pointed shoulders, the under-dress being two inches longer and of a colour different from the skirt, which was open in the front. Bright colours were very popular, but, on the whole, the spirit of costume was chastened, and muffs, fans, bouquets, and parasols became considerably smaller.

LADY BLESSINGTON.

The most conspicuous garments in the earliest days of Queen Victoria were the shawl-shaped cloak, the circular cape, and the crossover made of either embroidered crêpe or taffeta, and bearing on its borders a fringe or some frill of lace. Beneath these the sleeves dropped lower and lower from the shoulder, and extended their fulness from elbow to wrist; their top was tight and plain, or edged with two little frills, and the billow beneath was expressed in white lawn. The fichu in cambric or lawn was afeature of nearly every bodice, the only alternative being a double collar, which turned down at the neck.

The outstanding petticoat was ubiquitous, skirts over it being single and trimmed with flounces, or double and dividing in the centre, to show a contrasting under-skirt. Kerchiefs and capes were draped over low dresses, and berthas were important features in the tulle or tarletan gown, which was festooned and flounced, tied with ribbons, one skirt being looped up over another with more ingenuity than elegance.

The bonnet poked its brim into an audacious spoon, tilting upwards to reveal a trimming beneath of quillings and ruchings in muslin or net, with a bow of ribbon and a bunch of feathers on the crown, whence fell the curtain at the back to the neck. The poke gradually decreased in height and width, eventually assuming a semicircle as close to the brow as the bonnet of a barge-woman, and the French ladies adopted this fashion, making the bonnets of straw and draping them with a green gauze veil. About 1860 the crinoline of horsehair and steels "swelled visibly," like another hero, and Leghorn hats took the place of bonnets. These, decked with ribbons and plumes, would bend low their brims over the face of beauty and ugliness.

Hair was permitted every license except the monstrous unhealthy misdemeanours of the Stuart and Tudor periods. In turn, it strained itself rigidly to the topmost point of the crown, where, coiled in plaits, it met the just reward of a disfiguring bunch of feathers; it puffed itself out in a mass behind the ears, or banded itselfdemurely over them. It merrily shook itself in ringlets from a centre parting, which knew such sorrow as Macassar oil and the controlling influence of the side comb; or, stuffed out with frisettes, it hid its insincerity in the meshes of the silk and chenille net; or it lay low in flat curls at the nape of the neck. At different times it placed the burden of its rolls and curls upon every inch of the crown—on top of it, in the middle of it, behind it, and in front of it, where, indeed, it once developed a frenzy of disorder, and hung in wild and fringed confusion to the eyebrow.

LADY BLESSINGTON.

LADY DALMENY.

This reminds me to note the royal conservatism of her gracious Majesty Queen Alexandra, who follows fashion at a dignified distance, lending her sweet personal enchantment to our view of her antedated coiffure, with its raised curls over her brow pointing slightly to the centre of the forehead. Royalty no longer seeks to lead fashions, nor, indeed, to follow them, the only exceptions to the rule of generality being the royal ladies of the houses of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and of Connaught,who all show a most delightful appreciation of, and a becoming sympathy with, every vagary ofLa Mode. Yet our supreme Royalty takes interest in the national aspect of the affairs of costume, and bestows much personal trouble in arousing loyalty towards Irish poplins, British-made silks, the tweed industries of Ireland and Scotland and Wales, and the lace manufactures of Devonshire and Bucks and Nottingham.

TWO COIFFURES.

The blouse and the teagown of to-day date their inception from the last century, but the beneficent law of evolution concedes them the grace of novelty, even while dogma tediously reiterates "There is nothing new under the sun."

EARLY VICTORIAN STYLES.

IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.

In costume the Victorian era was "Everything-arian," welcoming and discarding all shapes and styles of garments, and gathering in the fashionsfrom every age, adopting with mild enthusiasm and moderated transport the most graceful and the most graceless, and impartially bestowing attention upon the slashed and puffed sleeves of the Tudors, the lace collar and wide ruff of the Stuarts, the Watteau dress, re-christened "Dolly Varden," the short waists of the Empire, the full coats and large revers of the Directoire, and the long plumes and brilliant buckles of the seventeenth century. An injustice to the word æsthetic was committed by the followers of a fashion which cried aloud for sad colours, sadder shapes, and the saddest untidiness; and amongst the ridiculous mistakes may be written down a polonaise dress looping up in unexpected places, flounced and furbelowed without bounds of reason, while extending itself from the waist over an immense bustle. There is satisfaction in remembering the reaction which took place after this in favour of the eelskin dress, setting as tightly as was convenient from neck to heel, when the woven jersey-bodice had a short spell of patronage, but, proving itself suavely unsympathetic in its treatment of any but the perfect figure, lapsed speedily into disuse. About 1882 the questionable charms of the bustle reasserted themselves, and the Watteau style of frock exercised some beneficial influence over the waist of its fair wearer.

Man's last aspiration towards dandyism gasped and died in the embrace of the stock of Count D'Orsay. Now, woman alone rules the roost of fashion, man is "no longer dressed but clothed," and under feminine autocracy, dress, whose interests are widely and publicly recognised, has reached a position of primary importance. No more arethese interests represented in an unwanted corner of a monthly periodical, or in the letters of the town cousin to the country cousin, or in the counsels of perfection signed by "the old woman." They maintain various journals established in their honour, and in the field of Fashion England has risen from the ranks to leadership; while a wide plain of cheap selection opens to the proletariat the chance to beautify their outer as well as their under wear, which has emerged from the uncompromising confines of stiff long-cloth and Madeira work to the seductive limits encompassed by fine lawn and embroidery, allied to Valenciennes lace and soft ribbon.

As I write, Fashion seems a pleasantly moderate thing, and the summer-day dress of white linen, with a broad-brimmed hat encircled by the floating veil, and the evening dress of chiffon garlanded with chiffon, appear to justify my suspicion that "whatever is, is right, in the world of dress." And, when I remember that the "picture" dress of to-day was the garb of convention yesterday, I can hope that our bespangled nets and tinselled brocades will in due course be encircled with charm from the halo of the bygone. May it also, I pray, come to soften the hardest outline of our leather-trimmed tweed and serge costumes of sport, and to exercise a benign influence upon our disproportionate figures and our perky toques!

OF BRITISH PEASANTS

While searching in the annals of the bygone costume of the peasant, the most democratic person might be tempted to regret the repealing of all sumptuary law. We are grateful to-day to recognise the artistic value of the red tie of the masculine tiller of the field, or of the coloured handkerchief over the head of the harvest-woman, but, in those other times, the plains and the fields, the woods and the forests, were the background for a people in brave array, on which blue, red, green, and white played conspicuous part. And not alone in colour must their garb have been pre-eminently attractive to the eye, but in the simplicity of its make, the liberal display of white linen about the neck and the head, and the further addition of coloured lacings. These completed an effect of picturesque carelessness which may well have been allowed to cover a multitude of sins of omission in personal cleanliness.

Glancing roughly through the periods, I find that the dress most worn in England by the peasant women in the eleventh century consisted of a coarse woollen gown with long sleeves closely fitting to the wrists, a white linen apron, and alinen kerchief covering the head as a wimple. In the reign of Henry I. it is recorded that men wore simple tunics of red lined with white, innocent of a girdle, and open from the waist at the left side, the sleeves possessing long cuffs reaching almost to the elbow. The mantle was often added, and beneath the tunic were chaussés or drawers, and either boots or shoes, with crossed diagonal lacings. Hats or hoods were of leather, felt, or cloth, and warm mitten-shaped gloves of coarse make were adopted. In the time of Henry II. women, who held faithfully to linen aprons, caps, and kerchiefs, wore long gowns and plain bodices laced up the back, the sleeves put rather full at the shoulders, and the petticoats pleated at the waist.

In the thirteenth century the bliaus, or smock, of canvas or fustian was made in many varieties of coarse cloth, russet, and cordetum produced for the use of the poor. The peasant women were converted towards some ambition for the beautiful, and their costume became impressed with the ornamental, consisting of a bodice cut low in the neck to show a pleated chemisette of white linen, and attached to a fully gathered skirt, fastening with buttons down the front. Their boots were high and had buttons on the fronts, while the white linen apron and white linen cap or kerchief still held their place.

In the days of King Edward II. the men adopted a long gown buttoning from the neck to the waist, with loosely hanging sleeves, showing closely-fitting under-sleeves, the hood being folded back or pendent, and the shoes pointed.

The double dress was introduced in the fourteenth century, a dress which is in the formwhich we now associate with the fishwife's dress, the upper skirt being pinned back over a full petticoat, the bodice of this being laced and the sleeves loose. Chaucer describes his poor Ploughman as wearing a tabard—a garment unheard of before the fourteenth century—a hat, scrip, and scarf; the Shipmanne was garbed "all in a gown of falding to the knee." This material was a kind of frieze, and in this day the coarse red woollen material still used by the Irish peasant women for petticoats and jackets is the old falding.

In the fifteenth century the chemisette to some extent yielded place to the bodice high at the neck and fastened at the back, finished by a small linen kerchief tied in the front. A plain full woollen petticoat was in vogue, and the sleeves were turned back with pleated cuffs, the option in headgear being allowed between a close hood or kerchief and a plain hat of straw.

In the reign of Edward IV. the peasant women reverted most wisely to the bodice, which was cut low at the neck in a circular form; the plain skirts were gathered at the waist, and over a white linen cap they placed a hood and cape cut in one piece.

In the days when the greatest widower was achieving his conjugal record, an old country-man is described as wearing a "buttoned cap" (one with flaps over the ears, turned up and fastened with a button), a "lockram falling band, a narrow turned-down collar of coarse linen—coarse but clean, a russet-coat; a white belt of horse hide, right horse collar white leather; a close round breech of russet sheep's-wool, with a long stock of white kersey, and a high shoe with yellow buckles." A pretty fellow, I'm convinced.

In this reign, too, ornamental braid found its place on the costumes of the peasant women, whose bodices, cut square and edged with braid, were laced up at the back. However, novelty, which is ever desirable, was obtained by limiting the bodices, raising the waists, and tightening the full sleeves at the wrists, where they were finished with a small frill.

Braid later gained further patronage, and in the reign of Mary was allowed the privilege of ornamenting the full petticoats, when the closely-fitting bodices were still laced in V-shape and flaunted an upstanding collar of Medici tendency cut in one with revers. On the top of the sleeves was a padded roll, and upon the head a quaint cap displayed a small point in front, and bore a close resemblance in the crown to the penny bun.

The early Elizabethan peasant woman's dress consisted of a double skirt, the under one of serge, full, the upper one with braid round the hem, made in a contrasting shade, and folded back to form a panier. The tight-fitting bodice had a pointed plastron edged with ribbon on either side, and the bodice was bound at the hem with ribbon, which tied in a bow at the waist, a larger bow appearing at the bust, while round the neck a gauffered frill outspread itself with stiff importance. The sleeves were full, and the head was covered with a lawn cap, the crown of which was full, and the curtain, turning back in front, was trimmed with lace. Yet another style of dress worn at this period had a full skirt braided round the hem and an upper skirt with a wider braid, the square-cut bodice, also braided, being finished with a turned-down linen collar. The sleeves displayed double puffsto the elbow, thence fitting tightly to the wrist, and braid again appeared on the mob-cap of lawn, and on the hem of the lawn apron.

This might have been the attire of many a wilful wench hieing forth on her holiday, in the hopes of catching a glimpse of some green-clad figure in the wake of gay Robin Hood.

Pleasant reading is of the milkmaid of the reign of James I.; she must have been a bonny figure in her box-pleated under-skirt of red serge, with a blue serge over-skirt tucked up on the hips. Her tight bodice was of blue and laced down the front, her sleeves were long and loose to allow of their being rolled back to the elbow, round her neck was wound a bright-coloured kerchief, and on her head another, while, for merrymaking and fêtes, she would tie her apron with coloured ribbons, and let bunches of ribbon adorn her smart high-heeled shoes. As an alternative to the kerchief she would wear over her hood a plain straw hat with a slightly turned-up brim decked with ribbons.

The Commonwealth brought with it austerity of dress; sad tones of dull brown and grey receiving popular patronage, while the formal linen cuffs, collar, and cap were ubiquitous. A plain material formed the over-skirt of many a dress which bore a striped under-skirt, tight sleeves, and a plain, tightly-fitting bodice. Cuffs and collars grew wider, the linen apron had two pockets, and there was added to costume a circular cape of dull serge. The high felt hat was adorned simply by a plain band of ribbon.

During the Restoration, colour asserted itself once more, and dress was again pretty, a commendable example having a blue linen skirt with a band of fancy material round the hem, a full basque, and a linen collar, the front adorned with braid, the apron striped.

Stripes were quite a feature of fashion then and in the later days of William III., when the striped skirt would be adorned with a deep band of plain material trimmed with braid, the striped bodice cut V-shaped to show a vest of pleated linen, the sleeves being plain with linen cuffs, the apron of linen, and the cloth hood and cape cut in one piece.

Fancy materials were made in the reign of Anne, when short skirts frequently were composed of stripes beneath a plain over-skirt bunched on the hips. The bodice then came out in the glory of a muslin fichu, and the long sleeves were turned back to the elbow, the cap was of muslin too, with a full crown and gauffered edge. A charming picture of a country-woman of 1711 shows her wearing a tucked-up gown with short loose sleeves, a pair of stiff stays, and an apron, with high-heeled shoes and a low cap turned up in front. Caps yielded place to hats for the lower orders in the eighteenth century, when plain flat straw hats became the only wear, being recognised as serving a useful purpose in the carrying of fruit and fish.

Cretonne first enjoyed a share of recognition in the reign of George I., when the under-skirts were made of this in stripes, gathered at the waist, and over these was worn a serge skirt tucked up at the hips. The tight-fitting bodice was of serge laced in front, cut low in the neck, and outlined with a loosely-knotted handkerchief, the full sleeves being turned back below the elbows.

In glancing through the records, I find in the reign of George II. but little change from this state of affairs. The bodice was laced over a white linen chemisette, and finished with a deep collar and tight sleeves with frills of muslin at the elbow, the apron with its two pockets being ornamented with a deep band of embroidered muslin. The hair, however, received more attention, being tied round with a ribbon under a muslin cap, while a straw hat was worn over it when the fair maids took their walks abroad.

The modish mandate was reversed in the following reign, when the under-skirt was of serge with the over-skirt of chintz gathered on to the bodice, which was full at the back and opened in the front, the bodice being further adorned by lacings over a velvet vest, cut low, with a muslin fichu to put the finishing touch and white muslin frills appearing to adorn the tight sleeves. The apron of muslin had a large pocket on the right side, and the straw hat was invariably trimmed with a bow of ribbon, also placed on the right side.

When George IV. was king the full skirt was gathered on to the short bodice all round beneath a band of ribbon, which finished at the back to conceal the fact. The muslin fichu was generally adopted, padded rolls were on the shoulders, the white linen apron was long, and the head bowed itself to the fascinations of the bonnet of drawn white cambric.

A full woollen skirt, gathered round the waist, was the popular costume in the time of William IV., when the tight bodice buttoned down the front, a triple cape attached to a band of ribbon and fastened in the front was thrown over the shoulders, andribbon proved itself as serviceable as becoming over the crown of the straw hat, where it was placed to secure it firmly to its wearer.

My investigations by the way of Scotch and Irish and Welsh peasants have been few, but the details of one modern representative Irish peasant's dress I can quote as including "a short skirt of linsey turned up over a petticoat of red or some other bright colour, with the bodice belted round the waist and laced down the front, worn beneath a long frieze cloak with cap and hood; the head is covered with a kerchief." Of imperishable memory is the red Connemara colleen cloak; and the native Welsh dress is not less dear to the lovers of the picturesque, with its high pointed hat worn above a frilled lawn cap, the worsted shawl, the short petticoat, and white apron and trim shoes. The Highland dress was in its original form a chequered covering known as a breconfeile, a plain piece of tartan two yards wide and six yards in length placed round the waist in folds, and held in position by a leather belt. The plaid was fastened on the left shoulder by a large brooch, the right end hanging down longer than the left, being tucked into the belt, while the right arm was left uncovered save in the severest weather, when the plaid was thrown over the whole body. This was the wear, until the end of the eighteenth century, of Lowlanders and Highlanders alike.

The Scotch, and the Irish too, had a rooted antipathy to foot-gear, preferring to carry their shoes and stockings rather than permit them to do their proper duties, and when the etiquette of church-going demanded the sacrifice of this inclination, they yielded only during the service, afterwardssitting on any convenient gravestone to remove the unwelcome impediments.

The national head-dress of the Highlanders is the round flat bonnet of blue cloth, with an eagle's feather; and for many centuries men and women wore plaids alike, the usual colours being white striped with red, black, or blue, the men's stockings matching these.

Thinking seriously over the dress of the peasant in the North, South, East, and West, I am tempted to protest that progression has meant retrogression, and that the modern country-woman, with her indiscreet lace-trimmed blouse revealing the ragged belt of her mud-coloured petticoat, makes a sorry figure in comparison with her sister-toiler of the past; and I recall sorrowfully even this description of an early Victorian peasant-woman's dress which reads: "To consist of a full skirt of print gathered into a band at the waist; there is a full crossover-bodice over a full vest of the same material, finished with a frill at the neck. The sleeves are full above the elbow with two puffs, and from these are tight to the wrists, and a muslin mob-cap is worn with a bow of ribbon in front."

The country-woman who dwells in the indulgent times of Edward VII. should ponder over the picture, and repent of her shapeless bodice divorced from her unsympathetic skirt, and her cloth cricket cap held by aggressive pins above a group of tortured wisps of hair bound in steel bondage to a cruel curler.

OF SOME FOREIGN PEASANTS

I regret, from the practical as well as the artistic point of view, the threatened disappearance of local colouring, as emphasised by the characteristic costume of the people, for I am convinced that the adoption of a uniform style of dress by a community greatly furthers the cause of neatness and economy.

No opportunity being afforded for the display of personal bad taste, extravagance is discouraged, and the spick and span are virtues which may distinguish the careful from the slatternly, and reveal much to the student of character. A love of colour and personal adornment is inherent in the human race, and it is to be regretted that the relentless advance of commerce is responsible for the blotting out of a country's individuality, and reducing all places to the same dead level of monotony.

Differing slightly but distinctly with the locality, the dress of the peasants of Brittany is second in interest to none in Europe. This fact, coupled with an instinctive conservatism common to those who "go down to the sea in ships," is, no doubt, accountable for the tenacity with whichthe Bretons cling to their national costume, bearing it with them when they emigrate and donning it on gala occasions in the new land.

Peculiar to the peasant of Bignon is a white flannel petticoat, the hem surmounted by a scarlet band. Pleated at the waist, it joins a bodice fashioned from bright red cloth, which fits closely up to the throat and is edged with black velvet embroidered in various coloured worsteds, turned-back cuffs to match finishing the tight elbow-sleeves; while the apron, in a dark tone of mulberry, fastens by means of a sash tied in a bow at the side. Covering the head is a small cap of white linen, which serves as foundation for a conical erection contrived from a coarse starched texture resembling brown holland. To this is attached a pair of long flaps, which can be pinned up or left hanging according to the taste of the wearer. The well-to-do possess a necklace of amber and black beads, and a gold and ebony crucifix suspended from a narrow black velvet ribbon.

If dress be an outward and visible sign of character, then should the people of Quimper be the gayest of the gay. The costume of the district consists of a laced jacket with tight elbow-sleeves, supplemented by full white ones which reach to the wrist, and a short petticoat of ample proportions. Blue is a favourite shade for both corsage and skirt, which are frequently glorified by the addition of red and gold lace. Blue and pink inspire the sleeves, the under ones being of white, tied,au poignet, with yellow ribbon. The chemisette displays a multi-coloured collar, and the apron is in a vivid tone of orange.

The Morbihan department is distinguished bya variety of head-dresses, some of which are exceedingly high, while all fit closely round the face, and many display pendent lappets behind.

Odd, but by no means unbecoming, is the costume of the Normandy peasant. The skirt is of striped woollen material, partially concealed beneath a red and blue apron. Of black, white, red, or maroon worsted, the bodice boasts long sleeves, some of which are scarlet in colour from wrist to elbow and dull claret to the shoulder, a small fringed shawl hiding the upper portion of the arm. Quite the most striking and important feature is thebourgoin. Evolved from stiff white muslin drawn over a cardboard shape, it is very high in the crown, the wide brim narrowing towards the back, whence dangle two lace streamers. The hair is turned up in a manner best described as clubbed, the ends disappearing beneath the cap, while on fête-days the head-dress is composed of the very finest muslin, elaborately trimmed with lace, and fastened by means of a velvet strap passed under the chin or across the forehead.

Thebourgoinis encountered in its most ornate form, however, in the Pays de Caux, where it is reverently regarded as an heirloom and handed down from generation to generation. Wonderfully and fearfully made, the upper portion is of light blue pasteboard strewn with gold tinsel flowers, and ruffled with muslin bordered with lace. The brim is of scarlet velvet, lappets floating behind, and a chin-strap holding it in place. Unlike the women of Brittany, who carefully conceal all traces of hair, the Normandy peasant arranges hers in coquettish curls on the temples.

Despite their long and romantic associationwith the country, and the impress they left on its architecture and its history, the influence of the Moors is in nowise apparent in the dress of the Spanish peasantry. The people of the Peninsula manage to unite in admirable fashion the practical with the picturesque, as expressed by the costumes peculiar to the different provinces. What, for instance, could be more happily conceived than the dress of a Castilian peasant? The short sleeveless coat, or bolero, consists of coloured cotton edged with anappliquédesign in imitation of coarse braid. This is worn in conjunction with a shirt of white cotton conspicuous for a stand-up collar and sleeves to the elbow, a wide red sash encircling the waist, where it is held firmly in place by a narrow leather belt on which the wearer's name, or that of his fiancée, is embroidered. The tight knickerbockers are of serviceable texture, gartered at the knee, each showing four silver or gilt buttons in a row up the outside of the leg. The gaiters combine the duty of stockings, and are supplemented by low, thick-soled sandals, termedalpargatāsorespardeñas, tied round the ankle with gay ribbons. The fête costume of the women embraces a voluminous skirt of fine cloth, extending below the knees and trimmed about the bottom with wide and narrow bands of black ribbon velvet, and an apron, likewise of cloth, but in a contrasting colour, bordered with gold lace or passementerie. The closely-fitting jacket reaches to the hips; the seams are outlined in gold lace, and the sleeves slashed open from the elbow to the wrist to reveal white under-sleeves belonging to the chemisette, a second glimpse of which is caught at the neck in front. An immensely long coral chain is wound countlesstimes about the throat, and dangling from it are sacred medallions and variously sized crosses, the whole forming a plastron which descends to the waist. White cotton stockings are usual—red ones indicating a bride—and black leather shoes relieved with ribbon rosettes. The hair is plaited, tied with black velvet, and allowed to hang down behind, and the mitre-shaped hat is of black velvet trimmed up each side with a serried row of silver buttons.

In Valencia the peasantry of both sexes affect sandals laced up the leg. The women wear a short, brightly coloured skirt and an apron, the lower portion of which is in one shade and the upper in another, the latter being brilliantly embroidered. The tight bodice laces in front across a white chemisette, and displays long, closely-fitting sleeves, while the head is enclosed in a white bonnet which forms a frill round the neck, and is surmounted by a hat with a shallow crown, and a brim shaped like an inverted saucer. The dress of the men is correspondingly simple, comprising a light-blue linen waistcoat buttoned up to the chin, where it is finished with a white collar, a sash, and a short open coat, remarkable for buttons down both sides. The trousers terminate at the calf, and a red handkerchief is wound round the head.

In the mountain fastnesses of Catalonia, the women wear, in lieu of a bonnet, a white veil, which falls to the waist behind, and a crossover fichu fashioned of cotton, and chiefly notable for a decorative border in a contrasting shade. Little is seen of the bodice beyond the tight sleeves, which finish at the wrist with a band of blackvelvet and a silver buckle, and the ankle-length skirt is almost concealed by a full round apron. All the jewellery common to the district is exceptionally massive and set with red or green stones, the pendent ear-rings of gold or silver being so heavy that they have to be supported by cords, lest they should tear the flesh.

A male peasant belonging to the same locality dons a short open coat of light-blue velvet, long-sleeved and boasting diminutive revers and silver buttons. The white cotton shirt introduces a turned-down collar and a gaily-coloured cravat, tied in a sailor's knot and drawn through a silver ring, and the waistcoat consists of striped red and white calico, while a scarlet sash supports tight knickerbockers of blue velvet. These are met by leggings of tan leather, the low shoes being attached by means of thongs, after the style of sandals. Shaped somewhat like a fool's cap, the peak of the scarlet head-dress is rolled over in front to form a wide flap immediately above the brows, a last touch being given by a striped red and yellow scarf thrown over the left shoulder, the ends edged with deep fringe and pendent balls. For the mayor, or that important local dignitary the driver of the diligence, the back of the coat is embroidered with a pot of flowers in florid tints, while another badge of office, pertaining to the same functionaries, is a patch of scarlet or green cloth on either elbow.

A peasant woman of Asturias, is distinguished by a full skirt below the knees, and a short narrow apron of black velvet traced with a checked design in silver braid. A joyously-patterned cotton handkerchief is arranged on the head, and tied in abutterfly bow in front, and the tight bodice boasts closely-fitting sleeves, turned back with black velvet cuffs embroidered in a variety of brilliant shades, a small fringed shawl crossing at the bust and tying at the waist behind. White thread stockings and black shoes complete the picture.

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