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ENGLAND IN THE DAYS OF OLD.
* * * * * *
BYGONE ENGLAND,
Social Studies in its Historic Byways and Highways,
BY WILLIAM ANDREWS.
"Of interest alike to the antiquary and general reader is 'Bygone
England,' a book from the able pen of Mr. William Andrews, devoted to the
consideration of some of the phases of the social life of this country in
the olden time."--_Whitehall Review._
"A very readable and instructive volume."--_The Globe._
"Many are the subjects of interest introduced into this chatty
volume."--_Saturday Review._
"There is a large mass of information in this capital volume, and it is so
pleasantly put, that many will be tempted to study it. Mr. Andrews has
done his work with great skill."--_London Quarterly Review._
"We welcome 'Bygone England.' It is another of Mr. Andrews' meritorious
achievements in the path of popularising archaeological and old-time
information without in any way writing down to an ignoble level."--_The
Antiquary._
"A delightful volume for all who love to dive into the origin of social
habits and customs, and to penetrate into the byways of
history."--_Liverpool Daily Post._
"'A delightful book,' is the verdict that the reader will give after a
perusal of its pages. Mr. Andrews has presented to us in a very pleasing
form some phases of the social life of England in the olden
time."--_Publishers' Circular._
"Some of the chapters are very interesting, and are most useful for those
who desire to know the origin and history of some of our daily practices
and amusements."--_The World._
"In recommending this book to the general public, we do so, feeling
confident that within its pages they will find much that is worth knowing,
that they will never find their interest flag, nor their curiosity
ungratified."--_Hull Daily News._
* * * * * *
[Illustration: THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN THE TIME OF SIR ROBERT WALPOLE.]
ENGLAND IN THE DAYS OF OLD,
by
William Andrews.
London:
William Andrews & Co., 5, Farringdon Avenue, E.C.
1897.
Preface.
This volume of new studies on old-time themes, chiefly concerning the
social and domestic life of England, is sent forth with a hope that it may
prove entertaining and instructive. It is a companion work to "Bygone
England," which the critical press and reading public received with a warm
welcome on its publication, and thus encouraged me to prepare this and
other volumes dealing with the highways and byways of history.
WILLIAM ANDREWS.
THE HULL PRESS,
_February 14th, 1897_.
Contents.
PAGE
WHEN WIGS WERE WORN 1
POWDERING THE HAIR 28
MEN WEARING MUFFS 40
CONCERNING CORPORATION CUSTOMS 48
BRIBES FOR THE PALATE 63
REBEL HEADS ON CITY GATES 74
BURIAL AT CROSS ROADS 105
DETAINING THE DEAD FOR DEBT 115
A NOBLEMAN'S HOUSEHOLD IN TUDOR TIMES 122
BREAD AND BAKING IN BYGONE DAYS 134
ARISE, MISTRESS, ARISE! 142
THE TURNSPIT 144
A GOSSIP ABOUT THE GOOSE 150
BELLS AS TIME-TELLERS 156
THE AGE OF SNUFFING 168
STATE LOTTERIES 186
BEAR-BAITING 205
MORRIS DANCERS 222
THE FOLK-LORE OF MIDSUMMER EVE 234
HARVEST HOME 244
CURIOUS CHARITIES 255
AN OLD-TIME CHRONICLER 266
INDEX 275
England in the Days of Old.
When Wigs were Worn.
The wig was for a long period extremely popular in old England, and its
history is full of interest. At the present time, when the wig is no
longer worn by the leaders of fashion, we cannot fully realize the
important place it held in bygone times. Professional, as well as
fashionable people did not dare to appear in public without their wigs,
and they vied with each other in size and style.
[Illustration: EGYPTIAN WIG (PROBABLY FOR FEMALE), FROM THE BRITISH
MUSEUM.]
To trace the origin of the wig our investigations must be carried to far
distant times. It was worn in Egypt in remote days, and the Egyptians are
said to have invented it, not merely as a covering for baldness, but as a
means of adding to the attractiveness of the person wearing it. On the
mummies of Egypt wigs are found, and we give a picture of one now in the
British Museum. This particular wig probably belonged to a female, and was
found near the small temple of Isis, Thebes. "As the Egyptians always
shaved their heads," says Dr. T. Robinson, "they could scarcely devise a
better covering than the wig, which, while it protected them from the rays
of the sun, allowed, from the texture of the article, the transpiration
from the head to escape, which is not the case with the turban." Dr.
Robinson has devoted much study to this subject, and his conclusions merit
careful consideration. He also points out that in the examples of Egyptian
wigs in the British and Berlin Museums the upper portions are made of
curled hair, the plaited hair being confined to the lower part and the
sides. On the authority of Wilkinson, says Dr. Robinson, "these wigs were
worn both within the house and out of doors. At parties the head-dress of
the guests was bound with a chaplet of flowers, and ointment was put upon
the top of the wig, as if it had really been the hair of the head."
We find in Assyrian sculptures representations of the wig, and its use is
recorded amongst ancient nations, including Persians, Medes, Lydians,
Carians, Greeks, and Romans. Amongst the latter nation _galerus_, a round
cap, was the common name for a wig.
The early fathers of the Church denounced the wig as an invention of the
Evil One. St. Gregory of Nazianzus, as a proof of the virtue of his simple
sister Gorgonia, said, "she neither cared to curl her own hair, nor to
repair its lack of beauty by the aid of a wig." St. Jerome pronounced
these adornments as unworthy of Christianity. The matter received
consideration or perhaps, to put it more correctly, condemnation, at many
councils, commencing at Constantinople, and coming down to the Provincial
Council at Tours. The wig was not tolerated, even if worn as a joke.
"There is no joke in the matter," said the enraged St. Bernard: "the woman
who wears a wig commits a mortal sin." St. John Chrysostom pleaded
powerfully against this enormity; and others might be mentioned who spoke
with no uncertain sound against this fashion.
Dr. Doran relates a strange story, saying St. Jerome vouches for its
authenticity, and by him it was told to deter ladies from wearing wigs.
"Praetexta," to use Doran's words, "was a very respectable lady, married to
a somewhat paganist husband, Hymetius. Their niece, Eustachia, resided
with them. At the instigation of the husband Praetexta took the shy
Eustachia in hand, attired her in a splendid dress, and covered her fair
neck with ringlets. Having enjoyed the sight of the modest maiden so
attired, Praetexta went to bed. To that bedside immediately descended an
angel, with wrath upon his brow, and billows of angry sounds rolling from
his lips. 'Thou hast,' said the spirit, 'obeyed thy husband rather than
the Lord, and has dared to deck the hair of a virgin, and made her look
like a daughter of earth. For this do I wither up thy hands, and bid them
recognize the enormity of thy crime in the amount of thy anguish and
bodily suffering. Five months more shalt thou live, and then Hell shall be
thy portion; and if thou art bold enough to touch the head of Eustachia
again, thy husband and thy children shall die even before thee.'"
Church history furnishes some strange stories against wearing wigs, and
the following may be taken as a good example. Clemens of Alexandria, so
runs the tale, surprised wig-wearers by telling those that knelt at church
to receive the blessing, they must please to bear in mind that the
benediction remained on the wig, and did not pass through to the wearer!
Some immediately removed their wigs, but others allowed them to remain, no
doubt hoping to receive a blessing.
Poetry and history supply many interesting passages bearing on our present
investigations. The Lycians having been engaged in war, were defeated.
Mausoleus, their conqueror, ruthlessly directed the subdued men to have
their heads shaven. This was humiliating in the extreme, and the Lycians
were keenly alive to their ridiculous appearance. The king's general was
tempted with bribes, and finally yielded, and allowed wigs to be imported
for them from Greece, and thus the symbol of degredation became the pink
of Lycian fashion.
Hannibal, the brave soldier, is recorded to have worn two sorts of wigs;
one to improve, and the other to disguise his person.
Wigs are said to have been worn in England in the reign of King Stephen,
but their palmy days belong to the seventeenth and the earlier part of the
eighteenth centuries. Says Stow, they were introduced into this country
about the time of the Massacre of Paris, but they are not often alluded to
until the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The earliest payment for one in the
Privy Purse expenses occurs in December, 1529, and is for twenty shillings
"for a _perwyke_ for Sexton, the king's fool." Some twenty years later
wigs, or, to give the full title, periwigs, became popular.
In France the mania was at its height in the reign of Louis XIV. We are
told in 1656 he had not fewer than forty court _perruquiers_, and these,
by an order of Council, were declared artistes. In addition to this, Le
Gros instituted at Paris an Academie de France des Perruquiers. Robinson
records that a storm was gathering about their heads. He tells us "the
celebrated Colbert, amazed at the large sums spent for foreign hair,
conceived the idea of prohibiting the wearing of wigs at Court, and tried
to introduce a kind of cap." He lost the day, for it was proved that more
money reached the country for wigs than went out to purchase hair. The
fashion increased; larger wigs were worn, and some even cost L200 apiece.
Charles II. was the earliest English king represented on the Great Seal
wearing a large periwig. Dr. Doran assures us that the king did not bring
the fashion to Whitehall. "He forbade," we are told, "the members of the
Universities to wear periwigs, smoke tobacco, or to read their sermons.
The members did all three, and Charles soon found himself doing the first
two."
Pepys' "Diary" contains much interesting information concerning wigs.
Under date of 2nd November, 1663, he writes: "I heard the Duke say that he
was going to wear a periwig, and says the King also will. I never till
this day observed that the King is mighty gray." It was perhaps the change
in the colour of his Majesty's hair that induced him to assume the
head-dress he had previously so strongly condemned.
As might be expected, Pepys, who delighted to be in the fashion, adopted
the wig. He took time to consider the matter, and had consultations with
Mr. Jervas, his old barber, about the affair. Referring in his "Diary" to
one of his visits to his hairdresser, Pepys says "I did try two or three
borders and periwigs, meaning to wear one, and yet I have no stomach for
it; but that the pains of keeping my hair clean is great. He trimmed me,
and at last I parted, but my mind was almost altered from my first
purpose, from the trouble which I forsee in wearing them also." Weeks
passed before he could make up his mind to wear a wig. Mrs. Pepys was
taken to the periwig-maker's shop to see the one made for Mr. Pepys, and
expressed her satisfaction on seeing it. We read in April, 1665, of the
wig being at Jervas' under repair. Early in May, Pepys writes in his
"Diary," he suffered his hair to grow long, in order to wear it, but he
said "I will have it cut off all short again, and will keep to periwigs."
Later, under date of September 3rd, he writes: "Lord's day. Up; and put on
my coloured silk suit, very fine, and my new periwig, bought a good while
since, but durst not wear, because the plague was in Westminster when I
bought it; and it is a wonder what will be in fashion, after the plague is
done, as to periwigs, for nobody will dare to buy any hair, for fear of
the infection, that it had been cut off the heads of people dead of the
plague."
We learn from an entry in the "Diary" for June 11th, 1666, that ladies in
addition to assuming masculine costume for riding, wore long wigs.
"Walking in the galleries at Whitehall," observes Mr. Pepys, "I find the
ladies of honour dressed in their riding garbs, with coats and doublets
with deep skirts, just for all the world like mine, and buttoned their
doublets up the breast, with periwigs and with hats, so that, only for
long petticoats dragging under their men's coats, nobody could take them
for women in any point whatever."
Pepys, we have seen, wondered if periwigs would survive after the terrible
plague. He thought not, but he was mistaken. Wigs still remained popular.
The plague passed away, and its terrors were forgotten. The world of folly
went on much as of yore, perhaps with greater gaiety, as a reaction to the
lengthened time of depression.
In some instances the wig appears much out of place, and a notable example
is that given in the portrait by Kneller, of George, Earl of Albemarle. He
is dressed in armour, and wearing a long flowing wig. Anything more absurd
could scarcely be conceived.
[Illustration: THE EARL OF ALBEMARLE.]
The beau of the period when the wig was popular carried in his pocket
beautifully made combs, and in his box at the play, or in other places,
combed his periwig, and rendered himself irresistible to the ladies.
Making love seems to have been the chief aim of his life. Sir John
Hawkins, in his "History of Music," published in 1776, has an informing
note on combing customs. "On the Mall and in the theatre," he tells us,
"gentlemen conversed and combed their perukes. There is now in being a
fine picture by the elder Laroon of John, Duke of Marlborough, at his
_levee_, in which his Grace is represented dressed in a scarlet suit, with
large white satin cuffs, and a very long white peruke which he combs,
while his valet, who stands behind him, adjusts the curls after the comb
has passed through them." Allusions to the practice may be found in the
plays from the reign of Charles II. down to the days of Queen Anne. We
read in Dryden's prologue to "Almanzor and Almahide"--
"But as when vizard mask appears in pit,
Straight every man who thinks himself a wit
Perks up, and, managing a comb with grace,
With his white wig sets off his nut-brown face."
Says Congreve, in the "Way of the World":--
"The gentlemen stay but to comb, madam, and will wait on you."
Thomas Brown, in his "Letters from the Dead to the Living" presents a pen
portrait of beaux, as they appeared at the commencement of the eighteenth
century. Some of the passages are well worth reproducing, as they contain
valuable information concerning wigs. "We met," says the writer, "three
flaming beaux of the first magnitude. He in the middle made a most
magnificent figure--his periwig was large enough to have loaded a camel,
and he bestowed upon it at least a bushel of powder, I warrant you. His
sword-knot dangled upon the ground, and his steinkirk, that was most
agreeably discoloured with snuff from the top to the bottom, reach'd down
to his waist; he carry'd his hat under his left arm, walk'd with both
hands in the waistband of his breeches, and his cane, that hung
negligently down in a string from his right arm, trail'd most
harmoniously against the pebbles, while the master of it was tripping it
nicely upon his toes, or humming to himself." Down to the middle of the
eighteenth century, wigs continued to increase in size.
It will not now be without interest to direct attention to a few of the
many styles of wigs.
[Illustration: CAMPAIGN-WIG.]
Randle Holme, in his "Academy of Armory," published in 1684, has some
interesting illustrations, and we will draw upon him for a couple of
pictures. Our first example is called the campaign-wig. He says it "hath
knots or bobs, or dildo, on each side, with a curled forehead." This is
not so cumbrous as the periwig we have noticed.
[Illustration: PERIWIG WITH TAIL.]
Another example from Holme is a smaller style of periwig with tail, and
from this wig doubtless originated the familiar pig-tail. It was of
various forms, and Swift says:--
"We who wear our wigs
With fantail and with snake."
A third example given by Holme is named the "short-bob," and is a plain
peruke, imitating a natural head of hair. "Perukes," says Malcolm, in his
"Manners and Customs," "were an highly important article in 1734. Those of
right gray human hair were four guineas each; light grizzle ties, three
guineas; and other colours in proportion, to twenty-five shillings. Right
gray human hair, cue perukes, from two guineas; white, fifteen shillings
each, which was the price of dark ones; and right gray bob perukes, two
guineas and a half; fifteen shillings was the price of dark bobs. Those
mixed with horsehair were much lower. It will be observed, from the
gradations in price, that real gray hair was most in fashion, and dark of
no estimation." As time ran its course, wigs became more varied in form,
and bore different names.
[Illustration: RAMILLIE-WIG.]
We find in the days of Queen Anne such designations as black riding-wigs,
bag-wigs, and nightcap-wigs. These were in addition to the long, formally
curled perukes. In 1706, the English, led by Marlborough, gained a great
victory on the battlefield of Ramillies, and that gave the title to a long
wig described as "having a long, gradually diminishing, plaited tail,
called the 'Ramillie-tail,' which was tied with a great bow at the top,
and a smaller one at the bottom." It is stated in Read's _Weekly Journal_
of May 1st, 1736, in a report of the marriage of the Prince of Wales, that
"the officers of the Horse and Foot Guards wore Ramillie periwigs by his
Majesty's order." We meet in the reign of George II. other forms of the
wig, and more titles for them; the most popular, perhaps, was the
pigtail-wig. The pig-tails were worn hanging down the back, or tied up in
a knot behind, as shown in our illustration. This form of wig was popular
in the army, but in 1804, orders were given for it to be reduced to seven
inches in length, and finally, in 1808, to be cut off.
[Illustration: THE PIG-TAIL WIG.]
[Illustration: BAG-WIG.]
Here is a picture of an ordinary man; by no means can he be regarded as a
beau. He is wearing a common bag-wig, dating back to about the middle of
the eighteenth century. The style is modified to suit an individual
taste, and for one who did not follow the extreme fashion of his time. In
this example may be observed the sausage curls over the ear, and the
frizziness over the forehead.
We have directed attention to the large periwigs, and given a portrait of
the Earl of Albemarle wearing one. In the picture of the House of Commons
in the time of Sir Robert Walpole we get an excellent indication of how
popular the periwig was amongst the law-makers of the land. Farquhar, in a
comedy called "Love and a Bottle," brought out in 1698, says, "a full wig
is imagined to be as infallible a token of wit as the laurel."
Tillotson is usually regarded as the first amongst the English clergy to
adopt the wig. He said in one of his sermons: "I can remember since the
wearing of hair below the ears was looked upon as a sin of the first
magnitude, and when ministers generally, whatever their text was, did
either find or make occasion to reprove the great sin of long hair; and if
they saw any one in the congregation guilty in that kind, they would point
him out particularly, and let fly at him with great zeal." Dr. Tillotson
died on November 24th, 1694.
[Illustration: ARCHBISHOP TILLOTSON.]
Wigs found favour with parsons, and in course of time they appear to have
been indispensable. A volume in 1765, was issued under the title of "Free
Advice to a Young Clergyman," from the pen of the Rev. John Chubbe, in
which he recommended the young preacher to always wear a full wig until
age had made his own hair respectable. Dr. Randolph, on his advancement to
the bishopric, presumed to wait upon George IV. to kiss hands without
wearing a wig. This could not be overlooked by the king, and he said, "My
lord, you must have a wig." Bishops wore wigs until the days of William
IV. Bishop Blomfield is said to have been the first bishop to set the
example of wearing his own hair. Even as late as 1858, at the marriage of
the Princess Royal of England, Archbishop Sumner appeared in his wig.
Medical men kept up the custom of wearing wigs for a long period; perhaps
they felt like a character in Fielding's farce, "The Mock Doctor," who
exclaims, "I must have a physician's habit, for a physician can no more
prescribe without a full wig than without a fee." The wig known as the
full-bottomed wig was worn by the medical profession:--
"Physic of old her entry made
Beneath the immense, full-bottom'd shade;
While the gilt cane, with solemn pride
To each suspicious nose applied,
Seemed but a necessary prop
To bear the weight of wig at top."
We are told Dr. Delmahoy's wig was particularly celebrated in a song which
commenced:
"If you would see a noble wig,
And in that wig a man look big,
To Ludgate Hill repair, my boy,
And gaze on Dr. Delmahoy."
In the middle of the last century so much importance was attached to this
portion of a medical man's costume, that Dr. Brocklesby's barber was in
the habit of carrying a bandbox through the High Change, exclaiming: Make
way for Dr. Brocklesby's wig!
Professional wigs are now confined to the Speaker in the House of Commons,
who, when in the chair, wears a full-bottomed one, and to judges and
barristers. Such wigs are made of horsehair, cleaned and curled with care,
and woven on silk threads, and shaped to fit the head with exactness. The
cost of a barrister's wig of frizzed hair is from five to six guineas.
An eminent counsel in years agone wished to make a motion before Judge
Cockburn, and in his hurry appeared without a wig. "I hear your voice,"
sternly said his Lordship, "but I cannot see you." The barrister had to
obtain the loan of a wig from a learned friend before the judge would
listen to him.
Lord Eldon suffered much from headache, and when he was raised to the
peerage he petitioned the King to allow him to dispense with the wig. He
was refused; his Majesty saying he could not permit such an innovation. In
vain did his Lordship show that the wig was an innovation, as the old
judges did not wear them. "True," said the King; "the old judges wore
beards."
In more recent times we have particulars of several instances of both
bench and bar discarding the use of the wig. At the Summer Assizes at
Lancaster, in 1819, a barrister named Mr. Scarlett hurried into court, and
was permitted to take part in a trial without his wig and gown. Next day
the whole of the members of the bar appeared without their professional
badges, but only on this occasion, although on the previous day a hope had
been expressed that the time was not far distant when the mummeries of
costume would be entirely discarded.
We learn from a report in the _Times_ of July 24th, 1868, that on account
of the unprecedented heat of the weather on the day before in the Court of
Probate and Divorce the learned judge and bar appeared without wigs.
On July 22nd, 1874, it is recorded that Dr. Kenealy rose to open the case
for the defence in the Tichborne suit; he sought and obtained permission,
to remove his wig on account of the excessive heat.
Towards the close of the last century few were the young men at the
Universities who ventured to wear their own hair, and such as did were
designated Apollos.
Women, as well as men, called into requisition, to add to their charms,
artificial accessories in the form of wigs and curls. Ladies' hair was
curled and frizzed with considerable care, and frequently false curls were
worn under the name of heart-breakers. It will be seen from the
illustration we give that these curls increased the beauty of a pretty
face.
[Illustration: HEART-BREAKERS.]
Queen Elizabeth, we gather from Hentzner and other authorities, wore false
hair. We are told that ladies, in compliment to her, dyed their hair a
sandy hue, the natural colour of the Queen's locks.
[Illustration: A BARBER'S SHOP IN THE TIME OF QUEEN ELIZABETH.]
We present a picture of a barber's shop in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
It looks more like the home of a magician than the workshop of a
hairdresser, although we see the barber thoughtfully employed on a wig.
The barber at this period was an important man. A few of his duties
consisted in dressing wigs, using the razor, cutting hair, starching
beards, curling moustachios, tying up love-locks, dressing sword-wounds
received in street frays, and the last, and by no means the least, of his
varied functions was that of receiver and circulator of news and scandal.
It is recorded that Mary Queen of Scots obtained wigs from Edinburgh not
merely while in Scotland, but during her long and weary captivity in
England. From "The True Report of the Last Moments of Mary Stuart," it
appears, when the executioner lifted the head by the hair to show it to
the spectators, it fell from his hands owing to the hair being false.
We have previously mentioned Pepys' allusions to women and wigs in 1666.
Coming down to later times, we read in the _Whitehall Evening Post_ of
August 17th, 1727, that when the King, George II., reviewed the Guards,
the three eldest Princesses "went to Richmond in riding habits, with hats,
and feathers, and periwigs."
It will be seen from the picture of a person with and without a wig that
its use made a plain face presentable. There is a good election story of
Daniel O'Connell. It is related during a fierce debate on the hustings,
O'Connell with his biting, witty tongue attacked his opponent on account
of his ill-favoured countenance. But, not to be outdone, and thinking to
turn the gathering against O'Connell, his adversary called out, "Take off
your wig, and I'll warrant that you'll prove the uglier." The witty
Irishman immediately responded, amidst roars of laughter from the crowd,
by snatching the wig from off his own head and exposing to view a bald
plate, destitute of a single hair. The relative question of beauty was
scarcely settled by this amusing rejoinder, but the laugh was certainly on
O'Connell's side.
[Illustration: WITH AND WITHOUT A WIG.]
An interesting tale is told of Peter the Great of Russia. In the year
1716, the famous Emperor was at Dantzig, taking part in a public ceremony,
and feeling his head somewhat cold, he stretched out his hand, and
seizing the wig from the head of the burgomaster sitting below him, he
placed it on his own regal head. The surprise of the spectators may be
better imagined than described. On the Czar returning the wig, his
attendants explained that his Majesty was in the habit of borrowing the
wig of any nobleman within reach on similar occasions. His Majesty, it may
be added, was short of hair.
[Illustration: STEALING A WIG.]
In the palmy days of wigs the price of a full wig of an English gentleman
was from thirty to forty guineas. Street quarrels in the olden time were
by no means uncommon; care had to be exercised that wigs were not lost.
Says Swift:--
"Triumphing Tories and desponding Whigs,
Forget their feuds, and join to save their wigs."
Although precautions were taken to prevent wigs being stolen, we are told
that robberies were frequently committed. Sam Rogers thus describes a
successful mode of operation: "A boy was carried covered over in a
butcher's tray by a tall man, and the wig was twisted off in a moment by
the boy. The bewildered owner looked all around for it, when an accomplice
impeded his progress under the pretence of assisting him while the
tray-bearer made off."
Gay, in his "Trivia," thus writes:--
"Nor is the flaxen wig with safety worn:
High on the shoulders in a basket borne
Lurks the sly boy, whose hand, to rapine bred,
Plucks off the curling honours of thy head."
We will bring our gossip about wigs to a close with an account of the
Peruke Riot. On February 11th, 1765, a curious spectacle was witnessed in
the streets of London, and one that caused some amusement. Fashion had
changed; the peruke was no longer in favour, and only worn to a limited
extent. A large number of peruke-makers were thrown out of employment,
and distress prevailed amongst them. The sufferers thought that help might
be obtained from George III., and a petition was accordingly drawn up for
the enforcement of gentlefolk wearing wigs for the benefit of the
wig-makers. A procession was formed, and waited upon the King at St.
James's Palace. His Majesty, we are told, returned a gracious answer, but
it must have cost him considerable effort to have maintained his gravity.
Besides the monarch, the unemployed had to encounter the men of the
metropolis, and from a report of the period we learn they did not fare so
well. "As the distressed men went processionally through the town," says
the account, "it was observed that most of the wig-makers, who wanted
other people to wear them, wore no wigs themselves; and this striking the
London mob as something monstrously unfair and inconsistent, they seized
the petitioners, and cut off all their hair _per force_."
Horace Walpole alludes to this ludicrous petition in one of his letters.
"Should we wonder," he writes, "if carpenters were to remonstrate that
since the Peace there is no demand for wooden legs?" The wags of the day
could not allow the opportunity to pass without attempting to provoke more
mirth out of the matter, and a petition was published purporting to come
from the body carpenters imploring his Majesty to wear a wooden leg, and
to enjoin his servants to appear in his royal presence with the same
graceful decoration.
Powdering the Hair.
In the olden days hair-powder was largely used in this country, and many
circumstances connected with its history are curious and interesting. We
learn from Josephus that the Jews used hair-powder, and from the East it
was no doubt imported into Rome. The history of the luxurious days of the
later Roman Empire supplies some strange stories. At this period gold-dust
was employed by several of the emperors. "The hair of Commodus," it is
stated on the authority of Herodian, "glittered from its natural
whiteness, and from the quantity of essences and gold-dust with which it
was loaded, so that when the sun was shining it might have been thought
that his head was on fire."
It is supposed, and not without a good show of reason, that the Saxons
used coloured hair-powder, or perhaps they dyed their hair. In Saxon
pictures the beard and hair are often painted blue. Strutt supplies
interesting notes on the subject. "In some instances," he says, "which,
indeed, are not so common, the hair is represented of a bright red colour,
and in others it is of a green and orange hue. I have no doubt existing
in my own mind, that arts of some kind were practised at this period to
colour the hair; but whether it was done by tingeing or dyeing it with
liquids prepared for that purpose according to the ancient Eastern custom,
or by powders of different hues cast into it, agreeably to the modern
practice, I shall not presume to determine."
It was customary among the Gauls to wash the hair with a lixivium made of
chalk in order to increase its redness. The same custom was maintained in
England for a long period, and was not given up until after the reign of
Elizabeth. The sandy-coloured hair of the queen greatly increased the
popularity of the practice.
The satirists have many allusions to this subject, more especially those
of the reigns of James and Charles I. In a series of epigrams entitled
"Wit's Recreations," 1640, the following appears under the heading of "Our
Monsieur Powder-wig":--
"Oh, doe but marke yon crisped sir, you meet!
How like a pageant he doth walk the street!
See how his perfumed head is powdered ore;
'Twou'd stink else, for it wanted salt before."
In "Musarum Deliciae," 1655, we read:--
"At the devill's shopps you buy
A dresse of powdered hayre,
On which your feathers flaunt and fly;
But i'de wish you have a care,
Lest Lucifer's selfe, who is not prouder,
Do one day dresse up your haire with a powder."
From the pen of R. Younge, in 1656, appeared, "The Impartial Monitor." The
author closes with a tirade against female follies in these words:--"It
were a good deed to tell men also of mealing their heads and shoulders, of
wearing fardingales about their legs, etc.; for these likewise deserve the
rod, since all that are discreet do but hate and scorn them for it." A
"Loyal Litany" against the Oliverians runs thus:--
"From a king-killing saint,
Patch, powder, and paint,
Libera nos, Domine."
Massinger, in the "City Madam," printed in 1679, describing the dress of a
rich merchant's wife, mentions powder thus:--
"Since your husband was knighted, as I said,
The reverend hood cast off, your borrowed hair
Powdered and curled, was by your dresser's art,
Formed like a coronet, hanged with diamonds
And richest orient pearls."
John Gay, in his poem, "Trivia, or the Art of Walking the Streets of
London," published in 1716, advises in passing a coxcomb,--
"Him like the Miller, pass with caution by,
Lest from his shoulder clouds of powder fly."
We learn from the "Annals of the Barber-Surgeons" some particulars
respecting the taxing of powder. On 8th August, 1751, "Mr. John Brooks,"
it is stated, "attended and produced a deed to which he requested the
subscription of the Court; this deed recited that by an Act of Parliament
passed in the tenth year of Queen Anne, it was enacted that a duty of
twopence per pound should be laid upon all starch imported, and of a penny
per pound upon all starch made in Great Britain, that no perfumer, barber,
or seller of hair-powder should mix any powder of alabaster, plaster of
Paris, whiting, lime, etc. (sweet scents excepted), with any starch to be
made use of for making hair-powder, under a pain of forfeiting the
hair-powder and L50, and that any person who should expose the same for
sale should forfeit it and L20." Other details were given in the deed, and
the Barber-Surgeons gave it their support, and promised twenty guineas
towards the cost of passing the Bill through Parliament.
A few years prior to the above proceeding we gather from the _Gentleman's
Magazine_ particulars of some convictions for using powder not made in
accordance with the laws of the land. "On the 20th October, 1745," it is
recorded, "fifty-one barbers were convicted before the commissioners of
excise, and fined in the penalty of L20, for having in their custody
hair-powder not made of starch, contrary to Act of Parliament: and on the
27th of the same month, forty-nine other barbers were convicted of the
same offence, and fined in the like penalty."
Before powder was used, the hair was generally greased with pomade, and
powdering operations were attended with some trouble. In houses of any
pretension was a small room set apart for the purpose, and it was known as
"the powdering-room." Here were fixed two curtains, and the person went
behind, exposing the head only, which received its proper supply of powder
without any going on the clothes of the individual dressed.
In the _Rambler_, No. 109, under date 1751, a young gentleman writes that
his mother would rather follow him to his grave than see him sneak about
with dirty shoes and blotted fingers, hair unpowdered, and a hat uncocked.
We have seen that hair-powder was taxed, and on the 5th of May, 1795, an
Act of Parliament was passed taxing persons using it. Pitt was in power,
and being sorely in need of money, hit upon the plan of a tax of a guinea
per head on those who used hair-powder. He was prepared to meet much
ridicule by this movement, but he saw that it would yield a considerable
revenue, estimating it as much as L200,000 a year. Fox, with force, said
that a fiscal arrangement dependent on a capricious fashion must be
regarded as an absurdity, but the Opposition were unable to defeat the
proposal, and the Act was passed. Pitt's powerful rival, Charles James
Fox, in his early manhood, was one of the most fashionable men about town.
Here are a few particulars of his "get up" about 1770, drawn from the
_Monthly Magazine_: "He had his chapeau-bas, his red-heeled shoes, and his
blue hair-powder." Later, when Pitt's tax was gathered, like other Whigs
he refused to use hair-powder. For more than a quarter of a century it had
been customary for men to wear their hair long, tied in a pig-tail and
powdered. Pitt's measure gave rise to a number of Crop Clubs. The _Times_
for April 14th, 1795, contains particulars of one. "A numerous club," says
the paragraph, "has been formed in Lambeth, called the _Crop Club_, every
member of which, on his entrance, is obliged to have his head docked as
close as the Duke of Bridgewater's old bay coach-horses. This assemblage
is instituted for the purpose of opposing, or rather evading, the tax on
powdered heads." Hair cropping was by no means confined to the humbler
ranks of society. The _Times_ of April 25th, 1795, reports that:--"The
following noblemen and gentlemen were at the party with the Duke of
Bedford, at Woburn Abbey, when a general cropping and combing out of
hair-powder took place: Lord W. Russell, Lord Villiers, Lord Paget, &c.,
&c. They entered into an engagement to forfeit a sum of money if any of
them wore their hair tied, or powdered, within a certain period. Many
noblemen and gentlemen in the county of Bedford have since followed the
example: it has become general with the gentry in Hampshire, and the
ladies have left off wearing powder." Hair-powder did not long continue in
use in the army, for in 1799 it was abolished on account of the high price
of flour, caused through the bad harvests. Using flour for the hair
instead of for food was an old grievance among the poor. In the "Art of
Dressing the Hair," 1770, the author complains:--
"Their hoarded grain contractors spare,
And starve the poor to beautify the hair."
Pitt's estimates proved correct, for in the first year the tax produced
L210,136. The tax was increased from a guinea to one pound three shillings
and sixpence. Pitt's Tory friends gave him loyal support. The Whigs might
taunt them by calling them "guinea-pigs," it mattered little, for they
were not merely ready to pay the tax for themselves but to pay patriotic
guineas for their servants. A number of persons were exempt from paying
the tax, including "the royal family and their servants, the clergy with
an income of under L100 per annum, subalterns, non-commissioned officers
and privates in the army and navy, and all officers and privates of the
yeomanry and volunteers enrolled during the past year. A father having
more than two unmarried daughters might obtain on payment for two, a
license for the remainder." A gentlemen took out a license for his butler,
coachman, and footman, etc., and if he changed during the year it stood
good for the newly engaged servants.
Powder was not wholly set aside by ladies until 1793, when with
consideration Queen Charlotte abandoned its use, swayed no doubt by her
desire to cheapen, in that time of dearth, the flour of which it was made.
It has been said its disuse was attributable to Sir Joshua Reynolds,
Angelica Kauffmann, and other painters of their day, but it is much more
likely that the artists painted the hair "full and flowing" because they
found it so, not that they as a class dictated to their patronesses in
despite of fashion. The French Revolution had somewhat to do with the
change, a powdered head or wig was a token of aristocracy, and as the
fashion might lead to the guillotine, sensible people discarded it long
before the English legislature put a tax upon its use.
With reference to this Sir Walter Scott says in the fifth chapter of "The
Antiquary":--"Regular were the Antiquary's inquiries at an old-fashioned
barber, who dressed the only three wigs in the parish, which, in defiance
of taxes and times, were still subjected to the operation of powdering and
frizzling, and who for that purpose divided his time among the three
employers whom fashion had yet left him."
"Fly with this letter, Caxon," said the senior (the Antiquary), holding
out his missive, "fly to Knockwinnock, and bring me back an answer. Go as
fast as if the town council were met and waiting for the provost, and the
provost was waiting for his new powdered wig." "Ah, sir," answered the
messenger, with a deep sigh, "thae days hae lang gane by. Deil a wig has a
provost of Fairport worn sin' auld Provost Jervie's time--and he had a
quean of a servant-lass that dressed it hersel', wi' the doup o' a candle
and a dredging box. But I hae seen the day, Monkbarns, when the town
council of Fairport wad hae as soon wanted their town-clerk, or their gill
of brandy ower-head after the haddies, as they wad hae wanted ilk ane a
weel-favoured, sonsy, decent periwig on his pow. Hegh, sirs! nae wonder
the commons will be discontent, and rise against the law, when they see
magistrates, and bailies, and deacons, and the provost himsel', wi' heads
as bald an' as bare as one o' my blocks."
It was not in Scotland alone that the barber was peripatetic. "In the last
century," says Mrs. G. Linnaeus Banks, author of the "Manchester Man" and
other popular novels, "he waited on his chief customers or patrons at
their own homes, not merely to shave, but to powder the hair or the wig,
and he had to start on his round betimes. Where the patron was the owner
of a spare periwig it might be dressed in advance, and sent home in a box,
or mounted on a stand, such as a barrister keeps handy at the present day.
But when ladies had powdered top-knots, the hairdresser made his harvest,
especially when a ball or a rout made the calls for his services many and
imperative. When at least a couple of hours were required for the
arrangement of a single toupee or tower, or commode, as the head-dress was
called, it may well be understood that for two or three days prior to the
ball the hairdresser was in demand, and as it was impossible to lie down
without disarranging the structure he had raised on pads, or framework of
wire, plastering with pomatum and disguising with powder, the belles so
adorned or disfigured were compelled to sit up night and day, catching
what sleep was possible in a chair. And when I add that a head so dressed
was rarely disturbed for ten days or a fortnight, it needs no stretch of
imagination to realize what a mass of loathsome nastiness the fine ladies
of the last century carried about with them, or what strong stomachs the
barbers must have had to deal with them."
The Tories often regarded with mistrust any persons who did not use
hair-powder. The Rev. J. Charles Cox, LL.D., F.S.A., the eminent
antiquary, relates a good story respecting his grandfather. "So late as
1820," says Dr. Cox, "Major Cox of Derby, an excellent Tory, declined for
some time to allow his son Edward to become a pupil of a well-known
clerical tutor, for the sole reason that the clergyman did not powder, and
wore his hair short, arguing that he must therefore, be a dangerous
revolutionist."
In 1869 the tax on hair-powder was repealed, when only some 800 persons
paid it, producing about L1,000 per year.
Men wearing Muffs.
The muff in bygone times was worn by men as well as women. Several writers
state that it was introduced into England in the reign of Charles II., but
this is not correct, for, although it is not of great antiquity, it can
certainly be traced back to a much earlier period. Most probably it
reached us from France, and when it came into fashion it was small in
size.
The earliest representation of a muff that has come under our notice
occurs in a drawing by Gaspar Rutz (1598) of an English lady, and she
wears it pendant from her girdle. A few years later in the wardrobe
accounts of Prince Henry of Wales, a charge is made for embroidering two
muffs. The entries occur in 1608, and are as follow:--"One of cloth of
silver, embroidered with purles, plates, and Venice twists of silver and
gold; the other of black satten, embroidered with black silk and bugles,
viz., for one L7, the other 60s." Muffs were usually ornamented with
bunches of gay ribbons, or some other decorations, and were generally
hung round the neck with ribbons.
Several poems and plays of the olden time contain references to men using
muffs. One of the earliest, if not the first, to mention a man wearing a
muff, occurs in an epistle by Samuel Rowlands, written about 1600. It is
as follows:--
"Behold a most accomplished cavalier
That the world's ape of fashion doth appear,
Walking the streets his humour to disclose,
In the French doublet and the German hose.
The _muffes_, cloak, Spanish hat, Toledo blade,
Italian ruff, a shoe right Spanish made."
A ballad, describing the frost fair on the Thames in the winter of 1683-4,
mentions amongst those present:--
"A spark of the Bar with his cane and his _muff_."
In course of time the muff was increased in size, until it was very large.
Dryden, in the epilogue of "The Husband his own Cuckstool," 1696, refers
to the _monstrous muff_ worn by the beau.
Pepys made a point of being in fashion, but in respect to the muff he was
most economical. He says he took his wife's last year's muff, and it is
pleasing to record that he gallantly bought her a new one.
[Illustration: MAN WITH MUFF, 1693. (_From a Print of the Period._)]
Professional men did not neglect to add to their dignity by the use of the
muff. In addition to the gold-headed cane, the doctor carried a muff. An
old book called "The Mother-in-law," includes a character who is advised
by his friends to become a physician. Says one to him: "'Tis but putting
on the doctor's gown and cap, and you'll have more knowledge in an instant
than you'll know what to do withal." Observes another friend: "Besides,
sir, if you had no other qualification than that muff of yours, twould go
a great way. A muff is more than half in the making of a doctor." Cibble
tells Nightshade in Cumberland's "Cholerick Man," 1775, to "Tuck your
hands in your _muff_ and never open your lips for the rest of the
afternoon; 'twill gain you respect in every house you enter." Alexander
Wedderburn, before being called to the English Bar in 1757, had practised
as an advocate in his native city, Edinburgh. In his references to his
early days, there is an allusion to the muff, showing that its use must
have been by no means uncommon in Scotland in the middle of the eighteenth
century. "Knowing my countrymen at that time," he tells us, "I was at
great pains to study and assume a very grave, solemn deportment for a
young man, which my marked features, notwithstanding my small stature,
would render more imposing. Men then wore in winter _small muffs_, and I
flatter myself that, as I paced to the Parliament House, no man of fifty
could look more thoughtful or steady. My first client was a citizen whom I
did not know. He called upon me in the course of a cause, and becoming
familiar with him, I asked him 'how he came to employ me?' The answer was:
'Why, I had noticed you in the High Street, going to the court, the most
punctual of any, as the clock struck nine, and you looked so grave and
business-like, that I resolved from your appearance to have you for my
advocate.'" More instances of the muff amongst professional men might be
cited, but the foregoing are sufficient to indicate the value set upon it
by this class.
Towards the end of the seventeenth century it was customary to carry in
the muff small dogs known as "muff dogs," and Hollar made a picture of one
of these little animals.
A tale is told of the eccentric head of one of the colleges at Oxford, who
had a great aversion to the undergraduates wearing long hair, that on one
occasion he reduced the length of a young man's hair by means of a
bread-knife. It is stated that he carried concealed in his muff a pair of
scissors, and with these he slyly cut off offending locks.