And starve the poor to beautify the hair."
Pitt's estimates proved correct, for in the first year the tax produced
£210,136. 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 £100 per annum, subalterns,
non-commissioned 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 licence for the remainder."
A gentleman took out a licence 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 owerhead 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 eighteenth century," says Mrs G. Linnæus 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 toupée
or tower, or commode, as the head-dress was called, it may be well
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 realise 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."
When the eighteenth century was drawing to a close the cry for bread was
heard in the land. In 1795 the price of grain rose very high on account
of the small supplies coming into the market. Bakers in many instances
sold bread deficient in weight, and to check the fraud many shopkeepers
were fined sums from £64, 5s. to £106, 5s. The Privy Council gave the
matter serious consideration, and strongly urged that families should
refrain from having puddings, pies, and other articles made of flour.
King George III. gave orders in 1795 for the bread used in his household
to be made of meal and rye mixed. He would not permit any other sort to
be baked, and the Royal Family partook of the same quality of bread as
was eaten by the servants.
A great deal of flour was used as hair powder, and an attempt was made
to check its use. The following is a copy of a municipal proclamation
issued at Great Yarmouth, the original of which is preserved in the
office of the Town Clerk:--
"DISUSE OF HAIR POWDER.
"Owing to the present enormous price of corn, and the alarming
approach of a scarcity in that most necessary article, many towns
throughout the kingdom have set the laudable example of leaving off
for a time the custom of wearing powder for the hair; by which
means a great quantity of wheat must infallibly be saved to the
nation; and if the price be not reduced, it may at least be
prevented from increasing. We, therefore, the Mayor, Justices, and
principal inhabitants of Great Yarmouth, do recommend this example
as worthy to be imitated; and we flatter ourselves the Military
will not hesitate to adopt it, being fully convinced that
appearances are at all times to be sacrificed to the public weal,
and that in doing this they really do good.
"W. TAYLOR, Mayor.
"January 27th, 1795."
Lord Hawkesbury, on February 20th, 1800, presented a bill in the House
of Commons prohibiting bakers from vending bread that had not been baked
a certain number of hours. The bill was read a first and second time,
and immediately went into Committee. It passed this stage, and went to
the House of Lords, where it was at once passed. Subsequently it
received the royal assent.
We find in a local paper, dated March 31st, 1800, that a baker in Hull
was fined £10 for selling bread within twenty-four hours of its having
been baked, agreeable to Act of Parliament for that purpose.
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 £1000 per year.
THE AGE OF WIGS
At the present time, when the wig is no longer worn by the leaders of
fashion, we cannot fully realise the important place it held in bygone
times. Professional as well as fashionable people did not dare to appear
in public without their wigs, which 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 former 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. It was customary in
Egypt to shave the head, and the wig was an excellent covering for the
head, much better than a turban, for the wig protected it from the rays
of the sun, and its texture allowed the transpiration of the head to
escape. The wigs were worn both within the house and out of doors. The
specimens of Egyptian wigs in the British Museum consist of curled hair
in the upper portions, and the lower parts and sides are made of plaited
hair. Ointment was used at the top of the wig in the same manner as if
it had been hair growing on the head.
Assyrian sculptures frequently represent the wig, and its use is
recorded among ancient nations including Persians, Medes, Lydians,
Carians, Greeks, and Romans. _Galerus_, a round cap, was the common name
among the Romans 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 that St Jerome vouches for its
authenticity, and that by him it was told to deter ladies from wearing
wigs. "Prætexta," 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,
Prætexta 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, Prætexta 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 hast dared to deck the
hair of a virgin, and make her look like a daughter of earth. For this
do I wither up thy hands, and bid them recognise 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 who knelt at
church that 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.
History supplies 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 degradation 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. According to 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 that 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 Académie 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 £200 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 foresee 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 of the wig being at
Jervas's under repair in April 1665. Early in May, Pepys writes in his
"Diary," that 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.
[Illustration: The Earl of Albemarle.]
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.
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
levée, 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 this 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."
[Illustration: Man with Wig and Muff, 1693 (_from a print of the
period_).]
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." About this
period in cold weather men wore muffs as well as wigs. A ballad,
describing the frost fair on the Thames in the winter of 1683-84,
mentions amongst those present:--
"A spark of the Bar with his cane and his muff."
[Illustration: Campaign Wig.]
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. 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 knobs or bobs, or dildo, on each
side, with a curled forehead." This is not so cumbrous as a periwig we
have noticed. 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."
[Illustration: Periwig with Tail.]
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 horse-hair 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 was
at the great battle fought before the town of Ramillies that France lost
the whole Spanish Netherlands, and Europe gained a wig from the vanity
of Louis XIV., of whom Thackeray irreverently speaks in his "Henry
Esmond," as "a little, wrinkled old man, pock-marked, and with a great
periwig and red heels." Lord Lyttelton in his letters thus refers to the
French king: "Louis XIV. annexed great dignity to his peruke, which he
increased to an enormous size, and made a lion's mane the object of its
similitude. That monarch, who daily studied the part of a king, was
never seen uncovered but by the barber who shaved him. It was not his
practice to exchange his wig for a nightcap till he was enclosed by his
curtains, when a page received the former from his hand and delivered it
to him in the morning before he undrew them. The figure of the great
Bourbon must at times have been truly ridiculous." 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." This wig survived until
the days of George III. We meet, in the reign of George II., other forms
of the wig, and more titles for them; the most popular, perhaps, was
the pig-tail. 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. It is
recorded that when the Reform Bill of 1832 received the Royal assent,
the Lord Bathurst of the period solemnly cut off his pig-tail, saying,
"Ichabod, for the glory was departed."
[Illustration: Pig-tail Wig.]
In the first reformed Parliament only one pig-tail was returned, and
that was Mr Sheppard, M.P. for Frome.
[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.