were the life and gaiety of the young Court, in contradistinction to
the humdrum existence led by the King, Queen, and younger branches of
the Royal Family, at Weymouth. So it will be interesting to know their
habits at this famous sea-side resort. The _Morning Post_, 18th
September 1788, has the following:--
"The Ladies have no particular dress for the morning, but
_huddle_ away to the bathing place, in close caps, and _gipsey
bonnets_, so that they look like a set of wandering
_fortune-tellers_, who have just had the opportunity of pillaging
the contents of a _frippery warehouse_, with which they had
bedecked themselves in haste.
"It is to be remarked that the ladies do not atone for the
negligence of the morning, by neatness, and elegance, during the
rest of the day, but _shuffle on something_ by dinner time,
covering themselves with an enormous _nondescript_ bonnet,
which, to the confusion of all order, they afterwards think a
proper garb for the Assembly."
In doors, the dresses were not so _outré_, as we see by the two
illustrations taken from "The School for Scandal," 1st August 1788.
That ladies copied the eccentricities of male attire, and made them
their own, we have proof in this cutting from the _Morning Post_, 15th
January 1789:--
"Among other fashions lately introduced from Paris is the brace
of gold watch chains now sported by our fashionable females. Some
economical husbands may wish their wives were less imitative."
The portrait of the Duchess of York (the Princess Frederique,
Charlotte, Ulrique, Catherine, of Prussia, married to the Duke,
November 1791), shews us the indoor dress of a lady of rank in 1792.
She had a remarkably small foot, and many were the delineations of her
shoes--actual size, &c.
Of all curious freaks of fashion the following is the most
incomprehensible, yet it doubtless obtained:--
"The fashion of dressing, at present, is to appear _prominent_,
and the stays are made accordingly. This is holding out a wish to
be thought in a thriving way, even without the authority of the
_Arches Court_ of Canterbury--something in the French way--a
philosophical desire to be _conspicuously great_ with MISCHIEF,
without any regard to law or reason. The idea was at first sent
forward by a few _dropsical_ Ladies."--(_Times, March 25, 1793._)
* * * * *
"The _Wapping Land-ladies_ are all at the very pinnacle of the
fashion. Nature has given them prominences which far out-picture
the false mountains at the West end of the town. It is not only
the fashion of appearing six months gone, that prevails with the
ladies--but that of not having any waists, so that, even with
their prominences, they may be called--_No-body_." (_Times, April
15, 1793._)
[Illustration: A Cotillion--1788.]
[Illustration: Fashions for 1788.]
[Illustration: Indoor Costumes.--1788.]
[Illustration: The Duchess of York.]
[Illustration: The Duchess.]
[Illustration: Frailties of Fashion--1793.]
[Illustration: The Height of Fashion--1793.]
[Illustration: The Toilette, No. 1.]
[Illustration: The Toilette, No. 2.]
[Illustration: The Toilette, No. 3.]
A series of prints were published which represent the amount of
indebtedness, ladies were under, to Art, to repair the ravages made by
Nature.
No. 1 shows us most graphically the "levée au matin."--Tears drop from
the eyeless socket--a yawn discloses the want of teeth, and, the
handkerchief, tied round the head, which does service for a night cap,
tells a sad tale of baldness.
In No. 2 the defect of nature is being remedied by the insertion of a
glass eye--which the subsequent illustrations prove to be very
effective.
No. 3 shows the triumph of the hairdresser's art; and, certainly, it
adds much to the ladies personal attractions.
In No. 4 false teeth are being inserted, to replace those, of which
unkind nature has robbed her.
No. 5 applies the bloom of youth to the faded cheek,--a bloom that
never yet deceived any one.
In No. 6 the Belle has finished her toilette, and is now prepared to
break all hearts.
This series is attributed to Rowlandson--and, most probably, is his
work. It is called "Six Stages of making a face.--Dedicated with
respect to Lady Archer," of which lady we shall hear more anon under
the head of "Gaming."
Waists, as may have been perceived by the last two, or three
examples, have been gradually disappearing, until, as in "The
Scarecrow," they became practically _nil_. High feathers were
beginning to come in, and, in addition to the "panache," was worn a
curious thing made of straw, very much resembling the "bristle plume"
which used to be worn in the Shakos of our Engineers, and Artillery.
In imitation of the men, the ladies' throats were swathed in
voluminous wrappers.
With very low bodices, and very high waists, came very scanty
clothing, with an absence of petticoat, a fashion which left very
little of the form to the imagination. I do not say that our English
Belles went to the extent of some of their French sisters, of having
their muslin dresses put on damp--and holding them tight to their
figures till they dried--so as absolutely to mould them to their form,
or that they ever discarded stockings, and went to balls with bare
feet, and only wearing sandals, having on but the lightest of
classical clothing--but their clothes were of the scantiest, and we
shall find that, as year succeeded year, this fashion developed, if
one can call diminution of clothing, development. Men made fun of it,
_vide_ the following from the _Times_, 12th August, 1794:--"Amongst
prudent papas, the favourite toast at this time is 'The present
fashion of our wives and daughters,' viz. _No Waste_."
There was a very pretty song, called "Shepherds, I have lost my love,
Have you seen my Anna?"--and this was parodied as follows--the music
being the same as the original song:--
[Song: SHEPHERDS, I HAVE LOST MY WAIST.
Shep-herds, I have lost my waist, Have you seen my bo - - dy?
Sac - ri - ficed to mo-dern taste, I'm quite a hod - dy dod - - dy.
For fashion I that part for - sook Where sages place the bel - - - ly;
'Tis gone, and I have not a nook For cheesecake, tart, or jel - ly.]
"Never shall I see it more,
Till, common sense returning,
My body to my legs restore,
Then I shall cease from mourning,
Folly and fashion do prevail
To such extremes among the fair,
A woman's only top and tail,
The body's banish'd God knows where!'
[Illustration: A Scarecrow--1793.]
[Illustration: Shepherds! I have lost my waist.--1794.]
[Illustration: Following the Fashion.]
[Illustration: Following the Fashion.]
That a fashion may become one person, and not another, is peculiarly
exemplified by the two following pictures by Gillray, 9th December,
1794, both called "Following the Fashion:"--
"St. James's giving the Ton, | "Cheapside aping the Mode,
a Soul without a Body. | a Body without a Soul."
* * * * *
The tax on Hair powder was much objected to; people had been used,
for a long time, to grease, and powder their hair and wigs; and, when
the duty of a Guinea per head was passed, many left off using it. The
illustration "Leaving off Powder, or a Frugal family saving a
Guinea," was doubtless the fact in many a family. The man, in the
coloured engraving, with his "crop," to our eyes does not look so
singular, as the lady, with her "fausse chevelure" unpowdered looks so
bad, that, no wonder, ladies reverted to their own locks, as we see
in future illustrations. So also shall we see the "Cap" of the
period, the length of which is most amusingly portrayed.
The wearing of false hair is of very early origin, inasmuch as we
possess, in the British Museum, an early Egyptian wig, and, in every
age, we find women supplementing their natural attractions, by the
addition of some one else's hair. Here is a Hair-dresser's
advertisement of 1795, wherein is not only mentioned the price, &c.,
of hair, but shows the antiquity of the "Chignon," which, otherwise,
many might think of modern date.
"TO THE LADIES.--T. BOWMAN respectfully acquaints the Ladies,
that he has entirely removed his Shop and Manufactory to No. 102
New Bond Street, near Brook Street. Firmly relying upon the
future favors and recommendation of his old Customers, and
trusting to the superiority of his articles, he has augmented his
stock of Chignons or Braids, from 600 to near 1000, in 14 shades
(not 20) of brown colours, besides Auburns, Flaxens, &c., and in
8 lengths (not 50) at 10s., 14s., £1 £1 1s., £1 11s. 6d., £2 2s.,
£3 3s., £4 4s., and £6 6s. each. Any colour matched in all the
sizes in a minute. T. Bowman formerly gave a description of his
Braids, but that has been copied by another and applied unto his
own, without their possessing one requisite for which Bowman's
Braids have been distinguished: and, not contented with slaying
by twenties, he now kills by fifties. Bravo! Captain Boabdill,
fifty more, kill them!!! As for the shades, what with Chinese
hairs, mixing, and dying, he may have them (as he says) of every
tint, but for real, natural, Brown colours. T. Bowman, with by
far the greatest stock in the Kingdom, cannot make more than 14
shades; he can only challenge a comparison, and pledges himself
to make good every assertion he has at any time made. His
Brunswick fillets, an entire new and elegant article, with curls
complete, fit either for morning or full dress, from 7s. 6d. to
10s. 6d. each, with Tetes, Borders, and every article in
ornamental Hair, much cheaper than at any shop in town: having a
very large stock, and dealing for ready money only, he has as yet
made no advance on his old prices, although the price of hair is
now double. Country orders, with money, or reference, duly
observed. Chignons, &c., changed when not approved of, if not
powdered."--(_Times, June 22, 1795._)
* * * * *
"Corsettes about six inches long, and a slight _buffon_ tucker of
two inches high, are now the only defensive _paraphernalia_ of
our fashionable Belles, between the necklace and the
apron-strings.--(_Times, June 24, 1795._)
"The annual City Assemblies, from the glowing colours which
decorate the _belles_, may be now fairly styled _red-hot
balls_."--(_Times, Dec. 29, 1795._)
[Illustration: Crops.]
[Illustration: A Lady putting on her Cap--1795.]
[Illustration: Characters in High Life.]
[Illustration: A Modern Belle going to the Rooms or Balls--1796.]
But Feathers were now used on the shafts levelled at the vagaries of
Fashion.
"At all elegant Assemblies, there is a room set apart for the
lady visitants to put their feathers on, as it is impossible to
wear them in any carriage with a top to it. The lustres are also
removed upon this account, and the doors are carried up to the
height of the ceiling. A well-dressed Lady, who nods with
dexterity, can give a friend a little tap upon the shoulder
across the room, without incommoding the dancers. The Ladies'
feathers are now generally carried in the sword-case, at the back
of the carriage."--(_Times, Dec. 29, 1795._)
* * * * *
"A young lady, _only ten feet high_, was overset in one of the
late gales of wind, in Portland Place, and the upper mast of her
feather blown upon Hampstead Hill."
"The _maroon fever_ has been succeeded by a very odd kind of
light-headedness, which the physicians call the _ptereo mania_,
or feather folly."
"The Ladies now wear feathers exactly of their own length, so
that a woman of fashion is twice as long upon her feet as in her
bed."--(_Times, Dec. 30, 1795._)
* * * * *
"We saw a feather in Drury Lane Theatre, yesterday evening, that
cost _ten_ guineas. We should have thought the _whole goose_ not
worth the money."--(_Times, Jan. 6, 1796._)
Here is a contrivance by which "A Modern Belle going to the Rooms or
Balls" can go fully dressed, with her feathers fixed:--
"There is to be seen in Gt. Queen Street, a Coach upon a new
construction. The Ladies set in this well, and see between the
spokes of the wheels. With this contrivance the fair proprietor
is able to go quite dressed to her visits, her feathers being
only a yard and a half high."--(_Times, Jan. 22, 1796._)
The freaks of fashion, towards the latter end of 1795, are most
curious. "Waggoner's frocks," and the "Petticoat" dress, are singular
illustrations of feminine taste. This latter is noticed in a paragraph
in the _Times_, 27th Oct. 1795. "The present fashionable dress is the
most simple imaginable. The petticoat is pinned to the Cravat, and the
arms come out at the pocket holes."
"The only new fashions that remain for our modern belles are
certainly puzzling and difficult. There can be nothing new, but
going either dressed or naked."--(_Times, Jan. 27, 1796._)
The following paragraph from the _Times_ refers not only to the
general absence of dress, but also to the famous (or infamous) Miss
Chudleigh, a maid of Honour to the Queen, afterwards Duchess of
Kingston, and tells the story of how the Princess of Wales, wife of
Frederick (father of George III.), rebuked her for her nakedness.
"One night, when the late Duchess of Kingston appeared at
Ranelagh in a dress which may be compared with the undress of
some of our fashionable _belles_, a _handkerchief_ was thrown to
her, not from the Prince, but the Princess of Wales."--(_Times,
March 5, 1796._)
"Lady Godiva's Rout, or Peeping Tom spying out Pope Joan," is by
Gillray, 12th March 1796, and is a scathing satire on the extremely
_decolletée_, and diaphonous, dresses of the time. The fair one, whose
uncovered bosom so attracts the candle snuffer, is intended to
represent Lady Georgiana Gordon, afterwards Duchess of Bedford.
"High Change in Bond Street" is by Gillray (27th March 1796), and is a
most amusing caricature of the then prevalent fashions both of men and
women. The "Bond Street Loungers," are depicted to perfection.
[Illustration: Waggoners Frock-or-No Bodys of 1795.]
[Illustration: The Fashion.--Dec{r}. 1795.]
[Illustration: Fashionable Modesty.--1796.]
[Illustration: High Change in Bond Street--1796.]
"At the late Fandango Ball in Dublin, a certain Lady of Fashion
appeared in the following very whimsical dress:--Flesh coloured
pantaloons, over which was a gauze petticoat, tucked up at each
side in drapery, so that both thighs could be seen; the binding
of the petticoat was tied round the neck, and her arms were
through the pocket holes. Her head dress was a man's pearl
coloured stocking, the foot hanging down at the back of the head
like a lappet, and in the heel of the stocking was stuck a large
diamond pin, the _tout ensemble_ not less novel, than
ludicrous."--(_Times, May 26, 1796._)
* * * * *
"_Whalebone-Veils_ are worn by all the fashionable dames at
Weymouth. This invention is evidently borrowed from the head of a
one horse chaise."--(_Times, August 27, 1796._)
* * * * *
"_High heels_ are once more the rage; there is, however, no
scarcity of _flats_. During the reign of the _flat sole_, the
Ladies make more faux-pas than ever, so that we need entertain no
apprehensions for them, if they chuse to get upon stilts. What
with high heels and high feathers, the _better half_ of many an
honest man is just one third part of herself."--(_Times, August
27, 1796._)
* * * * *
"Fashion would be its own murderer, if it were to be constant
and permanent. The last year's dress seems to abdicate entirely;
even the waist is walking down towards the hip; and three
straps, with buckles in front, have abridged so much of the
usurpation of the petticoat. One cannot see so many Ladies of
high ton with the straps over the bosom, without thinking how
much better they might have been employed over the
shoulders."--(_Times, Aug. 27, 1796._)
* * * * *
"Before the waist is quite again in fashion, and while the thing
exists (which will soon be incredible), we set down the
measurement of a petticoat in the summer of 1796, which for a
middling-sized woman is five foot and an inch."--(_Times, Nov. 4,
1796._)
* * * * *
"It would not be easily believed by our Great Grandmothers, that
their lovely daughters cannot make their appearance without a
dozen combs in their heads, and as many false curls and cushions.
The victory over black pins is complete."--(_Times, May 30,
1797._)
* * * * *
"Horse Hair has risen near 50 per cent. since Wigs have become so
much the rage."--(_Times, April 27, 1798._)
* * * * *
"The women at Paris are every day divesting themselves of some of
the customary articles of dress, and the rage for _nudity_ is so
great, that it is apprehended, even by the Parisian Journalists,
they will shortly have the effrontery to present themselves to
the public eye in a state of pure nature. One of them appeared a
few days since in the Champs Elysées, in a simple robe of spotted
black gauze, and shewed so much that little was left to guess.
The spectators were struck with indignation at this flagrant
violation of decorum, and she was compelled to make a shameful
and precipitate retreat."--(_Times, June 18, 1798._)
* * * * *
"An Artist has advertised that he makes up worn out Umbrellas
into fashionable Gypsey Bonnets. The transition is so easy, that
he is scarce to be praised for the invention.
"The _Gypsey Bonnet_ is commonly worn by the Lancashire
Witches."--(_Times, July 7, 1798._)
* * * * *
"We are very happy to see the waists of our fair country women
walking downwards by degrees towards the hip. But, as we are a
little acquainted with the laws of increasing velocity in
fashionable gravitation, we venture to express, thus early in
their descent, a hope that they will _stop there_."--(_Times,
April 15, 1799._)
* * * * *
"_Straw_ in the head-dress, according to the laws and immemorial
customs of the stage, denotes the unsoundness of the brain it
covers. Several of those useful and respectable young men, who
make the campaign of Bond Street, have thought proper to invest
their temples with the sacred symbols, and wear straw hats to
give notice of their light-headedness."--(_Times, July 4, 1799._)
The Censor could also be severe on the harmless "Reticule."
"In the present age of political innovation, it is curious to
observe the great veneration for antiquity which prevails in all
our dresses and fashions. Queen Elizabeth's ruffs decorate our
blooming belles; and our beaux are puckered and stuffed on the
shoulders _à la Richard the Third_. But what is still more
remarkable, is the total abjuration of the female pocket. Those
heavy appendages are no more worn at present than keys at the
girdles. Every fashionable fair carries her purse in her workbag.
Her money and her industry lie cheek by jowl: and her gambling
gains lie snug by her housewife. Her handkerchiefs, her toothpick
case, her watch, and her keys, if she has any, are the constant
concomitants of her visits; and while no part of the symmetry of
her shape is altered or concealed by the old-fashioned panniers,
she has the pleasure of laying everything that belongs to her
upon the table wherever she goes."--(_Times, Nov. 9, 1799._)
* * * * *
"A dashing Lady of Fashion, inconvenienced by the new custom of
carrying a bag with her handkerchief, smelling-bottle, purse,
&c., &c., went to a large party the other evening, attended by a
Page, who was employed to present the articles as they might be
wanted. The Page was well qualified to go through the fatigues of
office, being well-made, active, and just one and twenty. Should
the example be imitated, Pages will probably be more in request
than waiting-women."--(_Times, Dec. 7, 1799._)
* * * * *
"If the present fashion of nudity continues its career, the
Milliners must give way to the Carvers, and the most elegant
_fig-leaves_ will be all the mode.
"The fashion of _false bosoms_ has at least this utility, that it
compels our fashionable fair to wear _something_."--(_Times,
Dec. 11, 1799._)
With which most pungent criticism, we will take our leave of lady's
_dress_.
NAVY AND ARMY.
No history of England, that I know of, has ever given us so graphic a
description of the ways and means for procuring men for the Navy, as
the Newspapers of the time, and in this, as in many other things,
their help is invaluable.
When we find from what classes the Navy was recruited, we wonder at
what the men went through, without much murmuring; and, if their very
moderate, and just, demands, had been met in a conciliatory spirit, or
even, officially investigated, instead of being pooh-poohed, and
shelved--there would have been no mutiny at the Nore, nor elsewhere.
When afloat, sailors were kept in subjection, or as it was termed,
discipline, by brutality, foul language, and a plentiful application
of the lash, to be recouped by almost unlimited license, whilst on
shore, or, for the matter of that, when afloat, if at home in harbour.
When the _Royal George_ went down, there were 200 women on board, and
in Dibdin's song of "Wapping Old Stairs," the heroine plaintively
reminds her temporary lover thus--
"When _I passed a whole fortnight between decks with you_,
Did I e'er give a kiss, Tom, to one of the Crew?"
When the War with France broke out, it was hardly to be imagined that
Fishermen, and Merchant seamen, would volunteer to leave their quiet
occupation, to be bullied by petty, and other officers; to be triced
up, and lashed unmercifully, for even a venial fault; to be no better
paid, nor fed than they were already; and to have an extra chance of
death in a Naval engagement, even if the English were victorious, or
the certainty of semi-starvation in a French prison, if captured. So
the State, wanting food for slaughter, stretched out its strong hand,
and took it, by means of the pressgang. I shall have to recount a long
list of "severe," or "hot," presses--and, first of all, in order that
we may perfectly understand what a "press" was, and so thoroughly
identify ourselves with the position, let us see the very minute, and
vivid, description of _Smollett_, in "Roderick Random."
[Illustration: My Poll & my Partner Joe.--1796.]
"As I crossed Tower Wharf, a squat, tawny fellow, with a hanger by his
side, and a cudgel in his hand, came up to me calling, 'Yo ho!
brother, you must come along with me.' As I did not like his
appearance, instead of answering his salutation, I quickened my pace,
in hopes of ridding myself of his company; upon which, he whistled
aloud, and immediately another sailor appeared before me, who laid
hold of me by the collar, and began to drag me along. Not being of a
humour to relish such treatment, I disengaged myself of the assailant,
and, with one blow of my cudgel, laid him motionless on the ground;
and, perceiving myself surrounded in a trice, by ten or a dozen more,
exerted myself with such dexterity and success, that some of my
opponents were fain to attack me with drawn Cutlasses; and, after an
obstinate engagement, in which I received a large wound on my head,
and another on my left cheek, I was disarmed, taken prisoner, and
carried on board a pressing tender; where, after being pinioned like a
malefactor, I was thrust down into the hold, among a parcel of
miserable wretches, the sight of whom well nigh distracted me.
"As the commanding officer had not humanity enough to order my wounds
to be dressed, and I could not use my own hands, I desired one of my
fellow-captives who was unfettered, to take a handkerchief out of my
pocket, and tie it round my head, to stop the bleeding. He pulled out
my handkerchief ('tis true), but, instead of applying it to the use
for which I designed it, went to the grating of the hatchway, and,
with astonishing composure, sold it before my face to a bum boat
woman, then on board, for a quart of gin, with which he treated my
companions, regardless of my circumstances, and entreaties.