Their persons glittered with every kind of orna- plished son. The fastidious delicacy of Charles ment, their gloves and linen breathed of perfume, I., and his love of the fine arts, would scarcely and their pockets were stored with billet-doux-be expected to sympathize with the padded and the evidences of late conquests-and with boxes buckramed doublets, hanging sleeves, huge cuffs, of rich comfits, on the strength of which they attempted to make more. They even went so far as to heighten their complexions with rouge, that they might thus be completely irresistible. Against all this extravagance of dress, it was no wonder that the Puritans lifted up, not only their testimony, but their example. Hence that demureness of attire which, though so laughed at by contemporary witlings, would either be unnoticed in the present day, or be thought a decent becoming dress for a staid citizen or country gentleman. Their hats were unadorned with either gold band or plume; their hair, instead of streaming with love-locks, was closely cropped; while their dress, decorously fitted to the shape, and generally of a sober uniform colour, eschewed the vanities of jewellery and every kind of ornament. Even as they passed along the street, also, like clouds across the gay glitter of sunshine, their solemn gait and demeanour not only distinguished them from the rest, but rebuked the surrounding extravagance. ness. 1 COSTUMES OF THE NOBILITY, TIME OF CHARLES | Of the female dress during the reign of James I., the pictures of the period give but an indifferent idea, either as to its comfort or gracefulFrom these we learn that the head-dress, besides being richly adorned with jewellery, was surmounted with plumes; that the neck was adorned with a large, broad, stiffened ruff, which rose like a pair of wings from the shoulders to the head; that the waist continued to be lengthened and pinched, as in the previous reign, with tight-laced, unyielding boddice, and that the large round volume of fardingale followed, as if to set off by contrast the slimness of the waist that surmounted it. Such was the principal style of female court attire, as we learn from the portraits of Anne of Denmark and the Countess of Somerset. To these essentials of dress may be added a visor, a muff of rich fur, and a fan of ostrich feathers. By incidental notices we learn that the chief dress of the citizens' wives and daughters were grogram gowns, lined throughout with velvet, or gowns ornamented with lace, and French hoods, while silver bodkins were the chief ornaments. As the stiff and pedantic costume of the period of James I. was so well suited to the character and tastes of that monarch, a change for the better might have been expected under his accom 80 and stubborn tray-shaped ruffs, that had delighted the eyes of his father; and accordingly these exaggerations were gradually softened down or abandoned, until the court costume, previous to the commencement of the Civil war, had become the most graceful which England had seen for more than a century previous. The nature of these improvements, also, are so well and so generally understood from the portraits of Vandyke, and the engravings which have been made of them, that little further notice on this head is necessary. It is enough to mention that the Dutch hose became of considerably less ample volume, and instead of being pinned-up into bal loons, were allowed to hang loose below the knee, where they were ornamented with ribbons or points, or with fringes, and came in contact with the laced or ruffled boot-tops; that the stiff collar now lay gracefully upon the breast and shoulders, and was a becoming ornament of rich lace; and that the doublet of silk or satin was fitted to the form, while the sleeves, which were slashed, were also opened more than half-length, to give free scope to the arm. The cloak, which was now a short one, was allowed to hang carelessly from the left shoulder; and the beaver, which had lost somewhat of its former primness, had brims which could be looped up at the pleasure of the wearer, and was surmounted by one or more plumes. Add to these, the well-known peaked beard and mustaches, which the example 11, 4, and 5, Ladies-from prints by Hollar. 2, Sir William Urchard, from an engraving of the time by Glover 6, From Villars, Viscount Grandison, after Vandyke. 3, Sir Thomas Vandyke's picture of the Pembroke family at Wilton. of Charles had made fashionable, and the costume of a Cavalier of his court was completed. A similar influence was exercised by the queen upon the costume of the court ladies, as we may judge from the portraits of the period, where we find the beautiful high-born dames of England dressed to the country, and there find a house to re-enter and a few acres to occupy. But the "Rake's Progress," afterwards so powerfully delineated by the great English moral painter, had already exhibited its worst aggravations, and the impoverished country gentleman was often fain to be take himself to the work of a lackey, and follow the heels of those with whom he had formerly walked abreast. The following satirical rules of Ben Jonson, for converting a rural squire into a town gentleman, give a faithful picture of one of those modes in which ancient families at this time were wont to fall out of their rank, and disappear with such alarming frequency:--"First, to be an accomplished gentleman that is, a gentleman of the time-you must PURITAN COSTUMES.-From prints of 1645 and 1649, and the first edition of Hudibras. give over housekeeping in the according to the French taste and becoming costume which characterize the pictures of Henrietta Maria. When Puritanism laid its arrest upon vanity in clothing, the ladies of the party joined their protest to that of their male partners, by discarding flowing locks, gay embroidery, and rich ornaments; and assuming a demure attire, the chief peculiarity of which was a cap, a coif, or a high-crowned hat, that covered the head and half-concealed the countenance. Such were the throngs with which the streets of London, and especially the more fashionable of them, were crowded; and thus were they ripened for that terrible process of weeding which commenced with the Civil war. We have already adverted to the manner in which this crowd was daily augmented, by the eagerness of the rural gentry either to visit the metropolis, or establish in it a permanent lodgment. Sometimes the pretext was a lawsuit, and thus, during the law terms, the Inns of Court were crowded with country gentlemen; sometimes love of the commonweal, which could be more carefully watched in London than elsewhere; but in either case the knight or squire seldom came singly, for his whole family were equally eager to gaze upon the marvels, and enjoy the pleasures of the metropolis. Thus it was that, according to the old song"With a new fashion, when Christmas is drawing on, On a new journey to London straight we must all begone, And leave none to keep house, but our new porter John, Who relieves the poor with a thump on the back with a stone." ... country, and live altogether : in the city amongst gallants; where, at your first appearance, 'twere good you turned four or five acres of your best land into two or three trunks of apparel-you may do it without going to a conjuror: and be sure you mix yourself still with such as flourish in the spring of the fashion, and are least popular [common]: study their carriage and behaviour in all; learn to play at primero and passage, and ever (when you lose) have two or three peculiar oaths to swear by, that no man else swears: but, above all, protest in your play, and affirm, Upon your credit,' As you are a true gentleman,' at every cast: you may do it with a safe conscience, I warrant you. You must endeavour to feed cleanly at your ordinary, sit melancholy, and pick your teeth when you cannot speak and when you come to plays be humorous, look with a good starched face, and ruffle your brow like a new boot, laugh at nothing but your own jests, or else as the noblemen laugh. That's a special grace, you must observe. . . You must pretend alliance with courtiers and great persons; and ever, when you are to dine or sup in any strange presence, hire a fellow with a great chain (though it be copper it's no matter) to bring your letters, feigned from such a nobleman, or such a knight, or such a lady." Such a training was a downward course, the end of which was poverty and ruin. Even this, however, was but a gentle prelude, compared with others which have been fully described by the dramatists of the period. It was well for these pleasure-hunters if, after having been absorbed into the vortex, and enjoy- While such were the courtiers and fine gentleing themselves to the full, they could still return men previous to the commencement of the Civil war, the mercantile classes were closely treading and that they were conscious of possessing homes upon their heels, and threatening to supplant and privileges that were well worth defending. them by their superior wealth and influence. This was shown by their readiness to repair to Still, indeed, the aristocracy pretended to look the Artillery Ground for training when the Civil down upon them with disdain, while upon the war was impending; the facility with which they stage the English merchant was made to take accommodated themselves to the incumbrances the place of the Italian pantaloon. He was con- of steel head-piece, back, and breast plate; and stantly reminded of his inferiority, also, by being the dexterity they acquired in handling pike and allowed to have nothing better than a link car- matchlock; so that awkward arrays of vulgar ried before him, while the courtier was lighted citizens and demure Puritans, at whose evoluby a torch. But in spite of all, these traffickers tions the martial gentry condescended to laugh, went on and prospered, until at last they vin- became, in process of time, an army such as dicated their place as the most essential portion Rome itself never surpassed. These men thus of the British community. At this period shops, showed that they were not to be overlooked, and for the most part, were paltry booths; and in- that it might be dangerous to provoke them, acstead of a signboard, the master or his 'prentice cording to the declaration of the worthy goldparaded before the door, rehearsing a list of the smith in the old song of the Counter Scuffle:articles he sold, with the additional demand of "Of London city I am free, "What d'ye lack, sir?" "What d'ye lack, madam?" A shop of this kind, which survived the great fire, just outside Temple Bar, will give a tolerable idea of these early repositories of London traffic. The mercantile hours of business BULK SHOP OF THE TIME, lately standing near Temple Bar. on the Exchange were twelve o'clock at noon and six in the evening; and at nine o'clock the Bow bell rung the signal for citizens to leave off work and prepare for supper and bed. Although their calling was so mechanical, and so much despised by the higher classes, yet the time had arrived when merchants, shop-keepers, and 'prentices were to show that their calling had by no means interfered with their martial spirit, And there I first my wife did see, 'And he that calls it cuckoo's nest, 'For though I am a man of trade, 'And citizens, if need require, Themselves can force the foe retire, Lower down in the scale of the London population were many strange characters, whose chief dwelling was Alsatia, and whose common period of action was that of darkness-men with whom the streets swarmed so plentifully at night, that the peaceful wayfarer was obliged to pick his steps with circumspection, and be ready for conflict at the turning of every alley. These were the Swashbucklers, whose only occupation was to force a quarrel or commit an assault wherever it could be done with safety-and Portingale captains, who had cruised as pirates against the rich carracks of Portugal, under the comfortable doctrine that no treaty of peace held good beyond the line-and other similar characters, who were classed under the names of Roaring Boys, Privadors, and Bonaventors. These men, the refuse of every rank, and often stained with crime as well as buried in debt, were frequently as ready to cut a purse as a throat; and as such, it required the utmost exertions of the watch, as well as the formidable war-cry of the 'prentices, to prevent them from gaining an unlimited midnight ascendency, and sacking, it may be, the whole city. But in this lowest deep, a still lower deep was to be found. This consisted of the persons whose sole occupation was to prey upon society whether by violence or craft. In the reign of Elizabeth they had acquired such boldness, as on one occa- who had well-filled pockets, or tempting purses dangling at their girdles; and how often the hue and cry must have been raised in every street and alley. In the meanwhile, the office of a magistrate was no sinecure; and the prisons of London were usually over-crammed, until the gibbet or the jail-fever effected its periodical deliverance. Fleetwood, the recorder, who was the Fielding of the day, appears to have pursued his vocation with peculiar zest; and his own notices "of his feats in this way would overwhelm a whole bench of modern magistracy with amazement. When rogues were brought before him he gave them "substantial payment," and if they appeared a second time, he gave them "double payment." He presides at Newgate on a Friday in the trial of certain "horse-dealers, cut-purses, and such like," to the number of ten, of whom nine are hanged on the following day. After a Sabbath of rest, he starts afresh on Monday, in chase of sundry "that were receptors of felons," of whom he gives a good account. It was by such indefatigable and merciless pursuit, and a constant succession of executions, that he was able to introduce a tolerable degree of security into the streets of London and Westminster, and the highways by which they were surrounded. In passing to the domestic living of this period, we do not find that the accession of James had any tendency to refine the coarse epicurism of the courtiers and nobility. On the contrary, his example seems only to have brutalized the sensuality, as well as increased the expense of extravagant feasting. Whatever was costly or rare, no matter however revolting to the natural palate, appears to have been still the criterion of excellence in cookery; and a dish was little valued, unless the simple material was be-spiced and be-sugared, besides being enriched with oranges, lemons, and dried fruit, or smothered with butter, cream, ambergris, and marrow. The following is a sufficient specimen -and from the unction with which the directions are given for its preparation, it was no doubt reckoned a dainty dish," even for royalty itself. It was nothing more or less than a herring pie, of which this was the construction: "Take salt herrings, being watered; wash them between your hands, and you shall loose the fish from the skin; take off the skin whole, and lay them in a dish; then have a pound of almond-paste ready; mince the herrings and stamp them with the almond-paste, two of the milts or roes, five or six dates, some grated manchet, sugar, sack, rose-water, and saffron; make the composition somewhat stiff, and fill the skins; put butter in the bottom of your pie, lay on the herring, and on them dates, gooseberries, currants, barberries, and butter; close it up, and bake it: being baked, liquor it with but ter, verjuice, and sugar." Sir Epicure Mammon, | she was not joined with good works, and left the in Ben Jonson's "Alchemist," speaks in the same court in a staggering condition: Charity came to recondite vein of "the tongues of carps, dor- the king's feet, and seemed to cover the multimice, and camels' heels," and adds, among the tude of sins her sisters had committed; in some anticipated luxuries of his new style of life:- sort she made obeisance, and brought gifts, but said she would return home again, as there was no gift which Heaven had not already given to his majesty. She then returned to Faith and Hope, who were both sick. . . in the lower hall. Next came Victory in bright armour, and by a strange medley of versification did endeavour to make suit to the king. But Victory did not triumph long; for after much lamentable utter "My footboy shall eat pheasants, calver'd salmons, Dress'd with an exquisite and poignant sauce." With a coarser kind of feeding, a more abundant drinking was introduced by James, a practice that was continued under his successor; for al-ance, she was led away like a silly captive, and laid though Charles I. was himself distinguished for to sleep in the outer steps of the ante chamber. temperance, his followers were eager to show Now Peace did make entry, and strive to get their loyalty and abhorrence of Puritanism by the foremost to the king; but I grieve to tell how frequency of their "healths," and depth of their great wrath she did discover unto those of her potations. Indeed, Elizabeth was scarcely cold attendants, and, much contrary to her semblance, in her grave, when the arrival of the King of did rudely make war with her olive-branch, aut Denmark and his courtiers, on a visit in 1606, so laid on the pates of those who did oppose het changed the whole English court, that the Virgin coming." Queen would have been unable to recognize the stately decorous train by which she had been so lately surrounded. An abundant proof of this is given in Sir John Harrington's account of a state festival and pageant, presented before the two sovereigns at Theobalds:-"One day," he thus writes to a friend, a great feast was held, and after dinner the representation of Solomon, his temple, and the coming of the Queen of Sheba, was made, or, I may better say, was meant to have been made, before their majesties, by device of the Earl of Salisbury and others. But, alas! as all earthly things do fail to poor mortals in enjoyment, so did prove our presentment hereof. The lady who did play the queen's part did carry most precious gifts to both their majesties, but, forgetting the steps arising to the canopy, overset her caskets into his Danish majesty's lap, and fell at his feet, though I rather think it was in his face. Much was the hurry and confusion; cloths and napkins were at hand to make all clean. His majesty then got up and would dance with the Queen of Sheba; but he fell down, and humbled himself before her, and was carried to an inner chamber, and laid on a bed of state, which was not a little defiled with the presents of the queen which had been bestowed on his garments, such as wine, cream, beverage, cakes, spices, and other good matters. The entertainment and show went forward, and most of the presenters went backward, or fell down; wine did so occupy their upper chambers. Now did appear in rich dress Faith, Hope, and Charity: Hope did essay to speak, but wine rendered her endeavours so feeble, that she withdrew, and hoped the king would excuse her brevity: Faith was then alone, for I am certain This ridiculous show or pageant, in which noble personages were the actors, and sovereigns the spectators, fitly introduces the sports of the period, with those of the court at their head. On the arrival of James in England, the chivalrous character as well as stately decorum of the days of Elizabeth were ended; the tilt-yard was closed, and the "bruised arms" of the English nobles that had seen service in the fields of France and Scotland were "hung up for monuments." This was but the natural consequence of his majesty's constitutional dread of weapons, blows, and bloodshedding; his coarse gibes at the steel clothing, and constrained movements of a fully ac coutred knight; his constant declamations against war, and his pretensions to the title of a second Solomon, by being the most pacific, as well as wisest of kings. A masque was better suited to his taste; and as he was a pedant and theologian, it required to be well stored with heathen gods and Christian mysteries, however incongruous might be the mixture. And all this while Ben Jonser was at court, and Shakspeare upon the stage! During the earlier part of the succeeding reign. and while as yet a court existed, these masques underwent a change correspondent to the claracter of the new sovereign, being divested in a great measure of their pedantic character, and almost wholly of their grossness. At last, however, they became dangerous, by being made the vehicles of that political discontent which so soc afterwards ripened into civil war. Of the other active sports, hunting and hawking enjoyed temporary revival in England from the exampl of James I.; and tennis, which was the favourite amusement of his son Prince Henry, became also that of the courtiers. To these may be added |