On this page

• Text (2)

  Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

  • 

    Untitled Article

  • 

    Untitled Article

• Transcript

  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

    Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

    Untitled Article

    journeying through France . When half a mile from Amiens , lie met a coach and four with an equipage of French , and a lady in pea-green and silver , a smart hat and feather , and two sun-antes . " My reason told me , " says the lively Horace , " it was the archbishop's concubine ; but luckily my heart whispered that it was Lady Mary Coke . I jumped out of my chaise , fell on my knees , and said my first Ave Maria , gratiS , plena !" The esteem of the ladies for their liveried servitors does not appear to have been in all cases reciprocal , if we may believe a circumstance which took place at Xeicester House , the residence of the Prince of Wales , in 1743 , when one of his Royal Highness ' s coachmen , who used to drive the maids of honour , -was so sick of them , that he left his son three hundred pounds upon condition that he never married a maid of honour ! There was laxity both of manners and dress as time ' went on ; and as we were an ill-dressed , so were we an ill-washed people . In the latter half of the last century we were distinguished as the only people in Europe who sat down to dinner without " dressing ' or washing of hands . Indeed , we -were for a long time " not at all particular . "

    QUEEN ELIZABETH S WARDROBE , AND TOILKTTE . When the Princess Elizabeth lost her mother , her wardrobe , which was none of the most brilliant before , became of very mean condition . Lady Bryan wrote to Cromwell that " she hath neither gown nor kirtle , nor petticoat , nor no manner of linen , nor forsmocks , nor kerchiefs , nor rails ( night-dresses ) , nor body stitchets , nor handkerchiefs , nor sleeves , nor mufflers , nor biggins" ( the last two * signifying day-caps , and night-caps ) , and the whole list showing that the little lady was as ill-provided for as any villein's daughter in the land . No wonder that she was at an early period smartly touched by rheumatism . When she came to the court of Edward VI . she was remarkable for the simplicity-of her dress ; it was religiously grave , as prescribed bthe l des Modes

    y polemicaJournaux , " edited by Calvinistic divines . Dr . Aylmer , in his " Harbour for Faithful Subjects , " says : —" The King , her father , left her rich clothes and jewels ; and I know it to be true , that in seven years after his death she never hV all that time looked upon that rich attire and precious jewels but once , and that against her will ; and that there never came gold or stone upon her head till her sister forced her to lay off her former soberness , and bear her company in her glittering gayness ; and then she so bore it that all might see that her body carried what her heart disliked . 1 am sure that her maidenly apparel which she used in King Edward ' s time , made the noblemen ' s wives and daughters ashamed to be dressed and painted like peacocks , being more moved with her most virtuous example than all that ever Paul or Peter wrote touching the matter . "

    The needle was the solace of Elizabeth in her captivity in the Tower and at Woodstock , andth § 4 ustrument of her pastime in the days of her greatness . Taylor , a very properly named poet to have sung the praise of the needle , says of her in his poem :

    "When this great Queen whose memory shall not By any turn of time be overcast , — For when the world and all therein shall rot , Yet shall her glorious fame for ever last , — When she a maid had many troubles past , From gaol to gaol by Marie ' s angry spleen , And Woodstock and the Tower in prison fast , And after all was England ' s - peerless Queen ; Yet howsoever sorrow came or went , She made the needle her companion , still , And in that exercise her time she spent , As many living yet do know her skill . Thus she was still , a captive or else crown'd , A needlewoman royal and renown'd . "

    She grew in love with costly suits when she became independent of church and grave churchmen ; and the oflicers of her wardrobe were continually recording in their journals that there were "lost from her Majesty ' s back" gold enamelled acorns , buttons , aylets or eylets , with which her dresses were sprinkled ; or rubies from her hat , or diamonds , pearls , and tassels of gold ; but always from the royal back , whence they were cut by the over-loyal , as the Russian princess the other day stole the great jewel froan the Moscow " Virgin , " out of piety and a taste for gems . She kissed the figure and carried away the precious stone in her mouth . When the Scottish Queen , Mary of Lorraine , came to visit Edward VI ., she deluged the court with new French fashions ^ " so that all the ladies went with tlicir hair fwwsed , curled , and doublecurled , except the Princess Elizabeth , who altered nothing , " says Aylmer , " but kept her old maiden shamefacedness . " In later days Elizabeth had other Avuys ; undwe read with astonishment of her never-to-be-forgotten eighty wigs , with her " weeds ( costume ) of every civilised country , " and her appearing in a fresh one every dny .

    - - » . n- \; , J . U ijiiv ^ r * uu ynn < UULUUI lllt : nhl ^ l V »« 0 riCUU , Ol whom the chivalrous Unton writes to Elizabeth that she was " very silly , very unbecomingly dressed , and grossly painted . " But this was a courtier speaking of one woman to another , and his testimony ia to be taken with reserve . Elizabeth was in another respect more like Mario Antoinette , for she had a dairy at Barn-Elmcs , where she played the milkmaid , as the poor Queen of France used at Trianon . If we may trust La Mothe Fonolon , Leicester was as much the Quccn'n " maid" as her Master of the Horse . The French Ambassador says , that the public was di . s plcuscd "with the familiar ofliees ho rendered at her toilet . He was in her bed-chamber ere who sivose ; and there , according to the reports of man who denounced his privileges

    merely because they were not their own , ho would hand to her a garment which did not become the hands of u Master of the Horse , and would dare to " kiss hor Majesty when ho was not even invited thereto , " but when , as he very -well know , " ho was right welcome . " For Elizabeth took nil sho could got , even " nightcaps , " which wero among the presents sontto propitiate her by tlio Queen of Scots . She took with both hands ; and gnv < s , n » she herself truly said , only with the little finger . Sho ever graciously received new-year's giftw that enriched her wardrobe-, and waa especially wroth with tho Bishop of London for preaching too strictly nguinst vanity of attire . When she hii w Harrington in n frieze jerkin , she declared that the cut liked her well , and she would ] iavo one like it for her own wear ; but who Kpiil , on Sir Matthew Avundel ' d ^ Tmr 0 1 ^_«^ t < l # « _ ¦ A 4 > B |» ii J Ih 4 lh * --v ¦ « h a ^*^ . t I ¦ fe I It r * V »*» ^» 111 Ilffct 1 . 1 iffnit f t fr j ° » mt ¦ * f 4 . " 11 S ~ h it mt ¦ , ^ -k d m - . m ^ ** . - _

    from jnu'h gibing ! " A quocn of later days would mil . think of assuming the 1 ' uhIhou of Lord 1 ' alniur . iton ' ri paletot , nor spoil the uniform of n bran-new deputy-lieutenant , a » Kli / . » l >< . ith did . Sir Matthew Arundd ' H embroidery . 1 believe our GraciouH Sovereign never wont further in this direction than to laugh gooil-humoiiredly at the Duke of Wellington's hair when bo hud hud it newly cropped , as watt bin wont , into the appunranco of Hhort bristles on a Hcrubbing-bruwh . If it . bo true that . Leicester helped her at . hor toilet , he wan the only happy individual who enjoyed the privilege . At , leant , in hur mnturor yearn , nh « Jwid n horror of doing neeu en ddahabilUi , Ehhcx once oamo upon her unexpectedly in ( ho IiiuuIh of hor tiringluuidri , and hardly owcapocl with hit ) ours . Talbot , tho Juarl of ShnnvNbury' « nod , » 1 ho once bohcld her in hor might-gear , an hIib stood at a window to look out ail , a May morning . Tlio Virt / o , ma .

    and more discretion ; at forty-five , in her " night-stuff" at sunrise—no Gyg « s would have thanked Candaules for letting his eye rest on so questionable a vision . Even in her mid-day glories , she was no attractive sight as she grew in years . See her going to prayers , -when her threescore years had thrice as many nobles to honour them , and she walking amid all , wrinkled , small-eyed , with teeth that made her smile hideous , and with not only false hair , but that hair red . Hurtzner , who saw her on one of these occasions , says : — " Her bosom was uncovered , as all the English ladies have it till they marry , and she had on a necklace of exceeding fine jewels . She was dressed in white silk , bordered with pearls of the size of beans : and over it a mantle of black silk , shot with silver threads ; lier train was very long , the end of it bom « by a marchioness ; the ladies of the court followed next to her , very handsome and well-shaped , and for the most part dressed in -white . "

    The older she grew , the more splendidly she bedizened herself—as decaying matter puts on variety of colour . " She imagined , " says 13 acon , " that the people , who are much influenced by externals , would be diverted by the glitter of her jewels , from noticing the decay of her personal attractions . " The people were not such simpletons , and they saw plainly enough that she was dying , in spite of the majesty of her exquisitely braided periwig . Here follows something very different about QUKEN VICTORIA . Except for a few days , Queen Victoria has not resided at Anne ' s favourite Kensington since her accession . In her early days , ' the then little princess , clad so simply that it . is wonderful the middle classes did not avail themselves of the example , and " dress their darlings less tawdrily , —might be seen of a bright morning in the enclosure in front of the palace , her mother at her side . On one of these occasions I remember seeing a footman , after due instruction given , bringing out to the lively daughter of the Duke of Kent a doll most splendidly attired , —sufficiently so to pass for the ei'ScoXoi / of an , heiress , and captivate whole legions of male poujwes , all gold without , and sawdust within . The brilliant clfigy , however , had no other effect upon

    the little princess but to put her in a passion . She stamped her little foot , and shook her lustrous curls , and evidently , the liveried Mercury had unwittingly disobeyed her bidding . He disappeared for a minute or two , but returned , bearing with him a ver y torso of a doll- A marine-store dealer would no > t have bung up such an image , even to denote that he dealt in stolen goods , and " no questions asked . " But the uuhap ^ pily . deformed image was the loadstone of the youthful affections of the princess . She Seized it with frantic delight , skipped with it over the grass . * , gambolled with it , laughed over it , and finally , in the very exuberance of joy , thrust it so suddenly up to the face of a short old lady , who was contemplating the scene from the low iron fence , that the stranger started back , and knew not well what to make of it ; thereupon the maternal Mentor advanced , and something like an apology appeared to be offered , but this was done with such a shower of saucy " curtsies "—so droll , so rapid , so audacious , " and so full of hearty , innocent , uncontrollable fun , —that duchess , princess , old lady , and the fenv spectators of tile scene , broke into as much laughter as biensmnce would permit ; and some of them , no doubt , " exclaimed mentally , " as well-bred people do in novels , that there was a royal Knglish girl , who had most unquestionably a heart and a will of her own , —and may God bles-s both !

    MAIUE ANTOINETTE S TOIIjETTE . And what a cruel ceremony was the dressing of that same Queen ? When Marie Antoinette , in the days of her cumbersome greatness , stood of a morning in the centre of her bedchamber , awaiting , after her bath , her first article of dress , it was presented to her , or rather it was passed over her royal shoulders by the " dames d'honneur . " Perhaps , at the very moment , a princes of 'the blood entered the room ( for French Queens both dressed and dined in public ) , tho right of putting on the primal garment of her Majesty immediately devolved upon her , but it could not be yielded to her by the " dame d'honneur ; " the latter , arresting the chemise de la Heine as it was passing down the royal back , adroitly whipped it oft " , and presenting it to the " premiere dame , " that noble ladv transferred it to the princess of the blood . Madame

    Campan had once to give it up to the Duchess of Orleans , who , solemnly taking the same , was on the point of throwing it over the Queen ' s head , when a scratching ( it was contrary to etiquette to knock ) was heard at tho door of the room . Thereupon entered the Countess dc Provence , and she bating nearer to the throne than tha lady of Orleans , tho latter made over her oilice to the new-comer . In tho meantime the Queen stood like Venus as to covering , but shaking with cold , for it was midwinter , and muttering " what an odious nuisance ! " The Countess de Provence entered on tho mission which had fallen to her ; and tliid slio did ho awkwardly , that site entirely demolished a head-dress ) which had taken , three hours to build . Tho Queen beheld the devastation , and got warm by laughing outright . A very hideous story . explains the origin of a beautiful colour : —

    lash ion has been often " set" by very serious onuses . Some two hundred and fifty years ago , tb « prevailing colour in all dresses was that shade of brown called tho " couleur iHabelle , " and thi . s was its origin . A Hliort time after the siege of Ostend commenced in 1001 , Isabella Kuguniii , CJouvornnuto of t-ho Netherlands , incensed at tho obstinate bravery of the dofuiulera , is . said to luive niado a vow that she would not change her chemise till the town surrendered . It was n marvellously inconvenient vow , for tho H » oge , according to the precise historians thereof , lusted threo years , three moutlis , threo weeks , three days , and throe hours ; and her highiicjHs ' s gunnont Had wonderfully changed its colour before twelve months of the time had expired . Tho lndicH and gentlemen of the court resolved to lw . «\ t their mistress in countenance , and nftor a struggle between their loyalty and their cleanlincHH , they hit upon the compromising expedient of wearing < lressen of the presumed colour finally attained by tlio garment which elung to tho Imperial Archdueherw by force of religious obstinacy—and something else .

    Untitled Article

    IRVING AND SPIRITUAL KEVIVAL ,. Edward Iroiiifj : an / Hcclasiaxtioal ami Literary Biogrtiphy . l ) y Washington Wllks Author of "A History of tho Hulf-Century , " &u . William l'Veoman . No really earnest man—whatever be his individual opinions , however bigoted ho be to tlieni—but reverences ) from liis heart tlio earnest belief of anuthor man , dider" it never so widely from his own ; and even thoso who liavo succeeded moat thoroughly in stifling their humanity beneath cold and fuithlens conventioualiUcH , pay to a genuine emotion the tribute of involuntary interest , tliotiyli they muy flifguiHe , under tho titles of intellectual curiosity , or psychological inquiry , the boUor nature which echoos within them at the approach ol nn unrneHt faith . Hence tho interest which i . s folt by nil thoughtful minds in tlio personal history of roforiners , or innrtyrn ibr their laith ' n miku . TIioho titles are too often synonymous;—to a certain degree they must ever he so , for tho very sensitiveness of spirit which fitn u man to untur on th « arduous mission of a reformer , by causing him to feel most , acutely tho evils ho has to combat , renders him also keenly alive to tho long tissue of disappointments , to tho

    Untitled Article

    November 4 , 1854 . ] THE LEADER- 1049

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 4, 1854, page 1049, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2063/page/17/