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November 4, 1854.] THE LEADER. 1049
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IRVING AND SPIRITUAL REVIVAL.. Edward I ...
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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.
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Habits And Men. Habits And Men, With Rem...
journeying through France . When half a mile from Amiens , he 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 suiuantes . " My reason told me , " says the lively Horace , " it -was the archbishop ' s concubine ; but luckily my heart whispered that it was Lady MTary Coke . I jumped out of my chaise , fell on my knees , and said my first Ave Maria , gratia plena !" The esteem of the ladies for tneir liveried servitors does not appear to have bee : n in all cases reciprocal , if we may believe a circumstance which took place at Leicester House , the residence of the Prince of Wales , in 1743 , when one of his Koyal 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 . "
QUEEX ELIZABETH S WARDROBE , AND TOILETTE . 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 td 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
y polemical " Journaux des Modes , " 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 in 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 . I am . sure that her maidenly apparel which she used in King EcUward'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 , and the instrument 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 : — il When this great Queen whose memory shall not . By any tiirn of time be overcast , — For when tbe 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 hy 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 officers of her wardrobe were continually recording in their journals that there were "lost from lier Majesty ' s back" gold oaanielled acorns , buttons , aylets or eylets , with which her dresses were sprinkled ; or rubies fro-m 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 from the Moscow " Virgin , " out of pioty 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 vi * it Edward VI ., she deluged the court with new French fashions ; " so thnt all the ladie . s went with their hair frowsed , curled , and
doublecurled , except the Princess liliscabeth , who altered nothing , " says Aylmer , " but kept her old maiden shamefacefiness . " In later days Elizabeth had other ways ; and we road 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 day . After all , it is questionable if she was a better " dresser" than the fair Gabrielle , of ¦ who m the chivalrous IJnton writes to Elizabeth that she was " very silly , very unbecomingly dressed , unrt grossly painted . " But this was a courtier speaking of one ¦ woman to another , and ] uh testimony is to be tal < cn with reserve . Elizabeth was in another respect more like- Mario Antoinette , for she had a dairy at Barn-Elmes , where she played the milkmaid , us the poor Queen of France used at Trianon .
It wo muy trust La Motho Funelon , Leicester was as much the Queen ' s " maid" as her Master of tho ITorsc . The French Amb < wsudor says , that the public was displeused with the familiar ollicos ho rendered at her toilet , lie was in lier bcd-olaamber ero . she arose ; and there , iuici > riling to the reports of men who denounced his privileges merely because they wore not their own , he would hand to her a garment which did not become tho hands of a Master of the Horse , and would dare to " ¦ kiss her Mnjesty wlu'i ; ho was not even invitoil thereto , " but when , as ho very well knew , " lie was right welcome . " For Elizabeth took all she could got , oven " nightcaps , " which were among tho presents emit to propitiate her by the , Queen of Scots . Sh \ o took with both hands ; and guvo , as she hornulf truly said , only with tho little fingor . She ovor
graciously received new-yoar ' H gifts thatcnricliod her wardrobe ; and was especially wroth with tho Bishop of London for preaching too strictly against vanity of attiro . When Bha saw Harrington in a friozo jerkin , she declared that the cut liked . hor well , « nd who would lmve oiw like it for her own wear ; but she spat on Sir ftfatthow Arundcl ' n fringe : ! suit , witli tho remark : " Tho fool's wit is gono to rags . Heaven spare * mo from HiK-h gibing ! * A quoen of later days would not think of assuming tho fashion of Lord I ' aimei'Hloirs paletot , nor spoil tho uniform of a bran-now deputy-lieutenant , ns Klizubtith did Sir Matthew Arundol ' s embroidery . I boliovo our Gracious Sovereign never wont further in thirt direction than to laugh good-huniourcdly at tlan Duke of Wellington's hair when Ins had had it newly croppod , aa wuh lib wont , into tho nppoarunco of short bristles « n a Hcrubbinir-lmmh .
If it bo true that Leicester helped her at her toilet , ho was tho only happy individual who enjoyed tho privilege . At . least , in her umturcr yours , who had a horror of being aeon en ddsfuibille . Easox onco carno upon her unexpectedly in tho hands of her tiringmaiiln , and hardly escaped with his oars . Talbut , tho Karl of ShroTvsbury ' H sou , also onc « l . ohold her in her night-gear , as who stood at a window to look out at a May morning . Tho Virtjo , matjui quant Usmputitiva , hurried nwjiy with ouch blunhon as who could coll lip at forty-flvo . Twenty years before she would have shown leas haute
and more discretion ; at forty-five , in her " night-stuff " at sunrise—no Gyges 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 , bat 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 ; her train was very long , the end of it borne 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 Bacon , " 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 QUEEIS 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 , —miglit be seen of a "bright morning in the enclosure in front of the palace , her mother at hex 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 . e'idaiSav of an heiress , and captivate whole legions of male poupees , all gold without , and sawdust within . The brilliant effigy , 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 imwittingly disobeyed her bidding . lie disappeared for a mmute . or two , but returned , bearing with him a very torso of a doll . A marine-store .. dealer would iiot have hung up such an image , even to denote that he : dealt in stolen goods , and " no questions asked . " But the unhappily deformed image -was the loadstone of the youthful affections of the princess . She seized it with frantic delight , skipped with it over thegrass , 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 fen . ee , that the stranger started back , and knew not well what to make of it ; thereupon the maternal Bfentor advanced , and something like an apology appeared to be offered , but this "was done with such a shower of sauey " . curtsies " ' —so droll , so rapid , so audacious , " and so full of hearty , innocent , uncontrollable fun , — -that duchess , princess , old lady , and the few spectators of the scene , broke into as much laughter as bienseance would permit ; and some of them-, no doulit , " exclaimed mentally" as welL-bred people do in novels , that there was a royal English girl , who had most unquestionably a heart and a ^ vill of her own , —and x & vcs God bless both I
¦ MA-RIE AaTOlN-KTTE S TOILETTE . And what a cruel ceiemony 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 , itwas presented to her , or rather it w « s 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 Que « ns both dressed and dined in public ) , the right of putting on the primal garment of her Majesty immediately devolved upon her , but it could not be yielded to h < jr by tho " dame d'honneur ; " the latter , arresting the chemise tie la Heine as it -was passing down the royal back , adroitly whipped it off , and presenting it to the " premiere dame , " that noble lady 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 ) "v'as heard at the door of the room . Thereupon entered the Countess de Provence , and she being nearer to the throne than the lady of Orleans , the 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 the mission whi « h had fallen to her ; and this she did so awkwardly , that she entirely demolished a head-dress which had taken three hours to build . The Queen beheld the devastation , and got warm by laughing outright . A very hideous story explains fclie origin of a beautiful colour : —
Fashion lias been often " set" by very serious causes . Some two hundred and fifty years ago , the prevailing colour in all dresses was that shade of brown called tho " couleur Isabelle , " and this was its origin . A short time after tho siege of Qstond commenced in 1601 , Isabella Eugcnin , Gouvernantc of the Netherlands , incensed at the obstinate bravery of tho defenders , i « said to have made a vow that » ho would not change her chemise till the town surrendered . It wart a marvellously inconvenient vow , for the siege , according to tho yuecisc historians thereof , lasted three years , tliree months , three weeks , three days , and three hours ; and her highness ' s garment had wonderfully changed its colour beforo twelve months of the time had expired . Tho ladies and gentlemen of the court resolved to keep their mistress in countenance , and after a struggle between their loyalty and their cleunlinens , they hit upoi * the compromising expedient of wearing- dresses of tho presumed colour finally attained by tho garment which clung to the Imperial Archduchess by force of religious obstinacy—and something else .
November 4, 1854.] The Leader. 1049
November 4 , 1854 . ] THE LEADER . 1049
Irving And Spiritual Revival.. Edward I ...
IRVING AND SPIRITUAL REVIVAL .. Edward I rainy : an ICanleautnticnl ami Literary fi ' wgrajphy . By Washington Wlllcs Author of ' " A History of tho Ilalf-Ontury , " & c . ' William Freeman . No really earnest man—whatever be his individual opinions , however bigoted ho be to them—but reverences from his heart the earnest bolief of unothcr man , diHer it no-vur so widely from liia own ; and even those wlio have succeeded inosfc thoroughly in stifling their humanity beneath cold and faithless conventionalities , pay to a genuine emotion the tribute of involuntary interest , though they may < li . « # uise , under tho titles of intellectual curiosity , or psychological inquiry , tliolxittor nature which echoes within them nt the approach of an earnest faith . Hence tho interest which i « felt by all thoughtful minds in tho personal history of reformers , or martyrs for their faiths sulce . These titles aro too often synonymous ;—to a certain degree thoy umot ever bo ho , for tho very sensitiveness of spirit which fits ix man to en tor on tho arduous mission of a reformer , by causing him to feel moat a <; utejy tlio evils ho haw to combat , renders lum ulso keenly alive to tho long tis . suo of disappointments , to the
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 4, 1854, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_04111854/page/17/
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