diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/53267-8.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/53267-8.txt | 5386 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 5386 deletions
diff --git a/old/53267-8.txt b/old/53267-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index cad7f4a..0000000 --- a/old/53267-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5386 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Corset and the Crinoline, by William Barry Lord - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Corset and the Crinoline - A Book of Modes and Costumes from Remote Periods to the Present Time - -Author: William Barry Lord - -Release Date: October 12, 2016 [EBook #53267] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CORSET AND THE CRINOLINE *** - - - - -Produced by deaurider, Karin Spence and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - THE CORSET AND THE CRINOLINE. - - - - - THE CORSET - - AND - - THE CRINOLINE. - - - A BOOK OF - - MODES AND COSTUMES - - FROM REMOTE PERIODS TO THE PRESENT TIME. - - BY W. B. L. - - WITH 54 FULL-PAGE AND OTHER ENGRAVINGS. - - "O wha will shoe my fair foot, - And wha will glove my han'? - And wha will lace my middle jimp - Wi' a new-made London ban'?" - - _Fair Annie of Lochroyan._ - - LONDON: - WARD, LOCK, AND TYLER. - WARWICK HOUSE, PATERNOSTER ROW. - - - - - LONDON - - PRINTED BY JAS. WADE, - - TAVISTOCK STREET, COVENT GARDEN - - - - - PREFACE. - - -The subject which we have here treated is a sort of figurative -battle-field, where fierce contests have for ages been from time -to time waged; and, notwithstanding the determined assaults of the -attacking hosts, the contention and its cause remain pretty much as -they were at the commencement of the war. We in the matter remain -strictly neutral, merely performing the part of the public's "own -correspondent," making it our duty to gather together such extracts -from despatches, both ancient and modern, as may prove interesting or -important, to take note of the vicissitudes of war, mark its various -phases, and, in fine, to do our best to lay clearly before our readers -the historical facts--experiences and arguments--relating to the -much-discussed "_Corset question_." - -As most of our readers are aware, the leading journals especially -intended for the perusal of ladies have been for many years the media -for the exchange of a vast number of letters and papers touching the -use of the Corset. The questions relating to the history of this -apparently indispensable article of ladies' attire, its construction, -application, and influence on the figure have become so numerous of -late that we have thought, by embodying all that we can glean and -garner relating to Corsets, their wearers, and the various costumes -worn by ladies at different periods, arranging the subject-matter in -its due order as to dates, and at the same time availing ourselves of -careful illustration when needed, that an interesting volume would -result. - -No one, we apprehend, would be likely to deny that, to enable the -fairer portion of the civilised human race to follow the time-honoured -custom of presenting to the eye the waist in its most slender -proportions, the Corset in some form must be had recourse to. Our -information will show how ancient and almost universal its use has -been, and there is no reason to anticipate that its aid will ever -be dispensed with so long as an elegant and attractive figure is an -object worth achieving. - -Such being the case, it becomes a matter of considerable importance -to discover by what means the desirable end can be acquired without -injury to the health of those whose forms are being restrained and -moulded into proportions generally accepted as graceful, by the -use and influence of the Corset. It will be our duty to lay before -the reader the strictures of authors, ancient and modern, on this -article of dress, and it will be seen that the animadversions of -former writers greatly exceed modern censures, both in number and -fierceness of condemnation. This difference probably arises from -the fact of Corsets of the most unyielding and stubborn character -being universally made use of at the time the severest attacks were -made upon them; and there can be no reasonable doubt that much which -was written in their condemnation had some truth in it, although -accompanied by a vast deal of fanciful exaggeration. It would also -be not stating the whole of the case if we omitted here to note that -modern authors, who launch sweeping anathemas on the very stays by -the aid of which their wives and daughters are made presentable in -society, almost invariably quote largely from scribes of ancient date, -and say little or nothing, of their own knowledge. On the other hand, -it will be seen that those writing in praise of the moderate use of -Corsets take their facts, experiences, and grounds of argument from -the everyday life and general custom of the present period. - -The Crinoline is too closely associated with the Corset and with the -mutable modes affected by ladies, from season to season, to be omitted -from any volume which treats of Fashion. The same facts, indeed, may -be stated of both the Crinoline and the Corset. Both appear to be -equally indispensable to the woman of the present period. To make -them serve the purposes of increased cleanliness, comfort, and grace, -not only without injury to the health, but with positive and admitted -advantage to the _physique_--these are the problems to be solved by -those whose business it is to minister to the ever-changing taste and -fashion of the day. - - [Illustration] - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - - THE CORSET:--Origin. Use amongst Savage Tribes and Ancient - People. Slenderness of Waist esteemed in the East, Ceylon, - Circassia, Crim Tartary, Hindustan, Persia, China, Egypt, Palestine - Pages 9 to 29 - - - CHAPTER II. - - The Corset according to Homer, Terentius. The Strophium of Rome, - and the Mitra of Greece. The Peplus. A Roman Toilet, Bath, and - Promenade. General Luxury. Cleopatra's Jewels. Tight-lacing on the - Tiber Pages 30 to 38 - - - CHAPTER III. - - Frankish Fashions. The Monks and the Corset. Corsets worn by - Gentlemen as well as Ladies in the Thirteenth Century. The Kirtle. - Small Waists in Scotland. Chaucer on Small Bodies. The Surcoat. - Long Trains. Skirts. Snake-toed Shoes. High-heeled Slippers - Pages 41 to 59 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - Bonnets. Headdresses. Costumes in the time of Francis I. Pins in - France and England. Masks in France. Puffed Sleeves. Bernaise - Dress. Marie Stuart. Long Slender Waists. Henry III. of France - "tight-laces." Austrian Joseph prohibits Stays. Catherine de Medici - and Elizabeth of England. Severe form of Corset. Lawn Ruffs. - Starching. Stuffed Hose. Venice Fashions. Elizabeth's False Hair. - Stubs on the Ladies. James I. affects Fashion. Garters and - Shoe-roses. Dagger and Rapier Pages 60 to 91 - - - CHAPTER V. - - Louise de Lorraine. Marie de Medici. Distended Skirts. Hair Powder. - Hair _à l'enfant_. Low Dresses. Louis XIV. High Heels. Slender - Waists. Siamese Dress. Charles I. Patches. Elaborate Costumes. - Puritan Modes. Tight-lacing and Strait-lacing under Cromwell. - Augsburg Ladies Pages 92 to 104 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - Louis XV. À la Watteau. Barbers. Fashions under Queen Anne. - Diminutive Waists and Enormous Hoop. The Farthingale. The - _Guardian_. Fashions in 1713. Low Dresses. Tight Stays. Short - Skirts. A Lady's Maid's Accomplishments. Gay and Ben Jonson on the - Bodice and Stays Pages 109 to 123 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - Stays or Corset. Louis XVI. Dress in 1776. Severe Lacing. Hogarth. - French Revolution. Short Waists. Long Trains. Buchan. Jumpers and - Garibaldis. Figure-training. Backboards and Stocks. Doctors on - Stays. George III. Gentlemen's Stays. The Changes of Fashion. The - term CRINOLINE not new. South Sea Islanders. Madame la - Sante on Crinoline. Starving and Lacing. Anecdote. Wearing the - Corset during sleep. American Belles. Illusion Waists. Medicus - favours moderate tight-lacing. Ladies' Letters on tight-lacing - Pages 124 to 164 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - The Austrian Empress. Viennese Waists. London small-sized Corsets. - Correspondence of _The Queen_ and the _Englishwoman's - Domestic Magazine_. Lady Morton. Figure-training. Corsets for - Young Girls. Early use of well-constructed Corsets. The - Boarding-School and the Corset. Letters in praise of tight-lacing. - Defence of the Crinoline and the Corset. The Venus de Medici. - Fashionably-dressed Statue. Clumsy Figures. Letter from a - Tight-lacer. A Young Baronet. A Family Man Pages 165 to 186 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - No elegance without the Corset. Fashion of 1865. Short Waist and - Train of 1867. Tight Corset and Short Waist. A form of French - Corset. Proportions of Figure and Waist. The Point of the Waist. - Older Writers on Stays. Denunciations against Small Waists and High - Heels. Alarming Diseases through High Heels. Female Mortality. - Corset Statistics. Modern and Ancient Corset Pages 189 to 201 - - - CHAPTER X. - - Front-fastening Stays. Thomson's Corset. Stability of - front-fastening Corset. De La Garde's Corset. Self-measurement. - Viennese _Redresseur_ Corset. Flimsy Corsets. Proper - Materials. "Minet Back" Corset. Elastic Corsets. Narrow Bands - Injurious. The Corset properly applied produces a graceful figure. - The Farthingale Reviewed. Thomson's Zephyrina Crinoline. Costume - of the Present Season. The claims of Nature. Similitude between the - Tahitian Girl and Venetian Lady Pages 202 to 224 - - - - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE - - 1. THE DAWN OF THE CORSET 11 - - 2. CIRCASSIAN LADY 15 - - 3. EGYPTIAN LADY IN FULL SKIRT 18 - - 4. PERSIAN DANCING GIRL 21 - - 5. EGYPTIAN LADY IN NARROW SKIRT 24 - - 6. LADY OF ANCIENT GREECE 32 - - 7. ROMAN LADY OF RANK (REIGN OF HELIOGABALUS) 39 - - 8. THE FIEND OF FASHION, FROM AN ANCIENT MANUSCRIPT 43 - - 9. THE PRINCESS BLANCHE, DAUGHTER OF EDWARD III. 48 - - 10. LADY OF RANK OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY 51 - - 11. LADY OF THE COURT OF QUEEN CATHERINE DE MEDICI 55 - - 12. FULL COURT DRESS AS WORN IN FRANCE, 1515 58 - - 13. LADIES OF FASHION IN THE COSTUME OF 1380 61 - - 14. NORMAN HEADDRESS OF THE PRESENT DAY 64 - - 15. LADY OF THE COURT OF CHARLES VIII., 1500 67 - - 16. LADY OF THE COURT OF MAXIMILIAN OF GERMANY AND FRANCIS OF - FRANCE 70 - - 17. CORSET-COVER OF STEEL WORN IN THE TIME OF CATHERINE DE - MEDICI 71 - - 18. CORSET-COVER OF STEEL WORN IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN - ELIZABETH (OPEN) 72 - - 19. THE BERNAISE HEADDRESS, AND COSTUME OF MARIE - STUART 74 - - 20. CORSET-COVER OF STEEL WORN IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN - ELIZABETH (CLOSED) 76 - - 21. HENRY III. OF FRANCE AND THE PRINCESS MARGARET OF - LORRAINE 77 - - 22. LADY OF THE COURT OF QUEEN ELIZABETH 80 - - 23. A VENETIAN LADY OF FASHION, 1560 83 - - 24. QUEEN ELIZABETH 86 - - 25. COURT DRESS DURING THE BOYHOOD OF LOUIS XIII. 93 - - 26. MARIE DE MEDICI 96 - - 27. FANCY COSTUMES OF THE TIME OF LOUIS XIV. 99 - - 28. SIAMESE DRESS WORN AT THE COURT OF LOUIS XIV. 102 - - 29. YOUNG ENGLISH LADY OF FASHION, 1653 105 - - 30. FANCY DRESS WORN IN THE REIGN OF LOUIS XV. 108 - - 31. COSTUMES AFTER WATTEAU 111 - - 32. CRINOLINE IN 1713 114 - - 33. LOW BODIES AND CURTAILED CRINOLINE 117 - - 34. COURT DRESS OF THE REIGN OF LOUIS XVI. 125 - - 35. CLASSIC COSTUME OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 128 - - 36. LADY OF FASHION, 1806 131 - - 37. FASHIONABLE DRESS IN 1824 139 - - 38. LADY OF FASHION, 1827 142 - - 39. LADY OF FASHION, 1830 145 - - 40. LADY OF FASHION, 1837 148 - - 41. THE CRINOLINE OF A SOUTH SEA ISLANDER 151 - - 42. THE FASHION OF 1865 188 - - 43. THE FASHION OF 1867 191 - - 44. CORSET, FORMING BOTH CORSET AND STOMACHER (FRONT) 197 - - 45. CORSET, FORMING BOTH CORSET AND STOMACHER (BACK) 200 - - 46. COMMON CHEAP STAY, FASTENED 202 - - 47. COMMON CHEAP STAY, OPEN 203 - - 48. THE GLOVE-FITTING CORSET (THOMSON AND CO.) 204 - - 49. CORSET OF MESSRS. DE LA GARDE, PARIS (FRONT) 205 - - 50. CORSET OF MESSRS. DE LA GARDE, PARIS (BACK) 208 - - 51. THE REDRESSEUR CORSET OF VIENNA (WEISS) 211 - - 52. THE FASHION OF 1868 222 - - 53. THE ZEPHYRINA JUPON (THOMSON AND CO.) 223 - - 54. TAHITIAN DANCING GIRL AND VENETIAN LADY 224 - - - - - THE CORSET AND THE CRINOLINE. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - The origin of the Corset--The Indian hunting-belt--Reduction of - the figure by the ancient inhabitants of Polenqui--Use of the - Corset by the natives of the Eastern Archipelago--Improvements - in construction brought about by the advance of - civilisation--Slenderness of waist esteemed a great beauty in - the East--Earth-eating in Java--Figure-training in Ceylon--The - beauties of Circassia, their slender waists and Corsets--Elegant - princesses of Crim Tartary--Hindoo belles--Hindoo ideas - of beauty--Elegance of figure highly esteemed by the - Persians--Letter from a Chinese gentleman (Woo-tan-zhin) - on slender waists--Researches amongst the antiquities of - Egypt--Fashions of the Egyptian ladies--The Corset in use among - the Israelitish ladies--The elegance of their costume, bridal - dress, &c.--Scriptural references. - - -For the origin of the corset we must travel back into far antiquity. -How far it would be difficult to determine. The unreclaimed savage -who, bow in hand, threads the mazes of the primeval forests in -pursuit of the game he subsists on, fashions for himself, from the -skin of some animal which good fortune may have cast in his way, -a belt or girdle from which to suspend his rude knife, quiver, or -other hunting gear; and experience teaches him that, to answer the -purpose efficiently, it should be moderately broad and sufficiently -stiff to prevent creasing when secured round the waist. A sharpened -bone, or fire-hardened stick, serves to make a row of small holes at -each end; a strip of tendon, or a thong of hide, forms a lace with -which the extremities are drawn together, thereby giving support to -the figure during the fatigues of the chase. The porcupine's quill, -the sea-shell, the wild beast's tooth, and the cunningly-dyed root, -all help to decorate and ornament the hunting-belt. The well-formed -youths and graceful belles of the tribe were not slow in discovering -that, when arrayed in all the panoply of forest finery, a belt well -drawn in, as shown in the annexed illustration, served to display -the figure to much greater advantage than one carelessly or loosely -adjusted. Here, then, we find the first indication of the use of the -corset as an article of becoming attire. At the very first dawn of -civilisation there are distinct evidences of the use of contrivances -for the reduction and formation of the female figure. Researches among -the ruins of Polenqui, one of the mysterious forest cities of South -America, whose history is lost in remote antiquity, have brought to -light most singular evidences of the existence of a now forgotten -race. Amongst the works of art discovered there is a bas-relief -representing a female figure, which, in addition to a profusion of -massive ornaments, wears a complicated and elaborate waist-bandage, -which, by a system of circular and transverse folding and looping, -confines the waist from just below the ribs to the hips as firmly and -compactly as the most unyielding corset of the present day. - -At the period of the discovery of some of the islands of the Eastern -Archipelago, it was found customary for all young females to wear a -peculiar kind of corset, formed of spirally-arranged rattan cane, and -this, when once put on, was not removed until the celebration of the -marriage ceremony. Such races as were slowly advancing in the march -of civilisation, after discovery by the early navigators, became more -and more accustomed to the use of clothing, to adjust and retain -which, waistbands would become essentially requisite. These, when made -sufficiently broad to fit without undue friction, and stiff enough to -prevent folding together in the act of stooping, sitting, or moving -about, at once became in effect corsets, and suggested to the minds of -the ingenious a system of cutting and fitting so as more perfectly to -adapt them to the figure of the wearer. The modes of fastening, as we -shall see, have been various, from the simple sewing together with the -lace to the costly buckle and jewelled loop and stud. - - [Illustration: THE DAWN OF THE CORSET.] - -Investigation proves to us that the taste for slender waists prevailed -even more in the Eastern nations than in those of Europe, and we find -that other means besides that of compression have been extensively -taken advantage of. Humboldt, in his personal narrative, describes the -women of Java, and informs us that the reddish clay called "_ampo_" is -eaten by them in order that they may become slim, want of plumpness -being a kind of beauty in that country. Though the use of this earth -is fatal to health, those desirous of profiting by its reducing -qualities persevere in its consumption. Loss of appetite and inability -to partake of more than most minute portions of food are not slow in -bringing the wished-for consummation about. The inhabitants of Ceylon -make a perfect study of the training of the figure to the most slender -proportions. Books on the subject are common in that country, and -no young lady is considered the perfection of fashionable elegance -unless a great number of qualities and graces are possessed; not the -least of these is a waist which can be quite or nearly clasped with -the two hands; and, as we proceed with our work, it will be seen that -this standard for the perfection of waist-measurement has been almost -world-wide. From the coral-fringed and palm-decked islands of the -Pacific and Indian Ocean we have but to travel to the grass-clad Yaila -of Crim Tartary and the rock-crowned fastnesses of Circassia, to see -the same tastes prevailing, and even more potent means in force for -the obtainment of a taper form. Any remarks from us as to the beauty -of the ladies of Circassia would be needless, their claim to that -enviable endowment being too well established to call for confirmation -at our hands, and that no pains are spared in the formation of their -figures will be best seen by a quotation from a recent traveller who -writes on the subject:-- - -"What would" (he says) "our ladies think of this fashion on the part -of the far-famed beauties of Circassia? The women wear a corset made -of 'morocco,' and furnished with two plates of wood placed on the -chest, which, by their strong pressure, prevent the expansion of the -chest; this corset also confines the bust from the collar-bones to the -waist by means of a cord which passes through leather rings. They even -wear it during the night, and only take it off when worn out, to put -on another quite as small." He then speaks of the daughters of Osman -Oglow, and says, "Their figures were tightened in an extraordinary -degree, and their _anteries_ were clasped from the throat downwards by -silver plates." - -These plates are not only ornamental, but being firmly sewn to the -two busks in front of the corset, and being longest at the top and -narrowest at the waist, when clasped, as shown in the accompanying -illustration, any change in fit or adjustment is rendered impossible. -It will be seen on examination that at each side of the bottom of the -corsage is a large round plate or boss of ornamental silver. These -serve as clasps for the handsomely-mounted silver waist-belt, and by -their size and position serve to contrast with the waist, and make -it appear extremely small. That the elegancies of female attire have -been deeply studied even among the Tartars of the Crimea will be seen -by the following account, written by Madame de Hell, of her visit to -Princess Adel Beg, a celebrated Tartar beauty:-- - -"Admitted into a fairy apartment looking out on a terraced garden, a -curtain was suddenly raised at the end of the room, and a woman of -striking beauty entered, dressed in rich costume. She advanced to me -with an air of remarkable dignity, took both my hands, kissed me on -the two cheeks, and sat down beside me, making many demonstrations -of friendship. She wore a great deal of rouge; her eyelids were -painted black, and met over the nose, giving her countenance a certain -sternness, which, nevertheless, did not destroy its pleasing effect. -A furred velvet vest fitted tight to her still elegant figure, and -altogether her appearance surpassed what I had conceived of her -beauty. After some time, when I offered to go, she checked me with -a very graceful gesture, and said eagerly, 'Pastoi, pastoi,' which -is Russian for 'Stay, stay,' and clapped her hands several times. A -young girl entered at the signal, and by her mistress's orders threw -open a folding-door, and immediately I was struck dumb with surprise -and admiration by a most brilliant apparition. Imagine, reader, the -most exquisite sultanas of whom poetry and painting have ever tried to -convey an idea, and still your conception will fall far short of the -enchanting models I had then before me. There were three of them, all -equally graceful and beautiful. They were clad in tunics of crimson -brocade, adorned in front with broad gold lace. The tunics were open, -and disclosed beneath them cashmere robes with very tight sleeves, -terminating in gold fringes. The youngest wore a tunic of azure-blue -brocade, with silver ornaments; this was the only difference between -her dress and that of her sisters. All three had magnificent black -hair escaping in countless tresses from a fez of silver filigree, set -like a diadem over their ivory foreheads. They wore gold-embroidered -slippers and wide trousers drawn close at the ankle. I had never -beheld skins so dazzlingly fair, eyelashes so long, or so delicate a -bloom of youth." - - [Illustration: CIRCASSIAN LADY.] - - [Illustration: EGYPTIAN LADY IN FULL SKIRT.] - -The Hindoos subject the figures of their dancing-girls and future -belles to a system of very careful training; in all their statues, -from those of remote antiquity, to be seen in the great cave temples -of Carlee Elanra, and Elephanta, to those of comparatively modern -date, the long and slender waist is invariably associated with other -attributes of their standard of beauty. "Thurida," the daughter of -Brahama, is thus described by a Hindoo writer:-- - -"This girl" (he informs us) "was of a yellow colour, and had a nose -like the flower of resamum; her legs were taper, like the plantain -tree; her eyes large, like the principal leaf of the lotus; her -eyebrows extended to her ears; her lips were red, and like the young -leaves of the mango tree; her face was like the full moon; her voice -like the sound of the cuckoo; her arms reached to her knees; her -throat was like that of a pigeon; her loins narrow, like those of a -lion; her hair hung in curls down to her feet; her teeth were like -the seeds of the pomegranate; and walk like that of a drunken elephant -or a goose." - -The Persians entertain much the same notions with regard to the -necessity for slenderness of form in the belles of their nation, but -differ in other matters from the Hindoos. The following illustration -represents a dancing-girl of Persia, and it will be seen that her -figure bears no indication of neglect of cultivation. It is somewhat -curious that the Chinese, with all their extraordinary ingenuity, -have confined their restrictive efforts to the feet of the ladies, -leaving their waists unconfined. That their doing so is more the -result of long-established custom than absence of admiration for -elegantly-proportioned figures will be clearly proved by the following -extract from a letter published in _Chambers' Journal_, written by a -genuine inhabitant of the Celestial Empire, named Woo-tan-zhin, who -paid a visit to England in 1844-45. Thus he describes the ladies of -England:-- - -"Their eyes, having the blue tint of the waters of autumn, are -charming beyond description, and their waists are laced as tight and -thin as a willow branch. What, perhaps, caught my fancy most was the -sight of elegantly-dressed young ladies, with pearl-like necks and -tight-laced waists; nothing can possibly be so enchanting as to see -ladies that compress themselves into taper forms of the most exquisite -shape, the like of which I have never seen before." - -By many writers it has been urged that the admiration so generally -felt for slenderly-proportioned and taper waists results from an -artificial taste set up by long custom; but in Woo-tan-zhin's case it -was clearly not so, as the small-waisted young ladies of the "outer -barbarians" were to him much as some new and undescribed flowers or -birds would be to the wondering naturalist who first beheld them. - -Although researches among the antiquities of Egypt and Thebes fail -to bring to our notice an article of dress corresponding with the -waist-bandage of Polenqui or the strophium of later times, we find -elaborately-ornamented waist-belts in general use, and by their -arrangement it will be seen that they were so worn as to show the -waist off to the best advantage. The accompanying illustrations -represent Egyptian ladies of distinction. The dress in the first, it -will be observed, is worn long. A sort of transparent mantle covers -and gives an appearance of width to the shoulders, whilst a coloured -sash, after binding the waist, is knotted in front, and the ends -allowed to fall freely over the front of the dress, much as we have -seen it worn in our own time; and it is most remarkable that, although -there is no evidence to show the use of crinoline by the ladies of -old Egypt, the lower border of the skirt, in some instances, appears -distended as in the prior illustration; whilst in others, as shown in -the second engraving, the dress is made to fit the lower portion of -the figure closely, barely affording scope for the movement of the -legs in walking. How often these arrangements of dress have been in -turn adopted and discarded will be seen as our work proceeds. - - [Illustration: PERSIAN DANCING GIRL.] - - [Illustration: EGYPTIAN LADY IN NARROW SKIRT.] - -The following extract from Fullam will show that Fashion within -the shadow of the Pyramids, in the days of the Pharaohs, reigned -with power as potent and supreme as that which she exercises in the -imperial palaces of Paris and Vienna at the present day:-- - -"The women of Egypt early paid considerable attention to their toilet. -Their dress, according to Herodotus, consisted usually of but one -garment, though a second was often added. Among the upper orders the -favourite attire was a petticoat tied round the waist with a gay sash, -and worn under a robe of fine linen or a sort of chintz variously -coloured, and made large and loose, with wide sleeves, the band being -fastened in front just under the bust. Their feet were incased in -sandals, the rudiment of the present Eastern slipper, which they -resembled also in their embroidery and design. Their persons and -apparel, in conformity with Oriental taste in all ages, were profusely -decked with ornaments, 'jewels of silver and jewels of gold,' with -precious gems of extraordinary size, of which imitations, hardly -distinguishable from the real stones, were within the reach of the -humblest classes, whose passion for finery could not be surpassed -by their superiors. The richly carved and embroidered sandals, tied -over the instep with tassels of gold, were surmounted by gold anklets -or bangles, which, as well as the bracelets encircling the wrist, -sparkled with rare gems; and necklaces of gold or of beautiful beads, -with a pendant of amethysts or pearls, hung from the neck. Almost -every finger was jewelled, and the ring finger in particular was -usually allotted several rings, while massive earrings shaped like -hoops, or sometimes taking the form of a jewelled asp or of a dragon, -adorned the ears. Gloves were used at a very early date, and among the -other imperishable relics of that olden time the tombs of Egypt have -rendered up to us a pair of striped linen mittens, which once covered -the hands of a Theban lady. - -"Women of quality inclosed their hair with a band of gold, from which -a flower drooped over the forehead, while the hair fell in long plaits -to the bosom, and behind streamed down the back to the waist. The side -hair was secured by combs made of polished wood or by a gold pin, and -perhaps was sometimes adorned, like the brow, with a favourite flower. -The toilet was furnished with a brazen mirror, polished to such a -degree as to reflect every lineament of the face, and the belles -of Egypt, as ladies of the present day may imagine, spent no small -portion of their time with this faithful counsellor. The boudoirs were -not devoid of an air of luxury and refinement particularly congenial -to a modern imagination. A stand near the unglazed window supported -vases of flowers, which filled the room with delicious odours; a soft -carpet overspread the floor; two or three richly-carved chairs and an -embroidered fauteuil afforded easy and inviting seats; and the lotus -and papyrus were frescoed on the walls. Besides the brazen mirror, -other accessories of the toilet were arranged on the ebony table, and -boxes and caskets grotesquely carved, some containing jewels, others -furnished with oils and ointments, took their place with quaintly-cut -smelling bottles, wooden combs, silver or bronze bodkins, and lastly, -pins and needles. - -"Seated at this shrine, the Egyptian beauty, with her dark glance -fixed on the brazen mirror, sought to heighten those charms which are -always most potent in their native simplicity. A touch of collyrium -gave illusive magnitude to her voluptuous eyes; another cosmetic -stained their lids; a delicate brush pencilled her brows--sometimes, -alas! imparted a deceitful bloom to her cheeks; and her taper fingers -were coloured with the juice of henna. Precious ointments were poured -on her hair, and enveloped her in an atmosphere of perfume, while the -jeweller's and milliner's arts combined to decorate her person." - -In Sir Gardner Wilkinson's admirable work on ancient Egypt, to -which I am indebted for some valuable information, there is a plate -representing a lady in a bath with her attendants, drawn from a -sculpture in a tomb at Thebes, whence we may derive some faint idea of -the elaborate character of an Egyptian toilet. - -The lady is seated in a sort of pan, with her long hair streaming over -her shoulders, and is supported by the arm of an attendant, who, with -her other hand, holds a flower to her nose, while another damsel pours -water over her head, and a third washes and rubs down her delicate -arms. A fourth maiden receives her jewels, and deposits them on a -stand, where she awaits the moment when they will be again required. - -There appears little doubt that the ancient Israelitish ladies, -amongst their almost endless and most complex articles of adornment, -numbered the corset in a tolerably efficient form, and of attractive -and rich material, for we read in the twenty-fourth verse of the third -chapter of Isaiah, referring to Divine displeasure manifested against -the people of Jerusalem and Judah, and the taking away of matters of -personal adornment from the women, that "instead of a girdle there -should be a rent, and instead of well-set hair baldness, and instead -of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth, and burning instead of beauty." -Here we have the coarse, repulsive, unattractive sackcloth held up in -marked contrast to the stomacher, which was without question a garment -on which much attention was bestowed; and the following extract from -Fullam's _History of Woman_ shows how costly and magnificent was the -costume of the period:-- - -"The bridal dress of a princess or Jewish lady of rank, whose parents -possessed sufficient means, was of the most sumptuous description, -as may be seen from the account given of that worn by the bride of -Solomon in the Canticles, and the various articles enumerated show -the additions which feminine taste had already made to the toilet. -The body was now clothed in a bodice ascending to the network which -inclosed, rather than concealed, the swelling bust; and jewelled -clasps and earrings, with strings of pearls and chains of gold, gave -a dazzling effect to Oriental beauty. In Solomon's reign silk is said -to have been added to the resources of the toilet, and the sex owe -to a sister, Pamphyla, the daughter of Patous, the discovery of this -exquisite material, in which woman wrested from Nature a dress worthy -of her charms. - -"The ordinary attire of Jewish women was made of linen, usually white, -without any intermixture of colours, though, in accordance with the -injunction in Numbers xv. 38, they made 'fringes in the borders of -their garments,' and 'put upon the fringe of the borders a riband -of blue.' Judith, when she sought to captivate Holofernes, 'put on -her garments of gladness, wherewith she was clad during the life of -Manasses her husband; and she took sandals upon her feet, and put -about her bracelets, and her chains, and her rings, and her earrings, -and all her ornaments, and decked herself bravely to allure the eyes -of all men that should see her.' Gemmed bangles encircled her ankles, -attracting the glance to her delicate white feet; and Holofernes, by -an Oriental figure of speech, is said to have been 'ravished by the -beauty of her sandals.' Like the belles of Egypt she did not disdain, -in setting off her charms, to have recourse to perfumes and cosmetics, -and previously to setting out she 'anointed herself with precious -ointment.' In another place Jezebel is said to 'paint her eyelids;' -and Solomon, in the Proverbs, in describing the deceitful woman, -adjures his son not to be 'taken with her eyelids,' evidently alluding -to the use of collyrium. The Jewish beauty owed no slight obligation -to her luxuriant tresses, which were decorated with waving plumes and -strings of pearls; and in allusion to this custom, followed among the -tribes from time immemorial, St. Paul affirms that 'a woman's ornament -is her hair.' Judith 'braided the hair of her head and put a tire upon -it;' and the headdress of Pharaoh's daughter, in the Canticles, is -compared by Solomon to Carmel. No mention is made of Judith's mirror, -but it was undoubtedly made of brass, like those described in Exodus -xxxviii. 8 as 'the looking-glasses of the women which assembled at the -door of the tabernacle of the congregation.'" - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - Homer the first ethnic writer who speaks of an article of dress - allied to the Corset--The cestus or girdle of Venus--Terentius, - the Roman dramatist, and his remarks on the practice of - tight-lacing--The use of the strophium by the ladies of Rome, - and the mitra of the Grecian belles--The peplus as worn - by the ancients--Toilet of a Roman lady of fashion--Roman - baths--Fashionable promenades of Ancient Rome--Boundless luxury - and extravagance--Cleopatra and her jewels--The taper waists and - tight-lacing of the ancient Roman ladies--Conquest of the Roman - Empire. - - -Amongst the ethnic writers, Homer appears to be the first who -describes an article of female dress closely allied to the corset. -He tells us of the cestus or girdle of Venus, mother of the Loves -and Graces, and of the haughty Juno, who was fabled to have borrowed -it with a view to the heightening and increasing her personal -attractions, in order that Jupiter might become a more tractable and -orderly husband. The poet attributes most potent magical virtues to -the cestus, but these are doubtlessly used in a figurative sense, -and Juno, in borrowing the cestus, merely obtained from a lady of -acknowledged elegance of figure a corset with which to set her own -attractions off to the best possible advantage, so that her husband -might be charmed with her improved appearance; and Juno appears to -have been a very far-seeing and sensible woman. From periods of very -remote antiquity, and with the gradual increase of civilisation, much -attention appears to have been paid to the formation and cultivation -of the female figure, and much the same means were had recourse to for -the achievement of the same end prior to 560 B.C. as in the -year 1868. Terentius, the Roman dramatist, who was born in the year -560, causes one of his characters, in speaking of the object of his -affections, to exclaim-- - -"This pretty creature isn't at all like our town ladies, whose -mothers saddle their backs and straitlace their waists to make them -well-shaped. If any chance to grow a little plumper than the rest, -they presently cry, 'She's an hostess,' and then her allowance must -be shortened, and though she be naturally fat and lusty, yet by her -dieting she is made as slender as a broomstick. By this means one -woodcock or another is caught in their springe." - - [Illustration: LADY OF ANCIENT GREECE.] - -Strutt informs us that the Roman women, married as well as unmarried, -used girdles, and besides them they sometimes wore a broad swath or -bandage round their breasts, called strophium, which seems to have -answered the purpose of the bodice or stays, and had a buckle or -bandage on the left shoulder, and that the mitra or girdle of the -Greeks probably resembled the strophium of the Romans. The annexed -illustration represents a lady of Ancient Greece. He also speaks of -the Muses as being described by Hesiod as being girt with golden -"_mitres_," and goes on to inform us that Theocritus in one of his -pastorals introduces a damsel complaining to a shepherd of his -rudeness, saying he had loosened her mitra or girdle, and tells her -he means to dedicate the same to Venus. So it will be seen that the -waist and its adornment were considered at that early period of the -world's history matters of no ordinary importance, and whether the -term strophium, zone, mitra, custula, stays, bodice, or corset is made -use of, the end sought to be obtained by their aid was the same. - -Constant mention is made by early writers of the _peplus_ as being -a very elegant garment, and there are notices of it as back as the -Trojan war, and the ladies of Troy appear to have generally worn it. -On the authority of Strutt, it may be stated to have been "a thin -light mantle worn by Grecian ladies above the tunic;" and we read -that Antinous presented to Penelope a beautiful large and variegated -peplus, having twelve buckles of gold, with tongues neatly curved. The -peplus, however, was a very splendid part of the lady's dress, and it -is rarely mentioned by Homer without some epithet to distinguish it -as such. He calls it the _variegated_ peplus and the painted peplus, -alluding to ornamental decorations either interwoven or worked with -the needle upon it, which consisted not only in diversity of colours, -but of flowers, foliage, and other kinds of imagery, and sometimes -he styles it the _soft purple peplus_, which was then valuable on -account of the excellence of the colour. We learn from a variety -of sources that the early Roman and Grecian ladies indulged in -almost unprecedented luxury in matters of personal adornment, as the -following extract from Fullam will show:-- - -"The toilet of a Roman lady involved an elaborate and very costly -process. It commenced at night, when the face, supposed to have been -tarnished by exposure, was overlaid with a poultice, composed of -boiled or moistened flour spread on with the fingers. Poppæan unguents -sealed the lips, and the body was profusely rubbed with Cerona -ointment. In the morning the poultice and unguents were washed off; -a bath of asses' milk imparted a delicate whiteness to the skin, and -the pale face was freshened and revived with enamel. The full eyelids, -which the Roman lady still knows so well how to use--now suddenly -raising them, to reveal a glance of surprise or of melting tenderness, -now letting them drop like a veil over the lustrous eyes--the full, -rounded eyelids were coloured within, and a needle dipped in jetty dye -gave length and sphericity to the eyebrows. The forehead was encircled -by a wreath or fillet fastened in the luxuriant hair which rose in -front in a pyramidal pile formed of successive ranges of curls, and -giving the appearance of more than ordinary height. - - "'So high she builds her head, she seems to be, - View her in front, a tall Andromache; - But walk all round her, and you'll quickly find - She's not so great a personage behind.' - -"Roman ladies frequented the public baths, and it was not unusual -for dames of the highest rank to resort to these lavatories in the -dead hour of the night. Seated in a palanquin or sedan borne by -sturdy chairmen, and preceded by slaves bearing flambeaux, they made -their way through the deserted streets, delighted to arouse and alarm -their neighbours. A close chair conveyed the patrician matron to the -spectacles and shows, to which she always repaired in great state, -surrounded by her servants and slaves, the dependants of her husband, -and the clients of her house, all wearing the badge of the particular -faction she espoused. The factions of the circus were four in number, -and were distinguished by their respective colours of blue, green, -white, and red, to which Domitian, who was a zealous patron of the -Circensian games, added the less popular hues of gold and purple. But -the spectators generally attached themselves either to the blue or the -green, and the latter was the chief favourite, numbering among its -adherents emperors and empresses, senators, knights, and noble dames, -as well as the great mass of the people, who, when their champions -were defeated, carried their partisanship to such an extreme that the -streets were repeatedly deluged with the blood of the blues, and more -than once the safety of the state was imperilled by these disgraceful -commotions. - -"The public walks and gardens were a fashionable resort of the Roman -ladies. There they presented themselves in rich costume, which bore -testimony alike to the wealth of their husbands and their own taste. -A yellow tire or hood partly covered, but did not conceal, their -piled hair; their vest of muslin or sarcenet, clasped with gems, was -draped with a murry-coloured robe descending to their high-heeled -Greek boots; necklaces of emerald hung from their swan-like necks, -and jewelled earrings from their ears; diamonds glittered on their -fingers, and their dazzling complexions were shielded from the sun by -a parasol." - -The researches of Strutt show us that the shoes of the ladies, and -especially among the Romans, proved a very expensive part of the -dress. In general they were white, but persons of opulence did not -confine themselves to any colour. We find them black, scarlet, purple, -yellow, and green. They were often not only richly adorned with -fringes and embroideries of gold, but set with pearls and precious -stones of the most costly kind, and these extravagances were not -confined to persons of rank. They were imitated by those of lower -station, and became so prevalent at the commencement of the third -century, that even the luxurious Emperor Heliogabalus thought it -necessary to publish an edict prohibiting the use of such expensive -shoes excepting to women of quality. The women wore the close shoe or -_calceus_. Gloves, too, as we have seen before, were known and used in -very early ages, and it appears probable that they were first devised -by those whose labours called them to the thick-tangled thorn coverts, -but that they were worn by those who did not labour is clearly proved -by Homer, who describes the father of Ulysses when living in a state -of rest as wearing gloves; but he gives us no information as to the -material from which they were manufactured. The Romans appear to have -been much more addicted to the practice of wearing gloves than the -Greeks, and we are informed that "under the emperors they were made -with fringes," though others were without them, and were fashioned -much after the manner of the mittens of the present day. Further on -we learn that "as riches and luxury increased, the lady's toilet was -proportionately filled with ornaments for the person, so that it was -called '_the woman's world_.'" They not only anointed the hair and -used rich perfumes, but sometimes they _painted it_. They also made -it appear of a bright yellow colour by the assistance of washes and -compositions made for that purpose; but they never used powder, which -is a much later invention. They frizzled and curled the hair with -hot irons, and sometimes they raised it to a great height by rows of -curls one above another in the form of a helmet, and such as had not -sufficient hair of their own used false hair to complete the lofty -pile, and these curls appear to have been fashioned with hairpins. The -Grecian virgins used to braid their hair in a multiplicity of knots, -but that custom, as well as painting the under part of the eyelids -with black paint, was discommended by an ancient poet. Persons of -rank had slaves to perform for them the offices of the toilet. They -held the mirror in their hand themselves and gave directions, and -Martial tells us that, if the slaves unfortunately placed a hairpin -wrong, or omitted to twist the curls exactly as they were ordered, the -mirror was thrown at the offender's head, or, according to Juvenal, -the whip was applied with much severity. The hair was adorned with -ornaments of gold, with pearls and precious stones, and sometimes with -garlands or chaplets of flowers. It was also bound with fillets and -ribbons of various colours and kinds. The net or hair-caul for the -purpose of inclosing the hinder part of the hair was in general use -with the Grecian and Roman ladies. These ornaments were frequently -enriched with embroidery, and sometimes made so thin that Martial -sarcastically called them "_bladders_." - -Again, in the matter of _earrings_, we quote from the same valuable -and trustworthy authority. No adornment of the head claims priority to -earrings. They have been fashionable, as Montfaucon justly observes, -in all ages and almost all nations. It is evident from Homer that the -Grecian women bored their ears for the admission of these ornaments. -The poet gives earrings to the goddess Juno, and the words he uses -on the occasion are literally these:--"In her well-perforated ears -she put the earrings of elaborate workmanship, having three eyes in -each"--that is, three pendants or jewels, either made in the form -of eyes, or so called from their brightness. The extravagance of -the Grecian and Roman ladies in the purchase of these articles of -adornment almost exceeds belief. Pliny says, "They seek for pearls -at the bottom of the Red Sea, and search the bowels of the earth -for emeralds to ornament their ears;" and Seneca tells us that "a -single pair of earrings was worth the revenue of a large estate, and -that some women would wear at their ears the price of two or three -patrimonies." We read that the earrings worn by Cleopatra were valued -at £161,458, and that Servilia, the mother of Brutus, was presented -with a pair by Julius Cæsar, the value of which was £48,457. - -Bracelets are also ornaments of high antiquity, as are rings and -brooches of various forms for fastening the dress. - -Rich gold chains and jewelled fastenings were in common use during -this period. The annexed illustration represents a Roman lady of rank -about the reign of Heliogabalus. Little alteration appears to have -taken place in the general style of costume for some very considerable -period of time, and the patrician ladies concealed beneath their -flowing draperies a kind of corset, which they tightened very -considerably, for a slight and tapering waist was looked upon as a -great beauty in women, and great attention was paid to the formation -of the figure, in spite of all that has been written about the purely -natural and statuesque forms of the Roman matrons. On the conquest -of the Roman Empire by the wild and savage Hunnish tribes, fashion, -art, taste, literature, and civilisation were swept ruthlessly away, -and a long, weird night of mental darkness may be said to have -reigned throughout the land from the tenth to the middle of the -fifteenth century, and we see little or nothing of Roman elegance or -magnificence of dress to distinguish it above other nations from that -period. - - [Illustration] - - [Illustration: ROMAN LADY OF RANK (REIGN OF HELIOGABALUS).] - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - The ladies of Old France--Their fashions during the reign of - King Pepin--Revival of the taste for small waists--Introduction - of "_cottes hardies_"--Monkish satire on the Corset in England - in the year 1043, curious MS. relating to--The small waists - of the thirteenth century--The ancient poem of _Launfal_--The - Lady Triamore, daughter of the King of the Fairies--Curious - entry in the household register of Eleanor, Countess of - Leicester, date 1265--Corsets worn by gentlemen at that - period--The kirtle as worn in England--The penance of Jane - Shore--Dress of Blanche, daughter of Edward III--Dunbar's - _Thistle and Rose_--Admiration for small waists in Scotland in - the olden time--Chaucer's writings--Small waists admired in - his day--The use of the surcoat in England--Reckless hardihood - of a determined tailor--The surcoat worn by Marie d'Anjou of - France--Italian supremacy in matters of dress--The Medici, Este, - and Visconti--Costume of an Italian duchess described--Freaks - of fashion in France and Germany--Long trains--Laws to restrain - the length of skirts--Snake-toed shoes give place to high-heeled - slippers. - - -Research fails to show us that the ladies of France in their simple -Hersvingian and Carlovingian dresses paid any attention to the -formation of the waist or its display. But during the ninth century -we find the dresses worn extremely tight, and so made as to define -the waist and render it as slim as possible; and although the art of -making the description of corsets worn by the ladies of Rome was no -doubt at that time lost, the revived taste for slender figures led to -the peculiar form of corsage known as _cottes hardies_, which were -much stiffened and worn extremely tight. These took the place of the -quaint, oddly-formed robes we see draping the figures of Childeric's -and Pepin's queens. The "_cottes hardies_" were, moreover, clasped at -the waist by a broad belt, and seem pretty well to have merited their -martial name. Very soon after this period it is probable that a much -more complete description of corset was invented, although we do not -find any marked representation of its form until 1043. A manuscript of -that date at present in the British Museum bears on it the strange -and anomalous figure represented in the annexed illustration. Opinions -vary somewhat as to whether its origin might not have been Italian, -but we see no reason for adopting this view, and consider it as of -decidedly home production. It will be seen that the shoulder, upper -part of the arm, and figure are those of a well-formed female, who -wears an unmistakable corset, tightly laced, and stiffened by two -busks in front, from one of which the lace, with a tag at the end, -depends. The head, wings, tail, feet, and claws are all those of a -demon or fiend. The drapery is worn so long as to render large knots -in it requisite to prevent dragging on the ground. The ring held in -the left claw is of gold, and probably intended to represent a massive -and costly bracelet. Produced, as this MS. appears to have been, -during the reign of Edward the Confessor, there is little doubt that -it was a severe monkish satire on the prevailing fashion, and a most -ungallant warning to the male sex that alabaster shoulders and slender -waists were too often associated with attributes of a rather brimstone -character, and that an inordinate love of long, trailing garments and -ornaments of precious metals were snares and enticements of a sinister -nature. Many of the figures to be found on ancient MSS. after this -period show by their contour that the corset was worn beneath the -drapery, and Strutt, whose work was published in 1796, thus writes -of the customs relating to dress in the period following shortly -after:--"In the thirteenth century, and probably much prior to that -period, a long and slender waist was considered by our ancestors as a -criterion of elegance in the female form. We ought not, therefore, to -wonder if it be proved that the tight lacing and compressing of the -body was practised by the ladies even in early times, and especially -by such of them as were inclined to be corpulent." He then, in order -to show at what an early date of the history of this country a -confirmed taste for small waists existed, quotes from a very ancient -poem, entitled _Launfal_, in which the Lady Triamore, daughter of the -King of the Fairies, and attendant ladies are described. Of two of -the latter it is said-- - - "Their kirtles were of rede cendel,[1] - I laced smalle, jollyf, and well, - There might none gayer go." - - [1] A rich description of silk. - - [Illustration: THE FIEND OF FASHION, FROM AN ANCIENT - MANUSCRIPT.] - -In the French version of the same poem it is, we read, more fully -expressed. It says, "They were richly habited and very tightly laced." -The Lady Triamore is thus described:-- - - "The lady was in a purple pall, - With gentill bodye and middle small." - -Wharton quotes from an ancient poem, which he believes to date as -far back as 1200, in which a lover, speaking of the object of his -admiration, thus throws down the gauntlet of challenge, and exclaims-- - - "Middle her she hath mensk small." - -The word _mensk_ or _maint_ being used instead of very or much. Some -differences of opinion have existed among writers as to the origin -of the word _corset_. Some are of opinion that the French words -_corps_, the body, and _serrer_ (to tightly inclose or incase), led -to the adoption of the term. Madame La Sante gives it as her opinion, -however, that it is more probably a corruption of the single word -_corps_, which was formerly written _cors_, and may be taken as a -diminutive form of it. Another view of the matter has been that -the name of a rich material called _corse_, which was at one time -extensively used in the manufacture of corsets, may have been thus -corrupted. This is scarcely probable, as the word corset was in use -at too early a period to admit of that origin. Perhaps as early an -instance of the use of the term corset as any in existence may be -found as a portion of an entry in the household register of Eleanor, -Countess of Leicester, which bears the date May 24, 1265:-- - -"Item: Pro ix ulnis radii. Pariensis pro robas æstivas corsetto et -clochia pro eodem."[2] - -[2] Item: For nine ells, Paris measure, for summer robes, corsets, and -cloaks for the same. - -The persons for whom these garments were made were Richard, King -of the Normans, and Edward, his son, whose death occurred in the -year 1308. So that corsets were, even in those early days, used by -gentlemen as well as ladies. - -The term kirtle, so often referred to, may not clearly convey to the -mind of the modern reader the nature of the garment indicated by it, -and therefore it may not be amiss to give Strutt's description of it. -He says, "The kirtle, or, as it was anciently written '_kertel_,' is -a part of the dress used by the men and the women, but especially by -the latter. It was sometimes a habit of state, and worn by persons of -high rank." The garment sometimes called a "_surcol_" Chaucer renders -_kirtle_, and we have no reason to dispute his authority. Kirtles are -very frequently mentioned in old romances. They are said to have been -of different textures and of different colours, but especially of -green; and sometimes they were laced closely to the body, and probably -answered the purpose of the bodice or stays--_vide Launfal_, before -referred to:-- - - "Their kirtles were of rede cendel, - I laced smalle, jollyf, and well." - -To appear in a kirtle only seems to have been a mark of servitude. -Thus the lady of Sir Ladore, when he feasted the king, by way of -courtesy waited at the table-- - - "The lady was gentyll and small, - In kirtle alone she served in hall." - -We are further informed that at the close of the fifteenth century -it was used as a habit of penance, and we read that Jane Shore, when -performing penance, walked barefoot, a lighted taper in her hand, -and having only her kirtle upon her back. John Gower, however, who -wrote at about the same period as Chaucer, thus describes a company -of ladies. They were, says he, "clothed all alike, in kirtles with -rich capes or mantles, parti-coloured, white, and blue, embroidered -all over with various devices." Their bodies are described as being -long and small, and they had crowns of gold upon their heads, as -though each of them had been a queen. We find that the tight-laced -young ladies of the court of the Lady Triamore "had mantles of -green-coloured velvet, handsomely bordered with gold, and lined with -rich furs. Their heads were neatly attired in kerchiefs, and were -ornamented with cut work and richly-striped wires of gold, and upon -their kerchiefs they had each of them a pretty coronal, embellished -with sixty gems or more;" and of their pretty mistress it is said in -the same poem, that her cheeks were as red as the rose when it first -blossoms. Her hair shone upon her head like golden wire, falling -beneath a crown of gold richly ornamented with precious stones. Her -vesture was purple, and her mantle, lined with white ermine, was also -elegantly furred with the same. The Princess Blanche, the daughter -of Edward III., the subject of the annexed illustration, appears to -have copied closely the dress above described, and, like the maids of -honour of the Lady Triamore herself, she is not only richly habited -but thoroughly well-laced as well. Thus we see, in the year 1361, the -full influence of the corset on the costume of that period. There is -another poem, said to be more ancient than even _Launfal_, which, no -doubt, served to give a tone and direction to the fashions of times -following after. Here we find a beautiful lady described as wearing a -splendid girdle of beaten gold, embellished with rubies and emeralds, -about her _middle small_. - - [Illustration: THE PRINCESS BLANCHE, DAUGHTER OF EDWARD III.] - -Gower, too, when describing a lover who is in the act of admiring his -mistress, thus writes:-- - - "He seeth hir shape forthwith, all - Hir bodye round, hir middle small." - -That the taste for slender figures was not confined to England will -be shown by the following quotation from Dunbar's _Thistle and Rose_. -When the belles of Scotland grouped together are described he tells us -that - - "Their middles were as small as wands." - -A great number of ancient writings descriptive of female beauty go -clearly to prove that both slenderness and length of waist were -held in the highest esteem and considered indispensable elements of -elegance, and there can be no question that such being the case no -pains were spared to acquire the coveted grace a very small, long, -and round waist conferred on its possessor. The lower classes were -not slow in imitating their superiors, and the practice of tight -lacing prevailed throughout every grade of society. This was the case -even as far back as Chaucer's day, about 1340. He, in describing the -carpenter's wife, speaks of her as a handsome, well-made young female, -and informs us that "her body was genteel" (or elegant) and "small as -a weasel," and immediately afterwards that she was - - "Long as a maste, and upright as a bolt." - -Notwithstanding the strict way in which the waist was laced during the -thirteenth century, the talents of the ingenious were directed to the -construction of some article of dress which should reduce the figure -to still more slender proportions, and the following remarks by Strutt -show that tight lacing was much on the increase from the thirteenth to -the fourteenth centuries. He says-- - -"A small waist was decidedly, as we have seen before, one criterion of -a beautiful form, and, generally speaking, its length was currently -regulated by a just idea of elegance, and especially in the thirteenth -century. In the fourteenth the women seem to have contracted a -vitiated taste, and not being content with their form as God hath -made it, introduced the corset or bodice--a stiff and unnatural -disguisement even in its origin." - - [Illustration: LADY OF RANK OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.] - -How far this newly-introduced form of the corset became a -"disguisement" will be best judged of by a glance at the foregoing -illustration, which represents a lady in the dress worn just at -the close of the thirteenth century. The term _surcoat_ was given -to this new introduction. This in many instances was worn over the -dress somewhat after the manner of the body of a riding-habit, being -attached to the skirt, which spreads into a long trailing train. An -old author, speaking of these articles of dress, thus writes:-- - -"There came to me two women wearing _surcoats_, longer than they were -tall by about a yard, so that they were obliged to carry their trains -upon their arms to prevent their trailing upon the ground, and they -had sleeves to these surcoats reaching to the elbows." - -The trains of these dresses at length reached such formidable -dimensions that Charles V. of France became so enraged as to cause an -edict to be issued hurling threats of excommunication at the heads of -all those who dared to wear a dress which terminated "like the tail of -a serpent." - -Notwithstanding this tremendously alarming threat, a tailor was found -fully equal to the occasion, who, in spite of the terrors inspired -by candle, bell, and book, set to work (lion-hearted man that he -was) and made a magnificent surcoat for Madame du Gatinais, which -not only trailed far behind on the ground, but actually "took _five -yards of Brussels net for sleeves, which also trailed_." History, or -even tradition, fails to inform us what dreadful fate overtook this -desperate tailor after the performance of a feat so recklessly daring; -but we can scarcely fancy that his end could have been of the kind -common to tailors of less audacious depravity. - -The bodies of these surcoats were very much stiffened, and so made -as to admit of being laced with extreme tightness. They were often -very richly ornamented with furs and costly needlework. As fashion -changed, dresses were made with open fronts, so as to be worn over -the surcoat without altogether concealing it. A portrait of Marie -d'Anjou, Queen of France, shows this arrangement of costume. The -waist appears very tightly laced, and the body of the surcoat much -resembles the modern bodice, but is made by stiffening and cut to -perform the part of a very strong and efficient corset. Until the -termination of the fourteenth century very little change appears to -have been made either in costume or the treatment of the figure, -but at the commencement of the fifteenth century, when such noble -families as the Medici, Este, and Visconti established fashions and -styles of costume for themselves, each house vied with the other in -the splendour of their apparel. The great masters of the period, by -painting ideal compositions, also gave a marked tone to the increasing -taste for dress. The costume of an Italian duchess, whose portrait -is to be seen in the Academy at Pisa, has been thus described:--"The -headdress is a gold coronet, the chemisette is finely interwoven with -gold, the under-dress is black, the square bodice being bordered with -white beads, the over-dress is gold brocade, the sides are open, and -fastened together again with gold _agrafes_; the loose sleeves, like -the chemisette, are of golden tissue, fastened to the shoulders with -_agrafes_. The under-sleeves, which are of peculiar construction, -and are visible, are crimson velvet, and reach to the centre of the -hand. They are cut out at the wrists, and white puffings of the same -material as the chemisette protrude through the openings." In both -France and Germany a great many strange freaks of fashion appear to -have been practised about this time. The tight, harlequin-like dress -was adopted by the gentlemen, whilst the long trains again stirred -the ire of royalty. We find Albert of Saxony issuing the following -laws:--"No wives or daughters of knights are to wear dresses exceeding -one yard and a-half in length, no spangles in their caps, nor high -frills round their throats." During the reign of the Dauphin in France -many changes in dress were effected. The length of the sleeves was -much curtailed, and the preposterously long toes of the shoes reduced -to a convenient standard. The ladies appear to have for some time -resisted the innovation, but one Poulaine, an ingenious Parisian -shoemaker, happening to devise a very attractive shoe with a heel -fitted to it, the ladies hailed joyfully the new favourite, and the -old snake-toed shoe passed away. Still, it was no uncommon thing to -see some fop of the period with one shoe white and the other black, or -one boot and one shoe. - - [Illustration: LADY OF THE COURT OF QUEEN CATHERINE DE - MEDICI.] - - [Illustration: FULL COURT DRESS AS WORN IN FRANCE, 1515.] - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - The _bonnet à canon_ and sugarloaf headdress--Headdress of the - women of Normandy at the present day--Odd dress of King Louis - XI.--Return of Charles VIII. from Naples--A golden time for - tailors and milliners--General change of fashion--Costumes - of the time of Francis I. of France and Maximilian of - Germany--General use of pins in France and England--Masks worn - in France--Establishment of the empire of Fashion in France--The - puffed or _bouffant_ sleeves of the reign of Henry II.--The - Bernaise dress--Costume of the unfortunate Marie Stuart--Rich - dresses and long slender waists of the period--The tight-lacing - of Henry III. of France--The Emperor Joseph of Austria, - his edict forbidding the use of stays, and how the ladies - regarded it--Queen Catherine de Medici and Queen Elizabeth of - England--The severe form of Corsets worn in both France and - England--The _corps_--Steel Corset covers of the period--Royal - standard of fashionable slenderness--The lawn ruffs of Queen - Bess--The art of starching--Voluminous nether-garments worn - by the gentlemen of the period--Fashions of the ladies of - Venice--Philip Stubs on the ruff--Queen Elizabeth's collection - of false hair--Stubs furious at the fashions of ladies--King - James and his fondness for dress and fashion--Restrictions and - sumptuary laws regarding dress--Side-arms of the period. - - -From about 1380 to some time afterwards headdresses of most singular -form of construction were in general wear in fashionable circles. One -of these, the _bonnet à canon_, was introduced by Isabel of Bavaria. -The "_sugarloaf_" headdress was also in high esteem, and considered -especially becoming and attractive. The accompanying illustration -faithfully represents both of these. The latter in a modified form -is still worn by the women of Normandy. Throughout the reign of -Louis XI. dress continued to be most sumptuous in its character. -Velvet was profusely worn, with costly precious stones encircling the -trimmings. Sumptuary laws were issued right and left, with a view to -the correction of so much extravagance, whilst the king himself wore a -battered, shabby old felt cap, with a bordering of leaden figures of -the Virgin Mary round it. The rest of his attire was plain and simple -to a degree. - - [Illustration: LADIES OF FASHION IN THE COSTUME OF 1380.] - - [Illustration: NORMAN HEADDRESS OF THE PRESENT DAY.] - -Next we see his successor, Charles VIII., returning as a conqueror -from Naples, dressed in the first style of Italian fashion. Then came -a period of intense activity on the part of milliners and tailors, and -a short time sufficed to completely metamorphose the reigning belles -of the nation. Smaller, much more becoming and coquettish headdresses -were introduced, and a general change of style brought about. Germany -participated in the same sudden change of fashion, which lasted until -the reign of Francis I. Accompanying illustrations represent a lady -of the court of Maximilian I. of Germany, and a lady of the court of -Francis I. of France. During his reign pins came into general use -both in France and England, although their use had been known to the -most ancient races, numerous specimens having been discovered in the -excavations of Thebes and other Old World cities. Ladies' masks or -visors were also introduced in France at this period, but they did not -become general in England until the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It was -about this time that France commenced the establishment of her own -fashions and invented for herself, and that the ladies of that nation -became celebrated for the taste and elegance of their raiment. - -On Henry II. succeeding Charles this taste was steadily on the -increase. The _bouffant_, or puffed form of sleeve, was introduced, -and a very pretty and becoming style of headdress known as the -_Bernaise_. The illustration shows a lady wearing this, the feather -being a mark of distinction. The dress is made of rich brocade, and -the waist exceedingly long (period, 1547.) The right-hand figure -represents the unfortunate Marie Stuart arrayed in a court dress of -the period, 1559. On the head is a gold coronet; her under-dress is -gold brocade, with gold arabesque work over it; the over-dress is -velvet, trimmed with ermine; the girdle consisted of costly strings of -pearls; the sleeves are of gold-coloured silk, and the puffings are -separated from each other by an arrangement of precious stones; the -front of the dress is also profusely ornamented in the same manner; -the frill or ruff was made from costly lace from Venice or Genoa, and -was invented by this very charming but unfortunate lady; the form -of the waist is, as will be seen on reference to this illustration, -long, and shows by its contour the full influence of the tightly-laced -corset beneath the dress, which fits the figure with extraordinary -accuracy. - -At this time Fashion held such despotic sway throughout the continent -of Europe, that the Emperor Joseph of Austria, following out his -extraordinary penchant for the passing of edicts, and becoming -alarmed at the formidable lures laid out for the capture of mankind -by the fair sex, passed a law rigorously forbidding the use of the -corset in all nunneries and places where young females were educated; -and no less a threat than that of excommunication, and the loss of -all the indulgences the Church was capable of affording, hung over -the heads of all those evil-disposed damsels who persisted in a -treasonable manner in the practice of confining their waists with -such evil instruments as stays. Royal command, like an electric -shock, startled the College of Physicians into activity and zeal, and -learned dissertations on the crying sin of tight lacing were scattered -broadcast amongst the ranks of the benighted and tight-laced ladies of -the time, much as the advertisements of cheap furnishing ironmongers -are hurled into the West-End omnibuses of our own day. - -It is proverbial that gratuitous advice is rarely followed by the -recipient. Open defiance was in a very short time bid to the edicts of -the emperor and the erudite dissertations of the doctors. The corsets -were, if possible, laced tighter than ever, and without anything very -particular happening to the world at large in consequence. - - [Illustration: LADY OF THE COURT OF CHARLES VIII., 1560.] - - [Illustration: LADY OF THE COURT OF MAXIMILIAN OF GERMANY AND - FRANCIS OF FRANCE.] - - [Illustration: CORSET-COVER OF STEEL WORN IN THE TIME OF - CATHERINE DE MEDICI.] - - [Illustration: CORSET-COVER OF STEEL WORN IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN - ELIZABETH (OPEN).] - - [Illustration: THE BERNAISE HEADDRESS, AND COSTUME OF MARIE - STUART.] - -On Queen Catherine de Medici, who, it will be seen, was a contemporary -of Queen Elizabeth of England, assuming the position of power which -she so long maintained at the court of France, costume and fashion -became her study, and at no period of the world's history were its -laws more tremendously exacting, and the ladies of her court, as -well as those in distinguished circles, were compelled to obey them. -With her a thick waist was an abomination, and extraordinary tenuity -was insisted on, thirteen inches waist measure being the standard of -fashionable elegance, and in order that this extreme slenderness might -be arrived at she herself invented or introduced an extremely severe -and powerful form of the corset, known as the _corps_. It is thus -described by a talented French writer:--"This formidable corset was -hardened and stiffened in every imaginable way; it descended in a long -hard point, and rose stiff and tight to the throat, making the wearers -look as if they were imprisoned in a closely-fitting fortress." And -in this rigid contrivance the form of the fair wearer was incased, -when a system of gradual and determined constriction was followed -out until the waist arrived at the required degree of slenderness, -as shown in the annexed illustration. Several writers have mentioned -the "_steel corsets_" of this period, and assumed that they were used -for the purpose of forcibly reducing the size of the waist. In this -opinion they were incorrect, as the steel framework in question was -simply used to wear over the corset after the waist had been reduced -by lacing to the required standard, in order that the dress over it -might fit with inflexible and unerring exactness, and that not even -a fold might be seen in the faultless stomacher then worn. These -corsets (or, more correctly, corset-covers) were constructed of very -thin steel plate, which was cut out and wrought into a species of -open-work pattern, with a view to giving lightness to them. Numbers -of holes were drilled through the flat surfaces between the hollows -of the pattern, through which the needle and thread were passed in -covering them accurately with velvet, silk, or other rich materials. -During the reign of Queen Catherine de Medici, to whom is attributed -the invention of these contrivances, they became great favourites, and -were much worn, not only at her court, but throughout the greater part -of the continent. - -They were made in two pieces, opened longitudinally by hinges, and -were secured when closed by a sort of _hasp and pin_, much like an -ordinary box fastening. At both the front and back of the corsage a -long rod or bar of steel projected in a curved direction downwards, -and on these bars mainly depended the adjustment of the long peaked -body of the dress, and the set of the skirt behind. The illustration -at page 71 gives a view of one of those ancient dress-improvers. - - [Illustration: CORSET-COVER OF STEEL WORN IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN - ELIZABETH (CLOSED).] - - [Illustration: HENRY III. OF FRANCE AND THE PRINCESS MARGARET OF - LORRAINE.] - - [Illustration: LADY OF THE COURT OF QUEEN ELIZABETH.] - -The votaries of fashion of Queen Elizabeth's court were not slow in -imitating in a rough manner the new continental invention, and the -illustrations at pages 72 and 76, taken from photographs, will show -that, although not precisely alike, the steel corset-covers of England -were much in principle like those of France, and the accompanying -illustration represents a court lady in one of them. We have no -evidence, however, that their use ever became very general in this -country, and we find a most powerful and unyielding form of the corset -constructed of very stout materials and closely ribbed with whalebone -superseding them. This was the _corps_ before mentioned, and its use -was by no means confined to the ladies of the time, for we find the -gentlemen laced in garments of this kind to no ordinary degree of -tightness. That this custom prevailed for some very considerable time -will be shown by the accompanying illustration, which represents Queen -Catherine's son, Henry III. (who was much addicted to the practice of -tight lacing), and the Princess Margaret of Lorraine, who was just -the style of figure to please his taste, which was ladylike in the -extreme. Eardrops in his ears, delicate kid gloves on his hands; hair -dyed to the fashionable tint, brushed back under a coquettish little -velvet cap, in which waved a white ostrich's feather; hips bolstered -and padded out, waist laced in the very tightest and most unyielding -of corsets, and feet incased in embroidered satin shoes, Henry was -a true son of his fashionable mother, only lacking her strong will -and powerful understanding. England under Elizabeth's reign followed -close on the heels of France in the prevailing style of dress. From -about the middle of her reign the upper classes of both sexes carried -out the custom of tight lacing to an extreme which knew scarcely any -bounds. The corsets were so thickly quilted with whalebone, so long -and rigid when laced to the figure, that the long pointed stomachers -then worn fitted faultlessly well, without a wrinkle, just as did the -dresses of the French court over the steel framework before described. -The following lines by an old author will give some idea of their -unbending character:-- - - "These privie coats, by art made strong, - With bones, with paste, with such-like ware, - Whereby their back and sides grow long, - And now they harnest gallants are; - Were they for use against the foe - Our dames for Amazons might go." - -On examining the accompanying illustration representing a lady of the -court of Queen Elizabeth, it will be observed that the farthingale, -or verdingale, as it is sometimes written, and from which the modern -crinoline petticoat is borrowed, serves to give the hips extraordinary -width, which, coupled with the frill round the bottom of the -stomacher, gave the waist the appearance of remarkable slenderness as -well as length. The great size of the frills or ruffs also lent their -aid in producing the same effect. - -It was in the reign of Elizabeth that the wearing of lawn and cambric -commenced in this country; previously even royal personages had been -contented with fine holland as a material for their ruffs. When -Queen Bess had her first lawn ruffs there was no one in England who -could starch them, and she procured some Dutch women to perform the -operation. It is said that her first starcher was the wife of her -coachman, Guillan. Some years later one Mistress Dinghen Vauden -Plasse, the wife of a Flemish knight, established herself in London -as a professed starcher. She also gave lessons in the art, and many -ladies sent their daughters and kinswomen to learn of her. Her terms -were five pounds for the starching and twenty shillings additional for -learning to "seeth" the starch. Saffron was used with it to impart -to it a yellow colour which was much admired. The gentlemen of the -period indulged in nether garments so puffed out and voluminous that -the legislature was compelled to take the matter in hand. We read -of "a man who, having been brought before the judges for infringing -the law made against these extensive articles of clothing, pleaded -the convenience of his pockets as an excuse for his misdemeanour. -They appeared, indeed, to have answered to him the purposes both of -wardrobe and linen cupboard, for from their ample recesses he drew -forth the following articles--viz., a pair of sheets, two tablecloths, -ten napkins, four shirts, a brush, a glass, a comb, besides nightcaps -and other useful things; his defence being--'Your worship may -understand that because I have no safer storehouse these pockets do -serve me for a roome to lay up my goodes in; and though it be a strait -prison, yet it is big enough for them.'" His discharge was granted, -and his clever defence well laughed at. - - [Illustration: A VENETIAN LADY OF FASHION, 1560.] - - [Illustration: QUEEN ELIZABETH.] - -The Venetian ladies appear to have been fully aware of the reducing -effect of frills and ruffs on the apparent size of waist of the -wearer, and they were, as the annexed illustration will show, worn of -extraordinary dimensions; but the front of the figure was, of course, -only displayed, and on this all the decoration and ornamentation that -extravagant taste could lavish was bestowed. The Elizabethan ruff, -large as it was, bore no comparison with this, and was worn as shown -in the accompanying portrait of the "Virgin Queen," who indulged in -numerous artifices for heightening her personal attractions. The ruffs -and frills of the period so excited the ire of Philip Stubs, a citizen -of London, that in his work, dated 1585, he thus launches out against -them in the quaint language of the time:-- - -"The women there vse great ruffes and neckerchers of holland, laune, -cameruke, and such clothe as the greatest threed shall not be so big -as the least haire that is, and lest they should fall downe they are -smeared and starched in the devil's liquor, I mean starche; after -that dried with great diligence, streaked, patted, and rubbed very -nicely, and so applied to their goodly necks, and withal vnderpropped -with supportasses (as I told you before), the stately arches of -pride; beyond all this they have a further fetche, nothing inferiour -to the rest, as namely--three or four degrees of minor ruffes placed -_gradation_, one beneath another, and al under the mayster deuilruffe. -The skirtes, then, of these great ruffes are long and wide, every way -pleated and crested full curiously, God wot! Then, last of all, they -are either clogged with gold, silver, or silk lace of stately price, -wrought all over with needleworke, speckeled and sparkeled here and -there with the sunne, the mone, the starres, and many other antiques -strange to beholde. Some are wrought with open worke downe to the -midst of the ruffe, and further, some with close worke, some wyth -purled lace so cloied, and other gewgaws so pestered, as the ruffe is -the least parte of itselfe. Sometimes they are pinned upp to their -eares, sometimes they are suffered to hange over theyr shoulders, like -windemill sailes fluttering in the winde; and thus every one pleaseth -her selfe in her foolish devises." - -In the matter of false hair her majesty Queen Elizabeth was a perfect -connoisseur, having, so it is said, eighty changes of various kinds -always on hand. The fashionable ladies, too, turned their attention -to artificial adornment of that kind with no ordinary energy, and -poor old Stubs appears almost beside himself with indignation on the -subject, and thus writes about it:--"The hair must of force be curled, -frisled, and crisped, laid out in wreaths and borders from one ear to -another. And, lest it should fall down, it is underpropped with forks, -wires, and I cannot tell what, rather like grim, stern monsters than -chaste Christian matrons. At their hair thus wreathed and crested are -hanged bugles, ouches, rings, gold and silver glasses, and such like -childish gewgaws." The fashion of painting the face also calls down -his furious condemnation, and the dresses come in for a fair share of -his vituperation, and their length is evidently a source of excessive -exasperation. We give his opinions in his own odd, scolding words:-- - -"Their gownes be no less famous than the rest, for some are of silke, -some velvet, some of grograine, some of taffatie, some of scarlet, -and some of fine cloth of x., xx., or xl. shillings a yarde. But if -the whole gowne be not silke or velvet, then the same shall be layd -with lace two or three fingers broade all over the gowne, or els the -most parte, or if not so (as lace is not fine enough sometimes), then -it must bee garded with great gardes of velvet, every yard fower or -sixe fingers broad at the least, and edged with costly lace, and as -these gownes be of divers and sundry colours, so are they of divers -fashions--chaunging with the moone--for some be of new fashion, some -of the olde, some of thys fashion, and some of that; some with sleeves -hanging downe to their skirtes, trailing on the ground, and cast over -their shoulders like cows' tailes; some have sleeves muche shorter, -cut vp the arme and poincted with silke ribbons, very gallantly tied -with true love's knottes (for so they call them); some have capes -reachyng downe to the midest of their backes, faced with velvet, or -els with some wrought silke taffatie at the least, and fringed about -very bravely (and to shut vp all in a worde), some are peerled and -rinsled downe the backe wonderfully, with more knackes than I can -declare. Then have they petticoates of the beste clothe that can -be bought, and of the fayrest dye that can be made. And sometimes -they are not of clothe neither, for that is thought too base, but -of scarlet grograine, taffatie, silke, and such like, fringed about -the skirtes with silke fringe of chaungeable colour, but whiche is -more vayne, of whatsoever their petticoates be yet must they have -kirtles (for so they call them), either of silke, velvett, grogaraine, -taffatie, satten, or scarlet, bordered with gardes, lace, fringe, and -I cannot tell what besides." - -History fails to enlighten us as to whether the irascible Stubs -was blessed with a stylish wife and a large family of fashionable -daughters, but we rather incline to the belief that he must have been -a confirmed old bachelor, as we cannot find that he was ever placed -in a lunatic asylum, a fate which would inevitably have befallen him -if the fashions of the time had been brought within the sphere of -his own dwelling. It is somewhat singular that, writing, as he did, -in the most violent manner against almost every article of personal -adornment, and every artifice of fashionable life, the then universal -and extreme use of the corset should have escaped censure at his hands. - -King James, who succeeded Elizabeth, manifested an inordinate fondness -for dress. We read that--"Not only his courtiers, but all the youthful -portion of his subjects, were infected in a like manner, and the -attire of a fashionable gentleman in those days could scarcely have -been exceeded in fantastic device and profuse decoration. The hair was -long and flowing, falling upon the shoulders; the hat, made of silk, -velvet, or beaver (the latter being most esteemed), was high-crowned, -narrow-brimmed, and steeple-shaped. It was occasionally covered with -gold and silver embroidery, a lofty plume of feathers, and a hatband -sparkling with gems being frequently worn with it. It was customary -to dye the beard of various colours, according to the fancy of the -wearer, and its shape also differed with his profession. The most -effeminate fashion at this time was that of wearing jewelled rings in -the ears, which was common among the upper and middle ranks. Gems were -also suspended to ribbons round the neck, while the long 'lovelock' of -hair so carefully cherished under the left ear was adorned with roses -of ribbons, and even real flowers. The ruff had already been reduced -by order of Queen Elizabeth, who enacted that when reaching beyond 'a -nayle of a yeard in depth' it should be clipped. In the early part -of her reign the doublet and hose had attained a preposterous size, -especially the nether garments, which were stuffed and bolstered with -wool and hair to such an extent that Strutt tells us, on the authority -of one of the Harleian manuscripts, that a scaffold was erected -round the interior of the Parliament House for the accommodation of -such members as wore them! This was taken down in the eighth year of -Elizabeth's reign, when this ridiculous fashion was laid aside. The -doublet was afterwards reduced in size, but still so hard-quilted that -the wearer could not stoop to the ground, and was incased as in a coat -of mail. In shape it was like a waistcoat, with a large cape, and -either close or very wide sleeves. These latter were termed _Danish_. -A cloak of the richest materials, embroidered in gold or silver, and -faced with foxskin, lambskin, or sable, was buttoned over the left -shoulder. None, however, under the rank of an earl were permitted to -indulge in sable facings. The hose were either of woven silk, velvet, -or damask; the garters were worn externally below the knee, made of -gold, silver, or velvet, and trimmed with a deep gold fringe. Red -silk stockings, parti-coloured gaiters, and even 'cross gartering' -to represent the Scotch tartan, were frequently seen. The shoes of -this period were cork-soled, and elevated their wearers at least two -or three inches from the ground. They were composed of velvet of -various colours, worked in the precious metals, and if fastened with -strings, immense roses of ribbon were attached to them, variously -ornamented, and frequently of great value, as may be seen in Howe's -continuation of Stowe's Chronicle, where he tells us 'men of rank -wear garters and shoe-roses of more than five pounds price.' The dress -of a gentleman was not considered perfect without a dagger and rapier. -The former was worn at the back, and was highly ornamented. The latter -having superseded, about the middle of Elizabeth's reign, the heavy -two-handed sword, previously used in England, was, indeed, chiefly -worn as an ornament, the hilt and scabbard being always profusely -decorated." - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - Strange freaks of Louise de Lorraine--One of her adventures--Her - dress at a royal _fête_--Marie de Medici--The distended dresses - of her time--Hair-powder--Costume _à la enfant_--Escapade - of the young Louis--Low dresses of the period--The court of - Louis XIV. of France--High heels, slender waists, and fancy - costumes--The Siamese dress--Charles I. of England--Patches - introduced--Elaborate costumes of the period--Puritanism, its - effect on the fashions--Fashions in Cromwell's time, and the - general prevalence of the practice of tight-lacing--The ladies - of Augsburg described by Hoechstetterus. - - -Little change appears to have taken place in the prevailing fashions -of England for some considerable time after this period. In France two -opposing influences sprang up. Henry III., as we have seen, was the -slave of fashion, and mainly occupied his time in devising some new -and extravagant article of raiment. His wife, Louise de Lorraine, on -the other hand, although exceedingly handsome, was of a gloomy, stern, -and ascetic disposition, dressing more like a nun than the wife of so -gay a husband. She caused numerous sumptuary laws to be framed, in -order to, if possible, reduce the style of ladies' dress to a standard -nearer her own; and the following anecdote will serve to show the -petty spirit in which her powers were sought to be exercised. - - [Illustration: COURT DRESS DURING THE BOYHOOD OF LOUIS - XIII.] - - [Illustration: MARIE DE MEDICI.] - -A writer on her life says, "She was accustomed to go out on foot with -but a single attendant, both habited plainly in some woollen fabric, -and one day, on entering a mercer's shop in the Rue St. Denis, she -encountered the wife of a president tricked out superbly in the latest -fashions of the day. The subject did not recognise the sovereign, -who inquired her name, and received for answer that she was called -'La Présidente de M.,' the information being given curtly, and with -the additional remark, 'to satisfy your curiosity.' To this the -queen replied, 'But, Madame la Présidente, you are very smart for a -person of your condition.' Still the interrogator was not recognised, -and Madame la Présidente, with that pertness so characteristic of -ordinary womankind, replied, 'At any rate, you did not pay for my -smartness.' Scarcely was this retort completed when it dawned upon -the speaker that it was the queen who had been putting these posing -questions, and then a scene followed of contrite apology on the one -hand, and remonstrance on the frivolity of smart attire on the other, -both very easy to imagine." With all this pretended simplicity and -humility, Queen Louise, on certain occasions, indulged in the most -lavish display of her personal attractions. It is related of her that -on the marriage of her sister Margaret, she attended a magnificent -_fête_ given at the Hôtel de Bourbon, and made her appearance in the -saloon or grand ball-room as the leader of twelve beautiful young -ladies, arrayed as Naiads. The queen wore a dress of silver cloth, -with a tunic of flesh-coloured and silver _crêpes_ over it; on her -head she wore a splendid ornament, composed of triangles of diamonds, -rubies, and various other gems and precious stones. Still the king was -the acknowledged leader of fashion, which the queen did all in her -power to suppress, except when it suited her royal caprice to astonish -the world with her own elegance. - -Henry IV. appears to have had no especial inclination for matters -relating to fashion, and the world wagged much as it pleased so far as -he was concerned. On his marrying, however, his second wife, Marie de -Medici, another ardent supporter of all that was splendid, sumptuous, -and magnificent was found. His first wife, indeed, Marguerite de -Valois, had strong fashionable proclivities, but she was utterly -eclipsed by the new star, whose portrait is the subject of the -accompanying illustration, in which it will be seen that the wide -hips and distended form of dress accompany the long and narrow waist. -This style of costume remained popular, as did hair-powder, which was -introduced in consequence of the grey locks of Henry IV., until the -boy-king Louis XIII., who was placed under the control and regency of -his mother, caused by his juvenile appearance a marked change in the -fashions of the time. The men shaved off their whiskers and beards, -and the ladies brushed back their hair _à l'enfant_, and as about this -time Marie showed strong indications of a tendency towards portliness, -the hoops were discarded; and short waists, laced to an extreme -degree of tightness, long trailing skirts, and very high-heeled shoes -were introduced. The dresses of this period of sudden change were -worn excessively low, and it is said of young Louis that he was so -alarmed, enraged, and astonished at the sight of the white shoulders -of a lady of high position that he threw a glass of wine over them, -and precipitately quitted the scene of his discomfiture. The annexed -illustration shows the style of dress after the changes above referred -to. - -The next noteworthy changes we shall see taking place during the -reign of Charles I. in England and Louis XIV. of France. The court of -the _Grand Monarque_ was one of extraordinary pomp and magnificence; -flowing ringlets, shoes with heels of extraordinary height, and -waists of extreme slenderness were the rage. Fancy costumes were -also much affected. The accompanying illustration represents a lady -and gentleman of the period equipped for the _chase_, but of what -it would be difficult to say, unless butterflies were considered in -the category of game. The so-called Siamese dress, which became so -generally popular, was worn first during the reign of Louis XIV. Many -of these dresses were extremely rich and elegant; one is described -as having the tunic or upper-skirt composed of scarlet silk with -brocaded gold flowers. The under-skirt was of green and gold, with -frills of exquisite work from the elbow to the wrist. The accompanying -illustration represents a court lady dressed in this style, and that -which follows it a fancy dress of the same period. It was in this -reign that the coloured and ornamented clocks to ladies' stockings -first made their appearance. Patches for the face were first worn in -England during the reign of Charles, although they continued in use -for a great number of years, and the following satirical lines were -written by an old author regarding them and one of their wearers:-- - - "Your homely face, Flippanta, you disguise - With patches numerous as Argus' eyes; - I own that patching's requisite for you, - For more we're pleased the less your face we view; - Yet I advise, since my advice you ask, - Wear but one patch, and be that patch a mask." - - [Illustration: FANCY COSTUMES OF THE TIME OF LOUIS XIV.] - - [Illustration: SIAMESE DRESS WORN AT THE COURT OF LOUIS XIV.] - -The fashions set by the court of Louis were eagerly seized on by -the whole of Europe. The flowing curls, lace cuffs, and profuse -embroidery in use at the court of Charles of England were all borrowed -from France, but the general licence and laxity of the period for -some short time showed itself in the dress of the ladies, whilst -fickleness and love of change, accompanied by thoughtless luxury and -profusion, prevailed. The following complaint of a lady's serving-man, -dated 1631, will show that the Puritans were not without reason in -condemning the extravagances of the time:-- - -"Here is a catalogue as tedious as a taylor's bill of all the devices -which I am commanded to provide (_videlicet_):-- - - "Chains, coronets, pendants, bracelets, and earrings, - Pins, girdles, spangles, embroidaries, and rings, - Shadomes, rebatacs, ribbands, ruffs, cuffs, falls, - Scarfs, feathers, fans, maskes, muffes, laces, cauls, - Thin tiffanies, cobweb lawn, and fardingales, - Sweet sals, vyles, wimples, glasses, crumping pins, - Pots of ointment, combs, with poking-sticks, and bodkins, - Coyfes, gorgets, fringes, rowels, fillets, and hair laces, - Silks, damasks, velvets, tinsels, cloth of gold, - Of tissues with colours a hundredfold, - But in her tyres so new-fangled is she - That which doth with her humour now agree, - To-morrow she dislikes; now doth she swear - That a losse body is the neatest weare, - But ere an hour be gone she will protest - A strait gown graces her proportion best. - - "Now calls she for a boisterous fardingale, - Then to her hips she'll have her garments fall. - Now doth she praise a sleeve that's long and wide, - Yet by and by that fashion doth deride; - Sometimes she applauds a pavement-sweeping train, - And presently dispraiseth it again; - Now she commands a shallow band so small - That it may seem scarce any band at all; - But now a new fancy doth she reele, - And calls for one as big as a coach-wheele; - She'll weare a flowry coronet to-day, - The symbol of her beauty's sad decay; - To-morrow she a waving plume will try, - The emblem of all female levitie; - Now in her hat, then in her hair is drest, - Now of all fashions she thinks change the best." - -On Puritanism becoming general the style of dress adopted by -the so-called "Roundheads," as a contrast to that of the hated -"Cavaliers," was stiff, prim, and formal to a degree; and during -Cromwell's sway as Protector, small waists, stiff corsets, and very -tight lacing again became the fashion; and Bulwer, who writes in -1653, in speaking of the young ladies of his day, says, "They strive -all they possibly can by streight lacing themselves to attain unto a -wand-like smallness of waist, never thinking themselves fine enough -until they can span their waists." The annexed illustration, adapted -by us from his work, _The Artificial Changeling_, represents a young -lady who has achieved the desired tenuity. He also quotes from -Hoechstetterus, who in his description of "_Auspurge_, the metropolis -of _Swevia_," 1653 (meaning Augsburg, the capital of _Suabia_), "They -are," saith he, describing the virgins of Auspurge, "slender, streight -laced, with '_demisse_' (sloping) shoulders, lest being grosse and -well made they should be thought to have too athletique bodies." So -throughout the length and breadth of Europe the use of tightly-laced -corsets remained general. - - [Illustration: YOUNG ENGLISH LADY OF FASHION, 1653.] - - [Illustration: FANCY DRESS WORN IN THE REIGN OF LOUIS XV.] - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - Fashion during the reign of Louis XV.--Costumes _à la_ - Watteau--An army of barbers--The fashions of England during the - reign of Queen Anne--The diminutive waist and enormous hoop of - her day--The farthingale: letters in the _Guardian_ protesting - against its use--Fashion in 1713--Low dresses, tight stays, and - short skirts: letters relating to--Correspondence touching the - fashions of that period from the _Guardian_--Accomplishments of - a lady's-maid--Writings of Gay and Ben Jonson--Their remarks on - the "_bodice_" and "_stays_." - - -At the death of Louis XIV. and the accession of his successor, Louis -XV., in 1715, fashions ran into wonderful extremes and caprices. Hoops -became the rage, as did patches, paint, and marvellously high-heeled -shoes. The artistic skill of Watteau in depicting costume and devising -the attributes of the favourite fancy dresses of the time, led to -their adoption among the votaries of fashion. Shepherds who owned no -sheep were tricked out in satins, laces, and ribbons, and tripped it -daintily hand in hand with the exquisitely-dressed, slender-waisted -shepherdesses we see reproduced in Dresden china and the accompanying -illustration. Guitars tinkled beneath the trees of many a grove in the -pleasure-grounds of the fine old châteaux of France; fruit strewed on -the ground, costly wines in massive flagons, groups of gay gallants -and charming belles, such as the accompanying illustration represents, -engaged in love-making, music and flirtation, make up the scene on -which Watteau loved most to dwell, and which King Louis' gay subjects -were not slow in performing to the life, and the happy age of the poet -appeared all but realised:-- - - "There was once a golden time - When the world was in its prime-- - When every day was holiday, - And every shepherd learned to love." - -To carry out the everyday life of this dream world, no small amount -of sacrifice and labour was needed, and we are informed that over -twelve hundred hairdressers were in full occupation in Paris alone, -frizzing, curling, and arranging in a thousand and one fantastical -ways, hours being needed to perfect the head-gear of a lady of _ton_. -For the prevailing fashions of England we must step back a few years, -and glance at the latter portion of the reign of Queen Anne, at which -time we find the diminutive size of the waist in marked contrast to -the enormous dimensions of the hoop or farthingale, which reached such -a formidable size that numerous remonstrances appeared in the journals -of the day relative to it. The following letter complaining of the -grievance appeared in the _Guardian_ of July 22, 1713:-- - - "MR. GUARDIAN,--Your predecessor, the _Spectator_, - endeavoured, but in vain, to improve the charms of the - fair sex by exposing their dress whenever it launched into - extremities. Amongst the rest the great petticoat came under his - consideration, but in contradiction to whatever he has said, - they still resolutely persist in this fashion. The form of their - bottom is not, I confess, altogether the same, for whereas - before it was one of an orbicular make, they now look as if - they were pressed so that they seem to deny access to any part - but the middle. Many are the inconveniences that accrue to her - majesty's loving subjects from the said petticoats, as hurting - men's shins, sweeping down the ware of industrious females in - the street, &c. I saw a young lady fall down the other day, - and, believe me, sir, she very much resembled an overturned - bell without a clapper. Many other disasters I could tell you - of that befall themselves as well as others by means of this - unwieldy garment. I wish, Mr. Guardian, you would join with me - in showing your dislike of such a monstrous fashion, and I hope, - when the ladies see this, the opinion of two of the wisest men - in England, they will be convinced of their folly. - - "I am, sir, your daily reader and admirer, - - "TOM PAIN." - - [Illustration: COSTUMES AFTER WATTEAU.] - - [Illustration: CRINOLINE IN 1713.] - -The accompanying illustration will show that these remonstrances were -not without cause. - -The fashion of wearing extremely low dresses, with particularly short -skirts, also led to much correspondence and many strong remarks, which -are duly commented on by the editor of the _Guardian_, assisted by his -"_good old lady_," as he calls her, "the Lady Lizard." Thus he writes -on the subject under discussion:-- - - "_Editorial letter._ - - "GUARDIAN, _July 16, 1713_. - - "I am very well pleased with this approbation of my good - sisters. I must confess I have always looked on the 'tucker' - to be the _decus et tutamen_, the ornament and defence of the - female neck. My good old lady, the Lady Lizard, condemned this - fashion from the beginning, and has observed to me, with some - concern, that her sex at the same time they are letting down - their stays are tucking up their petticoats, which grow shorter - and shorter every day. The leg discovers itself in proportion - with the neck, but I may possibly take another occasion of - handling this extremity, it being my design to keep a watchful - eye over every part of the female sex, and to regulate them - from head to foot. In the meantime I shall fill up my paper - with a letter which comes to me from another of my obliged - correspondents." - -That these very low dresses were not alone worn in the house and -at assemblies, but were also occasionally seen on the promenades, -is shown by the following satirical appeal to the editor of the -journal from which we have just been quoting, and the accompanying -illustration represents the too-fascinating style of costume which -caused its writer so much concern:-- - - "_Wednesday, August 12, 1713._ - - "Notwithstanding your grave advice to the fair sex not to lay - the beauties of their necks so open, I find they mind you - so little that we young men are as much in danger as ever. - Yesterday, about seven in the evening, I took a walk with a - gentleman, just come to town, in a public walk. We had not - walked above two rounds when the spark on a sudden pretended - weariness, and as I importuned him to stay longer he turned - short, and, pointing out a celebrated beauty, 'What,' said he, - 'do you think I am made of, that I could bear the sight of such - snowy beauties? She is intolerably handsome.' Upon this we - parted, and I resolved to take a little more air in the garden, - yet avoid the danger, by casting my eyes downwards; but, to my - unspeakable surprise, discovered in the same fair creature the - finest ankle and prettiest foot that ever fancy imagined. If the - petticoats as well as the stays thus diminish, what shall we - do, dear Mentor? It is neither safe to look at the head nor the - feet of the charmer. Whither shall we direct our eyes? I need - not trouble you with my description of her, but I beg you would - consider that your wards are frail and mortal. - - "Your most obedient servant, - - "EPERNECTISES." - - [Illustration: LOW BODIES AND CURTAILED CRINOLINE.] - -There is no source, perhaps, from which a clearer view of the fashions -of this period, and mode of thought then entertained concerning them, -could be obtained than the antiquated journal we have just quoted -from. The opinions therein expressed, and the system of reasoning -adopted by some of the contributors to its columns, are so singularly -quaint that we cannot resist giving the reader the benefit of them. -The happy vein of philosophy possessed by the writer of the following -letter must have made the world a mere pleasure-garden, through which -he wandered at his own sweet will, "king of the universe:"-- - - "GUARDIAN, _Friday, May 8th, 1713_. - - "When I walk the streets I use the foregoing natural maxim - (viz., that he is the true possessor of a thing who enjoys it, - and not he that owns it without the enjoyment of it) to convince - myself that I have a property in the gay part of all the gilt - chariots that I meet, which I regard as amusements designed to - delight the eye and the imagination of those kind people who sit - in them gaily attired only to please me. I have a real and they - only an imaginary pleasure from their exterior embellishments. - Upon the same principle I have discovered that I am the natural - proprietor of all the diamond necklaces, the crosses and stars, - brocades and embroidered cloths which I see at a play or - birthnight, as giving more natural delight to the spectator than - to those who wear them; and I look on the beaux and ladies as - so many paroquets in an aviary, or tulips in a garden, designed - purely for my diversion. A gallery of pictures, a cabinet, or - library that I have free access to, I think my own. In a word, - all that I desire is the use of things, let who will have the - keeping of them. By which maxim I am growing one of the richest - men in Great Britain, with this difference, that I am not a prey - to my own cares or the envy of others." - -The reply to the foregoing letter by a lady of fashion, written with a -strong dash of satire, is equally curious in its way, as it shows the -great importance attached to a pleasing and attractive exterior:-- - - "_To the Editor of the_ GUARDIAN. - - "_Tuesday, May 19th, 1713._ - - "SIR,--I am a lady of birth and fortune, but never knew - till last Thursday that the splendour of my equipage was so - beneficial to my country. I will not deny that I have dressed - for some years out of the pride of my heart, but am very glad - that you have so far settled my conscience in that particular - that now I can look upon my vanities as so many virtues, since - I am satisfied that my person and garb give pleasure to my - fellow-creatures. I shall not think the three hours' business I - usually devote to my toilette below the dignity of a rational - soul. I am content to suffer great torment from my stays that - my shape may appear graceful to the eyes of others, and often - mortify myself with fasting rather than my fatness should give - distaste to any man in England. I am making up a rich brocade - for the benefit of mankind, and design in a little time to treat - the town with a thousand pounds' worth of jewellery. I have - ordered my chariot to be newly painted for your use and the - world's, and have prevailed upon my husband to present you with - a pair of Flanders mares, by driving them every evening round - the ring. Gay pendants for my ears, a costly cross for my neck, - a diamond of the best water for my finger shall be purchased, - at any rate, to enrich you, and I am resolved to be a patriot - in every limb. My husband will not scruple to oblige me in - these trifles, since I have persuaded him, from your scheme, - that pin-money is only so much money set for charitable uses. - You see, sir, how expensive you are to me, and I hope you will - esteem me accordingly, especially when I assure you that I am, - as far as you can see me, - - "Entirely yours, - - "CLEORA." - -The tight lacing and tremendously stiff corsets of the time were also -the subjects of satirical remark in some quarters, and were upheld in -others, as the two following letters, copied from the _Guardian_ of -1713, will show:-- - - "_Thursday, June 18th, 1713._ - - "SIR,--don't know at what nice point you fix the - bloom of a young lady, but I am one who can just look back on - fifteen. My father dying three years ago left me under the - care and direction of my mother, with a fortune not profusely - great, yet such as might demand a very handsome settlement - if ever proposals of marriage should be offered. My mother, - after the usual time of retired mourning was over, was so - affectionately indulgent to me as to take me along with her in - all her visits, but still, not thinking she gratified my youth - enough, permitted me further to go with my relatives to all - the publick cheerful but innocent entertainments, where she - was too reserved to appear herself. The two first years of my - teens were easy, gay, and delightful; every one caressed me, - the old ladies told me how finely I grew, and the young ones - were proud of my company; but when the third year had a little - advanced, my relations used to tell my mother that pretty Miss - Clarey was shot up into a woman. The gentlemen began now not - to let their eyes glance over me, and in most places I found - myself distinguished, but observed the more I grew into the - esteem of their sex, the more I lost the favour of my own; - some of those whom I had been familiar with grew cold and - indifferent; others mistook by design my meaning, made me speak - what I never thought, and so, by degrees, took occasion to - break off acquaintance. There were several little insignificant - reflections cast upon me, as being a lady of a great many - acquaintances, and such like, which I seemed not to take notice - of. But my mother coming home about a week ago, told me there - was a scandal spread about town by my enemies that would at once - ruin me for ever for a beauty. I earnestly intreated her to know - it; she refused me, but yesterday it discovered itself. Being in - an assembly of gentlemen and ladies, one of the gentlemen, who - had been very facetious to several of the ladies, at last turned - to me. 'And as for you, madam. Prior has already given us your - character:-- - - "'That air and harmony of shape express, - Fine by degrees and beautifully less.' - - "I perceived immediately a malignant smile display itself in the - countenance of some of the ladies, which they seconded with a - scornful flutter of the fan, till one of them, unable any longer - to contain herself, asked the gentleman if he did not remember - what Congreve said about Aurelia, for she thought it mighty - pretty. He made no answer, but instantly repeated the verses-- - - "'The Mulcibers who in the Minories sweat, - And massive bars on stubborn anvils beat, - Deformed themselves, yet forge those stays of steel, - Which arm Aurelia with a shape to kill.' - - "This was no sooner over but it was easily discernable what an - ill-natured satisfaction most of the company took, and the more - pleasure they showed by dwelling upon the two last lines, the - more they increased my trouble and confusion. And now, sir, - after this tedious account, what would you advise me to? Is - there no way to be cleared of these malicious calumnies? What - is beauty worth that makes the possessed thus unhappy? Why was - Nature so lavish of her gifts to me as to make her kindness - prove a cruelty? They tell me my shape is delicate, my eyes - sparkling, my lips I know not what, my cheeks, forsooth, adorned - with a just mixture of the rose and lillie; but I wish this face - was barely not disagreeable, this voice harsh and unharmonious, - these limbs only not deformed, and then perhaps I might live - easie and unmolested, and neither raise love and admiration in - the men, nor scandal and hatred in the women. - - "Your very humble servant, - - "CLARINA." - - "_Editor's Reply to Letter of Thursday, June 18th, 1713._ - - "The best answer I can make my fair correspondent is, that she - ought to comfort herself with this consideration, that those - who talk thus of her know it is false, but wish to make others - believe it is true. 'Tis not they think you deformed, but are - vexed that they themselves were not so nicely framed. If you - will take an old man's advice, laugh and not be concerned at - them; they have attained what they endeavoured if they make you - uneasie, for it is envy that has made them. I would not have you - with your shape one fiftieth part of an inch disproportioned, - nor desire your face might be impoverished with the ruin of - half a feature, though numbers of remaining beauties might make - the loss insensible; but take courage, go into the brightest - assemblies, and the world will quickly confess it to be scandal. - Thus Plato, hearing it was asserted by some persons that he was - a very bad man--'I shall take care,' said he, 'to live so that - nobody will believe them.'" - -The milliners and lady's-maids of the time were expected to fully -understand all matters relating to the training of the figure. - -A writer of this period, in speaking of the requisite accomplishments -of a mantua-maker, says--"She must know how to hide all the defects in -the proportions of the body, and must be able to mould the shape by -the stays so as to preserve the intestines, that while she corrects -the body she may not interfere with the pleasures of the palate." - -Some difference of opinion has existed as to the period at which the -word "stays" was first used to indicate an article of dress of the -nature of the corset or bodice. It is evident that the term must have -been perfectly familiar long anterior to 1713, as constant use is made -of it in the letters we have just given. Gay, who wrote about 1720, -also avails himself of it in _The Toilette_-- - - "I own her taper form is made to please, - Yet if you saw her unconfined by _stays_!" - -The word "boddice," or "bodice," was not unfrequently spelt _bodies_ -by old authors, amongst whom may be mentioned Ben Jonson, who wrote -about 1600, and mentions - - "The whalebone man - That quilts the _bodies_ I have leave to span." - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - General use of the word "stays" after 1600 in England--Costume - of the court of Louis XVI.--Dress in 1776--The formidable - stays and severe constriction then had recourse to--The stays - drawn by Hogarth--Dress during the French revolutionary - period--Short waists and long trains--Writings of - Buchan--_Jumpers_ and "_Garibaldis_"--Return to the old - practice of tight-lacing--Training of figures: backboards - and stocks--Medical evidence in favour of stays--Fashion - in the reign of George III.--Stays worn habitually by - gentlemen--General use of Corsets for boys on the Continent--The - officers of Gustavus Adolphus--The use of the Corset for - youths: a letter from a gentleman on the subject of--Evidence - regarding the wearing of Corsets by gentlemen of the present - day--Remarks on the changes of fashion--The term "Crinoline" - not new--Crinoline among the South Sea Islanders--Remarks of - Madame La Sante on Crinoline and slender waists--Abstinence - from food as an assistance to the Corset--Anecdote from the - _Traditions of Edinburgh_--The custom of wearing Corsets during - sleep, its growing prevalence in schools and private families: - letters relating to--The belles of the United States and their - "_illusion waists_"--Medical evidence in favour of moderately - tight lacing--Letters from ladies who have been subjected to - tight-lacing. - - -For some considerable period of time we find stays much more -frequently spoken of than corsets in the writings of English -authors, but their use continued to be as general and their form of -construction just as unyielding as ever, both at home and abroad. -The costume worn at the court of Louis XVI., of which the following -illustration will give an idea, depended mainly for its completeness -on the form of the stays, over which the elaborately-finished body -of the dress was made to fit without fold or crease, forming a sort -of bodice, which in many instances was sewn on to the figure of the -wearer after the stays had been laced to their extreme limit. The -towering headdress and immensely wide and distended skirt gave to -the figure an additional appearance of tenuity, as we have seen when -describing similar contrivances in former times. Most costly laces -were used for the sleeves, and the dress itself was often sumptuously -brocaded and ornamented with worked wreaths and flowers. High-heeled -shoes were not wanting to complete the rather astounding toilet -of 1776. For many years before this time, and, in fact, from the -commencement of the eighteenth century, it had been the custom for -staymakers, in the absence of any other material strong and unyielding -enough to stand the wear and tension brought to bear on their wares, -to employ a species of leather known as "_bend_," which was not unlike -that used for shoe-soles, and measured very nearly a quarter of an -inch in thickness. The stays made from this were very long-waisted, -forming a narrow conical case, in the most circumscribed portion of -which the waist was closely laced, so that the figure was made upright -to a degree. Many of Hogarth's figures, who wear the stays of his time -(1730), are erect and remarkably slender-waisted. Such stays as he has -drawn are perfectly straight in cut, and are filled with stiffening -and bone. - - [Illustration: COURT DRESS OF THE REIGN OF LOUIS XVI.] - - [Illustration: CLASSIC COSTUME OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY - PERIOD.] - -In 1760 we find a strong disposition manifested to adopt the so-called -classic style of costume. During the French revolutionary movement -and in the reign of the First Napoleon, the ladies endeavoured -to copy the costume of Ancient Greece, and in 1797 were about as -successful in their endeavours as young ladies at fancy dress balls -usually are in personating mermaids or fairy queens. The annexed -illustration represents the classic style of that period. For several -years the ladies of England adopted much the same style of costume, -and resorted to loose bodies--if bodies they might be called--long -trains, and waists so short that they began and ended immediately -under the armpits. The following illustration represents a lady of -1806. Buchan, in writing during this short-waisted, long-trained -period, congratulates himself and society at large on the fact of "the -old strait waistcoats of whalebone," as he styles them, falling into -disuse. Not long after this the laws of fashion became unsettled, as -they periodically have done for ages, and the lines written by an -author who wrote not long after might have been justly applied to the -changeable tastes of this transition period:-- - - "Now a shape in neat stays, - Now a slattern in jumps," - -these "jumps" being merely loose short jackets, very much like those -worn under the name of "_jumpers_" at the present day by shipwrights -and some other artificers. The form of the modern "Garibaldi" appears -to have been borrowed from this. The reign of relaxation seems to have -been of a comparatively short duration indeed, as we see by the remark -made by Buchan's son, who edited a new edition of his father's work, -_Advice to Mothers_, and an appendix to it:--"Small" (says he) "is the -confidence to be placed in the permanent effects of fashion. Had the -author lived till the present year (1810), he would have witnessed the -fashion of tight lacing revived with a degree of fury and prevailing -to an extent which he could form no conception of, and which posterity -will not credit. Stays are now composed, not of whalebone, indeed, or -hardened leather, but of bars of iron and steel from three to four -inches broad, and many of them not less than eighteen in length." -The same author informs us that it was by no means uncommon to see -"A mother lay her daughter down upon the carpet, and, placing her -foot on her back, break half-a-dozen laces in tightening her stays." -Those who advocate the use of the corset as being indispensable to the -female toilet have much reason on their side when they insist that -these temporary freaks of fancy for loose and careless attire only -call for infinitely more rigid and severe constriction after they (as -they invariably have done) pass away, than if the regular training of -the figure had been systematically carried out by the aid of corsets -of ordinary power. In a period certainly not much over thirty years, -the old-established standard of elegance, "the span," was again -established for waist measurement. Strutt, whose work was published -in 1796, informs us that in his own time he remembers it to have been -said of young women, in proof of the excellence of their shape, that -you might _span their waists_, and he also speaks of having seen a -singing girl at the Italian Opera whose waist was laced to such an -excessive degree of smallness that it was painful to look at her. - - [Illustration: LADY OF FASHION, 1806.] - -Pope, in the _Challenge_, in speaking of the improved charms of a -beauty of the court of George II., clearly shows in what high esteem a -slender figure was held. As a bit of acceptable news, he says-- - - "Tell Pickenbourg how _slim_ she's grown." - -There is abundant evidence to show that no ordinary amount of -management and training was had recourse to then, as now, for reducing -the waists of those whose figures had been neglected to the required -standard of fashionable perfection, and that those who understood -the art were somewhat chary in conferring the benefit of it. In a -poem entitled the _Bassit Table_, attributed to Lady M. W. Montagu, -Similinda, in exposing the ingratitude of a rival beauty, exclaims-- - - "She owes to me the very charms she wears-- - An awkward thing when first she came to town, - _Her shape unfashioned_ and her face unknown; - I introduced her to the park and plays, - And by my interest _Cozens made her stays_." - -A favour in those days no doubt well worthy of gratitude and due -consideration. - -About this time it was the custom of some fashionable staymakers -to sew a narrow, stiff, curved bar of steel along the upper edge -of the stays, which, extending back to the shoulders on each side, -effectually kept them back, and rendered the use of shoulder-straps -superfluous. The slightest tendency to stoop was at once corrected -by the use of the backboard, which was strapped flat against the -back of the waist and shoulders, extending up the back of the neck, -where a steel ring covered with leather projected to the front -and encircled the throat. The young lady of fashion undergoing the -then system of boarding-school training enjoyed no bed of roses, -especially if unblessed on the score of slenderness. A hard time -indeed must an awkward, careless girl have had of it, incased in -stiff, tightly-laced stays, backboard on back, and feet in stocks. -She simply had to improve or suffer, and probably did both. It is -singular and noteworthy that although so many of the older authors -give stays the credit of constantly producing spinal curvature, -an able writer on the subject of the present day should make this -unqualified assertion:--"To some, stays may have been injurious; fewer -evils, so far as my experience goes, have arisen from them than from -other causes." It is well known that ladies of the eighteenth century -did not suffer from spinal disease in the proportion of those of -the nineteenth, which might arise in some degree from the system of -education; but some highly-educated women of that period were elegant -and graceful figures, and it is well known they generally wore stiff -stays, though their make, it must be admitted, was less calculated to -injure the figure than many of those of the present day. - -The author we have just quoted goes on to say--"Mr. Walker, in -ridiculing the practice of wearing stays, has chosen a very homely -and not very correct illustration of the human figure. 'The uppermost -pair of ribs,' says he, 'which lie just at the bottom of the neck, are -very short. The next pair are rather longer, the third longer still, -and thus they go on increasing in length to the seventh pair, or last -true ribs, after which the length diminishes, but without materially -contracting the size of the cavity, because the false ribs only go -round a part of the body. Hence the chest has a sort of conical shape, -or it may be compared to a common beehive, the narrow pointed end -being next the neck, and the broad end undermost; the natural form of -the chest, in short, is just the reverse of the fashionable shape of -the waist; the latter is narrow below and wide above, the former is -narrow above and wide below.' Surely, when the idea struck him, he -must have been gazing on a living skeleton, uncovered with muscle. -After reading his observations, I took the measure of a well-formed -little girl, seven years of age, who had never worn stays, and found -the circumference of the bust just below the shoulders one inch and -a-half larger than at the lower part of the waist." The views of the -author just quoted seem to be borne out by the researches of a French -physician of high standing who has paid much attention to the subject. -He positively asserts that "_Corsets cannot be charged with causing -deviation of the vertebral column_." - -After the period referred to by Buchan's son, when tight-lacing was so -rigorously revived, we see no diminution of it, and towards the end of -George III.'s reign, gentlemen, as well as ladies, availed themselves -of the assistance of the corset-maker. Advertising tailors of the time -freely advertised their "Codrington corsets" and "Petersham stiffners" -for gentlemen of fashion, much as the "Alexandra corset," or "the -Empress's own stay," is brought to the notice of the public at the -present day. Soemmering informs us that as long ago as 1760, "It was -the fashion in Berlin, and also in Holland a few years before, to -apply corsets to children, and many families might be named in which -parental fondness selected the handsomest of several boys to put in -corsets." In France, Russia, Austria, and Germany, this practice has -been decidedly on the increase since that time, and lads intended for -the army are treated much after the manner of young ladies, and are -almost as tightly laced. It is related of Prince de Ligne and Prince -Kaunitz that they were invariably incased in most expensively-made -satin corsets, the former wearing black and the latter white. Dr. -Doran, in writing of the officers of the far-famed "Lion of the -North," Gustavus Adolphus, says, "They were the tightest-laced -exquisites of suffering humanity." The worthy doctor, like many others -who have written on the subject, inseparably associates the habitual -wearing of corsets with extreme suffering; but the gentlemen who, like -the ladies, have been subjected to the full discipline of the corset, -not only emphatically deny that it has caused them any injury, and, -beyond the inconvenience experienced on adopting any new article of -attire, little uneasiness, but, on the contrary, maintain that the -sensations associated with the confirmed practice of tight-lacing are -so agreeable that those who are once addicted to it rarely abandon the -practice. The following letter to the _Englishwoman's Magazine_ of -November, 1867, from a gentleman who was educated in Vienna, will show -this:-- - - "MADAM,--May I be permitted for once to ask admission - to your 'Conversazione,' and to plead as excuse for my - intrusion that I am really anxious to indorse your fair - correspondent's (Belle's) assertion that it is those who know - nothing practically of the corset who are most vociferous in - condemning it? Strong-minded women who have never worn a pair - of stays, and gentlemen blinded by hastily-formed prejudice, - alike anathematise an article of dress of the good qualities of - which they are utterly ignorant, and which consequently they - cannot appreciate. On a subject of so much importance as regards - comfort (to say nothing of the question of elegance, scarcely - less important on a point of feminine costume), no amount of - theory will ever weigh very heavily when opposed to practical - experience. - - "The proof of the pudding is a proverb too true not to be acted - on in such a case. To put the matter to actual test, can any of - the opponents of the corset honestly state that they have given - up stays after having fairly tried them, except in compliance - with the persuasions or commands of friends or medical advisers, - who seek in the much-abused corset a convenient first cause for - an ailment that baffles their skill? 'The Young Lady Herself' - (a former correspondent) does not complain of either illness - or pain, even after the first few months; while, on the other - hand, Staylace, Nora, and Belle bring ample testimony, both - of themselves and their schoolfellows, as to the comfort and - pleasure of tight-lacing. To carry out my first statement as to - the truth of Belle's remark, those of the opposite sex who, - either from choice or necessity, have adopted this article - of attire, are unanimous in its praise; while even among an - assemblage of opponents a young lady's elegant figure is - universally admired while the cause is denounced. From personal - experience, I beg to express a decided and unqualified approval - of corsets. I was early sent to school in Austria, where lacing - is not considered ridiculous in a gentleman as in England, and - I objected in a thoroughly English way when the doctor's wife - required me to be laced. I was not allowed any choice, however. - A sturdy _mädchen_ was stoically deaf to my remonstrances, and - speedily laced me up tightly in a fashionable Viennese corset. - I presume my impressions were not very different from those of - your lady correspondents. I felt ill at ease and awkward, and - the daily lacing tighter and tighter produced inconvenience - and absolute pain. In a few months, however, I was as anxious - as any of my ten or twelve companions to have my corsets laced - as tightly as a pair of strong arms could draw them. It is - from no feeling of vanity that I have ever since continued - to wear them, for, not caring to incur ridicule, I take good - care that my dress shall not betray me, but I am practically - convinced of the comfort and pleasantness of tight-lacing, and - thoroughly agree with Staylace that the sensation of being - tightly laced in an elegant, well-made, tightly-fitting pair - of corsets is superb. There is no other word for it. I have - dared this avowal because I am thoroughly ashamed of the idle - nonsense that is being constantly uttered on this subject in - England. The terrors of hysteria, neuralgia, and, above all, - consumption, are fearlessly promised to our fair sisters if - they dare to disregard preconceived opinions, while, on the - other hand, some medical men are beginning slowly to admit that - they cannot conscientiously support the extravagant assertions - of former days. '_Stay torture_,' '_whalebone vices_,' and - 'corset screws' are very terrible and horrifying things upon - paper, but when translated into _coutil_ or satin they wear a - different appearance in the eyes of those most competent to - give an opinion. That much perfectly unnecessary discomfort - and inconvenience is incurred by the purchasers of ready-made - corsets is doubtless true. The waist measure being right, the - chest, where undue constriction will naturally produce evil - effects, is very generally left to chance. If, then, the wearer - suffers, who is to blame but herself? - - "The remark echoed by nearly all your correspondents, that - ladies have the remedy in their own hands by having their - stays made to measure, is too self-evident for me to wish to - enlarge upon it; but I do wish to assert and insist that, if - a corset allows sufficient room in the chest, the waist may - be laced as tightly as the wearer desires without fear of - evil consequences; and, further, that the ladies themselves - who have given tight-lacing a fair trial, and myself and - schoolfellows converted against our will, are the only jury - entitled to pronounce authoritatively on the subject, and that - the comfortable support and enjoyment afforded by a well-laced - corset quite overbalances the theoretical evils that are so - confidently prophesied by outsiders. - - "WALTER." - -Since it has become a custom to send lads from England to the -Continent for education, many of them adhere to the use of the corset -on their return, and of the use of this article of attire among the -rising generation of the gentlemen of this country there can be no -doubt; we are informed by one of the leading corset-makers in London -that it is by no means unusual to receive the orders of gentlemen, not -for the manufacture of the belts so commonly used in horse-exercise, -but veritable corsets, strongly boned, steeled, and made to lace -behind in the usual way--not, as the corset-maker assured us, from any -feeling of vanity on the part of the wearers, who so arranged their -dresses that no one would even suspect that they wore corsets beneath -them, but simply because they had become accustomed to tight-lacing, -and were fond of it. So it will be seen that the fair sex are not the -only corset-wearers. - - [Illustration: FASHIONABLE DRESS IN 1824.] - - [Illustration: LADY OF FASHION, 1827.] - -During 1824, it will be seen by the accompanying illustration that -fashion demanded the contour of the figure should be fully defined, -and the absence of any approach to fullness about the skirt below -the waist led to the use of very tight stays, in order that there -might be some contrast in the outline of the figure. This style of -dress, with slight modifications, remained in fashion for several -years. In 1827, the dress, as will be seen on reference to the annexed -illustration, had changed but little; but three years, or thereabouts, -worked a considerable change, and we see, in 1830, sleeves of the -most formidable size, hats to match, short skirts, and long slender -waists the rage again. A few years later the skirts had assumed a -much wider spread; the sleeves of puffed-out pattern were discarded. -The waist took its natural position, and was displayed to the best -advantage by the expansion of drapery below it, as will be seen on -reference to the annexed cut. The term "crinoline" is by no means a -new one, and long before the hooped petticoats with which the fashions -of the last few years have made us so familiar, the horsehair cloth, -so much used for distending the skirts of dresses, was commonly known -by that name. It is not our intention here to enter on a description -of the almost endless forms which from time to time this adjunct -to ladies' dress has assumed. Whether the idea of its construction -was first borrowed from certain savage tribes it is difficult to -determine. That a very marked and unmistakable form of it existed -amongst the natives of certain of the South Sea Islands at their -discovery by the early navigators, the curious cut, representing a -native belle, will show, and there is no doubt that, although the -dress of the savage is somewhat different in its arrangement from -that of the European lady of fashion, the object sought by the use -of a wide-spread base to the form is the same. Madame La Sante, -in writing on the subject, says--"Every one must allow that the -expanding skirts of a dress, springing out immediately below the -waist, materially assist by contrast in making the waist look small -and slender. It is, therefore, to be hoped that now that crinoline -no longer assumes absurd dimensions, it will long continue to hold -its ground." The same author, in speaking of the prevailing taste -for slender waists, thus writes:--"We have seen that for many hundred -years a slender figure has been considered a most attractive female -charm, and there is nothing to lead us to suppose that a taste which -appears to be implanted in man's very nature will ever cease to render -the acquisition of a small waist an object of anxious solicitude -with those who have the care of the young." For several years this -solicitude has been decidedly on the increase, and many expedients -which were had recourse to in ancient days for reducing the waist -to exceeding slenderness, are, we shall see as we proceed, in full -operation. - -A very sparing diet has, as we have already seen, from the days of -Terentius, been one great aid to the operation of the corset. - -There is a very quaint account to be found in the _Traditions of -Edinburgh_ bearing on this dieting system. An elderly lady of fashion, -who appears to have lived in Scotland during the early part of the -last century, was engaged on the formation of the figures of her -daughters, stinted meals and tight corsets worn day and night being -some of the means made use of; but it is related that a certain -cunning and evil-minded cook, whose coarse mind only ran on the -pleasure of the appetite, used to creep stealthily in the dead of -night to the chamber in which the young ladies slept, unlace their -stays, and let them feed heartily on the strictly-prohibited dainties -of the pantry; grown rash by impunity, she one night ventured -to attempt running the blockade with hot roast goose, but three -fatal circumstances combined against the success of the dangerous -undertaking. In the first place, the savoury perfume arising from hot -roast goose was penetrating to an alarming degree; in the second, the -old lady, as ill-luck would have it, happened to be awake, and, worse -than all, had no snuff, so smelt goose. The scene which followed the -capture of the illicit cargo and the detection of the culprit cook can -be much more easily imagined than described. - - [Illustration: LADY OF FASHION, 1830.] - - [Illustration: LADY OF FASHION, 1837.] - -The custom of wearing the corset by night as well as by day, above -referred to, although partially discontinued for some time, is -becoming general again. About the commencement of the last century the -custom was much advocated and followed in France, and it is said to -reduce and form the figure much more rapidly than any system of lacing -by day only could bring about. - -A French author of the period referred to says--"Many mothers who have -an eye to the main chance, through an excess of zeal, or rather from -a strange fear, condemn their daughters to wear corsets night and -day, lest the interruption of their use should hinder their project -of procuring for them fine waists." That ladies are fully aware of -the potent influences of the practice, the following letter to the -_Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine_ will show:-- - - "As several of your correspondents have remarked, the - personal experience of those who have for a number of years - worn tight-fitting corsets can alone enable a clear and fair - judgment to be pronounced upon their use. Happening to have had - what I believe you will admit to be an unusual experience of - tight-lacing, I trust you will allow me to tell the story of - my younger days. Owing to the absence of my parents in India, - I was allowed to attain the age of fourteen before any care - was bestowed upon my figure; but their return home fortunately - saved me from growing into a clumsy, inelegant girl; for - my mamma was so shocked at my appearance that she took the - unusual plan of making me sleep in my corset. For the first - few weeks I occasionally felt considerable discomfort, owing, - in a great measure, to not having worn stays before, and also - to their extreme tightness and stiffness. Yet, though I was - never allowed to slacken them before retiring to rest, they did - not in the least interfere with my sleep, nor produce any ill - effects whatever. I may mention that my mamma, fearing that, - at so late an age, I should have great difficulty in securing - a presentable figure, considered ordinary means insufficient, - and consequently had my corsets filled with whalebone and - furnished with shoulder-straps, to cure the habit of stooping - which I had contracted. The busk, which was nearly inflexible, - was not front-fastening, and the lace being secured in a hard - knot behind and at the top, effectually prevented any attempt - on my part to unloose my stays. Though I have read lately of - this plan having been tried with advantage, I believe it is - as yet an unusual one, and as the testimony of one who has - undergone it without the least injury to health cannot fail to - be of value in proving that the much less severe system usually - adopted must be even less likely to do harm, I am sure you will - do me and your numerous readers the favour of inserting this - letter in your most entertaining and valuable magazine. I am - delighted to see the friends of the corset muster so strong - at the 'Englishwoman's Conversazione.' What is most required, - however, are the personal experiences of the ladies themselves, - and not mere treatises on tight-lacing by those who, like your - correspondent Brisbane, have never tried it. - - "MIGNONETTE." - -Another correspondent to the same journal (signing herself -"Débutante") writes in the number for November, 1867, as follows:-- - -"Mignonette's case is not an '_unusual_' one. She has just finished -her education at a 'West-End school' where the system was strictly -enforced. As she entered as a pupil at the age of thirteen and was -very slender, she was fitted on her arrival with a corset, which -could be drawn close without the extreme tightness found necessary -in Mignonette's case. They did not open in front, and were fastened -by the under-governess in such a manner that any attempt to unlace -them during the night would be immediately detected at the morning's -inspection. After the first week or two she felt no discomfort or -pain of any kind, though, as she was still growing, her stays became -proportionately tighter, but owing to her figure never being allowed -to enlarge during the nine or ten hours of sleep, as is usually the -case, this was almost imperceptible." - - [Illustration: THE CRINOLINE OF A SOUTH SEA ISLANDER.] - -Madame La Sante also refers to the custom as being much more general -than is commonly supposed. She says--"Several instances of this system -in private families have lately come to my own knowledge, and I am -acquainted with more than one fashionable school in the neighbourhood -of London where the practice is made a rule of the establishment. Such -a method is doubtlessly resorted to from a sense of duty, and those -girls who have been subjected to this discipline, and with whom I have -had an opportunity of conversing, say that for the first few months -the uneasiness by the continued compression was very considerable, -but that after a time they became so accustomed to it that they felt -reluctant to discontinue the practice." In the United States of -America the ladies often possess figures of remarkable slenderness and -elegance, and the term "_illusion_" is not unfrequently applied to a -waist of more than ordinary taperness. In a great number of instances -the custom above referred to would be found to have mainly contributed -to its original formation. The way in which doctors disagree on -matters relating to the corset question is most remarkable. - -The older writers, as we have seen, launched out in the most sweeping -and condemnatory manner against almost every article of becoming or -attractive attire. Corsets were most furiously denounced, and had the -qualities which were gravely attributed to them been one-thousandth -part as deadly as they were represented, the civilised world would -long ere this have been utterly depopulated. When we find such -diseases and ailments as the following attributed by authors of -supposed talent to the use of the corset, we are no longer surprised -at remarks and strictures emanating from similar sources meeting with -ridicule and derision: "hooping-cough, obliquity of vision, polypus, -apoplexy, stoppage of the nose, pains in the eyes, and earache" are -all laid at the door of the stays. We are rather surprised that large -ears and wooden legs were not added to the category, as they might -have been with an equal show of reason. Medical writers of the present -day are beginning to take a totally different view of the matter, as -the following letter from a surgeon of much experience will show:-- - - "My attention has just been directed to an interesting and - important discussion in your magazine on the subject of corsets, - and I have been urged as a medical man to give my opinion - regarding them. Under these circumstances I trust you will - allow me to attend the 'Englishwoman's Conversazione' for once, - as medical men are supposed to be the great opponents of the - corset. It is no doubt true that those medical men who studied - for their profession some thirty or forty years ago are still - prejudiced against this elegant article of female dress, for - stays were very different things even then to what they are - now. The medical works, too, which they studied were written - years before, and spoke against the buckram and iron stays of - the last century. The name 'stays,' however, being still used - at the present time, the same odium still attaches to them - in the minds of physicians of the old school. But the rising - generation of doctors are free from these prejudices, and - fairly judge the light and elegant corsets of the present day - on their own merits. In short, it is now generally admitted, - and I, for one, freely allow, that moderate compression of - the waist by well-made corsets is far from being injurious. - It is really absurdly illogical for the opponents of the - corset to bring forward quotations from medical writers of - the last century, for the animadversions of Soemmering are - still quoted. Let us, however, merely look at facts as they at - present stand; statistics prove that there are several thousand - more women than men in the United Kingdom. A statement in the - Registrar-General's Report of a few years since has been brought - forward to prove that corsets produce an enormous mortality from - consumption, but these would-be benefactors of the fair sex - omit to state how many males die from that disease. If there be - any preponderance of deaths among women from consumption, the - cause may easily be found in the low dress, the thin shoes, and - the sedentary occupations in close rooms, without attributing - the blame to the corset. Dr. Walshe, in his well-known work - on diseases of the lungs, distinctly asserts that corsets - cannot be accused of causing consumption. With regard to spinal - curvature, a disease which has been connected by some writers - with the use of stays, an eminent French physician, speaking of - corsets, says--'They cannot be charged with causing deviations - of the vertebral column.' Let us, then, hear no more nonsense - about the terrible consequences of wearing corsets, at all - events till the ladies return to the buckram and iron of our - great-grandmothers. Your fair readers may rest assured that what - is said against stays at the present day is merely the lingering - echo of prejudice, and is quite inapplicable now-a-days to the - light and elegant production of the scientific _corsetière_. As - a medical man (and not one of the old school) I feel perfectly - justified in saying that ladies who are content with a moderate - application of the corset may secure that most elegant female - charm, a slender waist", without fear of injury to health. - - "MEDICUS." - -A great number of ladies who, by the systematic use of the corset, -have had their waists reduced to the fashionable standard, are to -be constantly met in society. The great majority declare that they -have in no way suffered in health from the treatment they had been -subjected to. _Vide_ the following letter from the _Queen_ of July 18, -1863:-- - - "MADAM,--As I have for a long time been a constant - reader of the _Lady's Journal_, I venture to ask you if you, - or any of your valuable correspondents, will kindly tell me - if it is true that small waists are again coming into fashion - generally? I am aware that they cannot be said to have gone - out of fashion altogether, for one often sees very slender - figures; but I think during the last few years they have been - less thought of than formerly. I have heard, however, from - several sources, and by the public prints, that they are again - to be _La Mode_. Now I fortunately possess a figure which will, - I hope, satisfy the demand of fashion in this respect. What - is the smallest-sized waist that one can have? Mine is sixteen - and a-half inches, and, I have heard, is considered small. I - do not believe what is said against the corset, though I admit - that if a girl is an invalid, or has a very tender constitution, - too sudden a reduction of the waist may be injurious. With a - waist which is, I believe, considered small, I can truly say - I have good health. If all that was said against the corset - were true, how is it so many ladies live to an advanced age? A - friend of mine has lately died at the age of eighty-six, who has - frequently told me anecdotes of how in her young days she was - laced cruelly tight, and at the age of seventeen had a waist - fifteen inches. Yet she was eighty-six when she died. I know - that it has been so long the habit of public journals to take - their example from medical men (who, I contend, are not the best - judges in the matter) in running down the corset, and the very - legitimate, and, if properly employed, harmless mode of giving - a graceful slenderness to the figure, that I can hardly expect - that at present you will have courage to take the part of the - ladies. But I beg you to be so kind as to tell me what you know - of the state of the fashion as regards the length and size of - the waist, and whether my waist would be considered small. Also - what is the smallest-sized waist known among ladies of fashion. - By doing this in an early number you will very much oblige, - - "Yours, &c., - - "CONSTANCE." - -The foregoing letter was followed on the 25th of the same month by one -from another correspondent to the same paper, fully bearing out the -truth of the view therein contained, and at the same time showing the -system adopted in many of the French finishing schools:-- - - "MADAM,--As a constant reader of your - highly-interesting and valuable paper, I have ventured to reply - to a letter under the above heading from your correspondent - Constance, contained in your last week's impression. In reply - to her first question, there is little doubt, I think, that - slender and long waists will ere long be _la mode_. Ladies - of fashion here who are fortunate enough to possess such - enviable and graceful attractions, take most especial care by - the arrangement of their toilets to show them off to the very - best advantage. A waist of sixteen and a-half-inches would, I - am of opinion, be considered, for a lady of fair average size - and stature, small enough to satisfy even the most exacting - of Fashion's votaries. The question as to how small one's - waist can be is rather hard to answer, and I am not aware - that any standard has yet been laid down on the subject, - but an application to any of our fashionable corset-makers - for the waist measurement of the smallest sizes made would - go far to clear the point up. Many of the corsets worn at - our late brilliant assemblies were about the size of your - correspondent's, and some few, I have been informed, even less. - I beg to testify most fully to the truth of the remarks made by - Constance as to the absurdly-exaggerated statements (evidently - made by persons utterly ignorant of the whole matter) touching - the dreadfully injurious effects of the corset on the female - constitution. My own, and a wide range of other experiences, - leads me to a totally different conclusion, and I fully believe - that, except in cases of confirmed disease or bad constitution, - a well-made and nicely-fitting corset inflicts no more injury - than a tight pair of gloves. Up to the age of fifteen I was - educated at a small provincial school, was suffered to run as - nearly wild as could well be, and grew stout, indifferent and - careless as to personal appearance, dress, manners, or any of - their belongings. Family circumstances and change of fortune at - this time led my relatives to the conclusion that my education - required a continental finish. Advantage was therefore taken of - the protection offered by some friends about to travel, and I - was, with well-filled trunks and a great deal of good advice, - packed off to a highly-genteel and fashionable establishment - for young ladies, situated in the suburbs of Paris. The morning - after my arrival I was aroused by the clang of the 'morning - bell.' I was in the act of commencing a hurried and by no means - an elaborate toilet, when the under-governess, accompanied by a - brisk, trim little woman, the bearer of a long cardboard case, - made their appearance; corsets of various patterns, as well as - silk laces of most portentous length, were at once produced, and - a very short time was allowed to elapse before my experiences - in the art and mystery of tight-lacing may be fairly said to - have commenced. My dresses were all removed, in order that the - waists should be taken in and the make altered; a frock was - borrowed for me for the day, and from that hour I was subjected - to the strict and rigid system of lacing in force through the - whole establishment, no relaxation of its discipline being - allowed during the day on any pretence whatever. For the period - (nearly three years) I remained as a pupil, I may say that my - health was excellent, as was that of the great majority of my - young companions in 'bondage,' and on taking my departure I - had grown from a clumsy girl to a very smart young lady, and - my waist was exactly seven inches less than on the day of my - arrival. From Paris I proceeded at once to join my relatives in - the island of Mauritius, and on my arrival in the isle sacred - to the memories of Paul and Virginia, I found the reign of - 'Queen Corset' most arbitrary and absolute, but without in any - way that I could discover interfering with either the health - or vivacity of her exceedingly attractive and pretty subjects. - Before concluding, and whilst on the subject, a few words on - the 'front-fastening corset,' now so generally worn, may not - come amiss. After a thorough trial I have finally abandoned its - use, as being imperfect and faulty in every way, excepting the - very doubtful advantage of being a little more quickly put on - and off. Split up and open at the front as they are, and only - fastening here and there, the whole of the compactness and - stability so highly important in this part, of all others, of a - corset is all but lost, whilst the ordinary steel busk secures - these conditions, to the wearing out of the material of which - the corset is composed. The long double-looped round lace used - is, I consider, by no means either as neat, secure, or durable - as a flat plaited silk lace of good quality. Trusting these - remarks and replies may prove such as required by Constance, I - beg to subscribe myself, - - "FANNY." - -Another lady writing to the _Queen_ on the same subject in the month -of August has a waist under sixteen inches in circumference, as will -be seen by the annexed letter, and yet she declares her health to be -uninjured:-- - - "DEAR MADAM,--I have read with interest the letters of - Constance and Fanny on the subject of slender waists. It is so - much the fashion among medical men to cry down tight-lacing that - advocates are very daring who venture to uphold the practice. - It has ever been in vogue among our sex, and will, I maintain, - always continue so long as elegant figures are admired, for the - wearing of corsets produces a grace and slenderness which nature - never gives, and if the corset is discontinued or relaxed, the - figure at once becomes stout and loose. The dress fits better - over a close-laced corset, and the fullness of the skirts, and - ease of its folds, are greatly enhanced by the slenderness of - the waist. My own waist is under sixteen inches. I have always - enjoyed good health. Why, then, if the practice of tight-lacing - is not prejudicial to the constitution of all its votaries, - should we be debarred from the means of improving our appearance - and attaining an elegant and graceful figure? I quite agree - with Fanny respecting the front-fastening corset. I consider - it objectionable. The figure can never be so neat or slender - as in an ordinary well-laced corset. May I inquire what has - become of your correspondent Mary Blackbraid? Her partialities - for gloves and wigs brought upon her severe remarks from your - numerous correspondents. I agree with her in the glove question, - and always wear them as much as possible in the house. I find - they keep the hands cooler, and in my opinion there is no - such finish to the appearance as a well-gloved hand. Where I - am now staying the ladies invariably wear them, and I have - heard gentlemen express their admiration of the practice. I - have worn them to sleep in for some years, and never found any - inconvenience. Pardon me trespassing so much on your space, but - your interesting paper is the only one open to our defence from - the strictures of the over-particular. - - "ELIZA." - -The following letter from the columns of the _Queen_ contains much -matter bearing immediately on the subject, and will no doubt be of -interest to the reader:-- - - "MADAM,--I am sure your numerous readers will thank - you for your kindness in publishing so impartially the - correspondence you have received on the subject of the corset, - and as the question is one of great importance, and moreover one - on which much difference of opinion seems to exist, I trust you - will continue to give us the benefit of your correspondents' - remarks. - - "When I read the very _àpropos_ letter of Constance, and the - excellent letter of Fanny in reply, I was quite prepared to see - in your last number some strong expressions of opinion against - this most becoming fashion; but I think that they, as well as - Eliza, need not be discouraged by the formidable opposition - they have met with, and I beg you will afford me space for a - few lines, in order to refute the arguments of the anti-corset - party, in your valuable journal. - - "Much as I, in common with all your readers, delight in reading - Mr. Frank Buckland's articles, I really cannot agree with him - in his view of the subject. In the first place, I really must - question his authority in the matter, for I am convinced that - it is only those who have experienced the comfortable support - afforded by a well-made corset who are entitled to pronounce - their opinion. What can Mr. Buckland, or any one not of the - corset-wearing sex, know of the practical operation of this - indispensable article of female attire? I will not attempt so - arduous a task as that of disproving all that Mr. Combe and - his professional brethren have written against tight-lacing; - I am even willing to admit that there may be persons so - constituted that the attainment of a graceful slenderness would - be injurious; but these are the exceptions, not the rule. The - remarks of the faculty are founded principally on theory, backed - up by an occasional case which might very often be referred - to some other cause with equal justice. But who does not know - that practice often belies theory, or that theory is frequently - at fault? Slender waists have been in fashion for several - hundred years, and for the purposes of my argument I will refer - to a period thirty or forty years ago. No one then thought - of questioning the absolute necessity of attaining a slender - figure by the instrumentality of the corset. If, let me ask Mr. - Buckland and your other correspondents, theory be true that - torture and death are the result, how does it happen not only - that there are millions of healthy middle-aged ladies among us - now, but that the female population actually exceeds the male? - By what wonderful means have they continued to exist and enjoy - such perfect health, while such a terrible engine of destruction - as the corset was at work upon their frames? If all that theory - said against the corset were true, not a thousand women would - now be left alive. - - "I cannot avoid troubling you a little further while I descend - more into details. Spinal curvature, it is said, is caused by - wearing stays. But what kind of stays were they which produced - this result, and were no other causes discernible? I think that - in every instance it would be found that the stays have been - badly made, that they have not been properly laced, or that the - busk and materials have not been sufficiently firm. - - "In addition to this, girls are too often compelled to maintain - an erect position on a form or a music-stool for too long a time - during school hours. If the corset is properly made, a young - lady may be allowed to lean back in her chair without danger - of acquiring lounging habits or injuring her figure. It is to - this over-tiring of the muscles that all spinal curvature is - attributable, and not to the stays, which, if properly employed, - would act as a sure preventative. Again, let me ask any one of - the opposite sex who, at any rate at the present day, do not - wear stays, whether they have never experienced 'palpitation - or flushings,' headaches, and red noses? What right has any - one to make these special attendants on small-waisted ladies? - There is no more danger of incurring these evils than by a - gentleman wearing a hat. Well may the old lady have 'forgotten' - these little items in her anecdotes. The comparison between - the human frame and a watch is correct in some respects, but - it is particularly unhappy in relation to the present subject. - The works of a watch are hard and unyielding, and not being - possessed of life and power of growing, cannot adapt themselves - to their outer case. If you squeeze in the case the works will - be broken and put out of order; far different is it with the - supple and growing frame of a young girl. If the various organs - are prevented from taking a certain form or direction, they - will accommodate themselves to any other with perfect ease. - Nothing is broken or interfered with in its action. I will, - of course, allow that if a fully-grown woman were to attempt - to reduce her waist suddenly, respiration and digestion would - be stopped; but it is rarely, if ever, that a lady arrives at - maturity before she has imbibed sufficient notions of elegance - and propriety to induce her to conform to this becoming fashion - to some extent. Happy indeed those who are blessed with mothers - who are wise enough to educate their daughters' figures with an - eye to their future comfort. The constant discomfort felt by - those whose clumsy waists and exuberant forms are a perpetual - bugbear to their happiness and advancement should warn mothers - of the necessity of looking to the future, and by directing - their figures successfully while young, avoid the unsuccessful - attempts to force them at an advanced age. One word more on - the question. Is a small waist admired by the gentlemen? Mr. - Buckland, it seems, has become so imbued with Mr. Combe's ideas - against tight-lacing, that he looks upon a slender waist with - feelings evidently far from admiration. But is this any reason - or authority for concluding that every gentleman of taste is - of a like opinion? On the contrary, I think it goes far to - prove that it is other than the younger class of gentlemen (for - whom, of course, the ladies lay their attractions) who run - down the corset. Many times in fashionable assemblies have I - heard gentlemen criticising the young ladies in such terms as - these;--'What a clumsy figure Miss---- is! it completely spoils - her.' 'What a pity Miss---- has not a neater figure!' and so on, - and I believe there is not one young man in a thousand who does - not admire a graceful slenderness of the waist. What young man - cares to dance with girls who resemble casks in form? I have - invariably noticed that the girls with the smallest waists are - the queens of the ball-room. I have not space to enter into the - discussion as to whether the artificial waist is more beautiful - than that of the Venus de Medici; on such matters every one - forms their own opinions. The waist of the Venus is beautiful - for the Venus, but would cease to be so if clothed. I maintain - that the comparison is not a good one, as the circumstances are - not equal. In other respects, let the ladies, then, not be led - to make themselves ungraceful and unattractive by listening to - theories which are contradicted by practice, promulgated by - persons ignorant, as far as their personal experience goes, of - the operation and effect of corsets, and taken up by ladies - and gentlemen, not of the youngest, who, like your Country - Subscriber, are past the age when the pleasantest excitements - of life form topics of interest. Is it not natural that a young - lady should be anxious to present a sylph-like form instead of - appearing matronly? There are some to whom the words 'tight - lacing' suggest immediately what they are pleased to term - 'torture,' 'misery,' &c., but who have never taken the trouble - to inquire into the subject, preferring the far easier way of - taking for granted that all that has been said against it is - true. When such would-be benefactors to the fair sex hear of - a sudden death, or see a lady faint at a ball or a theatre, - they immediately raise the cry of 'Tight-lacing!' An instance - occurred not long ago in which, in a public journal, the sudden - death of a young lady was ascribed to this cause, but in a few - days afterwards was expressly contradicted in a paragraph of the - same paper. Do we never hear of men dying suddenly, or fainting - away from overheat? That small waists are the fashion admits - of no doubt, for I have myself applied to several fashionable - corset-makers in London and the principal fashionable resorts - to ascertain whether it be the case. I gather from their - information that small waists are most unmistakably the fashion; - that there are more corsets made to order under eighteen inches - than over that measurement; that the smallest size is usually - fifteen inches, though few possess so elegantly small a waist, - the majority being about seventeen or eighteen inches; that the - ladies are now beginning to see that the front-fastening busk is - not so good as the old-fashioned kind, and have their daughters' - corsets well boned. Many also prefer shoulder-straps for the - stays of growing girls, which keep the chest expanded, and - prevent their leaning too much on the busk. If these are not too - tight they are very advantageous to the figure, and the upper - part of the corset should just fit, but not be tight. A corset - made on these principles will cause no injury to health, unless - the girl is naturally of a consumptive constitution, in which - case no one would think of lacing at all tightly. - - "I must apologise for this long letter, but I felt bound to take - advantage of the opportunity you afford to discuss this really - important question. - - "I remain, madam, yours, - - "ADMIRER." - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - The elegant figure of the Empress of Austria--Slender waists the - fashion in Vienna--The small size of Corsets frequently made in - London--Letter from the _Queen_ on small waists--Remarks on the - portrait of the Empress of Austria in the Exhibition--Diminutive - waist of Lady Morton--General remarks on the figure--Remarks - on figure-training by the use of stays--Mode of constructing - Corsets for growing girls--Tight-lacing abolished by the - early use of well-constructed Corsets--Boarding-school - discipline and extreme tight-lacing--Letter in praise of tight - Corsets--Letter in praise of Crinoline and Corsets--Another - letter on boarding-school discipline and figure-training--The - waist of fashion contrasted with that of the Venus de Medici--A - fashionably-dressed statue--Clumsy figures a serious drawback - to young ladies--Letter from a lady, who habitually laces with - extreme tightness, in praise of the Corset--Opinions of a young - baronet on slender waists; letter from a family man on the same - subject. - - -As most of our readers will be aware, the much-admired Empress of -Austria has been long celebrated for possessing a waist of sixteen -inches in circumference, and a friend of ours, who has recently had -unusual opportunities afforded for judging of the fashionable world -of Vienna, assures us that waists of equal slenderness are by no -means uncommon. We are also informed by one of the first West-End -corset-makers that sixteen inches is a size not unfrequently made in -London. Much valuable and interesting information can be gathered from -the following letter from a talented correspondent of the _Queen_ a -few months ago:-- - - "CORSETS AND SMALL WAISTS. - - "I am a constant reader of the _Queen_, and look forward with - anxiety for more of the very interesting letters on the corset - question which you are so obliging as to insert in your paper. I - know many who take as much pleasure in reading them as myself, - for the subject is one on which both health and beauty greatly - depend. All who visited the picture-gallery in the Exhibition - of 1862 must have seen an exquisitely-painted portrait of the - beautiful Empress of Austria, and though it did not show the - waist in the most favourable position, some idea may be formed - of its elegant slenderness and easy grace. Many were the remarks - made upon it by all classes of critics while I seated myself - opposite the picture for a few minutes. I should like any one - who maintains that small waists are not generally admired to - have taken up the position which I did for half-an-hour, and I - am sure she would soon find her opinion unsupported by facts; - your correspondents, however, are at fault in supposing that - sixteen inches is the smallest waist that the world has almost - ever known. Lady Babbage, in her _Collection of Curiosities_, - tells us that in a portrait of Lady Morton, in the possession - of Lord Dillon, the waist cannot exceed ten or twelve inches - in circumference, and at the largest part immediately beneath - the armpits not more than twenty-four, and the immense length - of the figure seems to give it the appearance of even greater - slenderness. Catherine de Medici considered the standard of - perfection to be thirteen inches. It is scarcely to be supposed - that any lady of the present day possesses such an absurdly - small waist as thirteen inches, but I am certain that not a few - could be found whose waistband does not exceed fifteen inches - and three-quarters or sixteen inches. Much depends on the height - and width of the shoulders; narrow shoulders generally admit - of a small waist, and many tall women are naturally so slender - as to be able to show a small waist with very little lacing. - It is needless to remark how much depends on the corset. Your - correspondent, A. H. Turnour, says that the long corsets, if - well pulled in at the waist, compress one cruelly all the way - up, and cause the shoulders to deport themselves awkwardly and - stiffly. Now, no corset will be able to do this if constructed - as it should be. I believe the great fault to be that when the - corset is laced on it is very generally open an inch or so from - top to bottom. The consequence of this is, that when the wearer - is sitting down, and the pressure on the waist the greatest, - the tendency is to pull the less tightly drawn lace at the top - of the corset tighter; on changing the posture this does not - right itself, and consequently an unnecessary and injurious - compression round the chest is experienced. Now, if the corset, - when fitted, were so made that it should meet all the way, or - at any rate _above_ and _below_ the waist, when laced on, this - evil would be entirely avoided, and absence of compression round - the upper part of the chest would give an increased appearance - of slenderness to the waist and allow the lungs as much play as - the waistbands. There seems to be an idea that when the corset - is made to meet it gives a stiffness to the figure. In the days - of buckram this might be the case, but no such effect need be - feared from the light and flexible stays of the present day, - and the fault which frequently leads to the fear of wearing - corsets which do not meet is, that the formation of the waist - is not begun early enough. The consequence of this is, that the - waist has to be _compressed_ into a slender shape after it has - been allowed to swell, and the stays are therefore made so as - to allow of being laced tighter and tighter. Now I am persuaded - that much inconvenience is caused by this practice, which might - be entirely avoided by the following simple plan, which I have - myself tried with my own daughters, and have found to answer - admirably. At the age of seven I had them fitted with stays - without much bone and a flexible busk, and these were made to - meet from top to bottom when laced, and so as not to exercise - the least pressure round the chest and beneath the waist, and - only a very _slight_ pressure at the waist, just enough to - show off the figure and give it a roundness. To prevent the - stays from slipping, easy shoulder-straps were added. In front, - extending from the top more than half way to the waist, were - two sets of lace-holes, by which the stays could be enlarged - round the upper part. As my daughters grew, these permitted of - my always preventing any undue pressure, but I always laced the - stays so as to meet behind. When new ones were required they - were made exactly the same size at the waist, but as large - round the upper part as the gradual enlargement had made the - former pair. They were also of course made a little longer, and - the position of the shoulder-straps slightly altered; by these - means their figures were directed instead of forced into a - slender shape; no inconvenience was felt, and my daughters, I am - happy to say, are straight, and enjoy perfect health, while the - waist of the eldest is eighteen inches, and that of the youngest - seventeen. I am convinced that my plan is the most reasonable - one that can be adopted. By this means '_tight-lacing_' will be - abolished, for no tight-lacing or compression is required, and - the child, being accustomed to the stays from an early age, does - not experience any of the inconveniences which are sometimes - felt by those who do not adopt them till twelve or fourteen. - - "A FORMER CORRESPONDENT (Edinburgh)." - -The advisability of training instead of forcing the figure into -slenderness is now becoming almost universally admitted by those -who have paid any attention to the subject; yet it appears from the -following letters, which appeared in the _Englishwoman's Domestic -Magazine_ of January and February, 1868, that the corset, even when -employed at a comparatively late period of life, is capable of -reducing the size of the waist in an extraordinary manner, without -causing the serious consequences which it has so long been the custom -to associate with the practice of tight-lacing. - -A Tight-Lacer expresses herself to the following effect:--"Most of -your correspondents advocate the early use of the corset as the best -means to secure a slender waist. No doubt this is the best and most -easy mode, but still I think there are many young ladies who have -never worn tight stays who might have small waists even now if they -would only give themselves the trouble. I did not commence to lace -tightly until I was married, nor should I have done so then had not -my husband been so particularly fond of a small waist; but I was -determined not to lose one atom of his affection for the sake of a -little trouble. I could not bear to think of him liking any one else's -figure better than mine, consequently, although my waist measured -twenty-three inches, I went and ordered a pair of stays, made very -strong and filled with stiff bone, measuring only fourteen inches -round the waist. These, with the assistance of my maid, I put on, -and managed the first day to lace my waist in to eighteen inches. At -night I slept in my corset without loosing the lace in the least. The -next day my maid got my waist to seventeen inches, and so on, an inch -smaller every day, until she got them to meet. I wore them regularly -without ever taking them off, having them tightened afresh every day, -as the laces might stretch a little. They did not open in front, so -that I could not undo them if I had wanted. For the first few days the -pain was very great, but as soon as the stays were laced close, and I -had worn them so for a few days, I began to care nothing about it, and -in a month or so I would not have taken them off on any account, for I -quite enjoyed the sensation, and when I let my husband see me with a -dress to fit I was amply repaid for my trouble; and although I am now -grown older, and the fresh bloom of youth is gone from my cheek, still -my figure remains the same, which is a charm age will not rob me of. I -have never had cause to regret the step I took." - -Another lady says--"A correspondent in the October number of your -magazine states that her waist is only thirteen inches round, but -she does not state her height. My waist is only twelve inches round; -but then, although I am eighteen years old, I am only four feet five -inches in height, so that my waist is never noticed as small; while my -elder sister (whose height is five feet eight inches) is considered -to have a very nice figure, though her waist is twenty-three inches -round. I am glad to have an opportunity of expressing my opinions on -the subject of tight-lacing. I quite agree with those who think it -perfectly necessary with the present style of dress (which style I -hope is likely to continue). I believe every one admires the effect -of tight-lacing, though they may not approve in theory. My father -always used to declaim loudly against stays of any kind, so my sister -and I were suffered to grow up without any attention being paid to our -figures, and with all our clothes made perfectly loose, till my sister -was eighteen and I fifteen years old, when papa, after accompanying us -to some party, made some remarks on the clumsiness of our figures, and -the ill-fitting make of our dresses. Fortunately, it was not too late. -Mamma immediately had well-fitting corsets made for us, and as we were -both anxious to have small waists we tightened each other's laces four -and five times a day for more than a year; now we only tighten them -(after the morning) when we are going to a party." - -As it has been most justly remarked, no description of evidence can -be so conclusive as that of those whose daily and hourly experience -brings them in contact with the matter under discussion, and we append -here a letter from a correspondent to the _Englishwoman's Domestic -Magazine_ of May, 1867, giving her boarding-school experience in the -matter of extreme tight-lacing:-- - -Nora says--"I venture to trouble you with a few particulars on the -subject of 'tight-lacing,' having seen a letter in your March number -inviting correspondence on the matter. I was placed at the age of -fifteen at a fashionable school in London, and there it was the custom -for the waists of the pupils to be reduced one inch per month until -they were what the lady principal considered small enough. When I -left school at seventeen, my waist measured only thirteen inches, -it having been formerly twenty-three inches in circumference. Every -morning one of the maids used to come to assist us to dress, and a -governess superintended to see that our corsets were drawn as tight as -possible. After the first few minutes every morning I felt no pain, -and the only ill effects apparently were occasional headaches and loss -of appetite. I should be glad if you will inform me if it is possible -for girls to have a waist of fashionable size and yet preserve their -health. Very few of my fellow-pupils appeared to suffer, except the -pain caused by the extreme tightness of the stays. In one case where -the girl was stout and largely built, two strong maids were obliged -to use their utmost force to make her waist the size ordered by -the lady principal--viz., seventeen inches--and though she fainted -twice while the stays were being made to meet, she wore them without -seeming injury to her health, and before she left school she had a -waist measuring only fourteen inches, yet she never suffered a day's -illness. Generally all the blame is laid by parents on the principal -of the school, but it is often a subject of the greatest rivalry among -the girls to see which can get the smallest waist, and often while the -servant was drawing in the waist of my friend to the utmost of her -strength, the young lady, though being tightened till she had hardly -breath to speak, would urge the maid to pull the stays yet closer, -and tell her not to let the lace slip in the least. I think this is -a subject which is not sufficiently understood. Though I have always -heard tight-lacing condemned, I have never suffered any ill effects -myself, and, as a rule, our school was singularly free from illness. -By publishing this side of the question in the _Englishwoman's -Domestic Magazine_ you will greatly oblige." - -Cases like the foregoing are most important and remarkable, as they -show most indisputably that loss of health is not so inseparably -associated with even the most unflinching application of the corset -as the world has been led to suppose. It rather appears that -although a very considerable amount of inconvenience and uneasiness -is experienced by those who are unaccustomed to the reducing and -restraining influences of the corset, when adopted at rather a late -period of growth, they not only in a short time cease to suffer, -but of their own free will continue the practice and become partial -to it. Thus writes an Edinburgh lady, who incloses her card, to the -_Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine_ of March, 1867:-- - - "I have been abroad for the last four years, during which I - left my daughter at a large and fashionable boarding-school - near London. I sent for her home directly I arrived, and, - having had no bad accounts of her health during my absence, I - expected to see a fresh rosy girl of seventeen come bounding - to welcome me. What, then, was my surprise to see a tall, pale - young lady glide slowly in with measured gait and languidly - embrace me; when she had removed her mantle I understood at once - what had been mainly instrumental in metamorphosing my merry - romping girl to a pale fashionable belle. Her waist had, during - the four years she had been at school, been reduced to such - absurdly small dimensions that I could easily have clasped it - with my two hands. 'How could you be so foolish,' I exclaimed, - 'as to sacrifice your health for the sake of a fashionable - figure?' 'Please don't blame me, mamma,' she replied, 'I assure - you I would not have voluntarily submitted to the torture I - have suffered for all the admiration in the world.' She then - told me how the most merciless system of tight-lacing was the - rule of the establishment, and how she and her forty or fifty - fellow-pupils had been daily imprisoned in vices of whalebone - drawn tight by the muscular arms of sturdy waiting-maids, till - the fashionable standard of tenuity was attained. The torture at - first was, she declared, often intolerable; but all entreaties - were vain, as no relaxation of the cruel laces was allowed - during the day under any pretext except decided illness. 'But - why did you not complain to me at first?' I inquired. 'As soon - as I found to what a system of torture I was condemned,' she - replied, 'I wrote a long letter to you describing my sufferings, - and praying you to take me away. But the lady principal made - it a rule to revise all letters sent by, or received by, the - pupils, and when she saw mine she not only refused to let - it pass, but punished me severely for rebelling against the - discipline of the school.' 'At least you will now obtain relief - from your sufferings,' I exclaimed, 'for you shall not go back - to that school any more.' On attempting to discontinue the - tight-lacing, however, my daughter found that she had been so - weakened by the severe pressure of the last four years that her - muscles were powerless to support her, and she has therefore - been compelled to lace as tight as ever, or nearly so. She says, - however, that she does not suffer much inconvenience now, or, - indeed, after the first two years--so wonderful is the power of - Nature to accommodate herself to circumstances. The mischief is - done; her muscles have been, so to speak, murdered, and she must - submit for life to be incased in a stiff panoply of whalebone - and steel, and all this torture and misery for what?--merely to - attract admiration for her small waist. I called on the lady - principal of the establishment the next day, and was told that - very few ladies objected to their daughters having their figures - improved, that small waists were just now as fashionable as - ever, and that no young lady could go into good society with a - coarse, clumsy waist like a rustic, that she had always given - great satisfaction by her system, which she assured me required - unremitting perseverance and strictness, owing to the obstinacy - of young girls, and the difficulty of making them understand the - importance of a good figure. Finding that I could not touch the - heart of this female inquisitor, who was so blinded by fashion, - I determined to write to you and inform your readers of the - system adopted in fashionable boarding-schools, so that if they - do not wish their daughters tortured into wasp-waisted invalids - they may avoid sending them to schools where the corset-screw is - an institution of the establishment." - -And on the appearance of her letter it was replied to by another lady, -who writes as follows:-- - - "In reply to the invitation from the lady from Edinburgh to a - discussion on the popular system amongst our sex of compression - of the waist, when requisite to attain elegance of figure, I - beg to say that I am inclined, from the tone of her letter, - to consider her an advocate of the system she at first sight - appears to condemn. This conviction of mine may arise from my - own partiality to the practice of tight-lacing, but the manner - in which she puts the question almost inclines me to believe - that she is, as a corset-maker, financially interested in - the general adoption of the corset-screw. Her account of the - whole affair seems so artificial, so made up for a purpose, so - to speak, that I, for one, am inclined to totally discredit - it. A waist 'easily clasped with two hands.' Ye powers! what - perfection! how delightful! I declare that ever since I read - that I have worn a pair of stays that I had rejected for being - too small for me, as they did not quite meet behind (and I can't - bear a pair that I cannot closely lace), and have submitted to - an extra amount of muscular exertion from my maid in order to - approach, if ever so distantly, the delightful dimensions of two - handsful. Then, again, how charmingly she insinuates that if we - will only persevere, only submit to a short probationary period - of torture, the hated compression (but desired attenuation) - will have become a second nature to us, that not only will it - not inconvenience us, but possibly we shall be obliged, for - comfort's sake itself, to continue the practice. Now, madam, - as a part of the present whole of modern dress, every one must - admit that a slender waist is a great acquisition, and from my - own experience and the experience of several young lady friends - similarly addicted to guide me, I beg to pronounce the so-called - evils of tight-lacing to be a mere bugbear and so much cant. - Every woman has the remedy in her own hands. If she feels the - practice to be an injury to her, she can but discontinue it at - any time. To me the sensation of being tightly laced in a pair - of elegant, well-made, tightly-fitting corsets is superb, and I - have never felt any evil to arise therefrom. I rejoice in quite - a collection of these much-abused objects--in silk, satin, and - coutil of every style and colour--and never feel prouder or - happier, so far as matters of the toilette are concerned, than - when I survey in myself the fascinating undulations of outline. - - "STAYLACE." - -Then follows a letter rather calculated to cast doubt on the subject -of the sufferings of the young lady whose case has been described, -from a lady who, although possessing a small waist, knows nothing of -them. Thus she writes:-- - - "Please let me join in the all-absorbing discussion you have - introduced at the Englishwoman's monthly Conversazione, and - let me first thank Staylace for her capital letter. I quite - agree with her in suspecting the story of the young lady at - the boarding-school to be overdrawn a little. Would the young - lady herself oblige us with a description of her 'tortures,' - as I and several of my friends who follow the present fashion - of small waists are curious to know something of them, having - never experienced these terrible sufferings, though my - waistband measures only eighteen inches? The truth is, there - are always a number of fussy middle-aged people who (with the - best intentions, no doubt) are always abusing some article of - female dress. The best of it is, these benevolent individuals - are usually of that sex whose costume precludes them from - making a personal trial of the articles they condemn. Now it - is the crinoline which draws forth their indignant outcries, - now the corset, and now the chignon. They know not from their - own experience how the crinoline relieves us from the weight - of many under-skirts, and prevents them from clinging to us - while walking, and they have never felt the comfortable support - of a well-made corset. Yet they decry the use of the first as - unaccountable, and of the second as suicidal. Let me tell them, - however, that the ladies themselves judge from practice and not - from theory, and if the opponents of the corset require proof - of this, let me remind them that compression of the waist has - been more or less universal throughout the civilised world for - three or four centuries, in spite of reams of paper and gallons - of printing-ink. I may add that, for my own part, I have always - laced tightly, and have always enjoyed good health. Allow me - to recommend ladies to have their corsets made to measure, - and if they do not feel they suffer any inconvenience, they - may certainly take the example of your clever correspondent - Staylace, and look upon the outcry as a 'bugbear and so much - cant.' - - "BELLE." - - Thus called on, the young lady herself writes and confirms, as - it will be seen, the statements of others, that the late use of - the corset is the main source of pain on its first adoption; and - the statement she makes that her waist is so much admired that - she sometimes forgets the pain passed through in attaining it, - coupled with the confession that she is not in ill-health, gives - her letter strong significance. Here it is in its integrity:-- - - "In last month's number of your valuable magazine you were kind - enough to publish a letter from my mamma on the subject of - tight-lacing, and as your correspondent Staylace says she is - inclined to think the whole story made up for a purpose, mamma - has requested me to write and confirm what she stated in her - letter. It seems wonderful to me how your correspondent can - lace so tightly and never feel any inconvenience. It may be, - very likely, owing to her having begun very young. In my case - I can only say I suffered sometimes perfect torture from my - stays, especially after dinner, not that I ate heartily, for - that I found impossible, even if we had been allowed to do so - by our schoolmistress, who considered it unladylike. The great - difference between your correspondent Staylace and myself seems - to be that she was incased in corsets at an early age, and thus - became gradually accustomed to tight-lacing, while I did not - wear them till I went to school at fourteen, and I did not wear - them voluntarily. Of course it is impossible to say whether I - underwent greater pressure than she has. I think I must have - done so, for my waist had grown large before it was subjected - to the lacing, and had to be reduced to its present tenuity, - whereas, if she began stays earlier, that would have prevented - her figure from growing so large. Perhaps Staylace will be so - kind as to say whether she began stays early, or at any rate - before fourteen, and what is the size of her waist and her - height? One reason why she does not feel any inconvenience from - tight corsets may be that, when she feels disposed, she may - loosen them, and thus prevent any pain from coming on. But when - I was at school I was not allowed to loosen them in the least, - however much they distressed me, so that what was in the morning - merely a feeling of irksome pressure, became towards the end of - the day a regular torture. I quite admit that slender waists - are beautiful--in fact, my own waist is so much admired that I - sometimes forget the pain I underwent in attaining it. I am also - quite ready to confess I am not in ill-health, though I often - feel languid and disinclined for walking out. Nor do I think - a girl whose constitution is sound would suffer any injury to - her health from moderate lacing, but I must beg that you will - allow me to declare that when stays are not worn till fourteen - years of age, very tight lacing causes absolute torture for - the first few months, and it was principally to deter ladies - from subjecting their daughters to this pain in similar cases - that mamma wrote to you. I am sure any young lady who has (like - myself) begun tight-lacing rather late will corroborate what I - have said, and I hope some will come forward and do so, now you - so kindly give the opportunity." - -Much ill-deserved blame has been from time to time cast on the lady -principals of fashionable schools for insisting on the strict use of -the corset by the young ladies in their charge. The following letter -from a schoolmistress of great experience, and another from a young -lady who has finished her education at a fashionable boarding-school, -will at once serve to show that the measures adopted by the heads of -these establishments for the obtainment of elegant figures are in -the end fully appreciated by those who have been fortunate enough to -profit by them. - -A Schoolmistress Correspondent says--"As a regular subscriber to your -valuable magazine, I see you have invited your numerous readers to -discuss the subject brought forward by a correspondent in Edinburgh, -and as the principal of a large ladies' school in that city, I feel -sure you will kindly allow me space to say a few words in reply -to her letter. In the first place it must be apparent that your -correspondent committed a great mistake in placing her daughter at a -fashionable school if she did not wish her to become a fashionable -belle, or she should at least have given instructions that her -daughter should not have her figure trained in what every one knows is -the fashionable style. For my own part I have always paid particular -attention to the figures of the young ladies intrusted to my care, and -being fully convinced that if the general health is properly attended -to, corsets are far from being the dreadfully hurtful things some -people imagine. I have never hesitated to employ this most important -and elegant article of dress, except in one case where the pupil was -of a consumptive tendency, and I was specially requested not to allow -her to dress at all tightly. All my pupils enjoy good health, my -great secret being regular exercise, a point which is almost always -disregarded. It appears from your correspondent's letter that the -young lady did not experience any inconvenience after the first two -years she was at the school, nor does her mother say her health was -affected. She only complains that she is no longer a 'romping girl.' -Now, no young lady of eighteen who expects to move in fashionable -society would wish to be thought a romping schoolgirl. With regard -to the slight pain in the muscles which the young lady described as -'torture,' this was no doubt caused by her not having been accustomed -by degrees to a close-fitting dress before she went to the school. I -find that girls who have commenced the use of stays at an early age, -and become gradually used to them, do not experience any uneasiness -when they are worn tighter at fourteen or fifteen. There can be no -doubt that a slender figure is as much admired as ever, and always -will be so. The present fashion of short waists is admitted on all -hands to be very ugly, and will soon go out. Those girls, then, who -have not had their figures properly attended to while growing will -be unable to reduce their waists when the fashion changes, whereas, -by proper care now, they will be able to adopt the fashion of -longer waists without any inconvenience. I trust you will allow us -schoolmistresses fair play in this important matter, and insert this, -or part of it, in your magazine." - -Mignon says--"DEAR MRS. ENGLISHWOMAN,--I beg--I pray--that -you will not close your delightful Conversazione to the tight-lacing -question: it is an absorbing one; hundreds, thousands of your young -lady readers are deeply interested in this matter, and the subscribers -to your excellent magazine are increasing daily, to my own knowledge, -by reason of this interesting controversy; pray wait a little, and -you will see how the tight-lacers and their gentlemen admirers will -rally round the banner that has been unfurled. There is an attempt -being made to introduce the hideous fashion of the 'Empire,' as it -is called. Why should we, who have been disciplined at home and -at school, and laced tighter and tighter month after month, until -our waists have become 'small by degrees and beautifully less,' be -expected to hide our figures (which we know are admired) under such -atrocious drapery? My stay and dress maker both tell me that it is -only the ill-formed and waistless ones that have taken to the fashion; -such, of course, are well pleased, and will have no objection to have -their waistbands as high as their armpits. Angular and rigid figures -have always pretended to sneer at tight-lacers, but any one of them -would give half, nay, their whole fortune to attain to such small -dimensions as some of your correspondents describe. I shall keep my -waist where nature has placed it, and where art has improved it, for -my own comfort, and because a certain friend has said that he never -could survive if it were any larger or shorter. My waist remains -just as it was a year and a-half ago, when I left school, where in -the course of three years it was by imperceptible degrees laced from -twenty to fifteen inches, not only without injury to health but with -great satisfaction and comfort to myself." - -It has been much the fashion amongst those who have written in -condemnation of the use of the corset to contrast the figure of -the Venus de Medici with that of a fashionably-dressed lady of the -present day; but the comparison is anything but a happy one, as it -would be quite as reasonable to insist that because the sandalled and -stockingless foot of the lady of Ancient Greece was statuesque in -contour when forming a portion of a statue, it should be substituted -for the fashionable boot or slipper and silk stocking of the present -day. That perfection itself in the sculptor's art when draped in -fashionable attire would become supremely grotesque and ridiculous was -not long since fully proved by actual experiment. A former contributor -to the columns of the _Queen_, who at one time followed the medical -profession, felt so convinced of the claims to admiration possessed -by the classic order of form, that he obtained a copy of the Greek -Slave, and had it draped by a first-rate milliner, who made use of all -the modern appliances of the toilet, corset and crinoline included. -The result was that dress made a perfect fright of her, and the -disappointed experimentalist candidly confessed that he did not like -her half as well as he had done. The waist was disproportionately -thick, and the whole _tout ensemble_ dowdy in the extreme. No fallacy -can be greater than to apply the rules of ancient art to modern -costume. Thus writes an artist in the _Englishwoman's Domestic -Magazine_ of September, 1867:-- - - "I do not for a moment deny the truth of your artist - correspondent's assertions, for I consider, as every one must, - that the proportions of the human body are the most beautiful - in creation (where all is beautiful and correct), but the great - mistake which so many make is this. In civilised countries - the body is always clothed; and that clothing, especially of - the ladies of European nations, completely hides the contour - of the body. The effect of this is to give great clumsiness - to the waist when that part of the person is of its natural - size. Let any one make a fair and unprejudiced trial, such as - this: let him get a statuette of some celebrated antique, the - Venus de Medici or the Greek Slave, and have it dressed in an - ordinary dress of the present day, and see what the effect - really is. Until fashion, in its ever-changing round, returns to - the costume of Ancient Greece or Rome, we can never expect to - persuade ladies not to compress their waists merely on the score - of beauty; and as several of your correspondents have shown that - a moderate compression is not so injurious as some supposed, - there is no chance of the corset becoming an obsolete article - of female dress. It has been in use for seven or eight hundred - years, and now that its form and construction are so much - modified and improved, there need be no longer an outcry against - it; indeed, outcry has for centuries failed to affect it, though - other articles of dress have become in their turn obsolete, a - clear proof that there is something more than mere arbitrary - fashion in its hold upon the fair sex." - -Another gentleman, not an artist, but whose sisters now suffer from -all the annoyances consequent on clumsy, ill-trained figures, thus -writes to the _Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine_ of September, 1867:-- - - "Though the subject on which I propose to address to you a few - observations hardly concerns a man, I hope you will allow me a - little space in your excellent journal to express my views upon - it. I have been much interested by reading the correspondence on - the subject of slender waists, and the means used for attaining - them. Now, there can be no doubt that gentlemen admire those - figures the most which have attained the greatest slenderness. - I think there is no more deplorable sight than a large and - clumsy waist; and as nature, without assistance from art, - seldom produces a really small waist, I think those mothers - and schoolmistresses who insist upon their daughters or pupils - between the ages of ten and seventeen wearing well-made corsets, - and having them tightly laced, confer upon the young ladies a - great benefit, which, though they may not appreciate at the - time, they will when they go out into society. Certainly some - of your correspondents seem to have fallen into the hands of - schoolmistresses thoroughly aware of the advantages of a good - figure--a waist that two hands can easily clasp is certainly a - marvel. I never had the good fortune to see such a one, yet one - of your correspondents assures us that her daughter's was no - larger than that. Nora, too, says that her waist only measured - thirteen inches when she left school; this seems to me to be - miraculously small. Most gentlemen do not think much about the - means used for attaining a fashionable figure, and I should not - have done so either if I had not heard it a good deal discussed - in my family, where my sisters were never allowed to lace at all - tightly, the consequence of which is, that now that they are - grown up they have very clumsy figures, much to their regret; - but it is too late to alter them now. As doctors seem to think - that the dangers of tight-lacing have been much exaggerated, and - as I know many ladies with very slender waists enjoying quite - as good health as their more strongly built sisters, I would - urge upon all who wish to have good figures not to be deterred - by alarmists from endeavouring gradually to attain an elegant - shape." - -It is most remarkable that, notwithstanding the number of letters -which have been published casting condemnation and ridicule on those -who wear corsets, not one can we discover containing the personal -experiences of those who have been anything but temporary sufferers -from even their extreme use, whilst such letters as the following, -which appeared in the _Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine_ of August, -1867, are of a nature to lead to the conclusion that unless the -germs of disease of some kind are rooted in the system, a well-made -and perfectly-fitting corset may be worn with impunity, even when -habitually laced with considerable tightness. The lady thus gives her -own experiences and those of her daughters:-- - - "From the absence of any correspondence on the all-important - topic of tight-lacing in your August number, I very much - fear that the subject has come to an end. If so, many other - subscribers besides myself will be very sorry for it. I cannot - tell you what pleasure it gave me to see the sentiments that - were expressed by so many who, like myself, are addicted to - the practice of tight-lacing, and as for many years I have been - in the habit of lacing extremely tight, I trust that you will - allow me, by inserting this or part of it, to make known that - I have never suffered any pain or illness from it. In the days - when I was a schoolgirl, stays were worn much stiffer and higher - than the flimsy things now used, and were, besides, provided - with shoulder-straps, so that to be very tightly incased in - them was a much more serious affair than at the present day.[3] - But, nevertheless, I remember our governess would insist on the - greatest possible amount of constriction being used, and always - twice a day our stays were tightened still more. A great amount - of exercise was inculcated, which perhaps did away with any - ill effects this extreme tight-lacing might have occasioned, - but while at school I imbibed a liking for the practice, and - have ever since insisted on my maid lacing me as tightly as - she possibly can. I quite agree with Staylace in saying that - to be tightly laced in a pair of tight-fitting stays is a most - superb sensation. My two daughters, aged respectively sixteen - and eighteen, are brought up in the same way, and would not - consider themselves properly dressed unless their stays were - drawn together. They can bear me out in my favourable opinion - of tight-lacing, and their good health speaks volumes in its - praise. I hope, madam, you will kindly insert this letter in - your valuable and largely-circulated magazine." - -[3] Fairholt remarks, in speaking of the discipline observed in -schools during the reign of George III.--"It was the fashion to -educate girls in stiffness of manner at all public schools, and -particularly to cultivate a fall of the shoulders and an upright set -of the bust. The top of the steel stay busk had a long stocking-needle -attached to it to prevent girls from spoiling their shape by stooping -too much over their needlework. This I have heard from a lady since -dead who had often felt these gentle hints and lamented their disuse." - -Many opponents to the use of the corset have strongly urged the -somewhat weak argument, that ladies with slender waists are not -generally admired by the gentlemen. That question has been ably dealt -with in one or two of the preceding letters from ladies, and it is -but fair to them that the opinions of both the young and old of the -male sex (candidly communicated to the columns of the _Englishwoman's -Domestic Magazine_) should be added to the weight of evidence in -favour of almost universal admiration for a slender and well-rounded -waist. Thus writes a young baronet in the number for October, 1867:-- - -"As you have given your readers the benefit of Another Correspondent's -excellent letter will you kindly allow another member of the sterner -sex to give his opinion on the subject of small waists? Those who have -endeavoured to abolish this most becoming fashion have not hesitated -to declare that gentlemen do not care for a slender figure, but that, -on the contrary, their only feeling on beholding a waist of eighteen -inches is one of pity and contempt. Now so far from this being the -case, there is not one gentleman in a thousand who is not charmed -with the sight. Elderly gentlemen, no doubt, may be found who look -upon such things as 'vanity and vexation of spirit;' but is it for -these that young ladies usually cultivate their charms? There is one -suggestion I should be glad to make if you will permit me, and that -is that all those ladies who possess that most elegant attraction, a -slender waist, should not hide it so completely by shawls or loose -paletots when on the promenade or in the street. When by good-luck I -chance to meet a lady who has the good taste, I may say the kindness, -to show her tapering waist by wearing a close-fitting paletot, I not -unfrequently turn to admire, and so far from thinking of the means -used to obtain the result, I am held spellbound by the beauty of the -figure." - -That elderly gentlemen are by no means as indifferent to the -attractions of elegant slenderness as our young correspondent -supposes, will be best shown by a letter from a family man on the -subject, communicated to the above journal, November, 1867. He says-- - -"I have read with much interest the correspondence on the above -subject in the Englishwoman's Conversazione for several months past, -having accidentally met with one of the numbers of your magazine in -a friend's house, and have since regularly taken it, although not -previously a subscriber. As an ardent admirer of small waists in -ladies, I wish to record for the satisfaction of those who possess -them the fact, which is sometimes disputed, that the pains bestowed in -attaining a slender figure are _not_ in vain so far as we gentlemen -are concerned, and some of us are positively absurd in our excessive -admiration of this particular female beauty. Poets and novelists are -perpetually introducing heroines with tiny waists and impossible feet, -and if they are to portray female loveliness in all its attributes, -they could not well omit two _such essential_ points, and I take it -their ideal is not an unfair criterion of the taste of the public at -large. I am delighted to learn from very clear evidence put forward by -your many correspondents that 'small waists' are attainable by most -ladies at little or no inconvenience, and that those of the clumsier -build are willing to suffer a certain amount of pain if necessary in -reducing their bulky figures to graceful proportions, and, above all, -that this can be done without injury to health, for after all it would -be a dearly-purchased charm if health were sacrificed. Some fifteen -or twenty years ago, I recollect the word '_stays_' was uttered as -though a certain amount of disgrace attached to the wearer, and -'_tight-lacing_' was looked on as a crime; but I am glad to see that -a reaction is setting in, and that ladies are not afraid to state -openly that 'they lace _very_ tightly,' and many of them declare -the sensation of being laced as tightly as possible as positively a -_pleasurable one_. I may say that personally I feel that every lady -of my acquaintance, or with whom I may come in contact, who does so -places me under a direct obligation. I will go further than your -correspondent, A Young Baronet, and say that whenever I meet a young -lady who possesses the charm of a small waist, and has the good taste -to wear the tight-fitting dress now fashionable for the promenade, -I make it a point to see her pretty figure more than once, and have -often gone considerably out of my way to do so. Although married -years and years ago, I am still a slave to a '_little waist_,' and I -am proud to say my wife humours my whim, and her waist is decidedly -a small one. I will, therefore, add my experience to that of others -(more competent to give an opinion, having experienced tight-lacing -in their own proper persons), and state that she never enjoyed better -health than when her waist was the smallest, and I shall be much -disappointed if her daughters, when they '_come out_' do not emulate -their mother's slender figure. By keeping your Conversazione open to -the advocates of tight-lacing, and thoroughly ventilating the subject, -you will, in my opinion, confer a benefit on the rising generation of -young ladies, whose mammas, in too many instances, are so _prejudiced_ -against the use of the corset that they permit their daughters to grow -up into clumsy, awkward young women, to their own disgust and great -detriment in the matrimonial market. - - "I am, madam, your obedient servant, - - "BENEDICT." - - [Illustration] - - [Illustration: THE FASHION OF 1865.] - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - The elegance of dress mainly dependent on the Corset--Fashion - and dress of 1865--The short-waisted dresses and trains of - 1867--Tight Corsets needed for short waists--Letter on the - figure--Description of a peculiar form of Corset worn by some - ladies of fashion in France--Proportions of the figure and size - of the waist considered--The point at which the waist should - be formed--Remarks of the older writers on stays--Corsets and - high-heeled shoes denounced--Alarming diseases said to be - produced by wearing high-heeled shoes--Mortality amongst the - female sex not on the increase--Extraordinary statistics of the - Corset trade--The Corset of the present day contrasted with that - of the olden time. - - -We could very easily add letters enough to occupy the remaining -portion of this work, all incontestably proving that slender waists -_are_, notwithstanding that which some few writers have urged to the -contrary, held in high esteem by the great majority of the sterner sex. - -Without the aid of the corset, it has been very fairly argued, no -dress of the present day could be worn, unless its fair possessor was -willing to submit to the withering contempt of merciless society. The -annexed illustration represents a lady dressed in the fashion of the -close of 1865, and there are few who would be unwilling to admit its -elegance and good taste. One glance at the contour of the figure is -sufficient to show the full influence of the modern form of corset on -the adjustment of this style of costume, and it would be a waste of -both time and space to represent the figure in its uncultivated form -similarly arrayed. In 1867, we find a strong tendency towards the -short waists, low dresses, and long trailing trains of old times, and -we are forcibly reminded, when contemplating the passing caprice, of -the lines from a parody on the "Banks of Banna"-- - - "Shepherds, I have lost my waist. - Have you seen my body?" - -Still the waist is by no means suffered to remain _perdu_, but, as in -1827, has to be laced with very considerable tightness to compensate -the eye for its loss of taperness and length. The annexed illustration -represents a lady of fashion of 1867, and it would be a perfect work -of supererogation to ask our readers how a lady so dressed would -look "unlaced and unconfined." The ladies themselves are by far -the best judges of the matter, and the following letter from the -_Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine_ will show that the corset has to -play an important part in the now-existing style of dress. Thus writes -a lady who signs herself Edina:-- - -"Allow me to occupy a small portion of your valuable space with the -subject of stays. I quite agree with A Young Baronet that all those -ladies who possess that most elegant attraction, a slender waist, -should not hide it so completely by shawls whenever they promenade. -Excuse my offering a few remarks to facilitate that desirable object, -a handsome figure. Ladies, when dressing for the afternoon walk or -ride, or the evening display, when putting on their stays at first, -should not lace them quite tight; in about a quarter of an hour they -might again tighten them, and in the course of half-an-hour or so lace -them to the requisite tightness. They may fancy in this way there is -no sudden compression of the waist, and the figure gets more easily -accustomed to tight-lacing. Occasionally, in France, ladies who are -very particular about their figures have their corsets made in three -pieces, laced down the sides as well as behind, and cut away over the -hips; the holes for the laces are very numerous and close together. -This form of corset offers great facilities for the most perfect -adjustment to the figure, as well as power of tight-lacing when -required, and perfect ease in walking or dancing. I may add that, in -order to insure a good fit and to keep it properly in its place, the -busk in front, and the whalebones behind, are made somewhat longer -than the present fashion. Perhaps the lady in your September number, -who signs herself An Inveterate Tight-Lacer, might find a trial of -a corset made in this form a great boon as well as a comfort in -tight-lacing." - -Practical hints such as these will not fail to be of interest to -the reader. Numerous inquiries, as will be seen on reference to the -foregoing correspondence, have been made as to what circumference the -waist should be to meet the requirements of elegance. - - [Illustration: THE FASHION OF 1867] - -It must be borne in mind, when dealing with this question, that height -and breadth of shoulder have much to do with proportionate slenderness -of waist. A lady who is tall and wide-shouldered would appear very -neatly shaped with a waist laced to twenty or twenty-one inches, -whilst with a slight, narrow form of figure that size would carry -the appearance of much clumsiness with it. Madame La Sante says--"A -waist may vary in circumference from seventeen to twenty-three -inches, according to the general proportions of the figure, and yet -appear in all cases slender and elegant." We have abundant evidence -before us, however, that seventeen inches is by no means the lowest -standard of waist-measure to be met with in the fashionable circles -of either London, New York, Paris, or Vienna. Numbers of corsets -sixteen inches at the waist, and even less, are made in each of these -cities every day. In the large provincial towns, both at home and -abroad, corset-makers follow out the rules laid down by fashion. We -are disposed to think, therefore, dealing with the evidence before us, -that a lady of medium stature and average breadth of shoulder would -be subscribing to the laws of fashionable taste if the circumference -of her waist was not more than from seventeen to nineteen inches, -measuring outside the dress. - -Fashion has indulged in some strange freaks regarding the length and -position of the waist, as a reference to many of the illustrations -will show, but its true position can be laid down so clearly that no -doubt need remain on the matter. A line drawn midway between the hip -and the lowest rib gives the exact point from which the tapering -form of the waist should spring, and by keeping this rule in view -it appears the statement made by so many ladies (that provided -ample space is allowed for the chest the waist may be laced to an -extreme of smallness without injury) has much truth to support it. -The contributors to works of popular instruction even in our own day -are very lavish in their denunciations of the practice of wearing -corsets, and, following in the track of the ancient writers on the -same subject, muster such a deadly and tremendously formidable array -of ailments, failings, and diseases as inseparably associated with -the wearing of that particular article of attire, that the very -persons for whom these terrors are invoked, seeing from their own -daily experience how overdrawn they are and how little knowledge -their authors show about the subject, laugh the whole matter to scorn -and follow the fashion. We have now before us a very talented and -well-conducted journal, in which there are some sweeping blows at -the use of both corsets and high-heeled boots or shoes, and, as an -instance of the frightfully severe way in which the ladies of the time -(1842) laced themselves, the writer assures us that he had actually -seen a young lady's waist-belt which measured exactly "_twenty-two_ -inches," "showing that the _chest_ to which it was applied had been -reduced to a diameter (allowing for clothes) of little more than seven -inches." The chest is thus shown as being about one inch less than the -waist. Now, in 1842 it must have been a very eccentric lady indeed -who formed her waist round her _chest_, and as to the twenty-two-inch -waistband, we cannot help thinking that the majority of our readers -would seek one of considerably smaller size as an indication of -the practice of tight-lacing in the owner. And now on the score of -high-heeled boots and slippers, we are, like the immortal boy in -_Pickwick_, "going to make your flesh creep." In writing of these -terrible engines of destruction our mentor says--"From the uneasiness -and constraint experienced in the feet sympathetic affections of a -dangerous kind often assail the stomach and chest, as hæmorrhage, -apoplexy, and consumption. Low-heeled shoes, with sufficient room for -the toes, would completely prevent all such consequences." - -How the shareholders of life assurance companies must quake in their -shoes as the smart and becoming footgear of the period meets their -distracted vision at every turn! and what between the fatal high heels -and waists of deadly taperness, it is a wonder that female existence -can continue, and that all the policies do not fall due in less than -a week, all the undertakers sink into hopeless idiocy in a day from -an overwhelming press of business, and all the gentlemen engage in -sanguinary encounter for the possession of the "_last woman_," who has -survived the common fate by reason of her barefooted habits and of her -early abandonment of stays. - -We do not find, as a matter of fact, that the Registrar-General has -his duties materially increased, or that the bills of female mortality -are by any means alarming, although on a moderate calculation there -are considerably over twelve million corsets in the United Kingdom -alone, laced with as many laces round as many waists every day in the -week, with, in many instances, a little extra tension for Sundays. - -We learn from the columns of _Once a Week_ that the total value of -stays made for British consumption annually, cannot be less than -£1,000,000 sterling, to produce which about 36,000,000 yards of -material are required. The stay trade of London employs more than -10,000 in town and country, whilst the provincial firms employ about -25,000 more; of these, about 8,000 reside in London, and there is -about one male to every twenty-five women. Returns show that we -receive every year from France and Germany about 2,000,000 corsets. -One corset-manufacturer in the neighbourhood of Stuttgard has, we are -informed, over 1,300 persons in constant employment, and turns out -annually about 300,000 finished corsets. Messrs. Thomson and Co., -the manufacturers of the glove-fitting corset, turn out incredible -numbers from their immense manufactories in England, America, and -on the continent. It will be readily conceived that the colonial -demand and consumption is proportionately great. The quantity of steel -annually made use of for the manufacture of stay-busks and crinolines -is perfectly enormous. Of the importance of the whale fishery, and the -great value of whalebone, it will be needless to speak here, further -than to inform our readers that more than half the whalebone which -finds its way into the market is consumed by the corset-makers. Silk, -cotton, and wool, in very large quantities, are either spun up into -laces or used in the sewing or manufacture of the corset itself. No -inconsiderable quantity of timber is made use of for working up into -busks. Oxhorn, ebonite, gutta-percha, and hardened brass are all -occasionally used for the same purpose, whilst the brass eyelet-holes, -of which we shall have to say more by-and-by, are turned out in such -vast and incalculable quantities, that any attempt at computing their -number would be useless. It will be seen by these statistics and -remarks that, unlike certain other articles of raiment which have -reigned in popular esteem for a time, and then passed away, the corset -has not only become an established institution throughout the whole -civilised world, but is of immense commercial importance, and in -rapidly-increasing demand and esteem. - -We shall now have to remark on some of the most noteworthy forms of -the corset worn at the present day, contrasting them with those of -the olden time. The steel corset-_covers_ we have already figured and -described. On these contrivances being found heavy and too unbending -in their construction, a form of corset was, as we have before said, -contrived, which needed no cover to preserve its perfect smoothness of -surface and rigidity of form; the front was therefore enriched with -gold and silver tissue, and ornamented with embroidery, performing -the part of both corset and stomacher, whilst the back was made of a -heavier material, because the dress of the period often concealed it. - - [Illustration: CORSET, FORMING BOTH CORSET AND STOMACHER - (FRONT).] - - [Illustration: CORSET, FORMING BOTH CORSET AND STOMACHER - (BACK).] - -The annexed illustrations are carefully sketched from a very -excellent specimen of this form of corset or bodice, kindly lent -us for the purpose by Messrs. Simmons, the well-known costumiers of -Tavistock-street, Covent Garden, by whom it has been preserved as -a great curiosity. The materials used in its construction are very -strong, whilst every part the least liable to be put out of form is -literally plated with whalebone, making its weight considerable. The -lace-holes are worked with blue silk, and are very numerous and close -together. - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - Remarks on front-fastening stays--Thomson's glove-fitting - Corsets--Plan for adding stability to the front-fastening - Corset--De la Garde's French Corset--System of - self-measurement--The Redresseur Corset of Vienna and its - influence on the figures of young persons--Remarks on the flimsy - materials used in the manufacture of Corsets--Hints as to proper - materials--The "Minet Back" Corset described--Elastic Corsets - condemned--The narrow bands used as substitutes for Corsets - injurious to the figure--Remarks on the proper application - of the Corset with the view to the production of a graceful - figure--Thomson's Zephyrina Crinoline--Costume of the present - season--The claims of Nature and Art considered--The belle of - Damara Land. - - - [Illustration: COMMON CHEAP STAY, FASTENED.] - - [Illustration: COMMON CHEAP STAY, OPEN.] - - [Illustration: THE GLOVE-FITTING CORSET (THOMSON AND CO.)] - -It would be difficult to find a much more marked contrast to the style -of bodice referred to in our last chapter than is to be found in the -ordinary cheap front-fastening corset commonly sold by drapers. The -accompanying illustrations accurately represent it, and those who have -written on the subject have much reason on their side when they insist -that it neither aids in the formation of a good figure nor helps to -maintain the proportions of one when formed. Corsets such as these -have neither beauty of contour nor compactness of construction. The -two narrow busks through which the holes are drilled for the reception -of the _studs_ or _catches_ are too often formed of steel so low in -quality that fracture at these weak points is a common occurrence, -when some danger of injury from the broken ends is to be apprehended. -It will also be found that when these bars or plates are deficient -in width and insufficient in stiffness the corset will no longer -support the figure, or form a foundation for the dress to be neatly -adjusted over. On the introduction of the front-fastening system it -was at once seen that much saving of time and trouble was gained by -the great facility with which corsets constructed according to it -could be put on and off but the objections before referred to were -soon manifest, and the ingenuity of inventors was called into action -to remedy and overcome them, and it was during this _transition_ stage -in the history of the corset that the front-fastening principle met -with much condemnation at the hands of those who made the formation -of the figure a study. From Thomson and Co., of New York, we have -received a pattern of their "_glove-fitting corset_," the subject -of the accompanying illustration, in the formation of which the old -evils have been most successfully dealt with. The steels are of the -highest class of quality and of the requisite degree of substance to -insure both safety and sustaining power. Accidental unfastening of the -front, so common, and, to say the least of it, inconvenient, in the -old form of attachment, is rendered impossible by the introduction -of a very ingenious but simple spring _latch_, which is opened or -closed in an instant at the pleasure of the wearer. This corset is -decidedly the best form on the front-fastening plan we have seen. Its -mode of construction is excellent; it is so cut as to admit of its -adapting itself to every undulation of the figure with extraordinary -facility. We have suggested to the firm the advisability of furnishing -to the public corsets combining their excellent method of cutting, -great strength of material, and admirable finish, with the single -steel busk and hind-lacing arrangement of the ordinary stay. The -requirements of all would be then met, for although numbers of -ladies prefer the front-fastening corset, it will be observed that -a great number of those who have written on the subject, and make -the formation and maintenance of the figure a study, positively -declare from experience that the waist never looks so small or neatly -proportioned as when evenly and well laced in the hind-lacing and -close-fronted form of corset. It has of late become the custom to -remedy the want of firmness and stability found to exist in many of -the common front-fastening corsets by sewing a kind of sheath or case -on the inside of the front immediately behind the two steels on which -the studs and slots are fixed; into this a rather wide steel busk is -passed, so that the division or opening has the centre line of the -_extra_ busk immediately behind it. That this plan answers in some -measure the desired end there is no doubt, but in such a corset as -that of Thomson and Co. no such expedient is needed. - - [Illustration: CORSET OF MESSRS. DE LA GARDE, PARIS - (FRONT).] - - [Illustration: CORSET OF MESSRS. DE LA GARDE, PARIS (BACK).] - -The accompanying illustrations are from sketches made expressly for -this work from a corset made by De La Garde and Co., of Paris, and -our readers will form their own opinion as to the contour of the -figure from which these drawings were made, which is that of a lady -who has for many years worn corsets made by the above-mentioned -firm. The waist-measure is eighteen inches. The remarks as to the -advisability of having corsets made to measure are scarcely borne -out by her experiences. She informs us that it has always been -her custom to forward to Messrs. De La Garde and Co.'s agent the -measure taken round the chest below the arms, from beneath the arm -to the hip, the circumference of the hips, and the waist-measure, -when the fit is a matter of certainty. By adopting this system -ladies residing in the country can, she assures us, always provide -themselves with corsets made by the first manufacturers in Europe -without the trouble and inconvenience of being attended for the -purpose of measurement. In ordering the "_glove-fitting corset_," the -waist measure only need be given. From M. Weiss, of Vienna, we have -received a pattern and photographs from which our other illustrations -are taken. Here we have represented the so-called "_redresseur_" -corset, devised mainly with a view to the formation of the figure in -young persons, or where careless and awkward habits of posture have -been contracted. It will be seen on examination that the front of -the chest is left entirely free for expansion, the waist only being -confined at the point where restraint is most called for. The back -is supported and kept upright by the system of boning adopted with -that view, and the shoulder-straps, after passing completely round -the point of the shoulder, are hooked together behind, thus bringing -the shoulders in their proper position and keeping them there. As -a corrective and improver to the figure there can be no doubt that -the _redresseur_ corset is a safe and most efficient contrivance. We -have had an opportunity of seeing it worn, and can testify to the -marked and obvious improvement which was at once brought about by its -application. - - [Illustration: THE "REDRESSEUR" CORSET OF VIENNA (WEISS).] - -We have heard many complaints lately of the flimsy manner in which -corsets of comparatively high price are turned out by their makers, -the stitching being so weak that re-sewing is not unfrequently needed -after a few days' wear. The edges of the whalebones, too, instead -of being rounded off and rendered smooth, are often, we find, left -as sharp as a knife, causing the coutil or other material to be cut -through in a very few days. The eyelet-holes are also made so small -and narrow at the flanges that no hold on the material is afforded, -and even the most moderate kind of lacing causes them to break from -their hold, fall out, and leave a hole in the material of which the -corset is made, which if not immediately repaired by working round -in the old-fashioned way rapidly enlarges, frays out, and runs into -an unsightly hole. Corset-makers should see that the circle of metal -beyond the orifice through which the lace passes is sufficiently wide -to close down perfectly on the fabric, and retain a firm hold of -it; if they do not do so, the old worked eyelet-hole is preferable -to the stud, notwithstanding the neat appearance of the stud and the -apparent advantage it has over the old plan. A form of corset made -without lacing-holes, known as the "_Minet Back_," with which many -of our readers will no doubt be familiar, and which was extensively -worn in France some few years ago, is still to be obtained of some -few makers in England. This has a row of short strong loops sewn just -beyond each back whalebone. Through these pass from top to bottom, on -each side of the back, a long round bar of strong whalebone, which -is secured in its place by a string passing through a hole made in -its top to the upper loop of each row. The lace (a flat silk one) was -passed through the spaces between the loops, and was tightened over -the smooth round whalebone, thus enabling the wearer not only to lace -with extreme tightness without danger to the corset, but admitting of -its almost instant removal by slightly slackening the lace and then -drawing out one of the bars, which immediately sets the interlacing -free from end to end. We are rather surprised that more of these -corsets are not worn, as there are numerous advantages attendant on -them. Our space will not admit of our more than glancing _en passant_ -at the various inventions which have from time to time been brought to -the notice of the public. By some inventors the use of elastic webbing -or woven indiarubber cloth was taken advantage of, and great stress -was laid on the resilient qualities of the corsets to which it was -applied. But it must never be lost sight of that all materials of an -elastic nature, when fitted tightly to the figure, not only have the -power of expanding on the application of force, but are unceasingly -exercising their own extensive powers of contraction. Thus, no amount -of custom could ever adapt the waist to the space allotted to it, -as with the elastic corset it is changing every second, and always -exercising constriction even when loosely laced. The narrow bands -hollowed out over the hips may be, as some writers on the subject have -stated, adapted for the possessors of very slight figures who ride -much on horseback; but many ladies of great experience in the matter -strongly condemn them as being inefficient and calculated to lead -to much detriment to the figure. Thus writes a correspondent to the -_Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine_:-- - - "As one of your correspondents recommends the waistbands in lieu - of corsets, I have during the last three weeks made a trial - of them, and shall be glad if you will allow me to express my - opinion that they are not only disadvantageous but positively - dangerous to the figure. Your correspondent says that ordinary - corsets, if drawn in well at the waist, hurt a woman cruelly - all the way up. I can only say that if she finds such to be the - case the remedy is in her own hands. If ladies would only take - the trouble to have their stays made to measure for them, and - have plenty of room allowed round the chest, not only would the - waist look smaller, but no discomfort would be felt such as H. - W. describes. Young girls should always be accurately fitted, - but it is, I have found, a mistake to have their corsets too - flimsy or elastic. I quite agree that they should be commenced - early--indeed, they usually are so, and thus extreme compression - being unnecessary, the instances brought forward by the lady who - commenced the discussion and by Nora must, I think, be looked - upon as exceptional cases. - - "EFFIE MARGETSON." - -Another lady writing in the same journal says--"No one will grudge -'The Young Lady Herself' any sympathy she may claim for the torture -she has submitted to, but so far from her case being condemnatory of -stays it is the reverse, for she candidly admits that she does not -suffer ill-health. Now such a case as hers is an exception, and the -stout young lady spoken of by Nora is also an exception, for it is -seldom that girls are allowed to attain the age of fourteen or fifteen -before commencing stays. The great secret is to begin their use as -early as possible, and no such severe compression will be requisite. -It seems absurd to allow the waist to grow large and clumsy, and then -to reduce it again to more elegant proportions by means which must at -first be more or less productive of inconvenience. There is no article -of civilised dress which, when first begun to be worn, does not feel -uncomfortable for a time to those who have never worn it before. The -barefooted Highland lassie carries her shoes to the town, puts them on -on her arrival, and discards them again directly she leaves the centre -of civilisation. A hat or a coat would be at first insupportable to -the men of many nations, and we all know how soon the African belle -threw aside the crinoline she had been induced to purchase. But surely -no one would argue against these necessary articles of dress merely on -the ground of inconvenience to the wearer, for, however uncomfortable -they may be at first, it is astonishing how soon that feeling goes off -and how indispensable they become. My opinion is that stays should -always be made to order, and not be of too flimsy a construction. I -think H. W.'s suggestions regarding the waistbands only applicable -to middle-aged ladies or invalids, as they do not give sufficient -support to growing girls, and are likely to make the figure look too -much like a sack tied round the middle instead of gradually tapering -to the waist. Brisbane's letter shows how those who have never -tried tight-lacing are prejudiced against it, and that merely from -being shown a print in an old medical work, while Nora's letter is -infinitely more valuable, as showing how even the most extreme lacing -can be employed without injury to health. - - "L. THOMPSON." - -Such a work as this would be incomplete without some remarks touching -the best means to be applied for the achievement of the desired end, -and hence a letter from a lady of great experience, who has paid -much attention to the subject, contributed to the _Englishwoman's -Domestic Magazine_, enables us to give the very best possible kind of -information--viz., that gathered by personal observation. Thus she -writes:-- - - "In the numerous communications on the subject of tight-lacing - which have appeared in the _Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine_, - but little has been said on the best mode of applying the - corset in order to produce elegance of figure. It seems to - me that nearly all those who suffer from tight-lacing do so - from an _injudicious_ use of the corset, and in such cases the - unfortunate corset generally gets all the blame, and not the - wearer who makes an improper use of it. I can easily understand - that a girl who is full grown, or nearly so, and who has been - unaccustomed to wear tight stays, should find it difficult and - painful to lace in her waist to a fashionable size; but if - the corset be worn at an early age and the figure gradually - moulded by it, I know of no terrible consequences that need - be apprehended. I would therefore recommend the early use of - a corset that fits the figure nicely and no more. Now, simply - wearing stays that only _fit_, will, when a girl is growing, - in a great measure prevent the waist from becoming clumsy. - If, however, on her reaching the age of fourteen or fifteen, - her waist be still considered too large, a smaller corset may - be worn with advantage, which should be _gradually_ tightened - till the requisite slimness is achieved. I know of so many - instances in which, under this system, girls have, when full - grown, possessed both a good figure and good health, that I - can recommend it with confidence to those parents who wish - their children to grow up into elegant and healthy women. As to - whether compression of the waist by symmetrical corsets injures - the health in any way, opinion seems to be divided. The personal - experiences of tight-lacers, as your correspondent Belle has - observed, will do more to solve this knotty question than any - amount of theory. But whatever conclusion we may come to on - this point, there is no denying the fact that very many of the - strongest and healthiest women one sees in society habitually - practise tight-lacing, and apparently do so with impunity. - - "AN OLD SUBSCRIBER." - -As we have before stated, the remarks and observations contained -in the above letter are the result of careful study and a thorough -acquaintance with the subject, and not of hasty conclusion, -prejudice, or theory. A letter in the earlier portion of this work, -from an old Edinburgh correspondent to the _Queen_, than whom few are -more competent to direct and advise on this important subject, will be -found precisely to the same end, and we feel sure, in laying before -the reader such united experiences, that much will be done towards -the establishment of such a system of management as will lead to the -almost certain achievement of grace and elegance of figure without -the sacrifice of health. That these are most important and desirable -objects for attainment few would be puritanical and headstrong enough -to deny, and there can be no question that, however superb or simple -a lady's costume may be, it is mainly dependent for its elegance of -adjustment and distinctiveness of style to the corset and crinoline -beneath it. - -We have seen how Mrs. Selby's invention influenced the world of -fashion in her day, and a glance at the illustration at page 114 will -be sufficient to prove how inferior, in point of grace and elegance, -the costume of that period was to that of our own time. Some idea may -be formed of the wide-spread and almost universal attention which -Mrs. Selby's wondrous "_crinoline conception_" met at the hands of -the fashionable world by a perusal of the following lines, which were -written at Bath concerning it in the year 1711, and are entitled, _The -Farthingale Reviewed; or, More Work for the Cooper. A paneygerick on -the late but most admirable invention of the hooped petticoat._ - - "There's scarce a bard that writ in former time - Had e'er so great, so bright a theme for rhyme; - The _Mantua_ swain, if living, would confess - Ours more surprising than his Tyrian dress, - And Ovid's mistress, in her loose attire, - Would cease to charm his eyes or fan Love's fire. - Were he at _Bath_, and had these coats in view, - He'd write his _Metamorphosis_ anew, - - "Delia, fresh hooped, would o'er his heart prevail, - To leave Corinna and her tawdry veil. - Hear, great Apollo! and my genius guide, - To sing this glorious miracle of pride, - Nor yet disdain the subject for its name, - Since meaner things have oft been sung to Fame; - Even boots and spurs have graced heroic verse, - Butler his knight's whole suit did well rehearse; - King Harry's costume stands upon record, - And every age will precedents afford. - Then on, my Muse, and sing in epic strain - The petticoat--thou shalt not sing in vain, - The petticoat will sure reward thy pain; - With all thy skill its secret virtues tell-- - A petticoat should still be handled well. - - "Oh garment heavenly wide! thy spacious round - Do's my astonished thoughts almost confound; - My fancy cannot grasp thee at a view, - None at first sight e'er such a picture drew. - The daring artist that describes thee true, - Must change his sides as modern statesmen do, - Or like the painter, when some church he draws, - Following his own, and not the builder's laws, - At once shows but the prospect to the sight, - For north and south together can't be right. - - "Hence, ye profane! nor think I shall reveal - The happy wonders which these vests conceal; - Hence your unhallow'd eyes and ears remove, - 'Tis _Cupid's_ circle, 'tis the orb of Love. - Let it suffice you see th' unwieldy fair - Sail through the streets with gales of swelling air; - Nor think (like fools) the ladies, would they try, - Arm'd with their furbelows and these, could fly. - That's all romantick, for these garments show - Their thoughts are with their petticoats below. - - "Nor must we blame them whilst they stretch their art - In rich adornment and being wondrous smart; - For that, perhaps, may stand 'em more in stead - Than loads of ribbons fluttering on the head. - And, let philosophers say what they will, - There's something surer than their eyes do's kill; - We tell the nymph that we her face adore, - But plain she sees we glance at something more. - - "In vain the ladies spend their morning hours - Erecting on their heads stupendous towers; - A battery from thence might scare the foe, - But certain victory is gained below. - Let _Damon_ then the adverse champion be-- - Topknots for him, and petticoats for me; - Nor must he urge it spoils the ladies' shape, - Tho' (as the multitude at monsters gape) - The world appears all lost in wild amaze, - As on these new, these strange machines they gaze; - For if the Queen the poets tell us of, from Paphos came, - Attired as we are told by antique fame, - Thus would they wonder at the heavenly dame. - - "I own the female world is much estranged - From what it was, and top and bottom changed. - The head was once their darling constant care, - But women's heads can't heavy burdens bear-- - As much, I mean, as they can do elsewhere; - So wisely they transferred the mode of dress, - And furnished t'other end with the excess. - What tho' like spires or pyramids they show, - Sharp at the top, and vast of bulk below? - It is a sign they stand the more secure: - A maypole will not like a church endure, - And ships at sea, when stormy winds prevail, - Are safer in their ballast than their sail. - - "Hail, happy coat! for modern damsels fit, - Product of ladies' and of taylors' wit; - Child of Invention rather than of Pride, - What wonders dost thou show, what wonders hide! - Within the shelter of thy useful shade, - Thin _Galatea's_ shrivelled limbs appear - As plump and charming as they did last year; - Whilst tall _Miranda_ her lank shape improves, - And, graced by thee, in some proportion moves. - Ev'n those who are diminutively short - May please themselves and make their neighbours sport, - When, to their armpits harnessed up in thee, - Nothing but head and petticoats we see. - But, oh! what a figure fat _Sempronia_ makes! - At her gigantick form the pavement quakes; - By thy addition she's so much enlarged, - Where'er she comes, the sextons now are charged - That all church doors and pews be wider made-- - A vast advantage to a joiner's trade. - - "Ye airy nymphs, that do these garments wear, - Forgive my want of skill, not want of care; - Forgive me if I have not well displayed - A coat for such important uses made. - If aught I have forgot, it was to prove - How fit they are, how _apropos_ for love, - How in their circles cooling zephyrs play, - Just as a tall ship's sails are filled on some bright summer day. - But there my Muse must halt--she dares no more - Than hope the pardon which she ask'd before." - - [Illustration: THE FASHION OF 1868.] - -Fashions have altered, times have changed, hooped petticoats have -been in turn honoured and banished, just as the fickle goddess of the -mirror has decreed. Still, as an arrow shot in the air returns in -time to earth, so surely does the hooped jupon return to power after -a temporary estrangement from the world of gaiety. The illustration -on page 223 represents the last new form of crinoline, and there -can be no doubt that its open form of front is a most important -and noteworthy improvement. Preceding this engraving, we have an -illustration representing two ladies in the costume of the present -season arranged over "the glove-fitting corset" and "Zephyrina jupon," -for patterns of both of which we are indebted to the courtesy of -Messrs. Thomson and Co., the inventors and manufacturers. - - [Illustration: THE ZEPHYRINA JUPON.] - -It is the custom with some authors to uphold the claims of _nature_ -in matters relating to human elegance, and we admit that nature in -her own way is particularly charming, so long as the accessories and -surroundings are in unison. But in the human heart everywhere dwells -an innate love of adornment, and untaught savages, in their toilet -appliances and tastes, closely resemble the belles of highly-civilised -communities. We have already referred to the crinoline petticoats -worn by the Tahitian girls when they were first seen by the early -navigators. The frilled ruff which so long remained a high court -favourite during the Elizabethan period (and which, if we mistake not, -will again have its day) was as well known to the dusky beauties of -the palm-clad, wave-lashed islands of the Pacific, when Cook first -sailed forth to discover new lands, as it was to the stately and -proud dames of Venice. Beneath, we place side by side types of savage -elegance and refined taste. Where the one begins and the other ends, -who shall say? - - [Illustration: TAHITIAN DANCING GIRL. VENETIAN - LADY.] - - - - -INDEX. - - - Adventure, an, of Louise de Lorraine, 92, 97. - - Alarming diseases said to be produced by wearing high-heeled - shoes, 194, 195. - - Ancient inhabitants of Polenqui, reduction of the waist by, 10. - - An Italian duchess, the costume of, 54. - - Antiquities of Egypt, researches among, 25-27. - - Augsburg, the ladies of, by Hoechstetterus, 104. - - Austria, Empress of, elegant figure of, 165. - - - Backboards and stocks, 134. - - Bands (narrow), used as substitutes for corsets injurious, 213, 214. - - Barbers, an army of, 110. - - Beauties of Circassia, 13, 14. - - Beauty, Hindoo ideas regarding, 19, 20. - - Belles of India, 19, 20. - - Belt (ornamented) of the Indians, 9. - - Bernaise dress, 65. - - Blanche, daughter of Edward III., dress of, 49. - - Boarding-school discipline, letter on, 170, 171. - - Boddice, bodice, or bodies, 123. - - Bonnet à canon, the, 60. - - Bouffant sleeves of the reign of Henry II., 65. - - Bridal dress of an Israelitish lady, 28. - - Buchan, writings of, 130. - - - Ceylon, figure-training in, 13. - - Chaucer's writings, his admiration of small waists, 50. - - Chinese gentleman, letter from a, 20. - - Cleopatra and her jewels, 37. - - Clumsy figures great drawbacks to young ladies, 182. - - Conquest of the Roman Empire, 38. - - Corps, the, 72, 75. - - Corset, a peculiar form of, worn by some ladies of fashion in - France, 190. - - Corset in use among the Israelitish ladies, 28, 29. - - Corset, general use of the, on the Continent for boys, 136-138. - - Corset, origin of, 9. - - Corset, use of by the inhabitants of the Eastern Archipelago, 10. - - Corset-covers (steel), 75. - - Corsets and high-heeled shoes denounced, 194, 195. - - Corsets, custom of wearing during sleep, 150, 153. - - Corsets for growing girls, remarks on, 167, 168. - - Corsets of the present day contrasted with those of the olden - time, 196. - - Corsets, remarks on the proper application of, 214-216. - - Corsets, severe form of, worn in the Elizabethan period, 75, 76. - - Corsets, the small size of, made in London, 165. - - Corsets, their use for youths, 138. - - Corsets worn by gentlemen in 1265, 46. - - Corsets worn by gentlemen of the present time, 138. - - Costume à l'enfant, 98. - - Costume à la Watteau, 109. - - Costume of the court of Louis XVI., 124. - - Costumes of the ladies of Israel, 27-29. - - Cottes hardies, 41. - - Crim Tartary, beautiful princesses of, 14, 19. - - Crinoline among the South Sea Islanders, 143. - - Crinoline and slender waists, remarks of Madame La Sante on, 143, 144. - - Crinoline not a new term, 143. - - Cromwell's time, tight-lacing in, 104. - - - De La Garde's French corsets, 209, 210. - - Demon of fashion, a monkish satire, 42. - - Determined tailor, a, 55. - - Dress in 1776, 129. - - Dress, its elegance dependent on the corset, 189. - - Dresses (low) of 1713, 115. - - Dunbar's Thistle and Rose, 50. - - - Earth-eating in Java, 13. - - Eastern Archipelago, use of the corset in, 10. - - Edict of the Emperor Joseph of Austria forbidding the use of - stays, 66. - - Edinburgh, Traditions of, anecdote from, 144. - - Egyptian fashions and costumes, 25-27. - - Elastic corsets condemned, 213. - - Eleanor, Countess of Leicester, entry in household register of, 45, - 46. - - Elegance of figure highly esteemed by the Persians, 20. - - Elegant costumes of the ancient Jewish ladies, 27-29. - - Empress of Austria, the, portrait of, 166. - - Escapade of young Louis of France, 98. - - Extravagance of the Roman ladies, 36. - - - Families, Medici, Este, and Visconti, 54. - - Family man, letter from a, 184, 185. - - Farthingale, the, protest against, 110. - - Fashionable promenades of Ancient Rome, 35. - - Fashion and dress in 1865, 189. - - Fashion in the reign of King Pepin, 41. - - Fashion in 1713, 115. - - Fashions in Ancient Egypt, 27-29. - - Figure, general remarks on the, 182. - - Figure, letter on the, 190-193. - - Figure, reduction of, by the ancient inhabitants of Polenqui, 10. - - Figure-training, 133, 167. - - Food, abstinence from, an assistance to the corset, 144, 149. - - Freaks of fashion in France and Germany, 54. - - French revolutionary period, dress during, 129. - - Front-fastening stays, remarks concerning, 202-204. - - - Gay, the writings of, 123. - - Guardian, the, correspondence from, relating to the fashions - of 1713, 110, 115, 116, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123. - - Guardian, the, letters from, relating to low dresses and tight - stays, 120-123. - - Gustavus Adolphus, the officers of, 135. - - - Hair powder, its introduction, 97. - - Henry III. of France a wearer of corsets, 76, 81. - - Hindoo belles, 19, 20. - - Hindoo standards of beauty, 19, 20. - - Hogarth, stays drawn by, 129. - - Homer speaks of the corset, 30. - - - Improvements in corsets brought about by the advance of - civilisation, 10. - - Indian hunting-belt, 9, 10. - - Israelitish ladies, 27-29. - - - Jane Shore, penance of, 46-49. - - Java, earth-eating in, 13. - - Jonson (Ben), his remarks on stays, 123. - - Jumpers and Garibaldis, 130. - - - King Charles I. of England, fashions of the court of, 103. - - King George III., fashion in the reign of, 135. - - King James and his fondness for dress, 89, 90. - - King Louis XV. of France, fashion in the reign of, 109. - - Kirtle, the, 46. - - - Ladies of Old France, 41. - - Lady Morton, diminutive waist of, 166. - - Lady Triamore, daughter of the King of the Fairies, 45. - - Lady's-maid, accomplishments of a, 123. - - Launfal, poem of, 45. - - Lawn ruffs of Queen Bess, 82, 87. - - Laws, sumptuary, relating to dress, 90. - - Letter from a lady, who habitually laces with extreme tightness, - in praise of the practice, 182-184. - - Letters from ladies who have been subjected to tight-lacing, 155-164. - - Louis XIV. of France, court of, 98. - - Louis XIV. of France, the court of, high-heeled shoes, slender - waists, and fancy costumes, fashionable at, 98. - - Louise de Lorraine, fête dress of, 97. - - Louise de Lorraine, strange freaks of, 92, 97. - - - Marie d'Anjou, costume of, 54. - - Marie de Medici and the costumes of her time, 97. - - Marie Stuart, costume of, 159. - - Medical evidence in favour of stays, 134, 135. - - Medical man, letter from, in favour of moderately tight - lacing, 154, 155. - - Minet back corset described, 213. - - Mitra used by the Grecian ladies, 33. - - Mode of adding stability to the front-fastening corset, 209. - - Mortality among the female sex not on the increase, 195. - - - Old authors, their remarks on stays, 194. - - - Peplus, the, 33. - - Proportions of the figure and size of waist considered, 193. - - Puritanism, its effect on fashion, 104. - - - Queen Anne, fashions during the reign of, 110. - - Queen Catherine de Medici and Queen Elizabeth of England, 72, 75. - - Queen Elizabeth's collection of false hair, 87, 88. - - Queen newspaper, letter from, on small waists, 165-168. - - - Redresseur corset of Vienna, 210. - - Remarks on the changes of fashion, 143. - - Remarks on the flimsy materials used in making some modern - corsets, 210. - - Revival of the taste for small waists in Old France, 41. - - Roman baths, 34, 35. - - Royal standard of fashionable slenderness, 72. - - - Scotland, small waists admired in, in olden times, 50. - - Scriptural references, 29. - - Selby, Mrs., the invention of, reviewed, 217. - - Self-measurement, remarks concerning, 209. - - Short waists and long trains, 129. - - Siamese dress, the, 98. - - Side-arms of the Elizabethan period, 91. - - Snake-toed shoes, long sleeves, and high-heeled slippers, 59. - - Starching, the art of, 82. - - Statistics, extraordinary, of the corset trade, 195. - - Statue, a fashionably dressed, 180. - - Stays, formidable kind of, in use in 1776, 129. - - Stays, the general use of the word after 1600 in England, 124. - - Stays worn habitually by gentlemen, 135. - - Strophium, the use of, by the ladies of Rome, 33. - - Stubs, Philip, on the ruff, 87-89. - - Stubs, his indignation, 88, 89. - - - Taper waists and figure-training in Ancient Rome, 38. - - Terentius, strictures and remarks of, 30. - - Thirteenth century, the small waists of, 42. - - Thomson's glove-fitting corsets, 204, 205. - - Tight corsets, letter in praise of, 182, 183. - - Tight corsets needed for short waists, 190. - - Tight-lacing revived, 130. - - Toilet of a Roman lady of fashion, 34-36. - - - United States of America, belles of the, 153. - - - Venice, fashions of the ladies of, 82, 87. - - Venus de Medici, waist of, contrasted with the waist of fashion, 180. - - Venus, the cestus of, 30. - - Vienna, slender waists the fashion in, 165. - - Voluminous nether-garments of the gentlemen of the Elizabethan - period, 82. - - - Waist, the point at which it should be formed, 193, 194· - - - Young Baronet, letter from, 184. - - - Zephyrina jupon of Thomson and Co., 221. - - - -Transcriber's Note: - -Original spelling/hyphenation/punctuation has been retained, but -typographical errors have been corrected. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Corset and the Crinoline, by William Barry Lord - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CORSET AND THE CRINOLINE *** - -***** This file should be named 53267-8.txt or 53267-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/2/6/53267/ - -Produced by deaurider, Karin Spence and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - |