LADY ARCHER~ a life in caricature

L-DY A-CH-R

"The Finishing Touch"', James Gillray

Portraits are always painted of nobility, yes? It would certainly seem so. I have tried and tried to find an actual portrait of Lady Archer(Sara West), 1741-1801, but it seems that visual imagery of this lady only exists in caricature form. She was a great subject of caricaturists, both visual and literal. I'm clipping from two articles below, the first an "intro" of sorts, the second a scathing commentary compliments of "The Female Jockey Club", 1794. It seems that she actually cut quite a dashing figure in her youth. I suppose that her great crime was an attempt to extend the physical beauty of  youth via enameling and the excitement of youth via gaming.

...an explanation of enameling. This article fails to mention lead, which was a common ingredient of the time...:

http://aquaeyeshadow.blogspot.com/2012/03/martyrs-of-fashion-1902.html


"...a process highly mysterious and jealously secreted by its practisers: that of enamelling. It substitutes for the outfit of paints a small solid envelope, transparent and coloured, which covers the face with a coat of enamel. While the most successful make-up of paint cannot long resist exposure to heat, and must be renewed at least once a day, enamel lends the face a brightness that may endure for several weeks. Its inconvenience is the ceramic stiffness, the immobility in which it holds all the features while giving them a brilliant appearance. Its application, moreover, is a long and painful operation. To fix, cold, upon the skin the colouring powers, recourse must be had to acids of a dangerous character. Part of the enamelling must be done in darkness, and two or three days of interrupted treatment are indispensable for rendering the application definitive.
Grave accidents, chronic affections of the skin, often result from enamelling that has been too energetically performed. But the very risk seems to add temptation to this mysterious operation; and who would not brave it to obtain the pearly splendour which turns the visage into a piece of art pottery? Scraped, massaged, polished, electrified, a halo of blue about the large and flashing eyes, the whole face brilliant.."

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"La Belle Assemblee", James Gillray

This lady, formerly Miss West, lived to a good age—a proof that cosmetics are not so fatal as some would have us suppose. Nature had given her a fine aquiline nose, like the princesses of the House of Austria(such as Marie Antoinette), and she did not fail to give herself a complexion. She resembled a fine old wainscoted painting, with the face and features shining through a thick incrustation of copal varnish.

Her ladyship was for many years the wonder of the fashionable world, envied by all the ladies of the Court of George the Third. She had a well-appointed house in Portland Place. Her equipage was, with her, a sort of scenery. She gloried in milk-white horses to her carriage, the coachmen and footmen wore very showy liveries, and the carriage was lined with silk of a tint to exhibit the complexion to advantage...

 ...Lady Archer lived at Barn Elms Terrace, and her house had the most elegant ornaments and draperies to strike the senses, and yet powerfully address the imagination. Her kitchengarden and pleasure-ground, of five acres—the Thames flowing in front, as if a portion of the estate—the apartments decorated in the Chinese style, and opening into hothouses stored with fruits of the richest growth, and greenhouses with plants of great rarity and beauty, and superb couches and draperies, effectively placed, rendered her home a sort of elysium of luxury.

English Eccentrics and Eccentricities, by John Timbs

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HER Ladyship's figure has been for many years common to this metropolis, but the natural complexion of her face, is no more remembered, it having been so long disguised by cosmetic art, that flesh and blood seem not to form the least part of its composition. The art of painting, however, of brushing up an old decayed picture, is not the only art in which she excels. The noble dame is a perfect mistress of all our polite, fashionable arts. In the art of driving a phaeton with superior grace and dexterity ;—of shuffling the cards, and raising a cock* at Faro. (1)

"Exaltation of Faro's Daughters"', James Gillray

In the secret art of  prudent, frugal hospitality(2), as an adept in certain manual exercises, although now bending under the weight of years, she has still the PALM(3), and in all the mysteries and arts of of love, she is acknowledged to have been the paragon of her day. His late R-yal H-n-ss the D-ke of Y—k, brother to our gracious Sovereign, the most wife and most merciful prince that ever swayed a r-y-l sceptre, and uncle to our renowned Dunkirk hero, who, we are assured, is the greatest and most successful general, the world ever saw, some thirty years years ago, submitted to her chains, a voluntary captive. The E-r-ngt-ns, the St-r-rs, who have passed away, and now only present the miserable relics of worldly vanity and folly.—Those philanders of former times once led captivity captive, too happy to be bound in her fetters. Rather more advanced in age than they, she trained up those veterans in the way they should go, and they never strayed from the right path, till forced, agreeably with the order of things, to submit to fate, and yield up their places to the superior vigour and attractions of more juvenile successors.

Her Friendship with Mr H-y E-r-ngt-n, (who can boast alliance with R-y-l blood, should not the Ecclesiastical court judge proper to interfere,) is of very ancient date, and amidst the vast variety of lovers who have succeeded one after another, that gentleman has still maintained his post, and to this very hour, mighty even in his ruins, enjoys his virtuous triumph, without exciting  envy in his contemporaries, and on his last stage, displays a singular example of the most meritorious constancy and love.

"Modern Hospitality, or, a Friendly Party in High Life"' by James Gillray

When there is a falling off of lovers; when a conscious decay of nature promises no return of those courtships and flatteries so lavishly offered to youth and beauty, other substitutes are explored. The mind must be occupied, and gaming is a noble field for avarice (which is the vice of age) to work in. Female vanity never dies, and when personal charms are faded, nor adorers to be met, still it delights in dissipated scenes, and finds a resource in the spectacles of a theatre, or in the tumultuous croud and distractions of a gaming house. Never was there a more fervent devotee, than this noble lady has uniformly been through life, to pleasure ; never, did any person labour more indefatigably to fill up the wrinkled deformities of nature, with the impotent remedies of art; but all is labour in vain the remedy worse than the disease, it chiefly consisting of mercurial and a variety of pernicious ingredients, often inflicting palsies and other most fatal maladies: nor in another sense, does it ever answer the purpose intended, exciting disgust, instead of stimulating desire: a revolting melancholy instance of which, we have now before us—a PAINTED SEPULCHRE. If the sex were only anxious to appear beautiful in their own eyes, to please themselves, doubtless, they would be free to choose their own ornaments, and to dress themselves out after their own fashion and caprice; but if it be men whom they aspire to please, if it be for them that they daub and varnish their complexions, I have collected the opinions of mankind, and I promise on the part of the great majority, if not of all, that the use of paint renders women hideous and disgusting, that it withers and disguises them, that men hate as much to behold the female countenance thus plaistered, as to see false teeth in the mouth, or balls of wax in the jaw; that they decidedly protest against every artifice employed to disfigure the sex.

"Six Stages of Mending a Face"' Thomas Rowlandson

If women were by nature, what they make themselves appear by art; were they to lose in an instant the bloom of youth; should their complexions become naturally and suddenly as leaden and wan, as they are rendered by the destructive minerals they employ, they would be inconsolable. Nevertheless, such continues the stupid, pernicious practice, in all the higher circles of polished society.

It is a glorious custom in Britain, amongst the great, for the daughters of nobility, to be presented at court, and initiated into all the virtuous enjoyment of the beau monde, as soon as they have attained a certain number of years; but our antique dame kept back her lovely daughters, nor ushered them into society, till compelled to do so, till the young ladies had bidden adieu to their mama's house, without notice, and committed themselves to other protection.

This reluctance on her part to make known her OFFSPRING, the fruits of honest and lawful love, has also been assigned to a different cause.—Her ladyship being to enjoy the interest of their fortunes while they remained unmarried, it has been wickedly reported, that her conduct was influenced in this business, by the above sordid ungenerous motive.

"Discipline a la Kenyon"' James Gillray

The motive however, is immaterial. The widow's income was certainly very much reduced by her daughters' marriages, and as it is rather a painful talk to curtail those luxuries, which custom has rendered essential to existence, it became necessary to strike out some plan of reparation, for this decrease of property, whereby me might be able still to keep up her former splendid appearance, and set the envy of gossip malignity at defiance. The fecundity of her brain supplied an adequate remedy. A  faro bank was to be the happy instrument of renovation, and Plutus has crowned her most sanguine hopes.

"The Loss of the Faro Bank", James Gillray

In the temple of virtue, which she inhabits, a happy freedom reigns, and it is only to be lamented, as a partial drawback on the pleasure derived from the profits of her bank, that so perfect is the liberty which there exists that she is treated with as little respect, and with as sovereign contempt by her honourable and  noble noble guests, as if she were, what most assuredly she is not—a prostituted mistress of the vilest gaming brothel. So true it is, that there scarcely exist any uses, without their abuses. But when great benefits flow from any system, little petty evils that may attend it, are scarcely felt, and if the grand object be fulfilled, a few trifling rebuffs and hard words are not deserving of notice. Besides, sensibility is not very quick or irritable at a gaming table, except on that point, wherein the mind is immediately engaged, and provided money replenishes the bank, my Lord's abuse makes very little impression on my lady's sentiment.

Characters of this description are not unfrequently devout. Her Ladyship, in the year 1793, was seized with an alarming paralytic complaint, since which time, her piety shines conspicuous, and religion is blended with her other devotions; yet it is to be sincerely regretted, that her religion consists more in outward visible show than in inward spiritual grace and that if her theory be just, her practice is miserably imperfect, so that all her piety and faith neither procure her friendship, love, or respect.

We now bid adieu to this hackneyed female veteran, whose whole life, it must seriously be admitted, has been consumed in one unvaried round of vapid or c-m-n-l pursuits; who threatened as she now is by approaching infirmities, cannot command one endearing reflection to cheer and console her, and who is about to quit this mortal stage, without being able morally to say, "I have performed one good or generous action."

(1) * An expression much used at the intricate and pleasant game of Faro, and a practice never omitted, when an opportunity offers.

(2) * It is a general complaint amongst our elegant muscadins and muscadines who frequent her Ladyship's assemblies and punt at her bank, that when lemons are dear, she makes her lemonade of cream of tartar, which is apt very much to agitate their noble intestines, and to produce a most unpleasant effect in the company.

(3) It must here be observed that her Ladyship's little lovely virgin sister M—fs W-t, long disputed the preeminence with her in this truly ingenious and popular art,and with whom the victory remained, was left fpr arbitration, to that pink of chivalry, that favourite of the fair, that all competent judge, the illustrious and puissant chevalier of the B-ck R—d, who after repeated trials, impartially pronounced their merits to be so equal, that it was impossible for him to decide between them.

 Not A-ch-r's bible can secure her age,

Her threescore years are shuffling with her page,

 While death stands by, but till the game is done,

 To sweep that stake, in justice long his own."

source: "The Female Jockey Club", by Charles Pigott

"The Royal Joke, or Black Jack's Delight", James Gillray

Strange Antique Cosmetic Recipe~ Pigeon Water~

I have no doubt that the pigeon population of England plummeted after this secret was revealed....


DANISH COSMETIC.

proffering pigeon water?

It has been often remarked of the ladies of this country, that their complexion is more fair, and their colour more delicate and lasting than any other. It is probable that for this advantage they are in some degree indebted to nature; but it is certain that they are very assiduous to assist nature by art, and there is great reason to believe that their assiduity has it's desired effect. For this purpose they make use of a beautifying wash which they call Pigeon Water ;—the method of preparing which they affect to keep secret, but it is as follows.

Take of the water of nenuphar or water-lilly, bean water, melon water, cucumber water, and the juice of lemons, of each one ounce; of  briony, wild succory, flowers de luce, borage, and bean-flowers, of each a handful; of white pigeons seven or eight, pluck them, and cut the heads and ends of the wings, then mince them very small, and put them, with the other ingredients into an alembic; add also four ounces of double refined sugar, one drachm of borax, and as much camphire; the crumb of four small white loaves new from the oven, and a pint of good white wine. Let them digest in the alembic seventeen or eighteen days, after which distill the whole and reserve the water for use.

Amelie Margrethe Wedel-Heinen, Danish
Lady-in-Waiting pre-1900

Before this water is used, they make the skin perfectly clean with the following composition. Take about the fourth part of the crumb of a rye loaf, fresh from the oven, the whites of four fresh eggs, and a pint of vinegar : beat them well together, and strain the whole through a linen scarf? Many ladies in this country [ Denmark] who are full fifty years of age, preserve by these means all the freshness and bloom of twenty-one.

Portrait of a Lady- Christtine of Denmark,
Dowager-Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, (1521
-1590)
 anonymous. image source- wiki

This cosmetic I beg leave to recommend to the ladies of Great Britain, instead of those artificial colourings which are now in vogue, and which will inevitably destroy the finest, complexion in a short time.


William Wimple.

les pigeons blancs

Following the Fashion~

An article, "WOMEN'S DRESS" from a book entitled "Old Times: a Picture of Social Life at the End of the Eighteenth Century", by John Ashton, 1885.


I've copied the article in it's entirety. The line drawings are from the book, I've taken the liberty of including the actual Gillray and Cruikshank images when I could find them rather than the author's line drawings...I've also thrown in a few illustrations from other publications that I thought illustrated the text well. 


A good read, with lots of snippets from newspapers and magazines of the day.

The earliest Lady's fashion book I can find in the British Museum, is "The Lady's Monthly Museum," &c. "By a Society of Ladies,"—and it was published in 1799—or just the last year of which this book takes cognizance. But, luckily, the satirical prints supply the want, in a great measure, although they are somewhat exaggerated. From them we are able to see pictorially what might be hard to describe, and may be perfectly certain that they represent "the very last thing out" at their date of Publication. If, then, we have very little written about female attire, in 1788, and the next year, or two, we must be content with viewing the verce effigies of the belles of that time.

Indoor Costumes, 1788

Brighton, of course, was the fashionable wateringplace, for there were the life and gaiety of the young Court, in contradistinction to the humdrum existence led by the King, Queen, and younger branches of the Royal Family, at Weymouth. So it will be interesting to know their habits at this famous sea-side resort. The Morning Post, 18th September 1788, has the following :—

"The Ladies have no particular dress for the morning, but huddle away to the bathing place, in close caps, and gipsey bonnets, so that they look like a set of wandering fortune-tellers, who have just had the opportunity of pillaging the contents of a frippery warehouse, with which they had bedecked themselves in haste.


"It is to be remarked that the ladies do not atone for the negligence of the morning, by neatness, and elegance, during the rest of the day, but shuffle on something by dinner time, covering themselves with an enormous nondescript bonnet, which, to the confusion of all order, they afterwards think a proper garb for the Assembly."

In doors, the dresses were not so outre, as we see by the two illustrations taken from "The School for Scandal," 1st August 1788.

"A Cotillion", 1788

Fashions for 1788

That ladies copied the eccentricities of male attire, and made them their own, we have proof in this cutting from the Morning Post, I5th January 1789 :—

"Among other fashions lately introduced from Paris is the brace of gold watch chains now sported by our fashionable females. Some economical husbands may wish their wives were less imitative."

The Duchess of York

The portrait of the Duchess of York (the Princess Frederique, Charlotte, Ulrique, Catherine, of Prussia, married to the Duke, November 1791), shews us the indoor dress of a lady of rank in 1792. She had a remarkably small foot, and many were the delineations of her shoes—actual size, &c.

Of all curious freaks of fashion the following is the most incomprehensible, yet it doubtless obtained :—

"The fashion of dressing, at present, is to appear prominent, and the stays are made accordingly. This is holding out a wish to be thought in a thriving way, even without the authority of the Arches Court of Canterbury—something in the French way—a philosophical desire to be conspicuously great with Mischief, without any regard to law or reason. The idea was at first sent forward by a few dropsical Ladies."—(Times, March 25, 1793.)

"The Wapping Land-ladies are all at the very pinnacle of the fashion. Nature has given them prominences which far outpicture the false mountains at the West end of the town. It is not only the fashion of appearing six months gone, that prevails with the ladies—but that of not having any waists, so that, even with their prominences, they may be called—No-body." (Times, April 15, 1793.)

"Six Stages of Mending a Face", Rowlandson

A series of prints were published which represent the amount of indebtedness, ladies were under, to Art, to repair the ravages made by Nature.


~No. I shows us most graphically the. "levee au matin." —Tears drop from the eyeless socket—a yawn discloses the want of teeth, and, the handkerchief, tied round the head, which does service for a night cap, tells a sad tale of baldness.


~In No. 2 the defect of nature is being remedied by the insertion of a glass eye—which the subsequent illustrations prove to be very effective.


~No. 3 shows the triumph of the hairdresser's art; and, certainly, it adds much to the ladies personal attractions.


~In No. 4 false teeth are being inserted, to replace those, of which unkind nature has robbed her.


~No. 5 applies the bloom of youth to the faded cheek, —a bloom that never yet deceived any one.


~In No. 6 the Belle has finished her toilette, and is now prepared to break all hearts.

This series is attributed to Rowlandson—and, most probably, is his work. It is called "Six Stages of making a face.—Dedicated with respect to Lady Archer," of which lady we shall hear more anon under the head of " Gaming."

Waists, as may have been perceived by the last two, or three examples, have been gradually disappearing, until, as in "The Scarecrow," they became practically nil. High feathers were beginning to come in, and, in addition to the "panache," was worn a curious thing made of straw, very much resembling the "bristle plume" which used to be worn in the Shakos of our Engineers, and Artillery. In imitation of the men, the ladies' throats were swathed in voluminous wrappers.

With very low bodices, and very high waists, came very scanty clothing, with an absence of petticoat, a fashion which left very little of the form to the imagination. I do not say that our English Belles went to the extent of some of their French sisters, of having their muslin dresses put on damp—and holding them tight to their figures till they dried—so as absolutely to mould them to their form, or that they ever discarded stockings, and went to balls with bare feet, and only wearing sandals, having on but the lightest of classical clothing—but their clothes were of the scantiest, and we shall find that, as year succeeded year, this fashion developed, if one can call diminution of clothing, development. Men made fun of it, vide the following from the Times, I2th August, 1794:—"Amongst prudent papas, the favourite toast at this time is 'The present fashion of our wives and daughters,' viz. No Waste."

There was a very pretty song, called "Shepherds, I have lost my love, Have you seen my Anna ?"—and this was parodied as follows—the music being the same as the original song:—

SHEPHERDS, I HAVE LOST MY WAIST.                             


"Shep-herds, I have lost my waist, Have you seen my bo - - dy
Sac-ri-ficed to mo-dern taste, I'm quite a hod - dy dod - - dy.


Tisgone,andl have not a nook For cheesecake, tart, or jel - ly.

Never shall I see it more,

   Till, common sense returning, 

My body to my legs restore, 

  Then I shall cease from mourning, 

Folly and fashion do prevail 

  To such extremes among the fair, 

A woman's only top and tail, 

The body's banish'd God knows where!'

That a fashion may become one person, and not another, is peculiarly exemplified by the two following pictures by Gillray, 9th December, 1794, both called "Following the Fashion : "—

Gillray~ "Following the Fashion", image source, wiki

"St . James's giving the Ton, I "Cheapside aping the Mode, a Soul without a Body." I a Body without a Soul."

note~ the author appears to be referencing the two women in this one picture~

"Leaving off Powder"... Gillray

 The tax on Hair powder was much objected to; people had been used, for a long time, to grease, and powder their hair and wigs; and, when the duty of a Guinea per head was passed, many left off using it. The illustration "Leaving off Powder, or a Frugal family saving a Guinea," was doubtless the fact in many a family. The man, in the coloured engraving, with his "crop," to our eyes does not look so singular, as the lady, with her "fausse chevelure" unpowdered looks so bad, that, no wonder, ladies reverted to their own locks, as we see in future illustrations. So also shall we see the "Cap " of the period, the length of which is most amusingly portrayed.

The wearing of false hair is of very early origin, inasmuch as we possess, in the British Museum, an early Egyptian wig, and, in every age, we find women supplementing their natural attractions, by the addition of some one else's hair. Here is a Hair-dresser's advertisement of 1795, wherein is not only mentioned the price, &c., of hair, but shows the antiquity of the "Chignon," which, otherwise, many might think of modern date.

"TO THE LADIES.—T. BOWMAN respectfully acquaints the Ladies, that he has entirely removed his Shop and Manufactory to No. 102 New Bond Street, near Brook Street. Firmly relying upon the future favors and recommendation of his old Customers, and trusting to the superiority of his articles, he has augmented his stock of Chignons or Braids, from 600 to near 1000, in 14 shades (not 20) of brown colours, besides Auburns, Flaxens, &c., and in 8 lengths (not 50) at Ids., 14s., £1 1s.,^1 us. 6d., £2 zs., £3 3s., £4 4s., and £6 6s. each. Any colour matched in all the sizes in a minute. T. Bowman formerly gave a description of his Braids, but that has been copied by another and applied unto his own, without their possessing one requisite for which Bowman's Braids have been distinguished: and, not contented with slaying by twenties, he now kills by fifties. Bravo! Captain Boabdill, fifty more, kill them!!! As for the shades, what with Chinese hairs, mixing, and dying, he may have them (as he says) of every tint, but for real, natural, Brown colours. T. Bowman, with by far the greatest stock in the Kingdom, cannot make more than 14 shades; he can only challenge a comparison, and pledges himself to make good every assertion he has at any time made. His Brunswick fillets, an entire new and elegant article, with curls complete, fit either for morning or full dress, from 7s. 6d. to los. 6d. each, with Tetes, Borders, and every article in ornamental Hair, much cheaper than at any shop in town: having a very large stock, and dealing for ready money only, he has as yet made no advance on his old prices, although the price of hair is now double. Country orders, with money, or reference, duly observed. Chignons, &c, changed when not approved of, if not powdered."—(Times, June 22, 1795.)

"Corsettes about six inches long, and a slight buffon tucker of two inches high, are now the only defensive paraphernalia of our fashionable Belles, between the necklace and the apronstrings.— (Times, June 24, 1795.)

"The annual City Assemblies, from the glowing colours which decorate the belles, may be now fairly styled red-hot balls."—(Times, Dec. 29, 1795.)

But Feathers were now used on the shafts levelled at the vagaries of Fashion.

"At all elegant Assemblies, there is a room set apart for the lady visitants to put their feathers on, as it is impossible to wear them in any carriage with a top to it. The lustres are also removed upon this account, and the doors are carried up to the height of the ceiling. A well-dressed Lady, who nods with dexterity, can give a friend a little tap upon the shoulder across the room, without incommoding the dancers. The Ladies' feathers are now generally carried in the sword-case, at the back of the carriage."—(Times, Dec. 29, 1795.)

"A young lady, only ten feet high, was overset in one of the late gales of wind, in Portland Place, and the upper mast of her feather blown upon Hampstead Hill."

"The maroon fever has been succeeded by a very odd kind of light-headedness, which the physicians call the ptereo mania, or feather folly."

"The Ladies now wear feathers exactly of their own length, so that a woman of fashion is twice as long upon her feet as in her bed."—(Times, Dec. 30, 1795.)

"We saw a feather in Drury Lane Theatre, yesterday evening, that cost ten guineas. We should have thought the whole goose not worth the money."—(Times, Jan. 6, 1796.)

Here is a contrivance by which "A Modern Belle going to the Rooms or Balls" can go fully dressed, with her feathers fixed :—

"There is to be seen in Gt. Queen Street, a Coach upon a new construction. The Ladies set in this well, and see between the spokes of the wheels. With this contrivance the fair proprietor is able to go quite dressed to her visits, her feathers being only a yard and a half high."—(Times, Jan. 22, 1796.)

The freaks of fashion, towards the latter end of 1795, are most curious. "Waggoner's frocks," and the "Petticoat" dress, are singular illustrations of feminine taste. This latter is noticed in a paragraph in the Times, 27th Oct. 1795. "The present fashionable dress is the most simple imaginable. The petticoat is pinned to the Cravat, and the arms come out at the pocket holes."

"The only new fashions that remain for our modern belles are certainly puzzling and difficult. There can be nothing new. but going either dressed or naked."—(Times, Jan. 27, 1796.)

The following paragraph from the Times refers not only to the general absence of dress, but also to the famous (or infamous) Miss Chudleigh, a maid of Honour to the Queen, afterwards Duchess of Kingston, and tells the story of how the Princess of Wales, wife of Frederick (father of George III.), rebuked her for her nakedness.

"One night, when the late Duchess of Kingston appeared at Ranelagh in a dress which may be compared with the undress of some of our fashionable belles, a handkerchief was thrown to her, not from the Prince, but the Princess of Wales."—(Times, March 5, 1796.)

"Ladt Godiva's Rout", Gillray

"Lady Godiva's Rout, or Peeping Tom spying out Pope Joan," is by Gillray, I2th March 1796, and is a scathing satire on the extremely decollete'e, and diaphonous, dresses of the time. The fair one, whose uncovered bosom so attracts the candle snuffer, is intended to represent Lady Georgiana Gordon, afterwards Duchess of Bedford.

"High Change in Bond Street", Gillray

"High Change in Bond Street" is by Gillray (27th March 1796), and is a most amusing caricature of the then prevalent fashions both of men and women. The "Bond Street Loungers," are depicted to perfection.

"At the late Fandango Ball in Dublin, a certain Lady of Fashion appeared in the following very whimsical dress:—Flesh coloured pantaloons, over which was a gauze petticoat, tucked up at each side in drapery, so that both thighs could be seen; the binding of the petticoat was tied round the neck, and her arms were through the pocket holes. Her head dress was a man's pearl coloured stocking, the foot hanging down at the back of the head like a lappet, and in the heel of the stocking was stuck a large diamond pin, the tout ensemble not less novel, than ludicrous.1'—(Times, May 26, 1796.)

 "Whalebone- Veils are worn by all the fashionable dames at Weymouth. This invention is evidently borrowed from the head of a one horse chaise."—(Times, August 27, 1796.)

"High heels are once more the rage; there is, however, no scarcity of flats. During the reign of the flat sole, the Ladies make more faux-pas than ever, so that we need entertain no apprehensions for them, if they chuse to get upon stilts. What with high heels and high feathers, the better half of many an honest man is just one third part of herself."—(Times, August 27, 1796.)

"Fashion would be its own murderer, if it were to be constant and permanent. The last year's dress seems to abdicate entirely; even the waist is walking down towards the hip; and three straps, with buckles in front, have abridged so much of the usurpation of the petticoat . One cannot see so many Ladies of high ton with the straps over the bosom, without thinking how much better they might have been employed over the shoulders."—(Times, Aug. 27, 1796.)

"Before the waist is quite again in fashion, and while the thing exists (which will soon be incredible), we set down the measurement of a petticoat in the summer of 1796, which for a middling-sized woman is five foot and an inch."—(Times, Nov. 4, 1796.)

"It would not be easily believed by our Great Grandmothers, that their lovely daughters cannot make their appearance without a dozen combs in their heads, and as many false curls and cushions. The victory over black pins is complete."—(Times, May 30, 1797.)

"Horse Hair has risen near 50 per cent, since Wigs have become so much the rage."—(Times, April 27, 1798.)

"The women at Paris are every day divesting themselves of some of the customary articles of dress, and the rage for nudity is so great, that it is apprehended, even by the Parisian Journalists, they will shortly have the effrontery to present themselves to the public eye in a state of pure nature. One of them appeared a few days since in the Champs Elysdes, in a simple robe of spotted black gauze, and shewed so much that little was left to guess. The spectators were struck with indignation at this flagrant violation of decorum, and she was compelled to make a shameful and precipitate retreat."— (Times, June 18, 1798.)

An Artist has advertised that he makes up worn out Umbrellas into fashionable Gypsey Bonnets. The transition is so easy, that he is scarce to be praised for the invention.

"The Gypsey Bonnet is commonly worn by the Lancashire Witches."—(Times, July 7, 1798.)

"We are very happy to see the waists of our fair. country women walking downwards by degrees towards the hip. But, as we are a little acquainted with the laws of increasing velocity in fashionable gravitation, we venture to express, thus early in their descent, a hope that they will stop there."—(Times, April 15, 1799.)

"Straw in the head-dress, according to the laws and immemorial customs of the stage, denotes the unsoundness of the brain it covers. Several of those useful and respectable young men, who make the campaign of Bond Street, have thought proper to invest their temples with the sacred symbols, and wear straw hats to give notice of their light-headedness."— (Times, July 4, 1799.)

The Censor could also be severe on the harmless "Reticule."

"In the present age of political innovation, it is curious to observe the great veneration for antiquity which prevails in all our dresses and fashions. Queen Elizabeth's ruffs decorate our blooming belles; and our beaux are puckered and stuffed on the shoulders d la Richard the Third. But what is still more remarkable, is the total abjuration of the female pocket. Those heavy appendages are no more worn at present than keys at the girdles. Every fashionable fair carries her purse in her workbag. Her money and her industry lie cheek by jowl: and her gambling gains lie snug by her housewife. Her handkerchiefs, her toothpick case, her watch, and her keys, if she has any, are the constant concomitants of her visits; and while no part of the symmetry of her shape is altered or concealed by the old-fashioned panniers, she has the pleasure of laying everything that belongs to her upon the table wherever she goes."—(Times, Nov. 9, 1799.)

"A dashing Lady of Fashion, inconvenienced by the new custom of carrying a bag with her handkerchief smelling-bottle, purse, &c., &c., went to a large party the other evening, attended by a Page, who was employed to present the articles as they might be wanted. The Page was well qualified to go through the fatigues of office, being well-made, active, and just one and twenty. Should the example be imitated, Pages will probably be more in request than waiting-women."— (Times, Def. 7, 1799.)

"If the present fashion of nudity continues its career, the Milliners must give way to the Carvers, and the most elegant fig-leaves will be all the mode.

"The fashion of false bosoms has at least this utility, that it compels our fashionable fair to wear something."—(Times, Dec. n, 1799.)

With which most pungent criticism, we will take our leave of lady's dress.

Cruikshank, 1799