Page:A short history of social life in England.djvu/229

Rh over, his shirt of the finest linen, trimmed with lace and richly embroidered, his short trousers finished with fringe below the knee, his boots of Spanish leather with wide ruffs at the top. His hair was long, and usually arranged in thick curls, the forerunner of the periwig. No wonder that contemporaries bemoaned these "thousand fooleries unknowne to our manly forefathers," and that against such effeminacy the Puritans made their stand.

It was not dress alone that determined the ever-widening breach between Roundhead and Cavalier. The Puritans were strong enough in the Parliament of 1642 to interfere with popular sports and pastimes in England. Bear-baiting, cock-fighting, and horse-racing were forbidden, theatres were closed, and acting companies dispersed. "Whereas," ran the proclamation, "public sports do not well agree with public calamities, nor public stage plays with the seasons of humiliation &hellip; it is thought fit that while these sad causes &hellip; do continue, public plays shall cease." Sunday was very strictly observed, and all persons were forbidden to be present on Sundays at wrestling, shooting, bowling, ringing of bells for pleasure, games,