Page:A short history of social life in England.djvu/332

312 grotesque height that we hear of the tops of sedan chairs being removed to allow room for these unsightly heads, and ladies had to take refuge on the floors of their carriages to enable them to drive at all. Neither was it uncommon to find fruits mingled in the head-dress—"an acre and a hall of shrubbery," remarked Hannah More, "beside slopes, grass plots, tulip beds, clumps of peonies, kitchen gardens and greenhouses." The fashion was ended by the appearance of Garrick on the stage dressed as a woman of the age, with every kind of vegetable on his head and a large carrot hanging down on either side.

Equally artificial was the complexion of the day. Rouge and white lip salve, "Dutch Pink," "Bavarian Red," wash-balls made of poisonous chemicals, scented oils, cosmetics made of borax, vinegar, bread, eggs, and the wings of pigeons; false eyebrows and perfumed waters—all helped in the vital art of beautifying and rejuvenating the "quality" of the eighteenth century.

But changes were at hand. The flood of English-made cotton goods created new fashions. Expensive silks, damasks and velvets, which had played such a large part in the dress of the upper classes, began to disappear, and with them the