Page:A short history of social life in England.djvu/385

Rh when Pen read those authors to her in his kind, boyish voice. The 'Christian Year' was a book which appeared about that time. The son and mother whispered it to each other with awe."

The abolition of the stamp duties had reduced the price of daily papers. Even at the Queen's accession there already existed the Times, Morning Chronicle, Standard (an evening paper till 1857), Globe, and Morning Post. The Times, printed by steam, had reached a circulation of 10,000 copies a day in 1834, while twenty years later it had increased to 52,000, and was exercising some influence on public opinion.

But on the subject of dress public opinion was strangely blind. The "crinoline," introduced from Paris in 1854, had become popular, and remained in fashion for some fourteen years later. All the unsightliness and inconvenience of the Elizabethan hoop was revived, only the Victorian crinoline was yet more elaborate, with its Vandyke and scolloped flounces, its basques and bows, its frills and double skirts, its fringes, jet, gimp, beads and ruchings. So inconvenient were crinolines at a ball, that in order to create the same effect young ladies would