Page:The Strand Magazine (Volume 4).djvu/231

 ribbons and rosettes and roses. (See page 226.)

There is a surprising variety of hats and bonnets and caps. A prince of caps is worn by "Mrs. Martha, Housekeeper" (82). She is a bigger and more substantial doll than the rest, with a fat, round, good-humoured face, a broad nose, and an air of prosperous complacency which send your thoughts back oak to chests, lavender pressed sheets, and the attractive "family housekeeper" of a certain type of domestic novel. Her dress is as appropriate and "real" as it could be; a long, full, white lawn frock, full bodice, with sleeves drawn in at the wrist, and a long pinked-out apron of that delicious old-fashioned shade of deep rich purple which is almost unknown in modern stuffs. A white net cap, with white lace frills and flying pink ribbons, is tied on under her round chin; and if there were many such pleasant-faced, buxom housekeepers in the olden days, it is no wonder that the romancers make so much of them.

The prettiest and most perfect thing in the way of hats is a cream satin one the name of which I know not, though it often figures in French pictures of eighteenth century belles. It has a very broad brim, narrowing to the side, and a crown which rises high and broad at the back and slants down towards the front. The broad brim is lined with pink satin, and narrow pink ribbon is twisted about the crown and tied into a big bow at the left side, the corresponding side having a knot of lace and pink ribbon—altogether a very smart and dashing piece of millinery.

A much more sober piece of goods—but quite beautifully made—is a white watered silk hat worn by Lady Bulkley (107). It is smaller in shape, with a broad brim narrowing behind, and a crown which is square and high in front and low and narrow behind. It is elegantly trimmed with Spanish lace and white roses, and has white lace lappets tied with white ribbons. Both hats are firmly made on cardboard and are neatly lined and finished.

There is a