had come into the world. printing-press which William Caxton set up in the Almonry of Westminster Abbey forms the true division between the old world and the new in our island. Not that the books which followed for some years after this invention was brought in had any great social interest; but, gradually the new voice made itself heard, and there can be no doubt that at the time of which we are now speaking, the press had already become the great moving power in social and political progress. In our country, the example of our neighbours, and especially of France, had brought in a great amount of pride, and extravagance, and other social evils, which threatened society itself, but there was rising up

against this a very decided and powerful resistance, in which became united a variety of principles and sentiments which finally made themselves heard under the name of Puritanism. Their weapon was the press, and through it they showed themselves first in the form of satire, as well as of remonstrance and declamation. The number of satirists upon contemporary manners and feelings during the Elizabethan age, when they first became active, is quite remarkable. I have already quoted more than one, but I will now introduce the most remarkable of them all, for the manner in which he takes up and criticises the dress of his fair countrywomen. Philip Stubbes was a violent and fearless Puritan; he appears to have been a Londoner, but he was apparently educated in Cambridge, and his name is connected with that and the sister university. Stubbes, like many of the popular reformers of his times, was a

fierce, but often rather a coarse, satirist. Among his books, one especially, entitled "The Anatomie of Abuses," and published in 1585, attacks the contemporary fashions in dress, and throws great light upon many of its details. He begins by repeating against our countrymen the same accusation of an inordinate love of new fashions, which, as we have seen at the beginning of the present chapter, had been made more than half a century before. "Hereby," he says, "it appeareth that no people in the world are so curious in new fangles as they bee." After reviewing with considerable severity the failings of the gentlemen in this respect, Stubbes proceeds to the ladies, and quarrels first with their faces. "The women," he says, "many of them, use to colour their faces with certaine oyles, liquors, unguentes, and waters made to that end, whereby they thinke their beautie is greatly decored;" which painted faces, he assures us, are the devil's nets to entangle poor souls. "Then followeth the trimming and tricking of their heades, in laying out their haire to the shewe, whiche of force must be curled, frisled, and crisped, laid out (a world to see), on wreathes and borders, from one eare to another. And least it should fall down, it is underpropped with forks, wiers, and I cannot tell what, like grim sterne monsters, rather than chaste Christian matrones. Then on the edges of their boulstered hair (for it standeth crested rounde about their frontiers, and hanging over their faces like pendices or tailes, with glasse windowes on every side), there is laid great wreathes of golde and silver, curiously wrought and cunningly applied to the temples of their heades. And for fear of lacking anythinge to set forthe their pride withall, at their haire, thus wreathed and creasted, are hanged bugles (I dare not say bables), ouches, ringes, gold, silver, glasses, and suche other childishe gewgawes besides." Moreover, "if curling and laying out of their owne naturall haire were all, it were the less matter; but thei are not simplie content with their owne haire, but buye other haire, either of horses, mares, or any other straunge beastes, dyeing it of what colour they list themselves. And if there be any poore woman that hath faire haire, these nice dames will not rest till they have bought it. Or if any children have faire haire, they will entice them into a secret place, and for a penie or two they will cut of their haire; as I heard that one did of late, who, meeting a little childe with very faire haire, inveigled her into a house, promised her a penie, and so cutte off her hair. And this they were in the same order, as you have heard, as though it were their owne naturall growing." And then, not content with this, "on toppes of these stately turrets (I meane

their goodly heades), stand their other capitall ornaments, as French hood, hatte, cappe, kercher, and such like, whereof some be of velvet, some of taffatie, some (but few) of wooll, some of this fashion, some of that, and some of this colour, some of that, according to the variable phantasies of their serpentine mindes. And to such excesse it is growne, as every artificer's wife (almost) will not sticke to goe in her hat of velvet every day, every merchant's wife and meane gentlewomen in her French hood, and every poore cottager's daughter in her taffatie hat, or els of wooll at least, well lined with silke, velvet, or taffatie; but howe they come by this (so they have it) they care not." "They have also other ornamentes besides these to furnishe forthe their ingeniouse heades, which they call (as I remember) cawles, made netwise to the ende, as I thinke, that the clothe of golde, clothe of silver, or els tinsell, may the better appeare, and shew itselfe in the bravest manner; so that a man that seeth them (their heades glisten and shine in such sorte) would thinke them to have golde heades. And some weare lattice cappes with three hornes, three corners, I should say like the forked cappes of popishe priestes, with their perriwinkles, chitterlings, and the like apishe toyes of infinite varietie." And there was something even still worse than all this: "Another sort of dissolute minions and wanton simpronians (for I can terme them no better), are so farre bewitched as they are not ashamed to make holes in their eares, whereat they hang ringes, and other jewels of gold and precious stones. But what this signifieth in them, I will holde my peace, for the thing itself speaketh sufficiently."

The ruffs next fall under the censure of worthy Philip Stubbes, and with the new liquor named starch he is especially offended. "The women there use great ruffes and neckerchers, of holland, laune, camericke, and such clothe, as the greatest thread shall not be so big as the least haire that is; and lest they should fall downe, they are smeared and starched with the devil's liquor-I mean starche; after that dried with great diligence, streaked, patted, and rubbed very nicely, and so applied to their goodly necks, and withal underpropped with supportasses, the stately arches of pride. Beyond all this, they have a further fetche, nothing inferior to the rest, as, namely, three or foure degrees of minor ruffes, placed gradatim, one beneath another, and al under the mayster devilruffe; the skirtes then of these great ruffes are long and wide, every way pleated, and crested full curiously, God wot. Then, last of all, they are either clogged with gold, silver, or silke lace of stately price, wrought all over with needle-worke, or speckeled and sparkeled

mone,

here and there with the sunne, the the starres, and many other antiques strange to beholde. Some are wrought with open worke downe to the midst of the ruffe and further; some with close worke, some with purled lace so cloied, and other gewgawes so pestered, as the ruffe is the least parte of itself. Sometimes they are pinned upp to their eares, and sometimes they are suffered to hange over theyr shoulders, like windmill sailes fluttering in the winde. And thus every one pleaseth her selfe in her foolish devices."

Next come the gowns, or, in other words, the farthingales. "Their gownes," Stubbes tells us, "be no lesse famous than the rest, for some are of silke, some of velvet, some of grograine, some of taffatie, some of scarlet, and some of fine clothe of x., xx., or xl. shillinges of a yarde. But if the whole gowne be not silke or velvet, then the same shall be layed with lace, two or three fingers broade, all over the gowne, or els the most parte; or if not so (as lace is not fine enough sometimes), then it must be garded with great gardes of velvet, every gard fower or sixe fingers broad at the least, and edged with costly lace; and as these gownes be of divers and sondry colours, so are they of divers fashions, chaunging with the moone-for some be of the new fashion, some of the olde, some of thys fashion, and some of that, some with sleeves hanging downe to their skirtes, trailing on the ground, and cast over their shoulders like cowe tailes. Some have sleeves much shorter, cut up the arme, and poincted with silke ribbons very gallantly tied with true-love knottes (for so they call them). Some have capes reachyng downe to the middest of their backes, faced with velvet, or els with some fine wrought silke taffatie, at the least, and fringed about vere bravely; and (to shut up all in a worde) some are pleated and rinsled downe the backe wonderfully, with more knackes than I can declare. Then have they petticoates of the beste clothe that can be bought, and of the fayrest dye that can be made. And sometimes they are not of clothe neither, that is thought to base, but of scarlet, grograine, taffatie, silke, and such like, fringed about the skirtes with silke fringe, of chaungeable colour. But whiche is more vayne, of whatsoever their petticoates be, yet must they have kirtles (for so they call them) either of silke, velvett, grograine, taffatie, sassen, or scarlet, bordered with gardes lace, fringe, and I cannot tell what besides; so that, when they have all these goodly robes upon them, women seeme to be the smallest part of themselves."

Lastly, let us look to their stockings and shoes. We know that in Elizabeth's reign came into fashion high-heeled shoes, and shoes

over which the wearers slipped sometimes what on that account were called slippers, or pantouffles. "Their nethenbockes and stockings," Stubbes continues, "in like maner, are either of silk, jeansey, worsted, crewell, or, at least, of as fine yearne, thread, or clothe, as is possible to be hadde; yea, they are not ashamed to weare hoase of all kinde of chaungeable colours, as green, red, white, russet, tawny, and els what. . . . . Then these delicate hosen must be cunningly knit, and curiously indented in every point with quirkes, clockes, open seame, and every thing els accordingly— whereto they have cooked shoes, pinsnets, pantoffles, and slippers; some of blacke velvet, some of white, some of Spanishe leather, and some of Englishe, stitched with silke, and embrodered with golde and silver all over the foot, with other gewgawes innumerable; all which if I should endeavour myself to expresse, I might with like facilitie number the sands of the sea, the starres in the skie, or the grasse upon the earth, so infinite and innumerable be their abuses." So far Master Philip Stubbes.

PARENTAL ATTACHMENT OF THE MILLER'S THUMB (COTTUS GOBIO).

BY RICHARD PEEK, F.L.S.

THE parental attachment of Lump fish (Cyclopterus lumpus), the stickleback (Gasterosteus), the pipe fish (Sygnathus), and the curiously formed sea-horse (the Hippocampus), with many other fish is a well recognized fact; but perhaps it is not universally known that the males, not the females, take charge of and hatch the eggs.

The (Cottus gobio) miller's thumb, or river bullhead, is an inhabitant of most of our rivers and streams. The ordinary length is about four inches, and the colour varies (as in other fish) according to the ground upon which it rests. If any danger approaches, the fish pushes its head beneath a stone, and there remains, awaiting its doom.

Although seldom eaten in England, it is said to be much esteemed on the continent. The flesh resembles that of the whitebait and eel. The most frequent use made of this fish in England is as bait for eels. A fishmonger in Bath told me, that on the day of the Queen's marriage he caught an eel, seven pounds weight, on a night-line, baited with a bullhead. It does not possess a swim-bladder like fish which are formed to swim in midwater, for the proper position of the