Russell, Lord Villiers, Lord Paget, etc., etc. They
entered into an engagement to forfeit a sum of money if any of them
wore their hair tied, or powdered, within a certain period. Many
noblemen and gentlemen in the county of Bedford have since followed the
example: it has become general with the gentry in Hampshire, and the
ladies have left off wearing powder." Hair powder did not long continue
in use in the army, for in 1799 it was abolished on account of the high
price of flour, caused through the bad harvests. Using flour for the
hair instead of for food was an old grievance among the poor. In the
"Art of Dressing the Hair," 1770, the author complains:--
"Their hoarded grain contractors spare,
And starve the poor to beautify the hair."
Pitt's estimates proved correct, for in the first year the tax produced
L210,136. The tax was increased from a guinea to one pound three
shillings and sixpence. Pitt's Tory friends gave him loyal support. The
Whigs might taunt them by calling them "guinea-pigs," it mattered
little, for they were not merely ready to pay the tax for themselves,
but to pay patriotic guineas for their servants.
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