The figure of the great
Bourbon must at times have been truly ridiculous." It is stated in
Read's _Weekly Journal_ of May 1st, 1736, in a report of the marriage of
the Prince of Wales, that "the officers of the Horse and Foot Guards
wore Ramillie periwigs by His Majesty's order." This wig survived until
the days of George III. We meet, in the reign of George II., other forms
of the wig, and more titles for them; the most popular, perhaps, was
the pig-tail. The pig-tails were worn hanging down the back, or tied up
in a knot behind as shown in our illustration. This form of wig was
popular in the army, but in 1804 orders were given for it to be reduced
to seven inches in length, and finally, in 1808, to be cut off. It is
recorded that when the Reform Bill of 1832 received the Royal assent,
the Lord Bathurst of the period solemnly cut off his pig-tail, saying,
"Ichabod, for the glory was departed."
[Illustration: Pig-tail Wig.]
In the first reformed Parliament only one pig-tail was returned, and
that was Mr Sheppard, M.
Pages:
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100