CHAPTER XVI
Circa 1642—1660
ENGLAND A COMMONWEALTH
"For the apparel oft proclaims the man."—Shakspere.
IF a large number of Puritans had sailed away from England to make new homes in America, yet a vast and ever increasing number remained at home. And these, growing stronger and stronger, influenced to no small extent the manners and customs of their country. Dress became a matter, not of fashion, but of conscience, and we get at this period two distinct types existing side by side—the Puritan in his sombre and plainly cut garments, the Cavalier in the glory of his slashed silk doublet, his point-lace collar, and his broad-brimmed, plumed hat. To the Puritan, "beauty was a curse and luxury a crime." He turned in disgust from the extravagance of the
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