THE STORY OF COSTUMES 



and it was equally out of the question for the prin- 

 cesses to go without their hoops. What was to be done ? 

 Only one thing: a space must be cleared about the 

 queen. Orders were accordingly given that a fauteuil 

 should be left vacant either side of the queen. This 

 instruction was carried out, but the princesses had no 

 intention of being eclipsed in their turn, and demanded 

 that a similar space should be left between them and 

 the duchesses. 



"It is related that a French lady, who went to con- 

 fession in a hoop, was quite unable to squeeze herself 

 through the door of the confessional and approach the 

 grating. After repeated struggles she was obliged to 

 give up the attempt, and return home with her load of 

 unconfessed faults." 



During all the centuries of caprice and change in 

 fashion, only one Western nation has remained prac- 

 tically unchanged, even until the present time, in the 

 matter of dress. This nation is Scotland. All through 

 the ages the kilt has remained the characteristic dress 

 of the Scot, and while there have been minor modi- 

 fications from time to time, there has been little tendency 

 to depart from the original garment worn at the earliest 

 historical periods. The Scotch regiments that marched 

 against the Boers a few years ago, only differed in 

 general appearance from the clansmen who fought 

 under Bruce and Wallace in the weapons they carried. 

 And these same soldiers exemplified the tenacity of 

 purpose that has kept the kilt unchanged for cen- 

 turies, when they declined to discard them for less 

 conspicuous garments, in the face of the terrible 



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