254 



OLD WEST SURREY 



the head-piece, the ' caul.' A ribbon went over just be- 

 hind the front and tied under the chin. 



The loss of these white caps is to be sincerely regretted. 

 Clean and tidy in themselves, they were the most charming 

 framing for the honest country faces. As middle and old 

 age came on their fitness was only the more apparent. They 

 gave a dignity to those of middle age, and to old people 



The Head-Handkerchief 



a beauty and refinement such as one vainly looks for at 

 the present day. Moreover, they kept the hair in place 

 and preserved it from dust, and were an admirable pro- 

 tection for the head when its natural covering was thin 

 or wanting. 



The cotton handkerchief, almost universal on the 

 Continent as a head-covering of women of the peasant 

 class, seems never to have been general in England, though 



