broidered, or made of painted velvet; the leathern belts | are also embroidered; and in the large round hats are worn artificial flowers. The women no longer wear the short petticoat of the mountaineer; and, instead of the broad-brimmed hat, is worn a cap of gold tinsel, projecting in fantastic forms, or a silver head-dress, forming a tiara in front; the boddice is of blue, red, or gold brocade, the skirt of smart-coloured cotton, and the apron of flowered muslin. Elsewhere in Bavaria, as in the mountainous districts, the peasants wear broad- In the Tyrol, national costume appears to be more brimmed hats, and coats of sylvan green. But the na- closely adhered to than in any other country of Europe tional costume must be sought in the provinces, where except Spain, and perhaps Hungary. The peasantry the Saxons,wear "the stiff old-fashioned costumes which strangely wear stockings without feet to them, tight one still sees among the most primitive inhabitants of black breeches, and leathern girdles with knives stuck Germany. The women, like their Hungarian neigh-in them; the hat tapers to the crown, whence hang on bours, wear long boots and thick woollen petticoats, one side silk bands and tassels, generally green; and their dress much resembling that which the broom- the blue smock-frock is tastefully worked, and worn girls' have made familiar to our streets-a full cloth not only by the peasantry but by gentlemen. The men, petticoat, stomacher buttoned or laced in front, and a too, wear flowers in their breasts, as well as in the closely-fitting cap; the unmarried girls wearing a long hinder part of their hats. The aged women wear huge braid of flaxen hair down the back, with a small-crowned white or red worsted caps, of sugar-loaf shape, and but broad-brimmed straw-hat." The men wear pic- weighing six or seven pounds, and their dresses appear turesque cocked hats, long antique coats, breeches, and hooped, from often consisting of no fewer than ten pettilarge buckles in their shoes. Elsewhere, as in Lusatia, coats. The young peasant women have round beaver the women, who rank among the handsomest in the hats, petticoats of rainbow hues, lace aprons, boddices empire, set off their blond hair and rosy complexions with frills at the elbows, and figured blue and scarlet with black velvet caps, and wear blue aprons flowered worsted stockings, which are sometimes worn in such with white, red stockings, with green cloaks, and a hun- enormous folds and plaits as to render the ankle as red-folded petticoat terminating at the knee. Near thick as the waist of a Parisian lady. The younger Leipsic, the male peasants wear large loose breeches the women are, the fewer number of petticoats they and tight jackets; and the women are distinguished by wear. The varieties of costume are best witnessed at ong pointed caps terminated with a tassel. The chief the fairs, where may be seen the peasantry of almost eculiarity in the costume of the peasantry in Darm- all the Tyrolean valleys: "the ten-petticoated women tadt and adjoining districts on the Upper Rhine, is the (observes Inglis), with their great tapering white and wearing of cocked or broad-brimmed hats, which give red worsted caps: the black-breeched, white-stockinged, ven the youngest men an air of antiquity. and girdled peasant of the inn; and the bare-kneed peasant of the mountains; the men of Botzen, and its vale, with their broad-brimmed hats; the women of Meran, with their green cloth hats turned up at one side; and the peasant of the Italian Tyrol, with his less national costume and darker countenance." Turkish style, very large, and tied in just below the knee; the waistcoat is red, and remarkably long, as is also the large-flapped coat. At Appenzel, the modern invention of braces is not yet adopted; the dress is a scanty jacket and short breeches, with a preposterous interval between the two garments. The canton of Grisons is said to derive its name from the grey colour of the men's dresses; but at present their coats and pantaloons are almost universally blue. Small cloth caps are almost universally worn by the en throughout the towns of Germany; they are made E cloth, with low crowns, with small projections over he eyes, and have now become the common travellingap in Europe. In Holland and Flanders there is now little to re- Hungary. Among the peasantry of Hungary the ark in the costume. The fashion of wearing volu- costumes still in use are remarkably picturesque, and tinous garments is abandoned, and the ordinary attire trace their origin to that period when the country universal. We still find, however, the fish-women of was a Roman province. One of the most charactecheveling wearing large skuttle-shaped bonnets, and ristic articles of Hungarian costume is the bunda, le women of the middle classes in Brussels covering or hairy cloak, made without a collar, and of sheepeir heads with black silk scarfs-a relic of Spanish skins, with the long wool in its natural state, the anners. Throughout Holland and Belgium, the tra- leathern or skin side being ornamented with cords and eller rarely meets man, woman, or child in rags: flowers worked in coloured silks, and the cape being a either are any seen barefooted. The shoes univer- black Transylvanian lamb-skin. To the Hungarian ally worn by children of the lower ranks are wooden shepherd the bunda is his house, his bed, and all; for bots; these, formed out of a single piece of wood, and he wears it alike in all seasons and at all times. His ointed like a canoe, are procurable at the easy charge under-dress is loose linen drawers, short shirt, and sixpence per pair. At the great annual fairs held in sometimes a gaily embroidered waistcoat or jacket, olland, a few remarkable costumes make their appear-long boots or sandals, and a very broad-brimmed varace, from remote corners of the country. The most y of these is the head-dress of the girls of North riesland, which consists of a glittering plate of gold, nt and shaped to the head, and is of great value; ey are also all decorated with fanciful gold ear-rings, fisted like a ram's horn, and pointing outwards from le face. In Switzerland and the Tyrol, the population is gerally dressed in plain apparel; but in certain quarrs, and particularly on holidays, a picturesqueness of stume is far from uncommon among females. In the inton of Berne, the old-fashioned and peculiar cosime of women is tasteful. Around the neck, and fallg down on the breast, is worn a collar of black velvet, namented with gold beads, and which is held in its ace by steel or silver chains passing beneath the arms. he head-dress consists of projecting pieces of black e. In the cantons of Vaud and Friburg, the large ip bonnets of the women are a striking feature in the ress. In the cantons of Thurgovia and Argovia, the male stume is very singular, the breeches being in the * Paget's " Hungary." Hungarians. nished hat, below which hang two wide plaits of hair. The turned-up brim serves for a drinking-cup, and around his neck hangs a bag to hold provisions. The peasants are mostly gaily dressed-the women in bright blue petticoats, deeply edged with red, and | by a chequered handkerchief and white apron. Even neatly folded white handkerchiefs on their heads; and the men in tight blue pantaloons, embroidered jackets, and broad hats ornamented with artificial flowers. But almost every village in the mountainous countries has its peculiar costume; a white skirt, red and blue boddice, and white worsted boots, are common among the females, all of whom wear a little white cap at the back of the head. The men usually wear white cloth pantaloons embroidered with black, short woollen boots slit at the sides, and a dark short cloak or coat with sleeves, embroidered with red or light-green lace. In the mining countries, the women wear their short sheep-skin coats fastened in front with a silver chain and clasp, and ornamented with large silver filigree buttons, and high-heeled red, yellow, or black boots reaching to the knees. The dress of the men is similarly ornamented with silver, and in "the good old times" the heels of their boots were shod with silver. The peasantry of these districts wear thick white pantaloons sandaled at the ankles, and a short-sleeved cloak lined with fur, and braided and fastened with a silver band; and the hat is wider than any part of the wearer's body.* France must be viewed as the great fountain of European costume both in past and present times. However backward in many points, the French people, along with their neighbours, the Italians, naturally possess those qualities which lead to advancement in the fine arts, and the improvement of modes of dressing suitable to a civilised condition. England, the great competitor of France, as will be noticed at length in a succeeding sheet, has done little to alter or improve costume. In all ages, its fashions have been mostly imitations of those first adopted in Italy or Paris. Hats, coats, nether garments, pantaloons, gloves, buckles, periwigs, stays, bonnets, &c., in all their varying shapes, are of French origin; and advanced as England is in refinement, till this hour it draws its fashions periodically from those current in the circles around the French court. In speaking of French costume, it is always necessary to remember that the term applies only to the costume prevalent in Paris, and among the higher and middle classes in the country. Of that costume, the species of which other modern costumes are but the varieties, it is unnecessary here to speak, as it will be noticed in the article BRITISH COSTUMES. What we have to remark upon on the present occasion, are the costumes of a peculiar nature still lingering in the French provinces. The most striking provincial costume in France is the head-dress of the women in Normandy. It is usually a kind of cap made of starched muslin, from half a yard to a yard in height, ornamented with long lace lappets called coquilles; the hair is braided in front, and gathered up in a mass behind. These caps have a very pretty effect, and are called cauchoises, marmottes, and pierrots, according to their height and form. The rest of the dress consists of a red, blue, or black corset, large wooden shoes, black stockings, and full scarlet woollen petticoat, and apron of different hues; pockets are worn outside; and occasionally, the colour of the costume is still further diversified Women of Normandy. *Paget's" Hungary and Transylvania," vol. i., p. 389. on Sundays or feast-days, bonnets are seldom to be seen; but round the neck are suspended large silver or gilt ornaments, usually crosses or hearts, whilst long gold ear-rings drop from either side of their head, and their shoes frequently glitter with enormous paste buckles. In Lower Normandy the dress is nearly same, with the exception of the cap, which is low and flat in the crown. In the former costume, the lover antiquarian research will easily trace a resemblance t the attire of the women of England in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In the adjoining province of Fr cardy, the head-dresses are equally antique. In Bri tany, an old-fashioned style of dress prevails to a larg extent; the hair of the peasant girls is fine and abua dant, and is disposed of at fairs for large sums dealers, who attend for the purpose. In some parts of France, as in the neighbourhood Lyons, the peasant women wear a flat, round, black 1 of cloth or velvet, and not unlike that worn in parts of Switzerland; and a common article in dress throughout the country is a blouse of blue like a waggoner's frock, buckled at the waist, and e broidered in white at the wrists and collar. The female costume in La Vendée is thus noticed Mr Trollope:-"The women were dressed in s gowns of striped woollen stuff of various colours, ch red, yellow, and blue, with very high waists and t sleeves. The gown ceases some inches above the ank and permits the exhibition of a pair of white ornamen linen stockings, knitted by the fair wearer's own la from flaxen yarn of her own spinning. A brig coloured cotton handkerchief, manufactured at neighbouring town of Chollet, in the departmeti Maine-et-Loire, is spread over her shoulders, and ends secured in front within the bosom of her goi such fashion as to leave no portion of the neck or be uncovered. The sabot is, in this part of the co an article of the peasant's costume, on which great care is bestowed. They are small and slight very low in the front, so as to show a great part of t foot, and shaped with as much care as a fashioral London artist could employ on the form of a pair boots. They are, moreover, always painted black order the better to set off the white stocking. & deal of lace is often displayed about their caps; and barbes' of the coiffure, as they are termed, which long strips of cotton, linen, or sometimes muslin, six inches broad, falling on each side of the face the shoulders, are frequently trimmed all rounde it. The girls rarely hide their hair entirely herr they do in Brittany. It is for the most part le fully black, and a specimen of it is generally seet broad band on each side of the forehead. This cast is very generally completed by a short black wall cloak, made to keep open in front, and show the striped cotton apron beneath it." Italy. Throughout the Italian peninsula there i remarkable variety of costume pertaining to d districts and professions. The garments, however, more picturesque than cleanly; and rags and tak ness are everywhere conspicuous, more particularly the Neapolitan territory. The dress of the bandia frequent the Appenines consists of little more tha patched overall, cloak, and slouched hat; but the e tume of their chief is a piece of studied cos upon the glossy curled hair is placed a cloth ap a gold tassel hanging to the shoulders; around throat is twisted a gaudy silk handkerchief, and mustachios are carefully trimmed; the jacket iss of cloth, or even velvet, and decorated with se rows of gilt filigree buttons; the breeches are tighty fitted and curiously braided; and in a broad coloured sash are placed two silver-hilted pista a sheathed knife mounted in ivory, elaborately carve whilst a small carbine of handsome workma slung across the shoulder, and sometimes the b sandaled with ribbons; and a high-crowned bister h richly plumed, is worn over the cloth cap. The ba of Andalusia and one of Castile or Catalonia, as between an Englishman and a Russian ;" and in no respect is this more evident than in dress. dress of the female peasantry is very striking. Some-"there exists as much difference between an inhabitant times, upon a long tasseled cap, is placed a little straw hat decked with red ribbons, or the straw hat is worn with a very broad brim. In Tuscany the women wear black beaver hats with high crowns and stiff black feathers, with streaming ribbons on holidays. But more characteristic is the square-topped muslin headdress like an university cap, with its embroidered draper falling behind gracefully to the waist. Rome offers a great variety of costume-in the dark sheep-skin dresses, shaggy goat-skin aprons, and ribboned hats of the carters, and the pretty square white muslin head-dress and scarlet boddice, laced with blue ribbons, of the peasant girl. But a more finished specimen of a Roman toilette includes a petticoat of delicate blue silk, with a brilliant scarlet boddice laced before and behind over a pure white chemisette, sleeves of silver tissue fastened with pink ribbons, and a shawl of embroidered muslin thrown over the shoulders; the black hair braided and hung in loops, with a silver bodkin and filigree flower, and over all a square of white muslin, trimmed with fine lace. The clerical habits contribute to the variety; you see the Franciscan friar in his brown or grey garment, with a cord girdle and sandaled feet; the Dominicans in white garments, with black cowls and girdles; the Carmelites entirely in white, even to their shoes and hats; the Jesuits all in black, with shovel hats; and other fraternities in black dresses and red crosses, violet robes and triangular hats, and red girdles and buttons on black garments; besides, the priests in black, the bishops in violet, and the cardinals entirely in fiery red, and the penitents enveloped in sackcloth, with only two holes for the eyes. In Tuscany and Sardinia, the poorest females are rich ornaments of pearl, coral, and gold; and the women and girls sit at their doors making "Leghorn bonnets." In Florence, the higher classes dress in the latest French fashion, except during the carnival, when the usual absurd and varied scene is exhibited, as in most other Italian cities. Part of the true costume of a Florentine bourgeoise is, however, a large broad-brimmed black hat of beaver or straw. Leghorn, however, presents greater variety than the Tuscan capital: here "many wear the oriental dress; priests, monks, and soldiers abound; mustachios, whiskers, and beards are seen in every variety; pretty female faces peep from beneath the bewitching mezzaro (shawl); the sunburnt tar mingles in the crowd; and the chained culprit, attired either in a rusty-red brown or a yellow habit, sweeps the streets, followed by his musket-bearing guard." Throughout Tuscany, however, in costume we find no trace of the truly classic taste of its Etruscan masters. At Naples, the most "open air" city in Europe, the poor are scantily dressed, but with picturesque effect; but children are sometimes seen in the streets with only a coarse shirt on, or even naked. The lazzaroni have gaudy holiday dresses, but some of them may be een lying in the sunshine with merely white drawers, not reaening to the knee, such as are also worn by the fishermen. The restless Neapolitan crowd, with its grotesque popular exhibitions (including the national Fanch), its groups of preaching, dancing, and storytelling, and its artizans at work in the open street, with the market-people from the environs in picturesque dresses-make up a scene of less interest for its costumes than for its other national characteristics. In the island of Procida, however, within a few miles of Naples, the females to this day wear the Greek costume, which, in that sequestered nook, has descended from their ancestors. Spain.-Nothing strikes the traveller in Spain more forcibly than the character and diversity of costume among the people. Every province and class has its peculiarities, and so widely different from each other, that they almost appear to be inhabitants of two opposite hemispheres. It has been well observed, that *Notes of a Rainble, &c., by a Lover of the Picturesque. Notwithstanding the general diversity of costume in the provinces of Spain, of which the Catalonian, the Andalusian, and the Galician, are the most romantic and effective, yet the cloak is, after all, the most national feature; it is generally worn everywhere, and universally in Castile; and to the Spaniard, it seems his only garment for holiday and everyday, for rain and sunshine, for winter and summer; the very children wear it, and are often encumbered with it at play; and so attached were the Spaniards in past ages to the cloak, that a minister of Charles III. was sacrificed to the popular clamour for attempting to cut down dimensions. this article of dress to legal Beneath the cloak is generally worn, in winter, a sheep or lamb-skin jacket, varying in price from four to forty dollars: in the summer this is replaced by a body-jacket, decorated with rows of small buttons or coins, and braided in various colours; round the waist is worn an immense bandana or shawl in the eastern fashion; the leather leggings are richly embroidered, and the hat is either high-crowned or oval, decorated with black velvet buttons, or trimming, with points. The general female costume of Spain consists chiefly of a petticoat and a large mantilla or shawl, or a veil covering the upper part of the person; but this is rarely worn except at mass. The colour of the mantilla is black; it is of lace or silk, or both, and it is thrown over the head so as to display a large and costly comb. Neither bonnet nor ribbons are generally worn, although some ladies may be seen dressed in the French mode. The fan is carried by all females, from the lady in her carriage to the servant walking in the street; indeed, "a Spanish woman would be as likely to go out of doors without her shoes as without her fan." The neat stocking and small shoe are also much studied. But the varieties of costume are almost endless: the Catalan wears a velvet jacket with silver buttons and long pantaloons; the Valencian loose breeches of linen, and a long sack unlike the full cloak; and the Castilian a black velvet cap, a black sheep-skin jacket, light breeches, a girdle, embroidered leather leggings, and stout nail-shod shoes. In the north is worn the red woollen cap, hanging down the back; in La Mancha the montero cap; and in the south the low-crowned hat, with the wide brim turned up. Among the eccentricities of costume, is the dressing of the hangman in green, from an ultra-Catholic aversion to the sacred colour of Mahomet. The common mode of dress in Portugal is similar to that of Spain. Greece. The dress of the modern Greeks is a mixture of Turkish and Frank costume, with little to mark the classical origin of the people. The chief article of attire of the poorer Greeks is a capote, or large woollen garment, with a hood, shaggy with short threads of yarn; it is heavy when dry, but nearly insupportable when wet; it is as serviceable for home and bed to the wandering Greek as the bunda is to the Hungarian shepherd, and it is a perfect defence against cold and dew. All but the poor classes of Greeks, however, dress showily; and even a servant will expend every farthing of his wages in fine clothes. Thus, a physician's janissary may be seen in a rich robe of scarlet, his vest of blue velvet trimmed with gold-lace, and in his silk girdle a brace of pistols embossed with silver; turban, short petticoats, and trousers of purest white, and gaiters or "leggings" of scarlet velvet, embroidered with gold; altogether, a costume that might suit a prince. The general dress consists of a short embroidered jacket, without collar, and with sleeves open from the elbow; an embroidered vest, a cotton shirt, a tunic of several folds, secured by a sash or shawl about the waist, and reaching to the knee; loose breeches or trousers, short socks, and slippers between sandals and shoes. In one corner of the sash, the common people carry their money, which the rich put into purses, and carry, with their hand The Greek. kerchiefs, watches, and snuff-boxes, in their bosoms. The head-dress is various; as the turban, à la Turque; the fur-cap, like a muff; the fez or tasseled cloth cap worn on one side; the plain caps of the peasantry; and skull-caps of velvet or gold, embroidered and tasseled. The young Greeks are the handsomest race in Europe; their long hair falls over their shoulders from under the cap, their embroidered jackets, vests, and buskins, their arms mounted with silver, and even jewels, and their white kilts, compose, on the whole, one of the most graceful and becoming costumes in the world. The costume of the Greek female more closely resembles that of the Turks. She wears loose trousers of fine calico, embroidered with flowers, a closely-fitting vest, a jeweled zone about the waist, and a long-sleeved gown flowing off loosely behind, or a veil covering the body; and sometimes a rich pelisse trimmed with fur. Jewellery is worn to excess; and bracelets of gems, or strings of gold coins round the arm and neck, across the forehead, and in the hair, which the younger girls let fall down their backs and over their brows and cheeks. Little caps, similar to those of the men, are also worn by the females, studded with coins, but worn on one side of the crown, the girls wearing in them flowers, and the matrons heron-plumes or jewels. The young women often dye their hair auburn, and the old ladies red, with which colour the nails are also tinged. The females walk abroad in a robe of red or blue cloth and an ample muslin veil. Turkey. Although belonging to Europe, the Turks are properly an Asiatic people, and their garments, where their true national costume is preserved, are according to an eastern or Asiatic model. The outward Turkish garment is a long and loose robe; underneath is a wide vest bound with a sash; loose drawers, and a wide-sleeved shirt without wrist-bands. Slippers are worn abroad, but are left at the door on entering a house. This, with a turban, is the usual dress, though many classes have a different one, and an office is often denoted by a peculiar dress. The turban was long the most characteristic feature The Turk. of eastern dress: it was a cap surrounded by many folds of cloth or muslin, its form and ornaments not tinguishing the rich from the poor, but distinthe various professions. The varieties of considerable, a barber of Constantinople | having been known to arrange the drapery of a tem in sixty-six different fashions. The yatagan or mir is invariably worn by the Turks. The dress of the Turkish females has a general r semblance to that of the men, though a stiff cap is wr instead of a turban. When abroad, the women 1 closely veiled, but they unpin a corner of the mu.. to enable them to eat sweetmeats and smoke the chibouk or Turkish pipe; their white muslin turba too, are sprigged with gold, and decorated with flowers; the hair is worn long, and plaited with broidered gauze, knobs of gold, and sparkles with monds and other gems. A crowd in Constantinople was formerly resque group; there was the graceful Effendi .. with snow-white turban, jetty beard, sparkling and f eyes, long flowing caftan, scarlet trousers, yellow ba rich Cashmere shawl round the waist, in which the gilded dagger; next was the gay but cunninging Greek, with short chin, black turban, enormous.. short trousers, bare legs, and black shoes; then grave Armenian, with his calpac of black felt ba like upon his head, his long Turkish robe, silver horn in his girdle, and his feet in the crimson or boot; next was the Jew, with his blue turban slippers; and with these were seen the high tar calpac of the Tartar, the melon-shaped head-piece Nizam Djedid, the grey felt conical cap of the and dervish, and occasionally the ungraceful hat Frank, with the bebuttoned and mean-looking c of Europe. Latterly, the costume of Turkey has b greatly infringed upon by the introduction of de Frankish dress. ASIATIC COSTUMES. Although the transit from Europe to Asia my '· somewhat modified by our descriptive journey still in the Turkish empire, the contrast of the ur costume, but imperfectly adopted in one corner Europe, soon becomes striking on entering Asia. stead of our tight short clothes, we see long fi robes wrapped loosely round the body; the hat a placed by a light turban, and sandals are worn inst of shoes. The oriental costume is simple, and, an the rich, of costly materials. India and China fur abundance of silks and dyes, and the muslins f former country are unrivalled, as are also the A wools, and the art of interweaving gold and with these fabrics; whilst the jewels and precious st of their country enable the Asiatics to eclipse nations in splendour of personal ornaments; whil: a over the east the beard is allowed to grow so as a to be considered a feature of costume. To notice the thousand varieties of fanciful cost prevailing in this vast continent is altogether bes our limits, and all we can do is to give a glance at t more strictly national. Arabs.-The general dress of this interesting pe is of a simple form. Their ordinary attire is a of linen over the shoulder, another round the and a girdle, with a knife; sandals, sometimes of n merely covering the soles of the feet. Upon the e the whole dress consists of a napkin round the and a kerchief fringed with silk on the head, i rest of the body being quite naked. Some wear drawers and a shirt. This, however, is only the dr of the poorest classes; that of the rich resemble Turkish costume, being loose and flowing. At kat, the inhabitants wear a carpet skullcap ar: 1 white embroidered turban, a long white gara reaching to the ankles, a cloth girdle, and sandals hide, with straps; and an Arab must be pour deed if he has not a sabre hung over his sh and a dagger by his side. The Muskat soldiers." distinguished by a circular shield of rhinoceros" a foot and a-half in diameter, a long thin swor dagger, and a pike from seven to ten feet in l Frankland's Travels to and from Constantinople. A captain of the Arab navy wears a blue check | a sabre, no Persian considers himself fully dressed; and turban, bordered and fringed with red; a dark-green these weapons are profusely jeweled. Great care is upper garment, with wide slashed sleeves, falls just below the knees, and beneath it is a wrapper of pink silk, the sleeves slashed with yellow satin, and secured about the waist with a girdle of cloth or silver, over which is worn a sword-belt and ornamented dagger. From half way below the knee the legs are bare; the feet are sandaled, the straps being fancifully ornamented; and the toe nails, as well as those of the fingers, are stained reddish-yellow. Such is the costume of an Arab gentleman of the present day, and it has probably varied but little from the earliest times. Another picturesque dress is a large white turban, full white breeches, a frock buttoned straight upon the chest to the throat, girded above the loins, hanging half-way to the knee, and looped up on one side, the feet being sandaled. The Arab women of the same place (Muskat) shroud the greater part of their face with dominoes or hooded cloaks; their white longsleeved gowns or robes reach half way below the knees; and they stain their eyelids dark, and their cheeks and hands yellow; or they wear a loose gauze robe over pantalettes fitting close at the ankles, which are ornamented, as among Jewish females of old, with silver bangles; the feet are cased in gay stockings and slippers, or they are bare, with rings on the toes; the short-sleeved spenser or jacket is tastefully bespangled and tinseled. * taken of the feet and legs: in winter, a thick woollen sock is worn, and the legs are bandaged with cloth; the slipper turns up at the toe, and has an iron heel an inch and a half in height. High-heeled boots are likewise worn; and it is customary to take off and leave at the door the slippers or boots before the wearer enters a room, this being done on account of the sacred character of the carpet. The head-dress is a black sheepskin cap, from a foot to a foot and a half in height, which was formerly encircled, turban fashion, with a shawl. They keep their head covered, a compliance with which etiquette has been troublesome to foreigners, who have thus been compelled to dine in their cocked hats and feathers. The Persians pay great attention to the hair and beard: the head is completely shaven except a small tuft on the crown, and two locks behind the ears; the beard is allowed to grow very large, and to spread about the ears and temples; the pride is to dye it a rich glossy black (which must be repeated once a fortnight), and then to adorn it with jewels. A merchant of Jidda or Yanen wears a caftan or gown of silk, and a red scarf, and around the waist a Cashmere shawl, in which is fixed a long curved dagger; and sometimes the lower part of the face is muffled up in a woollen shawl. The rich also wear slippers. The profits from the pilgrimage enable the people of Mecca to dress very gaily; and from the Persian Gulf they obtain the finest pearls in the world. But the most characteristic portion of the Arab costume is the head-dress, which is profusely ornamented, but has neither comfort, convenience, nor any adaptation to climate. A man of fashion will wear no fewer than fifteen caps piled one above another, the top one being embroidered with gold, and with a sentence of the Koran worked into it; around the whole is folded a muslin turban, with loose gold and silver-fringed ends. In the south, the turban is formed of a bordered square of silk, with a piece of India muslin coiled round it. The green turban, when worn by the head of an ancient tribe, denotes the highest dignity that can exist in Arabia. The poor wear only two caps; and the Bedouins, or wandering tribes, wear no caps, but only a hood in their cloaks, which are draped so as to keep off the cold and rain. The Arab sailors at Mocha and other ports of the Red Sea wear dark-flowing robes, and pale blue and red turbans of picturesque form. At Muskat, none except those of royal lineage may wear the turban above a prescribed height. Persians.-The Persians are allowed to have once surpassed in pomp and show the other oriental nations; and this magnificence was nowhere more displayed than in the splendour of their attire and personal or nament. But this distinction now applies rather to the costliness of the materials of dress than to its colours; for however gaily the Persians may have dressed formerly, their present choice is confined to dark tints, as brown, olive, green, and blue.. The Persian dress has been considered effeminate, and not unreasonably so. The men wear very wide trousers, and a shirt extending below the hips, over the trousers; a tight-sleeved vest descending to the middle of the leg; and over all, a long robe reaching to the ankles, fitting tight as far as the hips, and then buttoned at the side, but flowing like a petticoat. The sash around the waist is of flowered muslin, English chintz, the common shawl of the country, or a Cashmere shawl. It is eight yards long and one yard broad, and in it is stuck a dagger, without which, and * Dr Ruschenberger's Voyage round the World. Altogether, the Persians are fond of fine clothes, and will pay a liberal price for them. They prefer English manufactures to those of any other nation. English chintzes and broadcloths are much in demand; the latter for the outer garments of most respectable persons. The taste in colours varies much; one year blue and brown will be in favour, next year red and grey. The chintzes are invariably high coloured; but the patterns must be changed as often as in the Manchester market. Hence the British trade with Persia is considerable, although we have powerful competitors in the Russians and Americans. Circassians.-In Circassia, where the distinctions of rank and birth lead the people to associate in septs or clans, the varieties and gradations of costume, as might be expected, are closely observed. The warlike spirit of the men likewise encourages this taste; their indulgence in dress never degenerates here, as in some other countries, into luxurious effeminacy, but fosters their chivalrous bearing and personal gallantry. The exquisite beauty of the women, and, above all, the active part which they take in the business of life, also ensure this attention to costume. A Circassian beauty, whose fine form and delicate complexion have almost exhausted eastern panegyric, is tall and well, though slightly shaped, and carries herself very erect, though somewhat ungracefully, from the practice of tightly compressing the loins from infancy, and thus giving an unseemly protrusion to the body and stiffness in walking. Her beauty is tenderly watched, her face being shaded from the sun, her feet protected by a wooden shoe, her hands by gloves, and her waist by a broad leathern girdle, fastened at an early age with clasps. Her costume is a bonnet or skull-cap of scarlet cloth, trimmed and crossed with broad silver lace; a boddice of blue silk, with silver studs; a girdle with silver shell-shaped clasps; and beneath a petticoat of striped silk, loose Turkish trousers, from which peep her white and delicate feet, which, in-doors, are left uncovered, but ornamented pattens or morocco slippers are worn out of doors. The maiden is not veiled, whereas the married woman wears a veil and a piece of calico muffled to the nose. The hair is worn in braided tresses over the shoulders. Sewing, embroidery, and straw plaiting, are the occupations of all females above the rank of slaves. The male dress of the Circassian is the well-known |