SPECTATOR 129.
Page 99.
17. periwig. v. note on p. 8, 1. 8.
Page 100.
1. habits, v. note on p. 10, 1. 20.
5. the mode. v. note on p. 62, 1. 30.
12. engage. Undertake.
23. circuit. v. note on p. 65, 1. 3.
28. Stains, now spelt Staines, in Middlesex, ten miles from London.
29. commode. A wire erection to raise the front of the hair and the cap. First worn by Mlle. Fontange, at the court of Louis XIV. In Spectator 98, Addison notes that head-dresses have diminished in height.
33. the Ramilie cock. A particular way of folding back the flaps of a cocked hat invented after Marlborough's victory at Ramillies, 1706.
Page 101.
10. a Friezland hen. Probably frizzled hen (Gallus crispus) whose feathers stand outward from the body, giving it a much beruffled aspect.
15. retrenching. Cutting back, diminishing. Cf. Milton, Paradise Regained, i. 454:
But this thy glory shall be soon retrenched.
18. franked by a parliament-man. Members of Parliament were privileged to send and receive postal matter free of charge. The custom began in 1660, and was regulated by law in 1764. Until 1837 the member had simply to write his name on the corner of the envelope, and often presented his friends with parcels of franked envelopes. The privilege was abolished in 1840.
22. next. Most recent, last. Obsolete in this sense. Cf. Shakespeare, Henry VIII., I. i. 17, 'Each following day became the next day's master.'
26. in buckle. In curl.
Page 102.
4. astonishments. The plural form is not now in use.
7. bob-wig. A wig with short curls or bobs, to imitate natural curly hair.
18. Monmouth cock. Another fashion of cocking the hat, named after the Duke of Monmouth. v. note on p. 10, 1. 30.
23. night-cap wig. A periwig with a short tie and a small round head.
Page 103.
1. the Steenkirk was a black silk cravat, tied so as to produce an effect of negligence, in imitation of the victorious French generals, when a sudden attack summoned them hastily to the field at the battle of Steinkirk. v. note on Spectator 335.