PRINCE HENRY, ELDEST SON OF JAMES I.
Under date October 22, 1663, occurs an entry which refers to the material of the cloak. The Queen was ill of the spotted fever, and, upon hearing that she had grown worse, he sends to his tailor to stop the making of his velvet cloak (presumably coloured) "till I see whether she lives or dies."
The velvet, however, referred to the lining of the cloak, which was often richer than the outside. On the 29th of the following month (the Queen had recovered and was about again) he dons his best black cloth suit, trimmed with scarlet ribbon, very neat, and his "cloak lined with velvet, and a new beaver, which altogether is very noble."
In the reign of William III. the long skirted coats of the men, with waistcoats reaching to the knees, rendered any outer clothing unnecessary, except for the coldest weather, when long cloaks were worn, together with muffs, by the beaux.
Muffs were at this period worn as commonly by men as by women, and this fashion continued for nearly a century.
The beau with his muff is thus satirised in the comic opera "Lionel and Clarissa," by Isaac Bickerstaff, c. 1768:—
"A coxcomb, a fop, a dainty milk-sop;
Who, essenc'd and dizen'd from bottom to top,
Looks just like a doll for a milliner's shop.
A thing full of prate, and pride and conceit;
All fashion, no weight;
Who shrugs and takes snuff; and carries a muff;
A minnikin, finicking, French powder-puff!"
