[709] During the summer of 1689 the fashionable ladies at court adorned themselves with bouquets of cornflowers.
[710] For Voiture see page [20], § 37, and note 72. Sarrazin (1603-1654) was a rival of Voiture in an affected and pretentious style.
[711] The original has gens dʼesprit. See page [20], note 70.
[712] Those of my readers who wish to see the various fashions in dress of the end of the seventeenth century should look at the etchings at the head of each chapter, which faithfully represent them at the time La Bruyère wrote; the high head-dresses had been abandoned when he penned this paragraph (1691), but they became again the rage the following year (see Chapter iv., “Of Women,” [§ 5]), and continued so for a considerable period.
[713] In the original il parle gras; parler gras means usually “to speak thick,” but is sometimes said, as it is here, of people who lisp, which generally in French is grasseyer.
[714] In the original indécence, “crudeness,” “want of harmony,” now antiquated with this meaning.
[715] Attila, king of the Huns, died 453.
[716] The “long black veil,” coming down to the feet, worn by ladies in mourning, and during some grand ceremonies, was called a mante. Our author adds in a note: “Oriental habits.” The tiara, or triple crown, was the head-dress of the ancient Persian potentates, of the Jewish high priest, and of the Pope. For the sagum, see page [259], note 509.
[717] The author says in a note: “Offensive and defensive.”
[718] Canions, or canons in French, were large round pieces of linen, often adorned with lace or bunches of ribbons, which were fastened below the breeches, just under the knee.