DANDY ON HORSEBACK.
(November 2, 1818.)
A DANDY.
(December 8, 1818.)
This was that Lord Petersham who never went out of doors till six p.m., and whose horses, carriage, and harness, were all of the same shade of brown. He had other foibles which are amusingly told by Capt. Gronow. "The room into which we were ushered was more like a shop than a gentleman's sitting room; all round the walls were shelves, upon which were placed the canisters, containing Congou, Pekoe, Souchong, Bohea, Gunpowder, Russian, and many other teas, all the best of their kind; on the other side of the room were beautiful jars, with names, in gilt letters, of innumerable kinds of snuff, and all the necessary apparatus for moistening and mixing. Lord Petersham's mixture is still well known to all tobacconists. Other shelves, and many of the tables were covered with a great number of magnificent snuff-boxes; for Lord Petersham had, perhaps, the finest collection in England, and was supposed to have a fresh box for every day in the year. I heard him, on the occasion of a delightful old light blue Sèvres box he was using, being admired, say, in his lisping way—'Yes, it is a nice summer box, but would not do for winter wear.' In this museum there were also innumerable canes of very great value. The Viscount was likewise a great Mæcenas among the tailors, and a particular kind of great coat, when I was a young man, was called a Petersham."
These trousers later on (see illustration, Nov., 1818) were worn, instead of breeches and boots, on horseback, but this was only affected by the "Dandy," a term which came into vogue two or three years before this time, and which, according to Webster, is derived from the French dandin, "a ninny, a silly fellow." The Dandy at his toilet is of the same date, and here we see him in his evening dress. The huge cocked hat is exaggerated, but it was the shape of the chapeau bras, which folded flat, and was carried as we now do a Gibus. The looking-glass, wash-stand, &c., are very meagre according to our ideas, but much ornament was not lavished on bedroom furniture.