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It has been questioned whether the public cares, or knows, much about the details of stage dress, upon which so much time and thought are bestowed; but then it is recognised that amongst the neglected arts is the art of costume, and pending the establishment of the Royal Academy of Dress, over which, of course, Mr. Percy Anderson should preside, visits to the theatre may offer to the student considerable instruction. In other days the scholar resented any incongruities of stage-costume. The satire of Pope pictures them vividly in the early eighteenth century:

Such is the shout, the long applauding note,

At Quin's high plume, or Oldfield's petticoat!

Or when from Court a birthday suit bestowed,

Sinks the lost actor in the tawdry load.

Booth enters—Hark! the universal peal!

But has he spoken? Not a syllable.

What shook the stage, and made the people stare?

Cato's long wig, flowered gown, and lacquered chair.