We have laid down a sort of rule that the costume of servants is that of the master of an earlier generation, and we will now bring forward some evidence in support of it.
Modern coachmen and outdoor footmen wear the tall hat, the bright buttons, doeskin breeches and the top boots characteristic of the outdoor and riding dress of the gentlemen at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The groom, it will be noticed (see Figure [110]), wears in addition a leather belt, and the reason for this will not perhaps strike the inquirer straight away. Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers did not always drive in carriages, and it was customary for them, when riding on horseback, to sit on a pillion behind a gentleman or a servant. The belt which we now see round the waist of a groom afforded a hold to which they had to cling, in order to prevent themselves from falling off the horse.
Fig. 110.—The modern groom, showing the belt to which ladies clung when riding on a pillion.
Such a livery as we have described is also adopted by the general run of well-to-do people. The aristocracy, however, are more inclined to stand upon ceremony, and through it to make more show. Their footmen, who go by the generic name of “Jeames,” wear plush breeches, silk stockings, and powdered hair. (See Figure [111].)
Fig. 111.—A footman in plush breeches and with powdered hair. His “pouter” coat dates from the reign of George III. (By the courtesy of Messrs. F. T. Prewett and Co.)