Lord Mansfield.
It will not be without interest to give a picture of a full-bottomed wig, and we select as an example the one worn by the great Lord Mansfield. It was made by Mr Williams, a noted barber in his day, who had among his patrons many famous men, including Dr Samuel Johnson, but he prided himself most on making the full state wig for Lord Mansfield, and the one which is represented on his imposing monument in Westminster Abbey. After the famous lawyer had been laid to rest, the wig which is represented on his monument was the subject of a very odd litigation, which was fully reported in the Times for 1823. An action, it is stated, was brought by Mr Williams, a barber, against Mr Lawrence, to recover Lord Mansfield's full state wig, which had again come into the possession of the perruquier after the death of his lordship. The wig had been graciously lent by the barber to one Lawrence, belonging to the legal profession, but also an amateur actor. In this wig, we are told, he proposed to disport himself in the character of Shylock. The plaintiff could not get it back again, and brought the action for its recovery. The wig had been accidentally burnt, and the judge awarded the plaintiff the sum of £2 as a compensation for the loss of the relic.
STEALING WIGS
Stealing a Wig.
n the palmy days of wigs the price of a full-wig of an English gentleman was from thirty to forty guineas. Street quarrels in the olden time were by no means uncommon; care had to be exercised that wigs were not lost. Swift says:—