ous
emblems, flowers, or some other form of ornamentation. The bed itself
consisted of a hard mattress, and was often made only of straw,
although feather beds were used to some extent throughout the century.
Chaucer describes a couch of unusual luxury as follows:

"Of downe of pure dovis white
I wol yeve him a fethir bed,
Rayid with gold, and right well cled
In fine blacke sattin d'outremere,
And many a pilowe, and every bere (pillow cover)
Of clothe of Raines to slepe on softe;
Him thare (need) not to turnen ofte."

This description of a bed in the latter part of the fourteenth century
holds good for the succeeding century, although the bed increased in
luxuriousness of hangings. Feather beds and bed covers are frequently
mentioned in the bequests of the times; by their description, they
show the increase in the comfort and richness of beds, and, by their
mention in wills, the value that was placed upon them. With the
increase of privacy which the bedchambers afforded at this time, the
practice of several people sleeping in the same room was less general.

The women of the manor house, who may be regarded as succeeding the
women of the castles, were notable for their intelligence, purity,
and good sense, as revealed to us by the letters and literature of the
times. Their features, as depicted in illustrations, give evidence
of refinement and culture as well as beauty; to these attractions was
added that of graceful carriage. Although their dresses fitted closely
to the figure, tight lacing had not yet become the custom. Paris was
then, as now, the glass of fashion for the women of Europe, and the
English woman considered her form to approach perfection the more
nearly as it conformed to the model established in France. At this
period, the ladies were given to similar extremes of dress and
adornment to those which have furnished an indictment against them
since fashion first held sway over the feminine mind. All classes of
society were influenced by the all-important matter of style, and the
women of each grade of the social scale found their chief contentment
in copying the manners and dress of those above them. Earlier we found
occasion to notice, in brief, the sumptuary legislation by which it
was sought to limit extravagances in fashion; but the laws have yet
to be framed which can serve permanently to control woman's desires.
So that we shall, perforce, have to continue our discussion of the
ev