is nonconformity in hair is countenanced by various nonconformities in
dress, shown by others of the assemblage. Bare necks, shirt-collars _a
la_ Byron, waistcoats cut Quaker fashion, wonderfully shaggy great
coats, numerous oddities in form and colour, destroy the monotony usual
in crowds. Even those exhibiting no conspicuous peculiarity, frequently
indicate by something in the pattern or make-up of their clothes, that
they pay small regard to what their tailors tell them about the
prevailing taste. And when the gathering breaks up, the varieties of
head-gear displayed--the number of caps, and the abundance of felt
hats--suffice to prove that were the world at large like-minded, the
black cylinders which tyrannise over us would soon be deposed.

The foreign correspondence of our daily press shows that this
relationship between political discontent and the disregard of customs
exists on the Continent also. Red republicanism has always been
distinguished by its hirsuteness. The authorities of Prussia, Austria,
and Italy, alike recognise certain forms of hat as indicative of
disaffection, and fulminate against them accordingly. In some places the
wearer of a blouse runs a risk of being classed among the _suspects_;
and in others, he who would avoid the bureau of police, must beware how
he goes out in any but the ordinary colours. Thus, democracy abroad, as
at home, tends towards personal singularity.

Nor is this association of characteristics peculiar to modern times, or
to reformers of the State. It has always existed; and it has been
manifested as much in religious agitations as in political ones. Along
with dissent from the chief established opinions and arrangements, there
has ever been some dissent from the customary social practices. The
Puritans, disapproving of the long curls of the Cavaliers, as of their
principles, cut their own hair short, and so gained the name of
"Roundheads." The marked religious nonconformity of the Quakers was
accompanied by an equally-marked nonconformity of manners--in attire, in
speech, in salutation. The early Moravians not only believed
differently, but at the same time dressed differently, and lived
differently, from their fellow Christians.

That the association between political independence and independence of
personal conduct, is not a phenomenon of to-day only, we may see alike
in the appearance of Franklin at the French court in plain clothes, and
in the white hats worn by t