es II and his successors the dress of the wealthy
and fashionable classes was most elaborate and costly. Gentlemen wore
their hair long, in ringlets, with an abundance of gold lace and
ruffles, and carried long, slender swords, known as rapiers.
Sometimes indeed they outshone the ladies in the splendor of their
costume, and in one instance the bride at a wedding burst into tears
because her gorgeously dressed husband looked so much handsomer than
she did that all eyes were fixed on him alone. Later on, large
flowing wigs came into fashion, and no man of any social standing
thought of appearing without one.

In Queen Anne's reign both ladies and gentlemen powdered their hair.
The ladies also painted their faces and ornamented them with minute
black patches, which served not only for "beauty spots," but showed,
by their arrangement, with which political party they sympathized.

529. Coffeehouses.

Up to the middle of the seventeenth century ale and beer were the
common drink of all classes; but about that time coffee was
introduced, and coffeehouses became fashionable resorts for gentlemen
and for all who wished to learn the news of the day. Tea had not yet
come into use; but, in 1660, Pepys says in his diary: "Sept. 25. I
did send for a cup of tee, a China drink, of which I never had drank
before."

530. The Streets of London.

No efficient police existed in London; at night the streets were
infested with brutal ruffians, and, as late as Queen Anne's time, by
bands of "fine gentlemen" not less brutal, who amused themselves by
overturning sedan chairs, rolling women downhill in barrels, and
compelling men to dance jigs, under the stimulus of repeated pricks
from a circle of sword points, until the victims fell fainting from
exhaustion. Duels were frequent, on the slightest provocation.
Highwaymen abounded both in the city and without, and, unless one went
well armed, it was often dangerous to travel any distance in the
country.

531. Brutal Laws.

Hanging was the common punishment for theft and many other crimes.
The public whipping of both men and women through the streets was
frequent. Debtors were shut up in prison, and left to beg from
passers-by or starve; and ordinary offenders were fastened in a wooden
frame called the "pillory" and exposed on a high platform, where they
were pelted by the mob with mud, rotten eggs, and other unsavory
missiles. In some cases their bones were broken with clubs and