The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-01-25 00:00:00

GOSSIP OF BYGONE DRESS AND
CHARACTERS.

The London correspondent of the Liverpool Albion
has been rather eurprised that the obituaries on the late
Countese of Harrington—once the celebrated actress,
Miss Foote—are generally so meagre, and proceeds to
relate the following gossip :

During her tile good taste suggested to men who could have
told capital dotedf her uoble husband, that the time
had not cone for publishing such gossip ; but now that the
Countess has departed, it is to be hoped that we may have a
collection of the stories that are told of that eccentric noble-
man. To the day of her death the Countess kept her car-
elutes and liveries in very much the style which distinguished
theta when the late Lord Harrington was a leader of the
fashions. Every day, shout four o'clock, y..nr might see, in
the neighbourhrsal of Whitehall-gardens, those large black
horses, with the square blinkers and brass-mounted hareem,
drawing the stately-looking carriage in which the Countess
was seated. The servants invariably wore chocolate-coloured
coats, reaching to their heels. These coats were designed by
Lord Harrington, who cut the original pattern for them him-
self. Like George IV., he was an amateur tailor of very con-
siderable pretensiou. In fact, he and that Royal person-
age, in the days of the Regency, were rivals in the high art
of crating and fitting. The Prince designed a Valencia
waistcoat, very short, and with only four buttons, which
created a wonderful impression among the noble swells the
first day it was exhibited on the Royal breast. 'Die next day
Lord Harrington appeared in a still shorter Valeneia but
with small buttons from top to bottom as flamer.s as it
was possible to place them. This vest triumphed over the
prince's. It was adopted by all the faster fashionaale men
of the time, and his Royal Highness was awl ally savage.
Stubs was Lord II arrington's professional tailor, and either he
or Ids foreman was In diurnal attendance at Whitehall-
gardens. Like the Prince Regent, Lord Harrington had his
own little scissors, with which be snigged out .y offending
wrinkle or exulmran to of material: for in those days
gentlemen's clothes were made to appear as if pasted on
the body. So tight were the riding breeches of the Prince,
that on more than one oc,asion they had to be cut off him.
All wrinkles were reasoned by the scissors, and numerous floe
drawings were made after he had put them on : and no well
did they fit after this process that it was impossible to pull
them off. Having wigged a batch of waistcoats and had
them fine-drawn, in miler that a second batch made by
the correct pattern might be furnished by Stultz, Lord
Harrington discovered that this eminent tailor returned
him the patterns themselves instead of gettiog up en-
tirely new work lie determined to be even with Stoltz,
and on the next occasion when sending back a lot of
° failures," he slit all the button-holes, so that It was im-
possible for the tailor to return the same garments again.
One day his lordship would appear dressed as a Turk, the
next as a Greek, the day following as perhaps an Indian
Prince, and so on. In his house he had a rmdn fitted up as a
snuff store. On shelves all round were beautiful China Jan,
each tilled with a different kind of snuff. Ile boasted of
having every different growth of tobacco and every variety
of mixture known in hie time, and was always ready to fill
the box of a guest with any kind of snuff he might desire.
Snuff was the fashion in those days. It would not do at this
date to find a young nobleman with a snuff-lion; and doubt-
less if Lord Harrington were alive and in his prime now he
wmild he a collector of cigars, and not of tobacato in powder.
A snuff-box is still the form not 'infrequently taken by the
small piece of plate which royalty feels bound to bestow as a
recognition of trilling gratuitous services, or as a mark of
princely favour ; hut gold watches and portraits its diamonds
are fast ousting what has ceased to be useful and is not par-
ticularly ornamental. The diamond settings of portraits
given in this way are not so valuable as the world in general
may suppose. They are got up expressly for the purpose.
Kings itch princes always have a stock of them on hand. The
diamonds are very small, and taken singly of very little
value.