The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-03-19

The Gorgeous Costumes OF the Retsiserr 81
the Royal Houses OF Europe-0ueon We
toran's Hsrhly welldressed Servants.

torin's Highly welldressed Servants.
LONDON, March a-The FIRST drawing room
OF the season. which as q rule takes place In
bitterly cold and otherwise inclement weather..
was on Tuesday favored by brilliant sunshine
and almost sprlnglike s%oftness OF tempera-
ture. The gigantic bouquets OF the ladies' the
blllowy robes and sparkling stones seen
through the carriage windows were viewed to
the best advantage by the countless crowds
patiently gathered near the approaches OK
Buckingham Palace. who cheered the brll>
fancy Of the liveries and traopinGe OF gala.
This apparently unimportant question al
liveries has suddenly become somewhat To-
teresting. owing TO the proposed-and iusvs
i~table-tax about to be imposed on them In
France: a tax which will be felt by the numer.
GUS foreign residents OF all nations who have
settled in Paris. 1t will be, however. some~
what difficult to decide with nicely and faire
ness on the exact import OF tho term. VIII u
be applicable to the costume worn By the
porters OF hotels. the messengers Of banks. the
garcons Of large shops. and the GRAND boys. or
Is It meant to strike only at the wealthy and
aristocratic portion OF the community Again.
domestic servants who wear their livery on
duty haste TO doff 1t the moment they are oue
in their private capacity. wearing plain olothes,
and sometimes their masters. The butler
forced to dress in black is as much In uniform
as the footman.c oachman. or "chasseur."
The word livr6e." anelicised into livery
originated in France at tho now remote time
when the King presented costly garment to
the officers OF his court the day before Christ
mas. and whom this gift was styled "livraison.~
or robe dc livree." Sometimes the present.
was m ade with an afterthought. as In the case
Of st. Louis. who gave the garments on Christi
mas eve. and tho recipients finding the nexe
morning the cross on the left shoulder. saw
themselves enrolled as crusaders.
In the tournaments the heralds and pages
wore on their dalmaticas the coats Of arms Of
their masters and the appellation OF livr6o
without the predatory term Of robe" became
one OF habitual use fort the distinctive costumes
or parts OF costume indicating an acknowl-
edged condition Of service. Even the knight
who slung across his armor the scarf OF his
liege lady was said to bear her livery. But ID
was only under Louis XIII. that suits Of
colored clothes were given to domestic ser.
wants. the shades matching the chief emblem1
Of their masters escutcheons.a and under Louis
XIV, who. like Napoleon l.. decreed on all mat
ters. rules and regulations were laid dow for
the wearers and ordainers OF ~iveries. As soon
as tho court definitely renowned the heavy
galloons or gold lace on their coats. these were
transferred to the lackeys. and tho, mobiles
adopted the Powered brocades and embroids
cred silks only. These galloons were woven
purposely with the entire coat OF arms end>
lessly repeated OF tho family to which the re-
tainers belonged. and on gala ~liveries OF
sovereiRus. ambassadors. and peers they were
placed on every seam Of the coats: hence the
French %locution to express ostentatiouA
wealth: "Galonne sur toutes les coutures."
In England the cut OF the livery coat styled
"a la FRANCHISE" p~redominates. while ~recipro-
cally the habit d rAnglaiso" is more gener>
ally adopted in France.
There are three series of liveries. the great,
gala. the semi-state. and tho petite tenua. %
plain one. The first implies the squAre-cut.
open. old-fashioned coat. gallooned on every
scam. the waistcoat and knee breaches Of the
family heraldic colors, tho silk hose. buckied
shoes. powdered wig. and three-cornered hat:
the semi-state consists OF q coat with two
rows Of silver and crested buttons. with short
tails. knee breeches. silk stockings, and
buckled shoes: the ordinary livery Is virtually
the eame as regards the cut and color Of the
coat. but with it trousers are worn. and the
ordinary high hat out Of doors.
The British court has three distinct ~liveriess
the finest is red. with armorial g~alloons. blue
waistcoat and breeches: the second. red oost
with blue facings. brooches. and waistcoat,
and the third is black. with aiguillettes ornA-
mented with the royal arms. Tho court liv.
cries Of Queen Victoria are remarkable for
their elegant simplicity. as compared with
the garish splendor Of the civic authorities and
the almoste equally magnificent gorgeousnsss
Of those adopted By recent millionairea
The Belgian court has but ono livery Of
grand tenue"-blue coat, stand-up collar.
red brooches. and gold laced hat.
In Spain the gala suits ara blue. heavily gale
looned with bullion In Russia green and gold.
The cut differs but slightly. 1t is doubtful IL
the custom Of having n chasseur comes from
Austria or Russia. The livery OF this func.
tionary is almost q uniform. and lie termed SO:
1t is invariably green and the coat 10 worn
tightly buttoned. a short sheathed sword or
hunting knife is carried across the chest sus-
pended from a richly silver mounted leather
"bandouilliere. the half high boots over the
cloth brooches are silver tasselled. and he
wears the generals or admlrals hat. with q
bushy green or white feather. The chasseuP
stands behind him at table on state occasions
drives out with his masters carriage. and
either occupies q place on the box or stands
on the footboard with a footman. but never
alone. Only sovereigns. the high dignitariea
OF the court. or am AMBASSADORS have ohAsseurs.
In Italy the court livery is red and gold: in
Germany black and silver. the livery OF the
royal houssof France has almost always been
blue. with red velvet knee breechos: Louis
Philippe alone selected q red livery for his
personal use. TIL Bonapartes adopted
the green coat and red breechess
Marshal MacMahon during his tenure Of
otlce OF the french Presidency had the
richest liveries seen In white. with
every seam covered with the gold lace on
which his arms were woven. The French
aristocracy has generally chosen blue for
its liveries. the distinctive features consists
ing chiefly In the color Of tho brooches and
waistcoats as we'll as In tho heraldio buttons
Some illustrious ducal houses have. however.
retained tho red coats. and there 10 even Al
example Of q yellow one in the house Of Talley-
rand Perigord. Among the Ambassadors. the
Count de- Monteb6llo-now mentioned as the
probable successor OF Mr.. Waddington at the
c~ourtlof st. Jamess-has green ~lveries. with
rod waistcoats and breeches for gala, and Lord
Dufferin light blue ones. faced with yellow. aud
waistcoats OF the latter color.
Liveries of uncommon and unheraldic shades
are more common In England than on the Jon
tinent. Tho Biounts. for instance. dress their
servants in Marengo pepper and salt. and