The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-03-17

what those cOlorS were we never chanced to learn; the coat asprobably white, with the Red Cross of St. George upon the breast. That was the uniform of the English troops who served under Charles V. in France, In the church. wardens' account at Darlington ln Devonshire appears an item Tor white banner with 8 red cross made for the war;" in the reign of Edward VI. From an early period white was the uniform of London. We have full description of the muster in 15S9, when Henry reviewed the train bands. Mayor and Aldermen appeared in white armor, with coats of black velvet and the city arms handsomely embla- zoned-on the sleeves, no doubt. They wore plumed velvet caps, and steel battle-aXe hung at each saddle bow. Every Alderman had his guard in white silk, with gilded halberds. Rich 1 citizens also were arrayed in white | silk and breastplates studded with | silver while the men wore a white cot ton uniform with the city arms on | breast and cuff, white shoes and white hose. There were 15,000 of them, arch CTS, pil1emen, musketeers, and artil- | lery.
 A review nowadays is a poor show | compared with this. But white seems | to have been the favorite color for uniforms in Europe. The French used it for regiments of the line-until the downfall of the monarchy, and the | Austrians chung to it until our own time; generals and field officers in full dress still keep the white coat In our civil war each regiment was ar rayed in the livery color of the Peer of Gentleman who raised it; green, blue, purple, and gray are mentioned. l Denzil Holless "Londoners" wore red. But our scarlet was CromwelPs heri- tage. Tradition says that the dealers of St. Ives had no sufficient stock of a color more becoming to the godly. So the Ironsides were clothed in scarlet, and other regiments seem to have fol-
 lowed the lead. Pepys remarks that the militia battalion guarding the ex- change while Monk had not yet de- clared his intentions wore a red uni- form. Perhaps Cromwell had observed that 1t is the best color upon the whole for military operations, as scientific soldiers declare now, after experiments innumerable But his life Guard under the Proctectorate were dressed in gray frock coats with silver "welts," lace in the seams probably. When the Coldstreams and other regiments took service under the King it was not thought advisable to change their uni form, and so scarlet became the national color.
 It might be supposed that kings generally would choose red as the roy : al tint, but that seems to be an ac- quired idea. Only the Abyssinians have done so, as we recall. A smart red cloak turned up with mazarine blue was the Emperor's livery in Bruces time. Haroun Alraschid used to put on a scarlet suit to attend Durbar when bent on mischief, and Persian Shahs retained the custom till lately. The Queen of Scots made fine dramatic use of red upon the scaffold. She appeared in black satin robe and jacket, trimmed with black velvet, a small black cap, and veil of lawn fall ing behind. All was sable round--the scaffold, the block, the executioner |
 Then the ladies took off her veil and undressed her. Beneath the black jacket was "body of crimson satin
 beneath the robe @ pettieoat of crim- son velet. To complete the effect they drew pair of long scarlet sleeves over her arms, and she stood forth all afame from head to foot, Very characteristic was the resolve to make sensation even when dying but assuredly she fulfilled her purpose
 Blue, however, has been more import ant, if we may so speak, than red. It was the royal color of the Persians when they held the empire of the world
 because, as the legend went, Astyages
 grandfather of Cyrus, was wearing a blue robe when taken before the King. The famous cidaris, the imperial head dress, was like French cap of liberty
 with the top erect, blue and white Possibly 1t Is because this color was sacred to their oppressors that the . Zezdis and the Sabaeans regard it
 with passionate abhorrence. They will
 not speak to a man dressed in blue if
 it can be avoided. Upon the other
 hand, this is the hue dedicated tc Kristna, and therefore blessed above all to Hindus. Young sportsmen ir India are warned that they must not shoot a monkey or a blue pigeon