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met with who part with their beautiful long hair for filthy lucre," and allow their heads to be shorn like sheep.

The costume of the Norman peasants, in many respects, differs from those of Brittany. The men frequently wear no hats; and when they do, they are of every shape, form, and colour; sometimes without brims, at other times the brims are very broad; and often the only covering for the head is a cotton white or red night-cap. They seldom wear neckcloths; and both men and women have wooden sabots, fastened to the feet by leathern straps. Their coats are often long, and made of a dark-coloured cloth; and if they wear a hat, they frequently have a cap also underneath it.

In Mrs. Stothard's "Tour" the costume of the women is thus described: "It looks singular at the first view, but, when the eye is accustomed to it, appears by no means unbecoming. It generally consists

of a woollen petticoat, striped with a variety of colours, as red, blue, &c., and an apron also of red or blue. The jacket of the gown is most commonly made of maroon, white, black, or red worsted, the long sleeves of which being sometimes, perhaps, of maroon, as far as the elbow, and the lower half of a scarlet colour. A little shawl (white or coloured), with a fringe round it, pinned in plaits upon the back, covers the shoulders. The head-dress, called the bourgoin, is the most remarkable and conspicuous part of their attire. It is formed of white, stiffly-starched

muslin, that covers a pasteboard shape, and rises a great height above the head, frequently diminishing in size towards the top, where it finishes in a circular form; two long lappets depend from either side towards the back, and these are often composed of the finest lace. Some of the women have a piece of

velvet, which fastens their head-dress under the chin, and others a riband, that crosses the forehead from the cap. Several paysannes, on Sundays or holydays, appear clothed entirely in white instead of in this costume; but they still retain their bourgoin, which, on such occasions, is always composed of fine muslin and lace."

The back hair is usually worn

en chignon, that is, allowed to fall

at full length down the back, then turned back and the ends fastened under the cap, so as to form an immense thick club of hair on the shoulders.

The bourgoins throughout all Normandy are not alike that of the Pays de Caux deserves to be described. The part which surrounds the face is of scarlet velvet; from underneath it peep some curls on

the temples; the upper part is of blue pasteboard, covered with tiny flowers in gold tinsel, and greatly resembles an ancient casque. At the top, which is much elevated above the head, is an immense ruff of muslin, edged with lace, from which hang two streamers, that reach nearly to the ground, falling

over the chignon. This towering

edifice is kept in its place by a string passing under the chin, and is much like the caps worn in England in the fifteenth century. When travelling in Normandy, I was shewn one of these coiffures, belonging to the wife of a rich peasant; it had descended from mother to daughter for several generations, and was looked upon with as much reverence as a box of family diamonds would be among the higher classes. It very much resembled the one we have already described, only it was more laden with tinsel and lace, and the weight was quite extraordinary.

The Normandes, unlike their neighbours in some parts of Brittany, almost always curl their hair, and seem to regard it as an addition to their personal charms. Not unfrequently they wear low gowns, and a ruff round the throat. In their ordinary dress they have pockets, made of a different-coloured stuff to the petticoat, hanging outside it. They are also very fond of silver or gilt ornaments, such as chains, ear

rings, brooches, and crosses; and very frequently, when a fête-day permits their indulging in the luxury of wearing shoes, they are adorned with huge paste buckles.

In the southern parts of France the dress approaches more nearly to that of the Spanish peasant. In Bearn it is very curious. The men have flat woollen caps, and cloaks of a brown colour, the latter being sufficiently wide not only to cover themselves, but also the tail of the animals they ride. The hood belonging to this cloak is very convenient, as in rain it completely shelters the head, though it gives a very grotesque appearance to the wearer.

The paysannes when they ride to market very frequently wear trousers and spurs, which but ill agree with their neatly frilled caps and collars. Sometimes, however, they have hoods of a striped cloth, and long aprons, which serve for riding-habits. "Their usual head-dress," says the author of "A Summer in the Pyrenees,"" is a handkerchief made of a manufacture of the country, which never fades or crumples. The middle is usually brown, drab, or fawn colour, with a broad border to suit. It is adjusted so as to give a Grecian contour to the head and face, and I suspect, notwithstanding its appearance of artless simplicity, that there are degrees of coquetry by which it is arranged so as best to suit the appearance of the wearer. Beneath this head-dress we see soft bands of dark hair, carefully parted on the forehead, and placed against the cheek, so as to contrast in the best manner with a complexion at once glowing and delicate, healthy and pure. Add to this the neatest little collar round the neck, the universal shawl pinned

down in front, over which the hands, in curiously coloured mittens, are closely folded. The peasant women, besides the handkerchief above described, wear a hood called a capulet, made of white or scarlet cloth, of the finest texture, often bordered with black velvet, and has a striking effect, whether hanging loosely from the head to the shoulders, over which it extends, or folded thick and flat on the head, as we see in Italian pictures. When at church they wear a cloak of black or blue stuff, lined with red.

"The rest of the dress is of the simplest description usually a thick woollen petticoat of brown or blue, with a stripe of a different colour, a blue cloth jacket, tight to the waist, and a cotton shawl or handkerchief pinned over it. This dress being dark and durable, and exactly suited to their occupation, never looks shabby or dirty; nor is there such a thing as a ragged garment to be seen, even upon the poorest or the most infirm. With regard to shoes and stockings, they are not particular, and we often see the women stopping to put them on before they enter the towns. The peasants and mountaineers wear, universally, rudely shaped shoes of wood, immensely thick, turned up with a pointed toe."

In the Pays des Landes the costume of the men consists of long trousers, a kind of garment between a jacket and a spenser, and a worsted cap, stuck on the back of the head like a Scotchman's bonnet. Their hair, which they allow to grow thick and bushy, falls in masses below it. The paysannes' dress generally resembles that above given of Bearn.

The female peasants at Aubagne, near Marseilles, have broad black hats, adorned with little scraps of