A description of his costume has come down to us from the time of Henry IV. "It is composed of a jacket open in front and fastened by cheap ribbons; of tight-fitting pantaloons, covered with pieces of cloth of different colors, placed at random. The jacket also is patched. He has a stiff, black beard, the black half-mask, and a cap shaped like those of the time of Francis I; no linen; the belt, the pouch, and the wooden sword. His feet are clad in very thin foot-gear, covered at the ankles by the pantaloons, which serve as gaiters" (Maurice Sand, _Masques et Bouffons_, p. 72). It was further changed, as well as the character itself, by the famous Dominique, of the Italian comedians to King Louis XIV. He made of Harlequin a clever and witty personage, instead of a stupid lout, and this change was accepted by the writers of plays for that particular troupe. The dress is greatly modified. The jacket is closer fitting; the trousers less full and shorter in the leg, coming down to just below the calf; the patches, still much larger than in the modern dress, are arranged symmetrically; the hat is soft, with a brim and a small plume; the shoes are of the ordinary seventeenth century shape, with the bow of ribbon on the instep. The wooden sword remains, as well as the half-mask, but with a moustache in the place of the former stiff beard. The part was then played more and more as one calling for much spirit and endless fun-making powers,--so much so that when it was admitted to the stage of the Comedie-Francaise it evoked very strong condemnation as being unworthy of the gravity of the place. The modern dress of Harlequin, rarely seen save in pantomimes, is a very brilliant close-fitting costume, composed of small triangles of bright cloth covered with spangles. [3] QU'OUI. The correct form would be que oui, as the initial vowel of oui is now treated as an aspirate. [4] CELA VA TOUT DE SUITE, 'That is a matter of course.' 'That is the natural conclusion' (judging from the desire of most girls to marry). The expression _tout de suite_ now means 'at once,' 'immediately.' It is not in that sense that it is used here. Read, _cela va de suite_, considering the adverb _tout_ as simply adding emphasis to the expression. The word _suite_ was taken in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the sense of 'consequence' or 'order.' [5] DE FILLE. A peculiar use of the substantive after the preposition _de_, similar to the ordinary participial or adjectival use, as in the expression: _Il n'y a que vous de serieux_. Compare "Je n'ai qu'elle de fille" (Moliere, _le Medecin malgre lui_, II, 4). These, and similar expressions, are an outgrowth of the partitive genitive, usually found after an indefinite: _II n'y a rien de nouveau_ (that is to say, _parmi les choses nouvelles_). _Quelque chose de nouveau. Qu'y a-t-il de nouveau? Cent soldats de prisonniers. Y a-t-il personne d'assez hardi?_ etc. Compare the Latin, _Quid novi?_