“Before the revolution, no hired man or woman wore any shoes as fine as calf-skin; that kind was the exclusive property of the gentry. The servants wore coarse neat’s leather. The calf-skin then had a white rind of sheep-skin stitched into the top edge of the sole, which they preserved white, as a dress-shoe, as long as possible.” The use of boots has come in since the war of independence; they were first worn with black tops, after the military, strapped up in union with the knee buttons; afterward bright tops were introduced. The leggings to these latter were made of buckskin for some extreme beaux, for the sake of close fitting a well-turned leg. “Boots were rarely worn; never as an article of dress; chiefly when seen, they were worn by hostlers and sailors; the latter always wore great petticoat trowsers, coming only to the knee and then tying close. Common people wore their clothes for a much longer time than now; they patched their clothes much and long; a garment was only ‘half worn’ when it became broken. “As English colonists we early introduced the modes of our British ancestors. They derived their notions of dress from France. “Breeches, close fitted, with silver, stone, or paste gem buckles; shoes or pumps, with silver buckles of various sizes and patterns; thread, worsted, and silk stockings, were worn in the colonies previous to the revolution. The poorer class wore sheepskin and buckskin breeches close set to the limbs.” [Illustration] A glance at any of the numerous engravings copied from Colonel Trumbull’s national painting, the “Declaration of Independence,” shows the dress of gentlemen in this country during the American revolution; namely, small clothes fastened below the knee with buckles, the leg covered only with stockings, the shoes fastened with large buckles. This fashion continued until the close of the eighteenth century, when pantaloons and boots were introduced from France. Mr. Sullivan, in his “Familiar Letters,” says: “About the end of the eighteenth century, the forms of society underwent considerable change. The levelling process of France began to be felt. Powder for the hair began to be unfashionable. A loose dress (pantaloons) for the lower limbs was adopted. Wearing the hair tied was given up, and short hair became common. Colored garments went out of use, and dark or black were substituted. Buckles disappeared. The style of life had acquired more of elegance, as means had increased.” A sketch of the manner in which Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, and other public men, dressed, is given by Mr. Sullivan, in the work above quoted, and the following extracts may be interesting to our readers:--