It is difficult to understand how ladies, dressed in the costumes handed down to us by artists of the time, contrived to get into their litters. These must have been very roomy, and much like our modern closed carriages. It is true, however, that a litter was used by one person only. The use of carriages has contributed to the development of fashion, for by their means ladies in very light attire are enabled to go long distances, from one house to the other, without danger from exposure to the weather, and without attracting the attention of thieves. Hence, from the first appearance of coaches to the elegant carriages of our own day, a particular style of dress has existed, suitable only for persons possessing equipages, and ridiculous when worn by pedestrians through rain, mud, and dust. [Illustration] [Illustration: Henry II 1547 to 1548 Henry II 1555 to 1558] CHAPTER X. REIGN OF HENRI II. 1547 TO 1558. Fashions under Henri II.—The ruff—A satirical print of the time—Catherine de Médicis eats soup—The Italian taste—Regulations for dress—Crimson—Who shall wear silk?—Lines on velvet, by Ronsard—Rotonde—“Collet monté”—Spring-water—Style of gowns and head-dresses—Wired sleeves—Girdles—Caps, bonnets, and hoods—The “touret de nez”—The “coffin à roupies”—Shoes—A quotation from Rabelais. The taste for display had received an irresistible impulse; dress was a fascinating pursuit, and one well adapted to our manners and customs. In the reigns succeeding to that of Francis I. there was neither a reaction, nor any very remarkable novelty. The principal characteristic of feminine attire, however, in the time of Henri II. was the amplitude of skirts and sleeves. Costumes were alternately either of extreme splendour, or of a grave, not to say sombre appearance. It has been observed: “The sixteenth century offers a curious mixture of very striking and of very simple costumes.” Catherine de Médicis, the wife of Henri II., who was an Italian, introduced “ruffs” into France. The ruff was a sort of double collar, in stiff goffered plaits. It completely encircled the throat, and sometimes rose above the ears. Ruffs became immensely fashionable, both for men and women. A print of the time proves this. It represents a shop in which three grotesque figures are starching and ironing ruffs. A lady, seated, is having her own ironed, and a gentleman is bringing others. Death is seen on the threshold of the shop, on the right. On the margin there are half a dozen inscriptions in German and French against the fashion of wearing ruffs. Beneath the engraving are four German and four French lines, of a highly satirical nature:— “Hommes et femmes empèsent par orgueil Fraises longues pour ne trouver leur pareil; Mais en enfer le diable soufflera, Et à brusler les âmes le feu allumera.”[21]