t; for before it was half unfolded, it described so immoderate
a circle, that the lower part of it brushed upon my face as I sate in my
chair of judicature. I then inquired for the person that belonged to the
petticoat; and to my great surprise, was directed to a very beautiful
young damsel, with so pretty a face and shape, that I bid her come out
of the crowd, and seated her upon a little crock at my left hand. "My
pretty maid," said I, "do you own yourself to have been the inhabitant
of the garment before us?" The girl I found had good sense, and told me
with a smile, that notwithstanding it was her own petticoat, she should
be very glad to see an example made of it; and that she wore it for no
other reason, but that she had a mind to look as big and burly as other
persons of her quality; that she had kept out of it as long as she
could, and till she began to appear little in the eyes of all her
acquaintance; that if she laid it aside, people would think she was not
made like other women. I always give great allowances to the fair sex
upon account of the fashion, and therefore was not displeased with the
defence of my pretty criminal. I then ordered the vest which stood
before us to be drawn up by a pulley to the top of my great hall, and
afterwards to be spread open by the engine it was placed upon, in such a
manner, that it formed a very splendid and ample canopy over our heads,
and covered the whole court of judicature with a kind of silken rotunda,
in its form not unlike the cupola of St. Paul's. I entered upon the
whole cause with great satisfaction as I sat under the shadow of it.

The counsel for the petticoat was now called in, and ordered to produce
what they had to say against the popular cry which was raised against
it. They answered the objections with great strength and solidity of
argument, and expatiated in very florid harangues, which they did not
fail to set off and furbelow (if I may be allowed the metaphor) with
many periodical sentences and turns of oratory. The chief arguments for
their client were taken, first, from the great benefit that might arise
to our woollen manufactury from this invention, which was calculated as
follows: the common petticoat has not above four yards in the
circumference; whereas this over our heads had more in the
semi-diameter; so that by allowing it twenty-four yards in the
circumference, the five millions of woollen petticoats, which (according
to Sir William Petty) su