had genius to supply;
And, studious of mutation still, discard
A real elegance, a little us'd,
For monstrous novelty and strange disguise."

To return to Elizabeth:--

The best known, and most distinguishing characteristic of the costume
of her day was the ruff; which was worn of such enormous size that a
lady in full dress was obliged to feed herself with a spoon two feet
long. In the year 1580, sumptuary laws were published by
proclamation, and enforced with great exactness, by which the ruffs
were reduced to legal dimensions. Extravagant prices were paid for
them, and they were made at first of fine holland, but early in
Elizabeth's reign they began to wear lawn and cambric, which were
brought to England in very small quantities, and sold charily by the
yard or half yard; for there was then hardly one shopkeeper in fifty
who dared to speculate in a whole piece of either. So "strange and
wonderful was this stuff," says Stowe, speaking of lawn, "that
thereupon rose a general scoff or byeword, that shortly they would
wear ruffs of a spider's web." And another difficulty arose; for when
the Queen had ruffs made of this new and beautiful fabric, there was
nobody in England who could starch or stiffen them; but happily Her
Grace found a Dutchwoman possessed of that knowledge which England
could not supply, and "Guillan's wife was the first starcher the Queen
had, as Guillan himself was the first coachman."

"Afterward, in 1564, (16th of Elizabeth), one Mistress Dinghen Vauden
Plasse, born at Teenen in Flanders, daughter of a worshipful knight of
that province, with her husband, came to London, and there professed
herself a starcher, wherein she excelled; unto whom her own nation
presently repaired and employed her, rewarding her very liberally for
her work. Some of the curious ladies of that time, observing the
neatness of the Dutch, and the nicety of their linen, made them
cambric ruffs, and sent them to Mistress Dinghen to starch; soon after
they began to send their daughters and kinswomen to Mistress Dinghen,
to learn how to starch; her usual price was, at that time, 4_l._ or
5_l._ to teach them to starch, and 20_s._ to learn them to see the
starch. This Mrs. Dinghen was the first that ever taught starching in
England."

The RUFFS were adjusted by poking sticks of iron, steel, or silver,
heated in the fire--(probably something answering to our Italian
iron), and in May 1582 a lady of Antwerp, being inv