ment, or it may be jagged, either in
regular small scoops or in long fringe-like jags. The tunic is always
belted very low, giving an odd appearance to the men of this time, as
it made them look very short in the leg.

The great desire for variety is displayed in the forms of sleeve for
this tunic: you may have the ordinary balloon sleeve ending in a stuff
roll or fur edge for cuff, or you may have a half-sleeve, very wide
indeed, like shoulder-capes, and terminated in the same manner as the
bottom of the tunics--that is, fur-edged tunic, fur-edged sleeve, and
so on, as described; under this shows the tight sleeve of an
undergarment, the collar of which shows above the tunic collar at the
neck. The length of these shoulder-cape sleeves varies according to
the owner's taste, from small epaulettes to heavy capes below the
elbow. There is also a sleeve tight from wrist to below the elbow, and
at that point very big and wide, tapering gradually to the shoulder.
You will still see one or two high collars rolled over, and there is a
distinct continuance of the fashion for long-pointed shoes.

There is an almost new form of overcoat which is really a tunic of the
time, unbelted, and with the sleeves cut out; also one with short, but
very full, sleeves, the body very loose; and besides the ordinary
forms of square, oblong, and round cloak, there is a circular cloak
split up the right side to the base of the biceps, with a round hole
in the centre, edged with fur, for the passage of the head.

[Illustration: {Two men of the time of Henry VI.}]

Velvet was in common use for gowns, tunics, and even for bed-clothes,
in the place of blankets. It was made in all kinds of beautiful
designs, diapered, and raised over a ground of gold or silk, or
double-piled, one pile on another of the same colour making the
pattern known by the relief.

The massed effect of well-dressed crowds must have been fine and rich
in colour--here and there a very rich lady or a magnificent gentleman
in pall (the beautiful gold or crimson web, known also as bandekin),
the velvets, the silks of marvellous colours, and none too fresh or
new. I think that such a gathering differed most strongly from a
gathering of to-day by the fact that one is impressed to-day with the
new, almost tinny newness, of the people's clothes, and that these
other people were not so extravagant in the number of their dresses
as in the quality, so that then one would have seen man