as at the coronation at Westminster
on Christmas Day twenty years ago. Flemish weavers and farmers arrive
from overseas, and are established by William II. in the North to
teach the people pacific arts, causing in time a stream of Flemish
merchandise to flow into the country, chiefly of rich fabrics and fine
cloths.

The men adopt longer tunics, made after the same pattern as
before--split up either side and loose in the sleeve--but in many
cases the skirts reach to the ground in heavy folds, and the sleeves
hang over the hands by quite a yard.

The necks of these tunics are ornamented as before, with coloured
bands or stiff embroidery.

The cuffs have the embroidery both inside and out, so that when the
long sleeve is turned back over the hand the embroidery will show.

The fashion in cloaks is still the same--of a semicircular pattern.

The shoes are the same as in the previous reign--that is, of the shape
of the foot, except in rare cases of dandyism, when the shoes were
made with long, narrow toes, and these, being stuffed with moss or
wool, were so stiffened and curled up at the ends that they presented
what was supposed to be a delightfully extravagant appearance.

They wore a sort of ankle garter of soft leather or cloth, which came
over the top of the boot and just above the ankle.

The hair, beard, and moustaches were worn long and carefully
combed--in fact, the length of the beard caused the priests to rail at
them under such terms as 'filthy goats.' But they had hardly the
right to censorship, since they themselves had to be severely
reprimanded by their Bishops for their extravagance in dress.

Many gentlemen, and especially the Welsh, wore long loose trousers as
far as the ankle, leaving these garments free from any cross
gartering. These were secured about the waist by a girdle of stuff or
leather.

[Illustration: {Two men of the time of William II.}]

The ultra-fashionable dress was an elongation of every part of the
simple dress of the previous reign. Given these few details, it is
easy for anyone who wishes to go further to do so, in which case he
must keep to the main outline very carefully; but as to the actual
length of sleeve or shoe, or the very measurements of a cloak, they
varied with the individual folly of the owner. So a man might have
long sleeves and a short tunic, or a tunic which trailed upon the
ground, the sleeves of which reached only to the elbow.

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