passed. Subsequently it
received the royal assent.

We find in a local paper, dated March 31st, 1800, that a baker in Hull
was fined L10 for selling bread within twenty-four hours of its having
been baked, agreeable to Act of Parliament for that purpose.

The Tories often regarded with mistrust any persons who did not use
hair-powder. The Rev. J. Charles Cox, LL.D., F.S.A., the eminent
antiquary, relates a good story respecting his grandfather. "So late as
1820," says Dr Cox, "Major Cox of Derby, an excellent Tory, declined for
some time to allow his son Edward to become a pupil of a well-known
clerical tutor, for the sole reason that the clergyman did not powder,
and wore his hair short, arguing that he must therefore be a dangerous
revolutionist." In 1869 the tax on hair-powder was repealed, when only
some 800 persons paid it, producing about L1000 per year.

THE AGE OF WIGS

At the present time, when the wig is no longer worn by the leaders of
fashion, we cannot fully realise the important place it held in bygone
times. Professional as well as fashionable people did not dare to appear
in public without their wigs, which vied with each other in size and
style.

[Illustration: Egyptian Wig (probably for female), from the British
Museum.]

To trace the origin of the wig our investigations must be carried to far
distant times. It was worn in Egypt in former days, and the Egyptians
are said to have invented it, not merely as a covering for baldness, but
as a means of adding to the attractiveness of the person wearing it. On
the mummies of Egypt wigs are found, and we give a picture of one now in
the British Museum. This particular wig probably belonged to a female,
and was found near the small temple of Isis, Thebes. It was customary in
Egypt to shave the head, and the wig was an excellent covering for the
head, much better than a turban, for the wig protected it from the rays
of the sun, and its texture allowed the transpiration of the head to
escape. The wigs were worn both within the house and out of doors. The
specimens of Egyptian wigs in the British Museum consist of curled hair
in the upper portions, and the lower parts and sides are made of plaited
hair. Ointment was used at the top of the wig in the same manner as if
it had been hair growing on the head.

Assyrian sculptures frequently represent the wig, and its use is
recorded among ancient nations including Persians, Medes, Lydians,
Carians, G