ery strong, and the prospect of the
approaching coronation appears to be very attractive." During this
time he was occupied in opening a leathern case, which contained combs,
brushes, &c.; then taking off his coat, he appeared in a jacket with an
apron, which, like a fashionable _pinafore_ of the present day, nearly
concealed his person, from his chin to his toes. "Yes," replied Dashall,
"the coronation is a subject of deep importance just now in the
circles of fashion," seating himself in his chair, in readiness for the
operator,{1} who, Bob now discovered, was no other than the _Peruquier_.

1 The progress of taste and refinement is visible in all
situations, and the language of putting has become so well
understood by all ranks of society, that it is made use of
by the most humble and obscure tradesmen of the metropolis.
One remarkable instance ought not to be omitted here. In a
narrow dirty street, leading from the Temple towards
Blackfriars, over a small triangular-fronted shop, scarcely
big enough to hold three persons at a time, the eye of the
passing traveller is greeted with the following welcome
information, painted in large and legible characters, the
letters being each nearly a foot in size:--

HAIR CUT AND MODERNIZED!!!

This is the true "_Multum in parvo_ "--a combination of
the "_Utile et dulce_," the very acme of perfection.
Surely, after this, to Robinson, Vickery, Boss, and Cryer, we
may say--"Ye lesser stars, hide your diminished heads."

The art of puffing may be further illustrated by the
following specimen of the Sublime, which is inserted here
for the information of such persons as, residing in the
country, have had no opportunity of seeing the original.
"R---- makes gentlemen's and ladies' perukes on an entire
new system; which for lightness, taste, and ease, are
superior to any other in Europe. He has exerted the genius
and abilities of the first artists to complete his
exhibition of ornamental hair, in all its luxuriant
varieties, where the elegance of nature and convenience of
art are so blended, as at once to rival and ameliorate each
other. Here his fair patrons may uninterruptedly examine the
effects of artificial tresses, or toupees of all
complexions, and, in a trial on themselves, blend the
different tints with thei