as a rule, especially in the remoter
districts, men of inferior standing, often of low origin and of little
learning. They were badly paid, generally speaking, and often had to
eke out a slender income by taking to farming pursuits. It was not at
all unusual for the clergyman to marry the lady's maid or other of the
upper servants in the great family of his neighbourhood. Queen Anne,
to relieve the poverty of the poorer livings, founded the fund known
as Queen Anne's Bounty, giving up for the purpose the _first-fruits_
and the _tenths_. It is worth noting that the terms Low and High
Churchmen were political rather than religious terms, the former being
applied to the Whigs, and the latter to the Tories.

11. DWELLINGS

The style of architecture known as that of Queen Anne prevailed at
this time, and many a country mansion of this date, red-bricked and
many-windowed, is still to be seen in England. But the houses of the
poor were for the most part still wretched, of mud or plaster, and
badly thatched. The windows were small and few in number; the
furniture was scanty and mean; sanitary matters were scarcely attended
to at all. But the growing prosperity of the country was beginning to
show itself in the better equipment and furnishing of the household,
particularly among the yeomen and the rising town tradesmen. Advantage
was taken of the Great Fire to improve the streets and dwellings of
the capital.

12. DRESS

Among the gentry the influence of the magnificent court of Louis XIV
began to make itself felt in the matter of dress, and both gentlemen
and ladies affected gay attire. The hoop-petticoat came into fashion,
and the dress was looped up at intervals to show the richly-coloured
skirt below. The gentlemen wore knee-breeches and silk stockings, the
former ornamented with knots of ribbon; the scarf was very full and
rich, and often fell in folds over the front of the waistcoat; the
coat was usually gaily coloured. Swords were worn by the gallants, and
the periwig was seen everywhere in high society. The dress of the
lower ranks was of sober colour, and of stout but coarse texture. The
women wore homespun, and sometimes home-woven linsey-woolsies. The use
of linen and silk was coming in among those in better circumstances.

13. FOOD AND DRINK

Tea was only just beginning to be known, and was a luxury for the
rich. In London the coffee-houses were everywhere, playing a great
part in the life of the capita