"Get into your beds," soon bawled the responsible, but the order was now little heeded; he came round, bid us good bye instead of good night, the lights were extinguished, and we tried to get asleep not to wake again until the precious "vac was a pleasant and undoubted reality.

(To be continued.)

A FEW NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF BRITISH ARMY COSTUME.*

Part 1.

Although red was doubtless chosen as the color par excellence' of the English uniform, from its being the Royal color, in heraldic parlance the tincture of the field,' of the Royal arms from times previous to the Norman conquest,† yet its use for military purposes in the days of the Norman kings and their immediate successors was very limited.

Some writers indeed trace the custom of wearing the 'pink' in the hunting-field, to the circumstance of fox-hunting having been declared a Royal sport' by King Henry 2nd, and to scarlet being then, as now, the Royal livery.

In the warrants issued to the sheriffs of counties, empowering them to raise men for the king's service, in this and later reigns, especially during the Wars of the Roses, although it is generally specified that the men are to be clothed, no mention is made of any particular color-a cross of St. George on the arm appears to have been the only distinctive badge worn; the wearing of this badge, however, would seem to have been enforced by various pains and penalties.

In the days of Henry VIII. the Yeomen of the Guard wore blue, warded (i.e. faced) with red, and in the reign of Queen Elizabeth we find the troops for Ireland clad, the Infantry in a 'sadde-green or russett,' and the Horsemen in red.

In the army of the Commonwealth, green appears to have been a favorite color. It was worn by John Hampden's Regiment, and, if we mistake not, by several others.

When the present regiments of Foot Guards were organised by King Charles II. they appear to have been clad in grey throughout (the serjeants and privates at least), the drummers being distinguished by purple coats. (See Grose's "Military Antiquities.") The uniform of the Guards was we believe, as stated by Colonel

*See an interesting article on "The Red Coat," in January number of this Magazine for much curious information on the subject.

We have not included armour in the following Notes, but we would refer the reader to several papers which have appeared at various times in "Archæologia," especially one in Vol. XX on "Fitting on Armour."

Mackinnon, changed by William III. to scarlet, but we also are led to believe that certain other regiments, the Royals and the Queen's for instance, had worn this color for some time previously.

The dress of the three regiments of Foot Guards in 1688 appears to have been as follows:

The 1st, scarlet, faced blue.

2nd, or Cole-stream, scarlet, faced green.

3rd, scarlet, faced white.

The officers all wore the sash, as at present, over the left shoulder; the system of wearing it round the waist, in what was at first termed the German fashion, not having been introduced until the reign of George II. The sashes of the Guards at the period to which we now refer were white, fringed with the color of the regimental facings and gold.

White sashes, we may remark, had previously been the distinguishing badges both of the English Crusaders, and of the Cavaliers, successively.

One regiment, the Lord Admiral's Maritime Regiment, had at the close of the 17th century worn yellow coats, lined and faced with red. It is difficult to ascertain what became of this corps, which appeared on the old lists next to the Queens, and which has consequently been often confounded with the present 3rd, or old Buffs, the latter, however, were a distinct corps, first known as the Holland Regiment.

Facings were originally the warding or turning back of the neck and cuffs of the coat or jerkin, which was generally lined with a different material. When they were first used as distinguishing marks of different corps we cannot state. We have already shewn that the Guards regiments had each a different color in 1688, as had also the few line regiments then existing.

The Royals we believe wore white facings.

The Queen's, sea-green, the color of the House of Braganza, they having originally been raised for service at Tangiers, whence also their regimental badge of the Paschal Lamb.

The 3rd, or Holland Regiment, wore buff facings, waistcoat and breeches, and to this circumstance, and not to their accoutrements having been made of buffalo hide, the commonly accepted story, we are inclined to think they owe their name.

The 5th wore green when first raised, as at present; the 6th, deep yellow, which was changed to dark blue by King William IV.

The 10th wore, at first, blue coats, faced with red, red waistcoats, and stockings.* This costume was, however, soon changed to the present red, with yellow facings.

Red and blue, the Royal colors; red and yellow, a relic of the Stuarts; and red and green, appear to have been always the most common uniforms. The red coat and green facings was worn by the Invalids until 1793, when the facings were altered to blue. Possibly the dress might be a relic of the Murrey and green livery

*The militia appear about this time to have worn blue coats.

once worn by the Royal adherents, and still used by the servants of the younger branches of the Royal family.

In later days, as the number of Regiments of Infantry was increased, a greater variety of colors were adopted for the facings, the latter being confined to the collars, lapels, and cuffs, and the coats lined and turned back in most cases with white.

Yellow facings were the most numerous. More than one-half the regiments of the British Army have worn them at one time or other; thirty corps, or more than one-quarter of the Line regiments now existing, wear them still.

Orange was worn, we believe, by one Infantry regiment only, the 35th. It was discontinued in 1833, having given rise, it was said, to some display of feeling in Ireland.

Red facings were adopted by the 33rd, 41st Invalids, 53rd, 76th, and Sussex Militia.

The varieties of green facings were very numerous, the 5th at one time adopted a very bright green, to the fading of the sealed pattern of which, they owe the singular color now worn, we are informed. The present 54th wore "popinjay" green, whatever color that may have been.

The 66th (late 2nd battalion 19th) in 1758 adopted light gosling green, then a very fashionable color, which had to be discontinued on account of its want of permanency.

The 36th and 39th wore grass green, and the 69th, Lincoln green, as at present.

French or Kentish grey was worn, we believe, by one line regiment only, the 70th, formerly the 2nd batt. 31st, a circumstance which, together with their recruiting much at Glasgow, at one time earned them the sobriquet of the "Glasgow Greys." Light grey facings are still worn by the Kent Militia Infantry, as they were by the late Kentish Regiments of Fencible Light Dragoons. They are certainly one of the prettiest facings, if not the prettiest, to either a red or blue coat.

When the present 56th were raised, in 1757, by General Manners, a kind of crimson, or perhaps more nearly a magenta color, was chosen as their facing. It was then a new and fashionable color, known as Pompadour red, a name it retained we believe very lately among dyers. This was found not sufficiently permanent, and for a year or two pink facings were worn. General Manners then applied for the Royal facings, and on this being refused, selected purple, as at present worn by the regiment, which can scarcely be distinguished from the Royal blue.

Sky-blue was a very common facing among the foreign corps at one time in English pay. It was worn by De Rolls', Meuron's, the Chasseurs Britanniques, and many other corps. We are not, however, aware that it was worn by any line regiment previous to the formation of the present 97th Regiment in 1824.

Up to the termination of the first American war, red was also worn by all regiments of Cavalry, except the Blues.

In 1688 the troops of the Life Guards are described as wearing red coats, lined and faced with white and ornamented with gold lace.

The different regiments of Horse, now Dragoon Guards, wore red, faced with the same colors as at present, save in the case of the 2nd or Bays, whose facings were at one time changed from buff to black, apparently as a token of mourning for their deceased colonel, and the 3rd, who wore originally white in place of yellow.

The velvet facings, gold embroidery in place of lace, and distinguishing plumes of a different color in each regiment, are all of much later adoption in these corps.

Elliott's Light Horse, now the 15th Hussars, when first raised, during the Seven Years' War, were dressed in red coats, lined and turned back with white; facings, waistcoats, and breeches green, laced with silver; silver-laced hats, and long boots.

Yellow and green were the most common facings in the Cavalry. In 1784, several Dragoon regiments, including the 10th, 11th, and 12th, were made Light, if we are to judge by the debates in the House of Commons on the subject, chiefly with a view to render them more suitable for the revenue service, in which they were mostly employed.

Blue was adopted for the Light Cavalry at this time, possibly as being a color more suited for this work.

At the outbreak of the war in 1793, many additional Cavalry Regiments, all Light, were raised. Of these, one-the 26th, after wards 23rd, raised by General Manners-wore facings the color of the jacket, as is now the custom in the Hussars.

Some regiments wore light grey jackets, which were directed by an order of 1802 to be worn by all Cavalry Regiments while serving in India. This order continued in force some years.

Hussars were first formed in 1794, in imitation of some German Regiments, and in a few years became the most fantastically equipped regiments in Europe.

The 10th, the Prince of Wales' Regiment, wore blue, faced with scarlet and gold; and in full dress, scarlet pantaloons, yellow morocco Turkish boots, with red heels, &c., &c.

The 15th, the Duke of Cumberland's Regiment were somewhat similarly equipped, with the addition of a light scarlet cloth chako, in place of a busby, copied, we believe, from that worn by the York Hussars, a corps of foreigners in English pay. This chako, a very tasteful one, and the scarlet overalls are still retained, the latter being worn by officers and in full-dress only. It may here be remarked that the Hussar dress in the Magyar original was a useful one enough, since complicated and rendered useless and cumbersome, from a misconception of its intended use by ourselves.

The original dress was a cloth cap (now surviving in the calpack or "jelly bag") having a rim of fur to protect the most exposed part of the head, and a close fitting jacket, or rather sleeved waistcoat, and pantaloons for full dress. The pelisse or

dolman was to be worn, if required, over the former in place of a cloak, while the undress trousers were, on the march invariably drawn over the pantaloons (hence their name overalls) and confined round the waist by the sash or girdle. Thus with a light curved sabre, a pair of pistols, and a light saddle, the Hussar was as completely and lightly equipped as it were possible to be. But the genius of military tailoring promptly and effectually changed the whole. The busby was increased in size, so as to necessitate an undress cap for real work. The dolman hung a useless ornament (?) from the shoulder, a cloak being added to supply its place, while the overalls, and goodness knows how many articles besides, were packed away in the valise. Thus carrying, within a few pounds, as much weight as the heaviest Cavalry in the service, the Hussars continued until a few years back. To return, however, to our Notes: The varieties of Cavalry costume from the commencement of the French war until the reign of William IV., were endless. In one point, however, they appear to us to have possessed fifty years back an advantage over those worn before or since, i.e. each regiment was easily distinguishable from all others. Some of the best and most practical writers on Cavalry agree that this is an important point in a mêlée, and considerable attention is paid to it in some continental armies. The subjoined note of the Light Dragoon uniforms of 1815 will show this to have been effectually provided for, more especially as the jackets were breasted as well as faced with the color of the Regimental facings.*

Lancers were formed after the battle of Waterloo, but the only alteration in the dress was the adoption of the Lancer cap, which for many years was worn of absurd height and weight.

Cuirasses, which had been laid aside by the English Cavalry for three-quarters of a century, were at this time revived in the Household Cavalry.

A few other costumes worn at this time need a brief notice. The rifle-dress was first worn by the 60th, in 1794. It was subsequently adopted by the present Rifle Brigade and numerous colonial and foreign corps then in our pay. The Glengary Light Infantry, a corps formed for service in Canada, wore a dark grey uniform, similar in color to that used for men's great coats, faced and laced with black, black belts, and Glengary bonnets, a very serviceable dress for the climate in which it was to be worn.

The Brunswick Regiments, though they can scarcely be counted as English corps, yet were some years in English pay, and so should not be omitted. They wore black uniforms, mourning for their Duke, who had fallen at Jena, faced with Saxon blue.

Towards the close of the war, two small corps were raised in the Ionian Islands and Thessaly, in spite of great opposition from the Turkish Government. These corps, in which many who afterwards

*The similarity of the English and French Cavalry uniforms however gave rise to constant mistakes.