But the king was so displeased with the foppery of
this preacher's, dress, that he commanded the duke of Monmouth, then
chancellor of the university, to cause the statutes concerning decency
of apparel among the clergy to be put into execution, which was
accordingly done. These instances are sufficient to shew, that the taste
for preposterous and extravagant dress must have operated like a
contagion in those times, or the clergy would scarcely have dressed
themselves in this ridiculous and censurable manner.
But although this extravagance was found among many orders of society at
the time of the appearance of George Fox, yet many individuals had set
their faces against the fashions of the world. These consisted
principally of religious people of different denominations, most of whom
were in the middle classes of life. Such persons were found in plain and
simple habits notwithstanding the contagion of the example of their
superiors in rank. The men of this description generally wore plain
round hats with common crowns. They had discarded the sugar-loaf hat,
and the hat turned up with a silver clasp on one side, as well as all
ornaments belonging to it, such as pictures, feathers, and bands of
various colours. They had adopted a plain suit of clothes.
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