I have seen Mr. Cooke personating the character
of Sir Pertinax McSycophant in 'The Man of the World,' in a buff coat
of antique cut, and an embroidered waistcoat which might have figured
in the court of Charles II.; though this play is of modern date and
the actor must of course have been familiar with the current costume.
In 'The Way to Keep Him,' Mr. C. Kemble acted the part of Sir
Brilliant Fashion, a name which ought to have suggested to him a
proper style of dress, in a frock absolutely threadbare, an obsolete
doublet, long pantaloons, a prodigious watch-chain of steel, and a
huge _incroyable_ under his arm. This last article, indeed, was an
appendage of 1802, but all the rest presented a genuine portrait of an
indigent and coxcombical journeyman tailor. He must have known that
pantaloons and an _incroyable_ rumpled and folded together are
incongruous articles of apparel--that no gentleman, much less Sir
Brilliant Fashion, would make his appearance in a threadbare coat; and
that steel watch-chains, as the chronicles of the Birmingham
manufactories plainly evince, have been out of date these fourscore
years.
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