The
remainder of the dress is generally composed of a colored petticoat,
probably striped, an apron of a different color, a bodice still
differing in tint from the rest, and a shawl, uniting all the various
hues of all the other parts of the dress. Some of the peasants from the
country look still more picturesque, when mounted on horseback bringing
vegetables: they keep their situation without saddle or stirrup, and
seem perfectly at ease. But the best figures on horseback are the young
men who take out their masters' horses to give them exercise, and who
are frequently seen on the _grand cours_. They ride without hat, coat,
saddle, or saddle-cloth, and with the shirt sleeves rolled up above the
elbow. Their negligent equipment, added to their short, curling hair,
and the ease and elasticity they display in the management of their
horses, gives them, on the whole, a great resemblance to the Grecian
warriors of the Elgin marbles. Men, as well as women, are frequently
seen without hats in the streets, and continually uncravatted; and when
their heads are covered, these coverings are of every shape and hue;
from the black beaver, with or without a rim, through all gradations of
cap, to the simple white cotton nightcap.
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