Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1852-12-08
The Hnir.

Since the custom Of wearing :ong haif
and boards las been adopted by so many
of our people, during the past two years.
and since the Seer Davis has had reyeia-
tions on the subject from the Spirit, World,
| It may not be uninteresting to take look
backwards to other days. Among the
early christians the custom Of wearing long
hair among men was denounced, and yet,
strange to say, the Roman painters, in all
the pictures of the Savior, depict him with
long waving ringlets. In very ancient
times long hair was a. mark of beauty
among men, a. we read,in, the case Of Alb
salon the son of rsrael's Shepherd King
Among the Greeks and Romans the dan
dies wore long hair, and this trait dIstin-
guished the patrician Cohort Of Pompey
the Great, which was routed so terribly by
the short haired veterans of Cesar at the
battle Of Pharsalla. All the nations in a
savage state-ths men-wear long bair.H
The hair was part Of The Covering ,ot the
ancient Irish, at least this is recorded by
the old chroniclers. 1t was esteem pc,
culiar honor among the ancient Gauls TO
have long hair. Julius Cesar, alter sub
dung them, made them cut off their hair As
token of submission. The keepers OF our
State Prisons do the same now to their
prisoners they like to follow in the foot
steps of great predecessors. In France It
was long peculiar mark and privilege OF
kings and princes Of the blood to wear long
hair artfully dressed and curled.. All 9TH
ers were obliged to cut their hair in accor.
dance with their rank and condition. In
| 1905 the Christian Church passed an edict
importing that such as wore long. haif
should be excluded from coming into the
church while living, and not be prayed
for when dead.
In Queen Elizabeth's time it was COM
mon for the ladies to wear false ringlets OF
various colors, mixture Of fair, brown, and
black. This was certainly o curious Gus.
torn. In the reign of Charles H., all the
dandies wore wigs powdered and for long
time afterwards, both old and young, men
and women, powdered their hair with fine
flour. This custom, was in vogue during
the American Revolution. II was am abom.
Unable one certainly. In England all who
wore powdered hair had to pay tax ut
may still exist.) to government. The IL
diculous custom of the English chancellor
wearing wig while on the wool-sack, isa
relic of the old times. An engraving OF SIR
Edward Sugden, the new Lord Chancellor
of England, appeared ina late number Of
the London Illustrated News; he had on
hlr robes Of Office and his ponderous ugly
Wig. All the portraits of The leading char
icters in the Ausustan Age Of English lit
erature would lead US TO believe that such
men as Addison, Newton, &C.. were perfect
tbsaloms.
The monarchists, named Cavaliers, in
the reign of Charles l., wore long hair, the.
Puritans wore short hair and were called
wings. During the time Of the Unitcd-men
in Ireland, the reyolulionists wore their
hair short, and were named "Cropp:es.
The cut of the hair also distinguished The
band OF young Partisan Frenchmen who
had vowed hostility TO Robcspierrc. AT
the present day the cut of the hair is FOL.
lowed by every man after his own fashion.
1t neither indicates rank nor religion, but
it oftentimes proclaims .he peculiar tempe
rament Of the man.
The most difficult question connected
with the hair is the different color in differ.
ent people. The Africans, IIindoos, Chi
nese, and American Indians are, in respect
to their hair, all black. Some are lank,
SOME curled, and some frizzly quality
Among the nations of Europe there is eve
ry variety Of color, although some nations
are more distinctly uniform than others.--
What are termed the "Celtic, Scandinavia
an, and German races" have every varie'
of color such as fair, red, and black, but at
the present day none Of these races are to
be found pure except it may be few small
spots, such as in Finland, Saxony, and the
Highlands of Scotland. and yet in those
places, we believe there are mixtures. A.
mong the Anglo-Saxon race there is every
variety Of color, but the Anglo-Saxon race
is not type, but mixture of the Angles
(Scandanavians,) Saxons, Celts, and Ro.
mans, and yet of the Celts there are yari.
Gus distinct tribes. II is generally suppos-
ed that the fair and red races are Finnlc
and Saxon. The Danes were esteemed the
red race in olden times, but the custom a.
mong some races in the East to color their
hair red, at the present day,is an evidence
that they are descended from the Finnic
race which at one time conquered Egypt,
and whose Iikenesses are portrayed IN tic
old tombs. 1t is not possible to classify the
European nation by the color of the hair.
for they are all hotch-potch of mixtures.
although there are great varieties Of Ian
guage among them. :,
The wooly heads belong exclusively. TO
Africa but Smith says. in his work on the
Human Races, that there Is also wooiy-
head race IN the East Indias.
No person can account for the diferch'
ces in the hair of different nations We
know that such and such races have such
head marks, and we know also, that they
are distinct and characteristic, for NIX
ture of races is sure to produce cores
ponding change in the halr.
We presume to state that as no man has
the choice of his own hair, when born, he
must just take it as it happens to come ,and
make the best of it, according to circum-
stances, TO suit his fancy, if he can and if
he cannot, to bear it like philosopher
Scientific american.
TaE GOLD CRop.-From statistics laid
before the Geological Society in London,
at recent meeting, it appears that the en-
tire amount of gold now in circulation, is
nk IN n.y.