The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1855-08-22
uRARDS AND HATS.

rn. vexed question Of boards, which %
sss,teted the secular press, and secured =
deoided viotofy in that quarter, - IS mani
fsst by the general prevalence OF hirsute sp
oeudages, has spread to cleffcd circles sna
d being discussed with oil that arooa' 70
Kindness and charity, which are 30 cnA1 -
teristic Pathological discussions. Inc gus
lion isis il right for the clergy 20 wesl
Kossuth Hats and Beardsf The Ne" LOT.
Ev.neeIist comes out strongly against sucn
. pr.ctice among clergymen; the "Presoy-
ta,i.n Of the West responds to the Evan
selist with great point and humor The rres
bvter;an uses up the Evangelist entirely; ne
takes his clerical brothe. to the Scriptures, as
we'll as to common sense. and he pounds him
into pieces SO fine, that, It may be sald OF this
Evangelist" that he has fought gooo
aoht. and has-inisbed his course.
We have nothing to say on the subject OF
Rats, though 1t would be impossible to invent
{ more cumbersome and disagreeable tile
than that with which the pstes of the Yves
tsrn natives are rooted. But in the matter of
boards, they who assume the aggressive, and
deuounce the custom of wearing the beard,
as ungodly and ridiculous, seem to US 70
have neither Scripture nor reason On their
side.
We have on the side of the beard, the Gus
tom of all mankind, until comparatively
late period, and even now, the custom of the
vast msjority of the human race, to say no
thing of the greater convenince of allowing
this distinguished appendage of the mascu-
line gender, to cover the face of the monarch
of creation. As to Scripture, and the habits
of the early fathers, and even of the fathers
of Professionalism, we have them all against
those divines who regard it as wrong for
clergyman to let the beard grow. Look at
: the pictures of those venerable men who were
burned at the stake for conscience sake, and
see what dignity the long beard in each gives
to his woe! A smooth faced preacher, twist
ing and squirming in a hot fire, would not
affect Us half as much. Why, there was old
John Calvin, the founder of the Evangelist's
own faith, who had rid himself of every thing
superfluousi in his mode of life, but who chung
to his beard Jas to, brother. He had beard
long enough to reach to his girdle, and a
soft hat to boot. The. presbyterian" refers
to sundry other cases; to Aaron, the great
High Priest, down whose beard ran the holy
OIL to the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles,
not one of whom, shaved and to the follow
ing command in the Levitieal law, eye shall
not wound the corners of your heads, neither
shall thou mar the corners of thy beard
Moreover, the Presbyterian might have ad
ded the declaration of St. Paul, that it is a
shame to man to wear long hair. Now, if
the same were true of the beard, he would
to make mention of the fact, but his omission
ofsuch an injunction from that discourse, cou
pied with the fact that he himself wore long
beard, is conclusive on the point of the sim
lessness of that practice.
The Presbyterian happily quotes the au-
taken his servants and hall. shaUed them, he
and they were ashamed, because they were
disfgured, and the only relief was to get out
of sight until nature should give relief
Then there went certain and told David
how the men were served, and he sent to
meet them, for the men were greatly asham-
cd. And the king aaid-"Tarry at Jericho
until your boards be grown, and then re-
turn" The advice of the Evangelist would
have been to get "sohole-shaued' and return
ut once" stt
We trust that the sermon OF the Presbyte-
rian on boards, will have its due effect among
both clerics and lay. We should like to see
one of our Virginia clergymen lead the way
in beard movement. Which of them will
be the frat To mount the ram marital