The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1859-03-18

LIS but the mirror held above,
Rejecting love that ought to be.
WONDERl
BEO oMIN GNEss OF ARD.
How to wear your own beard, is, we
take it, one Of the most (secretly) interest
ing questions of the present day. And we
are not going to ask pardon of the ladies'
for giving prominent place, 10 the Home
journal, to suggestion or two as 10 the
taste in the cut and wear Of this wholly mas.
culne prerogative. There arc few women,
we believe, who have not some sort of prop
erty i'll some sort Of man-she who has
neither lover nor male relative, having, at
least, q favorite clergyman, physician, poet
or "promising young man." in whose beard
she is interested-and as woman's opinion.
(whether she has 'set her face against it"
or not0 is apt to have great weight in the
choosing Of the style for the beard, we shall
believe that, in discussing it, we are, as usual,
writing for both sexes.
Almost universal as "hairy faces" have
now become, there is not one man in twen-
ty who shapes and dresses his beard to the
best advantage. Whether this is AN awk-
wardness owing to the long disuse of it as a
part OF the human countenance, or whether
few men have the taste to be trusted with
the formation of a feature in their own faces,
such is the fact. To every artistic eve,
Broadway is but long procession of ply
slognomicaI mistakes; and all the more
hopeless, because, for each different face,
the beard that would be most favorable is
OF more or less different modification.
The slightest line or shading, as we all
know, materially affects the expression of a
countenaDce. With very trifing diferen-
ces in the dressing Of the natural mask of
hair about mans mouth, the whole char
acter OF his personal presence is changed.
1t is wonderful, indeed, that, for SO obvious
and universal want as the wearing of the
beard, artists have never yet given us
manual Of first principles, illustrated with
drawings. 1t is book that would be ca.
gerly bought up and studied-the absence
OF such an elementary Guide, too, being
likely to SO perpetuate the mistakes in
beard-wearing, that there will be before
long, we fear, general impression that all
hair upon the face is unbecoming. And,
from the return to Jarber-ism, (which would
be tue natural consequence of such an i'm
pression,) Good Taste deliver us!
With daily study of the boards Of our
friends and acquaintance-th becoming
and the unbecoming-we have, Of course,
learned here and there an incidental lesson
on the subject; and this, in the lack of
more artistic authority, we propose now to
jot down. Only one mans observation
though it be, (and that man not an artist. J
1t may prove suggestive to@those who are
skilful with eye and pencil-resulting, per-
haps. in the much desired guide book.
Without any particular order, therefore, let
us proceed at once TO record our chance i'm
pressions as received.
A very rare thing, indeed, is male face
which looks better il. altogether close shaven.
Yet there is here and there one-a youth.
ful Apollo or Byron, whose absolutely fault.
less outline of features is marred by any
covering, or By any breaking up:of the bar
monious ensemble.
Where the beauty of the face consists
mainly in the fneformation of the jaw. bone
and chin, man loses by growing his beard
over this portion. Better wear only the
mustache. ~. .F|@5 s.2E
There is now and then man whose
severity or sharpness of eye is redeemed BY
good-natured mouth-the animal charac-
ter Of the person being kindlier than the
Intellectual-and q covering Of the lips, 10
such case, is, Of course, mistaken hiding
Of Natures apology, and needless detr.
'neut to ths4 expression. Better wear only
the whiskets. - @
7 A smsA or recedipg chin, and a fseble
jaw, may be entirely concealed BY . fqll
beard, and With great advantage to the gen-
e tteral al : rphysiognony. So may the opposite
defeet. Of toe;coarss jsw-bons. or TOO long
a.. e cnln. m - *, .l,,,%.gss - 49,, >; w. -
AZ Too straight an upper lipu' can be i'm
grovsd BY, the curve Of Q well.trimtnsd
nnataehs. So,can. an upper lip,thst 10 too
icng fiomsths n6eg doxnwsrds.. dy ons that
81 dssgpred 6ss ia Of somaof IL .hs L,p up-
ttsr sseth!astVa Vasshhgtsb,n In s&pfitns 81
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