Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1860-11-08
NUMBER A
Boards.

Five years ago, or thereabouts, a-msn who
had the courage to wear full beard was q
rarity, indeed but change has come over
the minds of men and their faces too ! Now,
man without beBrd. nearly or qnite full,
is rarity. This is an evidence of progress,
which is exceedingly gratifying. inasmuch
as it prt yes that The progress OF sound sense,
when its attention is turned to subject,
though slow, is Generaly surs.- Many
individual Who a few years ago would as
soon have gone down town undressed as un-
shaven, now uses the scissors only, and be-
leves that the person who invented razors
libelled nature and added fresh misery to the
days of man. :" All !" said Diognes, wko
would never consent to be shaved, "woud
you insinuate that nature had done better to
make you a woman than a man Very
few Of the most rabid advocates of raZors are
aware that our fathers were seducsd from
the good old natural and manly habits of
wearing the full beard and moustache, bv
that foolish fashion which originated in tie
fact that Louis XIII. assembled the throne of
France when only nine years old, and his
courtiers shaved themselves out of foppish
adulaton to his beardless face. Previous to
this time the customs of most nations had
been various but for the most part boards
were generally worn, and if they were shayeS
at all, thu practice was not of long consinu-
ance. Boards, moustaches, and whiskers.
have always been most important additions
to the face, and the true method of putting
the question with regard to the beard, is to
ask what ia nearest nature and simplest.--
Whatever that may be, men ought to like
best, and will like best, as matter of taste,
without regard to the accidental mode of the
moment. The time has been, when our d-
vines would not dare to enter the pulpit un-
shaven, and many Of them have thought it
nncomely to wear beard but what would
these same say were our Savior to revisit the
earth in the costume of modern divine,
with smooth face, and stiff collar with
wbiIs cFavat2 We find that many diviues
|
for the restoration of the natural ornan nent
of the faoe. and their pews still well-flled.
notwithstanding few old fogies, male and
female. have again aud again declared that
they would not listen to a minister with a
beard on his face. To those who object to
boards because they are nncomely, it may be
replied, that whatever is natural is always
more comely than that which is unnatural.
The mere fact, that our eyes very soon get
accustomed to that which is unnatural, does
not prove that the absence of beard adds 20
the beauty of man. If the beard is worn
we shall become accustomed to it, and what
at first may seem uncomely, we shall gradu-
ally come to admire, for the reason that a
simple adherence to nature is always plea
sing. The beard and moustachs movement
is one in the right direction, proving that
men are beginning to appreciate beauty, and
to acknowledge that Nature is the best valet
There was time when it was thought pre-
sumption and vanity to wear ones own bair
instead of the frightful celebrations of this
wig makers, and who knows, that at some
future age, some one may not ridicule this
wearing Of ones own teeth instead of tho
dentists?
At any rate, Nature knows best, and no
man need be ashamed of showing his man
hood in the bair of his face if it be we'll kept
and not fantastically cut. The moustacho
should be kept within limits, and the style Of
t. e beard should be adopted to suit the face
A broad face should wear large full one
long face is improved by sharp pointed
one. As to whiskers, it is not every man
that can achieve pair of full length. There
is certainly great variety about them, but
it may be generally said, that foppishness
should be avoided in this as in most other
points. Above all, the whiskers should new
er be curled nor pulled out TO an absurd
length. Still worse it is to cut them close
with the scissors, The moustache should be-
neat and not too large, and such fopperies as
curling the points of it, or twisting them up
to the fneness of needle, are decidedly
proof of vanity. Ifa man wears the hair on
his face, which nature has given him in the
manner that nature distributes it, keeps il
clean, and prevents its overgrowth, he can
not do wrong. And from the large and in
creasing number Of those who now wear the
full beard, we are convinced that We are not
alone in our opinion.