Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-06-28
Boards.


very stringently obsorved-for we
find frequent illusions to razors, in
the books OF tho Pentateuch and
as great stress is laid upon the fact
that the Nazarites and the priests in
the Temple were forbidden to shave,
it is probable that some, at least, of
the children of Israel were in tho
habit of cutting Off their boards
Tho law TO which we have above
was decreed by Moses, b. G. ll90.-
Five centuries before that time, dur
ing tho reign Of Semiramis, in As
syria, it was customary for men Of
the upper classes, TO wear their
boards plated and curled into tresses
like short ropes. The hair was ar
ranged in the same fashion, "a we
find by the irescoes, discovered in
the excavations at Nineveh, by Mr..
Layard and NJ. Botta. The Assyrian
slaves and common soldiers seem,
however, TO have shaved, and the
slaves also wore their hair much
shorter and plated less deliberately.
The Egyptians appear, for the most
part, to have shaved-that is, they
wore neither moustaches or whiskers;
but it is still Il controverted point
whether that appendage which we
find upon the chin Of all Egyptian
statues, sphinxes, and faces Of men
in bas-reliefs, be beard, or an arti-
fetal ornament. We think it must
have been a beard for, setting aside
the inconvenience which would have
attended the wearing of block of
wood or leather upon the chin, il is
clear that this block must have been
chin-strap to support it; and we
find nothing like chin-straps in the
Egyptian figures still extant.
Coming to Greece, we know for
certain that Socrates, Themistocles,
Aristides, Pericles, and all the great
heroes OF Athens and Sparta, wore
boards we know, moreover, that
Alcibiades was in the habit of per-
tuning has, and Of dyeing or paint
ing IL; as also hair and eyebrows
1t is noticeable, however, that on
the b2s-reliefs Of the Parthenon,
many of which are in the British
Museum, only the chiefs wear boards
the soldiers, in almost every case,
are beardless and moustachcless.-
The same thing is to be observed in
well-nigh all the specimens of Greek
painting that have been handed
down to us; that is, upon vases,
cups and the reproductions OF Greek
frescoes found at Pompeii.
During the first centuries of the
Roman Republic, the Romans Of oil
classes allow ed their boards to grow
freely shaving seems to have been
quite unknown. 1t was not until'the
year 800 b. G., that anything like a
razor was seen in Rome but at that
time y few Greek BARRIERS had made
their appearance in the forum and
although like all innovaters, they
were at first received with derision,
yet after time they succeeded in
getting customers few at first !;
then more until at last the BARRIERS
shops in Rome became what the
clubs are in London or the cafes in
Paris places of lounging and resort
where every one with nothing to do
! spends n few hours of his time each
day. AS the Romans grew richer
from the spoils Of conquered nations,
and rs they began to discard the
/ simple life Of their ancestors for q
mode Of living more in keeping with
their wealth, many had slaves whose
| sole business was to shave them and
cover their hair with greases. At
first this task was intrusted to men,
but Lucullus is said to have had wo-
men trained to the work aud as a
woman's hand is much lighter, and
usually more skillful than that of a
man, the change was pronounced by
connOisseurs to be for the better. BY
Julius Caesars time, the beard had
fallen into thorough discredit among
all classes of society, slaves being
the only people who still wore it
Caesar himself was shaven with
scrupulous neatness every morning
Pompey, Virgil, Horace, Cicero, and
Augustus, were all clean shaven too;
even Cato Uticensis, who had but
slight respect for the fashions, would
have thought it disreputable and un-
seemly to appear in Il public place
with beard.
1t was Trajan who first had the
courage to shake off the BARRIERS
yoke. This king, an excellent mon
arch in many respects discovered
that his shaving occupied consider
able portion OF each day ; and, as he
was the first emperor since Caesar
who really felt that he was on the
throne for something more than cat
ing and drinking, he relinquished a
habit that cost him more minutes
than he could afford to lose. Ha-
drian, Antoninus Plus, and Marcus
Aurelius, his immediate Successors,
followed in his wake, and allowed
their boards to grow unclipped.-
After them, however, came CommO-
dus as this exemplary monarch
found the time hang so heavily upon
his hands that he was obliged to kill
! flies Of on afternoon, it was not likely
that he would discard the precious
means afforded him by shaving OF
making hali-hours so by; BARRIERS
had new time Of it, and thence.
forth continued TO have the Roman
emperors for patrons until Eddard
overturned Romulus Augustulus, the
last imperator, and inaugurated the
kingdom of Italy, and with il the
reign of moustachcs.
The Franks, who invaded Gaul il
the early part OF the fifth century
and destroyed the last remnants o.
| Roman civilization the Saxons who
under Cedric (Kerdric) soon after
landed in England, introduced into
the fashion OF bushy tuft at the
end Of the chin, with short bristly
moustaches In 4 painted miniature
in book OF ohivalry written in the