The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-01-04
Hairs Of all the Ages.
Boards, Whiskers, Mustaches and I'M
perials from Early Egyptian Days Till
Now.
1New York World.[

tlau plCbuI00 oldfluS WNo . SOAhhAStA R%NNe-SN
in the land of the pyramids, or, at least, the
frequent absence of the beard among kings and
priests is noticed as sort of distinction Of rank
Herodotus says that for clean shaving the
priests "gaye a certain sacred reason which
we do not think it lawful to disclose" probably
because he did not know it, AT any rate, the
Egyptians may be said to furnish the earliest
instances of 'sthe priest all shaven and shorn."
Their Libyan neighors, on the other hand,
were heavily bearded, and their maritime ene-
mys- probably the early Greeks--wore rather
thin yellow boards. Doran contends that these
same Greeks were shaven and called all aliens
and bearded races, barbarous," connecting the
word with 5urbd, but Homer and the Egyptian
monuments are against him. The Assyrian
kings wore enormous boards, oiled and curled
in tiers or stories, and some of them treasured
these appendages in ieweled cases. The chos-
en- people represented Adam with as luxuriant
beard as Homer gives Jupiter, father of gods
and men, in the Iliad, and always chung to
their boards with particular affection and ieal-
ousy To mar the corners of the beard was an
offense against their law. The fugitive who
reverentially raised his hand to the beard
might hope for succor; to swear by it-as young
Uric in Schiller's fine ballad swears by that OF
his father, Eberhard the Rushbeard-was to
take most sacred oath; for a stranger to
touch it was an insult, and it was sign of su-
preme affection for children and kinsfolk to
touch it gently or kiss it. Thus it was that
Job slew the unsuspecting Amasa. 10 cut an
enyoy's beard was crowning atfront-it was
like insulting the ambassadors flag. Accord
ing to the legendary history Of Rome, the mas
sacre of the Senate was precipitated by the act
of the Gaul who, in his mingled awe. and ad-
miration, laid hands on Senator's beard to
see whether or not the Senator was majestic
statute and all readers viii recall the retort to
the Mussulman depot of the Christian envoy:
"If my master had known you set so much
account by beard he would have sent you
goat"
Introduced shaving during his Asiatic wars,
having noticed that the beard afforded con-
yenient handle for the enemy. This was the
original .fghting cut and the nrst instance
of a military regulation concerning hIrsute APP
pendages. The Greeks not only employed raz-
ors. but ssharp pitch-plasters.' They sent the
fashion over to Rome about 800 u. ", Where
Scipo Africanus the younger was the hrst gem
tleman of note to shave daily. In caesar
a
cultivated was the thing for a young man OF
fashion, Whereas tearing the hair had been
sign of mourning, in Rome letting the Deard
grow was the othodox method OF celebrating a
public calamity. The Roman emperors snaVed
until the time of Hadrian, who let his beard
grow to hide an ugly scar, The dithcuitles
which Nero experienced in making his toilet
are familiar to most readers-lndeed an inter-
esting article might be written on the subject
of BARRIERS and despots
u labif Of rh a
all over Central and Northern Europe, where
wearing the beard had been thesuniyersui Gus
tom. According to Tacitus the ancient Ger
mans cultivated the beard till they had killed
an enemy in battle-"taken scalp. Inc
Baveux tapestry shows theNormans close-shav-
en- As te cheeks lips and chin. Harold and
most OF the English wear the mustache, ana
the only bearded folks are Edward the Comics
sor and five men on the Norman SIDE. Long,
shaggy hair, and enormous tangled m9staches
had been in vogue among the ancient Britons.
On the Introduction of Christianity the clergy
among the Anglo-Saxons had to shave, and al
ter the conquest one of the grievances against
William was his suppression OF the English
mustache. Shaving, by the clergy especIlaiiy,
was a sort of protest against J Judaism and Islam
though the early Christian fathers had follow
ad the usual Jewish custom and prescribed the
retention of the beard Clement of Alexan-
dria, Cyprian, Jerome and Chrysostom were
among the controyersialistS on this great ques-
es fought, and which latter so exercised the
Reloian reformers that they would fain have
elected all save the shaven from tneir RANKS
The Popes frequently promulgated decrees ana
set fashions, but not all OF the same s0rs. me
gallant Julius III, victor over the Venetians
and French allowed his beard to grow when
ba ascended the throne in 1903 and set FASH
ion that was followed over the Christian world,
Francis of France copying him, as he had re-
ceiyed an ugly wound in the face from a
of ru0ad in Twelfth N1QlG 1rOl-
ic Up to that time the beard had led cheek
erad existence in France. After the battle
of Tolbiac, where Clovis thrashed the later Al
aric soundly, the conqueror sent wora 10 the
yanouished to come and touch his beard-make
an ailiance-but Alaric, instead caught the
Frankish ENJOYS by the beard and sent them
back, swearing furiously by the violated ap-
pendages to have their revenge, Wnich was
prompt and bloody. Thereafter France saw
boards of all sorts-long, short, round, pointed,
souare. braided, woven with gold thread, span
| gied with pearls-until the area OF shaVen
| chins was closed by Francis 1 and the influence
| of the Renaissance. Louis WIS shaving, 1t
may be remembered, was serious act for Finn
| self and his country. With his fair chestnut
| beard he was barely tolerated by his wife, Ell
| eanor of Guenne, and when he shaved 1t OH
| broil began which ended in their divorce ner
| remarriageito Henry II of England, to whom
| she brought Poitou and Gulenne as doWry,
| and war which ravaged France for three CEN
| turies and cost the lives of 3,000,OOO men. IN
| der Henry III of France, shaven chlns were IN
| vogue, with the mustache and long naodcAe
| on the lower lip, which under Napoleon LII
| was again to be fashionable unuer tne hane oI
| imnerial. Under Henry ", square boards
| ruled and Louis XIII favored small imperial,
with curled mustaches. The Hl0uche was IN
| fashion under Louis XIV, but little or no beard
| and the razor was used relentlessly under the
next two kings the Republic, tne 9,as Dlaectory pn
| Juliuss lead into the ranks OF beard wearers
| while Philip " being unable to to raise beard
| himself, discouraged the wearing OF boards by
| his courtiers, who lamented that with tnelr
| beards had gone their souls. "All the gold IN
| the world, ''said the brave Portuguese Admiral
| Juan de Castro, to the Mayor OF Goa, cannot
| equal the national ornament OF my valor
| and he pointed to one of his luxurant whlsk-
| ers; and the Mayor was SO deeply impressed
| that he lent him a thousand pistoleS on the
| pledge thereof England generally followed
| the fashion set by France. Though one OF the
/ poets has celebrated the beard cf Henry VIII,
| and declared that
A well-thatched face is comely grace.
| And shelter from the cold,
| that monarch published an edict against boards
| and Elizabeth ordained that every beard OF
| above a fortnights growth should pay an an
| nual tax of 3s 4d, feature borrowed by Peter
| the Great, who taxed the boards OF his peasant
| subjects copeck year and charged wealthier
| ones 100 roubles, say S70 On the continent
| magistrates, grave burghers and other worthy
| folk had long made a practice OF wearing
"beards of formal cut opposed to the regnant
| court fashion, whatever that happened to be,
| and when the civil war broke out under
| Charles /, the hair became the distinguishing
mark Of the factions The beard of the period
| was worn sharply peaked in triangular form,
| ane pasteboard cases were employed to cover
| them during sleep; man OF fashion gave
| more time TO his beard than one does nowadays
! to his hair. and even had his reader to beguile
the tedium Of arranging it., Taylor, the water
| poet gives it ronndly to the great vanity
| of boards in that time, when a barber exult-
i antlv cried. as he fnished oil the court preacn-