The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-06-22
BEARD AND MUSTACHE.
TO0AY's FACIAL ORNAMENTS ONCE
MUCH RIDlCUl.e0.


smooth shaveu-Tacf- Concerning Presi-
dents and Presidential Candidates.
The beard and mustarhe IS an appcndsge
20 the face Is OF comparative recent date
In the United States. Thisty years ago
beard was an exception. and thirty-iive
wears have scarcely elapsed since the
wcarcr Of q beard wss either an OBJECT OF
ridicule or suspicion. When "a boy the
writer listened TO sermon IN when inc
smooth faced preacher descanied on the
sin OF the beard. and conclusiveiy proved
TINT Adam was not endowed with TINS
facial appendace until after his fall, ana
that it constituted the actual thicket be.
hind which he sought to hide himself
from the sight Of his maker
1t Is quite evident 1t was at least as
difficult for the ancients TO keep down the
growth of the beard as it Is for the modern
youth to raise one. Before the Invention
of the razor, which dates back less than
two centuries, the hair was kept from &C
cumulating Oh the face by rubbing the
skin quickly with pumice stone, which
gave it that peculiar polish and hardness
Of outline noticeable in old paintings
BARRIERS are first mentioned III Enghsh
history about the year 1917. during the
reign of Charles |, when number OF
Puritans were ordered to be punished by
having their boards shaver from their
faces with sharp knives, and the hair TO
be cropped close TO their heads herewith,
in addition to having their ears cut OH
and tongues bored with red hot iron,
! l. q L., sstfa Ad i'm
SUBJECT OF RIDICuLE.
About 1885 boards and mustaches began
to make their appearance i'll this country
on the streets of the cities, and were
everywhere the subject Of ridlcule, SO
much so that few were vain enough TO
cultivate them. In 1888 the fad for wear
ing hair on the face was given great
thrust forward by picture OF Count
D'Orsay. published in Hazers Magazine
illustrating how copiously u chin could be
cushioned. and which, 1t was conceded,
reached the climax of hair arrangement III
that quarter
Still for number of years later long
boards were considered disgraceful; as
masks behind which criminals and out
laws sought to hide their identity. AS
late as lS4S the writer remembers to have
seen Jew with long hair and beard
"bated" on Beaver street, in this city, by
a crowd of boys, who chased him with
sticks and stones through the streets and
alieys of what was then one of the most
attractive portions Of New York, and Tor
no other reason than the great mass Of
hair which concealed his features. And
on this occasion the sedate business men
Of that part of the city gathered al their
doors and cheered the boys with their ex-
pressious Of approval.
One or two judges about that time be
gan to make their appearance on the
bench with whiskers. This the public
took as all ofIense and the papers seri-
ouslv discussed it as matter of prime
Importance "Whiskers, says The
Democratic Review, are bad enough at
the bar, and even then they are pestilent
accompaniment for counsel. There is no
gentlemanly managing jury with them.
Men are not open 10 reason or pathos that
might issue from any part OF face thus
cultivated They continually. and for
good reason, suspect those who talk to
them in mask. But to carry whiskers
up 10 the tribunal Is unbecoming the
Judge as it is unfortunate for the wool
sack What would men have US think
Do they mean to enforce decisions by the
ferocity of their countenancesi To make
us fear instead of honor them Or would
they, wherever they may be, have us
understand that their strength, like his
Of old, lies in their hairy'
None of the fathers OF the republic ever
wore beard The appendage Of hair is
not to be found on the face of any of the
signers of the Declaration of independence,
and it was unknown TO all the officers of
the revolutionary army. Those men Of
great minds. iron will and strong purpose
stood forth in the broad light Of day with
faces so clean that their every thought
might be read
THE CROPPED SIDE WHISPER.
The war of 1912 brought no generals to
the front with boards, but all the com
manders of the navy appear to have cult
waited the mutton leg as it was once
called-the side whiSkcr reaching an inch
or so below the ear, but always kept
sropped This is the whiskers we find on
the pictures of Perry. cambridge, Deca
tur, Lawrence and others and is the
plant which was afterwards built out and,
In connection with the mustache, became
the Burnside All the principal officers
Of the Mexican war We're also beardless,
although the mustache and beard began
about that time creep into the army.
OF the presidents of the United States
John q Adams and Zachary Taylor had
u mere bunch of hair, extending the
length of the ear. Martin Van Buren,
had more Of the mutton leg" which
curled forward, and being of sandy
color. gave that peculiar expression to
his face which caused him to be nick
named The Red Fox of Undertook" or
''Fo,i'" Van Buren, All the other presi-
dents had faces shaver Of every particle
Of hair. and up to 1861 no man had oc-
cupied position Of prominence in the
national government who wore beard on
his chin or a mustache John c. Ere
mont, the first candidate Of the Republi-
can party for the presidency, also cult
waited his entire check and chin space for
hair, and Abraham Lincoln, his successor
on the ticket four years later. and the first
Republican president, also wore full
beard
The cabinet which Lincoln assembled
was composed largely Of bearded men.
The despised abolition sentiment had OBJ
taincd the asccndency, and men by the
thousands who ten years before would