Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-12-26

ALI InOA 1LMO4Go1 Au6o AMI
IL kmong all nations has occupied certain
amount Of prominence. embracing all Glasses,
that has by no means disappeared at the pres
| emit day, a. sxempli6ed In the cherished scalp
lock Of the American Indian, the pig tail of the
Celestial, the bangs and frizzes Of the fashion
able dame and the sacred top knot of the
Siamese.
The development Of the beard has been .
matter Of no small importance, and the crop
ping Of Louis Wis chin brought on three CEN
turtles Of bloodshed. Pedro Nv Of Dragon
Q35), found himself compelled to prohibit his
Catalonian subjects from wearing false boards,
but the most singular substitute was the golden
boards worn by the kings OF Persia The
kings Of France Of the first dynasty wore boards
entwined with gold threads.
WHY THE SOLDIERS BEARD WAS SHAVED.
The custom Of shaving the beard was en-
forced by Alexander Of Macedon, not for the
sake Of fashion, but for q practical end. He
knew that the soldiers Of India, when they en-
countered their foes. had the habit OF grasping
them by the beard, and SO he ordered his
soldiers to shave. Afterward shaving was
practiced in the Macedonian army. The Ro-
mans initiated the Greeks in this practice, as
they DID many other things and spread it to
the different European nations yet ba<baric
In the middle ages, at the time Of the renais-
| sance, shaving was introduced and the habit
| retained, though classicism gave place to ro-
manticism, and that in its turn, was replaced
by realism. The beard was q source of trouble
to Peter the Great, who, simultaneously with
the introduction Of his great reforms In Russia,
tried to induce his people to initiate the shaw
ing nations. This innovation was resisted by
his subjects and they preferred to pay q heavy
nne rather than suffer disfgurement. as they
believed, Of the image Of God. To the Russians
Of olden times the beard was Q symbol OF lib.
erty.
FORMER VALUE OF THE BEARD.
In olden times when every part Of the body
had its price the beard was valued at twenty
shillings-a large sum for the time-while the
loss of q leg was only estimated at twelve shil-
lings.
Boards were at various times taxed in Eng
land. and the sheriff of Canterbury paid three
shllilngs and four pence for wearing beard.
In the first year Of Elizabsths reign every
beard Of above fortnight's growth was taxed
three shillings and sixpence. but the law was
too absurd to be enforced. Peter the Great
imposed tax of rubls upon boards, but it
was soon cancelled.
To descend to comparatively modern date.
In laA1 George c. Badger, then Secretary Of the
Navy, issued general order regulating the
uniform OF officers attached to that service, in
which was included his celebrated instructions:
The hair OF all persons belonging to the navy
is to be kept short, and no part Of the beard
Is to be worn long excepting the whiskers,
which shall not descend more than one inch
below the tip Of the ear, and thence in line
toward the corners Of the mouth" These were
nleknamed badger whiskers," and caused one
officer (afterward celebrated in the civil war;,
who had = full beard under the chin but could
raise no hair on the upper part of his face, to
wittily remark That his whiskers began just
where the regulation ended and he would have
TO be content with a smooth face"
MidabiDmen who in tha thirtioo waro x-ocx
to return from the Mediterranean with Euro
pean ideas concerning dress, were in the habit
OF wearing their hair very long, with Andalusian
hats surrounded by gold band, causing them
to look like brigands Gold bands being new
as part OF naval uniform were sported with
great freedom and caused newspaper to re-
mark: Never had been seen much hair and
gold lace in the streets Of Boston,"
In Europe and portion Of Asia boards pre-
vail until we go beyond India, when gradually
boards disappear, as is the case with the Chi
nese, japanese and Siamese.
THE sIAMEsR TOP KNOT.
The Siamese have quaint and picturesque
custom, which is celebrated in every family
pretending to wealth and fashion, when child
becomes Of age Of cutting the top knot. This
top knot is round patch OF hair allowed to
grow on the top of the head while the rest of
the head is closely shaved. The locks are
wound round into a coil, fastened with pin
and surrounded on festive occasions by
tiny chaplet Of sweet-scented white How
ers. 1t is worn until the boy Is to
become in . measure Independent. or in
the case OF girls till their marriageable
age begins to draw near The date isregulsted
by the fancy OF the family. controlled in some
instances by the family soothsayer, and ranges
from nine. eleven and thirteen years; but the
even numbers are avoided as less propitious
But when the day does come, the top-knot cut
ting is great and gay ceremony. When the
parsonage to be operated upon 10 . "Chow Fa,"
or celestial prince, the rite is elaborate and
splendid, But when the heir apparent to the
crown of Siam takes his turn at the hair crop
ping. the whole festal resources of the palace
and the kingdom are exhausted in doing honor
to the event, which occupies week and more of
the undivided attention Of every prince and
magnats within reach.
Some years ago it was the good fortune of
the writer to witness the magnificent cere-
monies attending the important service of
shearing the top knot from the head of the
Crown Prince Of Siam. Al o curious custom
description Of the brilliant spectacle may not
be devoid Of interest.
NOTABLE OCCASION.
There were assembled in the Siamese capital
all the pendstory vassals OF his most Buddhist
majesty the Rajah of Kedah, the sultans of
Potani, Kelastan aud Tringano the governors
OF Singona, Renong and KrOh aud all the prov
lnces OF nrss, second ana tnlrQ grade. They
all brought substantial presents for the prince.
The fete was ushered In, like most others in
Siam, by formal state processions, and ST.
amese procession 10 in itself q marvel and
wonder. The royal crown alone, worn by the
king in his palanquin. 10 one mass of blazing
jewels worth fabulous sum. His jeweled uni
form would run up into the millions, and the
crown OF the dark-eyed prince would 60 far
toward making an American family happy and
independent Tor life. Many thousands Of
pounds Of pure gold garnish the belts and court
uniforms Of the odd-iooking mobiles and nota-
bles, while the display Of wealth upon swords
daggers and finely wrought head pieces was
sufficient to dazzle aud bswilder the imagine
ton.
The grouping and mixture Of eolors and COS
| tunes formed no small part Of the pageant
and the lord chamberlain, or minister Of the
palace, aided by numerous drill masters and
court costumers had spent weeks in perfecting
this portion OF the ceremony for tho honor ana
glory Of the royal family.
MALI AND yxMALr BATTALIoNa
The feature Of the procession was the appear
ance Of battalions male aud female, represent
| ing the different states either subject to Siam
or connected In some way with her. Each band
Of forty or Atty, marching four abreast sported
| the characteristic dress Of their country, and
the funeral black of the tall, liths Ehans, with
their olsck hair reared up into hideous cock