The St. Johns herald., 1893-11-23
WATERS AND WHISPERS
They Have Been Separated Since
 the Days of Solomon.
The Custom of Shaving Among Servants Made Compulsory in England Wealthy Americans Follow
 the European Style.

the European Style.
 The row which the walters and hack drivers kicked up the other day when it was proposed to rob them of their boards and mustaches is a new evidence of humanity progress toward equality. Their success knocked down another old idol. for smooth face has been used as a badge of servitude since the time King Solomon contracted the habits Of marrying three times day and making promiseuous proverbs.
 Kings from Solomon and David downs through ancient and medieval and modern history always required their servants to take the first drink from every bottle of wine, as a precaution against poison. The personal servant of the king in early history always had to have a clean-shaven face, says the New York Press.
 The servants, and especially the per sonal servants of all monarchs and high dignitaries, have always worn beardless faces, while their masters iE ancient days always wore boards. The medieval ages were well under way before any man of high position went without whiskers.
 In the latter part of the last century and the early part of this the distinc- tion in dress between the master and the servant in England was actually less conspicuous than it has been for the last fifty years. When men com menced to adopt the long, fulI-legged trousers, to abandon the wig and to wear full boards, they made their per- sonal men servants continue to observe the old styles. Their coachmen must wear horse-hair wigs, smooth face and knee breeches-the horse-hair wig making the head look full behind, the clean-shaven face giving the appear ance of youth and the fat calves an aspect of prosperity.
 While some of the features of this gaudy, picturesque livery have been abandoned in all the best English houses, the clean-shaven face is to-day steadily required, not only of the coachInan and butler but of all house. hold servants. with the possible excep- .tion of the gardener. It was not until about twenty-seven years ago, how ever, that the custom of requiring liverymen to wear clean-shaven faces was observed at all in New York. About that time August Belmont, Ed ward Mathews and J. c. Bennett put their stables and coaches in charge of Englishmen and Scotchmen. These imported servants put the custom in vogue in this city Up to that time the coachman of even the wealthiest fami- liesin the city sat in their boxes with out uniform or livery and wore his beard or didn' Jas he pleased. In a very few years thereafter there was not wealthy family in town whose coach man did not have to observe the GUS tom.
 The idea of smooth-faced walters came here with the Europeanizing of American hotels. Ten years ago there was no such iroR-clad rule in any of the New York hotels and restau- rants. Then all the walters at Delmon- ico's were required to shave off their boards and clean-shaving became the rule in nearly all the leading houses in town.
 It is interesting to know that, while this custom came from England, growing out of the smooth-faced Eng fish house servants, the hotel walters in Europe have not complied with it with much patience. In fact in some of the best hotels in London and on the continent the walters have forced their employers to allow them to wear their boards. Thus it is seen that American hotel-keepers tried to copy their English models.
 At banquet in Vienna one Aus trian nobleman bet another a thou sand marks that he could have the proprietor make the walters shave their boards. The proprietor refused, and told the gentleman he must go elsewhere if he could not stand the mustachios of the walters. This was regarded as great victory for the walters in the Vienna hotel.