The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-01-15

fosoaossmy. or .he Gentle Art Of selfs
shaving.

SoBcnotemy, or sne G002e AN Oh S0Ax~
shaving.
The practice of pognonotomy. the
BARRIERS say. is every year becoming
more and more widespread. Pognonot.
omy is what the Greeks used to call
the gentle art of eek-shsving. Soma
people shave themselves because they
wish to save time. others TO save money.
But the fashion of going smooth shaveu,
is steadily increasing, and il Is quite
probable that within another i've years
boards and mustaches will be stu Lee
in vogue than they ara to-day.
The decadcnce of the beard amonA
civilized races and the reason for iss
disappearance are interesting things
10 trace. Long ago iuxUiant beard
was thought 10 betolxen a high degree
of holiness or wisdom. Even now tho
believers of the Koran reverence the
beard. and swear by that Of their proph.
e.. But it would seem that in this
very idolatry of the beard lay the cause
of its downfall, for the posscsso- OF =
handsome beard was prone 10 vanity,
md was likely TO spend 50 much time
in decorating it that he ran the risk OF
neglecting more important matters So
the church and state, then closely
jcined. declared againstit> The French
swells of less than 200 years ago used
to crimp their boards. Irvine them with
threads of gold and hang them with
pearls. Philip of valois. who Vas
one Of the leaders of fashion OF hin
day, used TO tie golden acorns 70 his
beard. The result was the popes and
monarchs began TO ISSUE bulls and
edicts against hirsuts appcndsg~,
sometimes with temporary effect, and
sometimes with none at all. Pope Lea
TX. and Gregory VII. anathematixed
the beard, and this meane that they
cursed il, root and branch, for q papal
auathema IN those days was aorue-
thing sweepingand terrible.
IN the army the first reason for aboA
ishing the beard was that Of cheanii-
ness. Up to the time Of Alcxandcr tia
Great the Greeks were . bcaraed peo,
pie, bat that ruler made every one of
his Grecian soldiers shave. Tha
0o1nans, too. made shaving obligatory
in the army, and there were few boards
or none among the civilians. The
beard was then considered to b thu
characteristic feature of the barbarian.
The first Roman whom history records
as having shaved every day was scspio,
the oonqueror of Africa IN later ttmea
Peter the Great % Russia made an at
tempt to Danish the beard. from his
balf-civilised dominsuns, hut achieved
only an incomplete victory. snA ss one
time even endangered his throne hy
the maintenance of his deere wa.
liam the Conquenor was another gyeaa
commander who would hsye no oeards
about his court or among his solsf1ers.
In France in 1888 ali the iawyeB werr
forced 10 go clean shaven, and eight
years later the clerks lost thsir boards
BY law.
And so tho BARRIERS trade has grvwn>
but now they themselves acknosvledgc
that their ranks are swelling faxter
than those Of their customers In times
of financial prosperity the barbers'
pockets bulge with coin, but when
business is depressed. they say. their
customers by the score shave them.
selves.
No one would think OF making the
modern barber . hero Of romance, like
The BARRIERS who cit through the pages
OF the Arabian Nights" or "Gil Bias."
T. would DO hard 20 fancy that thu
ancestor Of tho man who shavea you
to-day and tries 20 force on strangers all
sorts Of tonics for the hair and othsr
costly and impossible thinss ws< per-
haps he who inspired the sbesxS thai
subdusd Sauaeon--N. Y. Sun