Evening star., 1912-09-15
WIGS OF OFFICE IN ENGLAND.
Fallen Into Disuse-Only Judges
and Lawyers Wear Them.
From London Answers.

From London Answers.
Nowadays wigs Of office form a decay
ing race. The lordly full-bottomed wig
of his majesty's judges still remains, but
more than one stern justice has been
known to cool his fevered brow on a
scorching day by discarding his imposing
but oppressive head covering. So late
as the year 1880 bishops wore wigs when
seated in the house Of lords. but since
that date the custom has fallen into
disuse.
With the exception of the speaker of
the house of commons the law retains
a monopoly of the wig Barristers and
solicitors keep company with the judges,
but with far smaller and more comfort
able "thatches." Then again there is
the wig of servitude worn by footmen
and other hunkeys and carefully busted
over with flour or powdered oatmeal.
Search Great Britain and you will hard
ly find half dozen wig makers-that Is,
manufacturers of the ceremonial article.
A full-bottomed wig. such as a Judge
would buy for twelve guineas, would last
the remainder Of his life. and there have
been very few Judges who have bought
a second. Lawyers and barristers pay
five guineas for their official headdress,
and generally speaking, one wig is sufii-
cfent for an entire professional career.
All official wigs are made from horse
hair, and maker of these articles must
search over more than hundred weight
Of stock hair to obtain a pound worthy
Of use for this august purpose. The
hairs are built up three at a time on a
foundation OF silk and q wooden model
is made Of the subjects head before the
task commences.
Strictly speaking. official wigs are as
old as the hills. They have been found
on the heads of Egyptian mummies and
were certainly known to the Greeks and
Romans. In the eighteenth century,
the zenith Of the wig era-there were
thirty or forty varieties. Then the more
important the wearer the larger the wig.
hence our term "bigwig," as applied to
a magistrate.
Very different is the story Of the shy,
retiring wig whose mission Is unblush-
ingly to mask badness. Very often a
man finding a white bare patch on his
head will have ''scalpette" made to fit
the spot so accurately as to defy detec-
the scalpette, until eventually 1t becomes
a wig, held in place by light steel springs
clipping over the ears.
A man may be called upon to pay as
much as twenty guineas for wig. par
ticularly IL his natural hair is Of an un-
usual color. Each Individual hair in the
wig must be built up separately and cut
to length on a foundation of hair net.
Women naturally indulge in false
tresses to far greater extent than the
mere man. Inc Hlllllner art llselI oIlen
demands the aid OF artificial hair, and
nowadays. instead Of the hat being made
up for the wearer. the wearer must be
made UP for the hat. Transformations.
pompadours. toupees. Ifnglets. fringes
and hair nets are few varieties of
hirsute adornments prepared for the fair
sex.
A good deal of the so-called hair is
made from silk 1t takes dye readily and
lastingly. curls well and washes admira-
bly,. A length Of hair such as one may
buy at a suburban hairdresser's for a
couple of shillings probably is made
from silk.