Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-03-18
LONG Boards.
OFTEN Regarded a. Outward Mark Of
5r, Great learnina.. .sf.f,ss..s y

s5g.e ~ Great Learning stle aB
The longest beard referred to In Eu-,
ropean history is that which adorned
the person or John Mayo, painter OF
the emperor Charles W. 81 3p6rii'
It Is said, though he was very tall, =
his beard was so long that he9could
tread upon IL. Naturally he was very
proud Of his possession and took such
great care Of 1t that he usually went
about with II carefully gathered mp In
to festoons, the points Of the hair be-
ing iooped mp and tied with q ribbon
to a, ,buttonhole of his coat But some-
time. by the express desire OF the
emperor Mayo would untie his beard
to Its full length, whereupon his MAJ
jesty would command the windows to
be opened so that the beard might
have full play 1.-THE emperor" we
are informed, took great sport In
watching the wind blow this long
beard In the face Of his courtiere."fs
If we may. believe this historian, the
beard on one occasion was the means
OF staying q terrible conflict between
two desperate foes, for6we read that
when the Gauls under Brennus were
engaged in sacking the city OF Rome
they were so struck with reverentiai
awe, at the sight OF the long-bearded
Roman senators that they s'suspendedI
their fury and slaughter In order to
contemplate the respectable prospect
before them" Boards, OF course.
were held in high, veneration by the.
Greeks and Romans. Homer never
mentions the famous boards OF Priam
or Nestor without respect, and In
those days q, well-coveredz chin was
often regarded as the outward mark
OF man Of great learning and wis.,
DOM, Oar Ia as,. sIs1 50. fg ~
The reign, of Henry Nv. Of France.
was the golden age OF boards, for at
that time quite as much attention was
paid to them as to the dressing OF the
hair Of both sexes. Boards were clip
ped In all manner Of fashion--round,3 3
square, pointed. fan-shaped and even
after the fashion Of an artichoke leaf. ;
Unfortunately. when the craze for
boards Of all shapes and sizes was at
its height, Louis XIII who YVES then o
child, came to the throne, and the
beard had to go In honor Of the hair
less chin Of the new monarch. g33l5
Soon afterward the tuft, or toupees,
which still is so fashionable across the
Channel, came into vogue. - But mo-
European nation has ever held the
beard in greater yeneration than the
Spaniards, who at one time had a
proverb which declared the absence
Of the beard to signify the loss Of a
mans soul. Spain must have been
one of the last of European countries
to tolerate the razor. S8gl ar
In the reign Of Francis l. Of France,
boards formed the excuse for an or
ganized system of persecution among
the prebendaries Of the church. The
clergy Were very punctilious In the
matter of boards, and It occurred to
Duprat, Lord High Chancellor at that
time, that very handsome revenue
might be raised In this connection.
Accordingly, the pope was persuaded
by Francis to publish bull by which
the clergy were enjoined to shave their
chins, falling which the king was TO
be entitled to levy a tax on all who
disobeyed the order. AS q result, all
those who could afford II paid the tax.
while the rest shaved Off their boards
But the wickedness Of Duprat met
with its Just reward In the end. Fran
els successor, Henry IL. appointed
Duprat to the bishopric Of Clermont.
and the latter was proceeding thither
to take up his duties when he found
himself waylaid by the chapter, who
insisted that before ne took ofice he
should shave of the very fine beard
that he still had the effrontery to wer.
The new bishop refused, and fad
literally before the brandishing razois
Of his chapter. Soon afterward Du-
prat, whose health appeared to have
suffered u severe shock from this un-
expected contretemps. fell Ill and died.
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