The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1930-03-21


their owners. They also dyed their
boards, usually red, not only because
dye of that color was easily obtain
able, but because it was nearly like
the golden yellow, the color recon-
mended by Mohammed, who hated
dyed their boards
The Egyptians commonly shaved
their boards, except in time of mourn
ing, and an unkempt, neglected beard
was sign of grief among them as
well as among the Jews. In Greece
boards were worn by nearly all until
the time of Alexander the Great who
ordered his soldiers to shave so that
their enemies might not seize them by
these appendages and thus have some
thing of an advantage IN hand-to-hand
fighting. Shaving was introduced
among the Romans about the same
time and, according to Pliny, Scipio
Africanus was the first Roman to
shave every day. Later the first day
of shaving, usually on the twenty-sec-
ond birthday, was looked upon as the
youths entrance into manhood and
celebrated with great festivities From
the time of Hardian to that of Con-
stantine, the beard was again COM
monty worn. The ancient Germans, ac-
cording to Tacitus, regarded a clean
shaven face as sign of servitude. By
that token the Lombards must have
been unusually strong and indepen-
dent, for their name is derived from
LOngobards, meaning "lOng Boards"
In France and Spain the wearing Of
boards followed the styles set by the
mOnarchs of those countries. The
beard was commonly worn in France
until the time of Louis MI, who, be-
ing young and beardless, set new
style and the fashion changed. In
Spain the loyal Spanish courtiers re-
moved their boards when Philip V,
who was unable to grow beard, came
to the throne.
In Russia Peter the Great issued a
royal edict compelling his subjects to
shave or pay a tax on their boards
in proportion to the rank of the wear
er. Henry VIII Of England attempted
a similar tax in England, but found
it difficult to enforce the law and
later gave it up. AS a result the
reigns of Elizabeth and James / were
characterized by the widest extrava-
gance in beard growing with some
men clipping their boards into as
many formal shapes as the old-fash-
toned box hedges. Under the reign Of
Charles l the Van Dyke beard, named
for the famous painter, became popu-
lar, only to be followed by a smooth
faced era during the Eighteenth GEN.
fury and down to the days of "our
dear queen" Victoria, whose royal
consort and whose son, later Edward
VII, brought back the beard as one of
the glories Of the Mid-Victorian days.
If, indeed, there is whiskers come
back and boards once more become
popular, they will bring with them
vexing problems. One of them is:
what to do with the beard when it
is not in use-taking it for granted
that beard can be put to use, such
as stroking 1t as an aid to cautious
thought and tweaking it, either ones
own or another's, to suggest violence,
determination or aggresiveness. How
serious this problem may be is indi-
Gated by the following incident re-
lated recently by writer in the Bos-
ton Herald:
Some years ago certain eminent
man of New England wrote a letter to
another eminent New Highlander whose
title to eminence is substantial and
whose beard is celebrated throughout
the land. 1t Is beard in the fullest
dimensions of old New England In
the letter to this bearded New Eng
lander the friend asked this question:
When you retire at night, do you tuck
the beard under the sheet, or do you
leave it free outside and above the
sheet?
This, we are told. caused the wearer
of the beard much distress Until
the matter had thus been called to his
attention. he is reported to have told
his friends afterward, he had never
given this problem any thought He
had retired at night as other men do,
and had fallen gracefully into sleep,
untroubled and unperplexed. 1t never
had occurred to him that there was
anything complicated or puzzling about
the performance. Since that letter and
its question. however. he had hardly
had comfortable nights sleep, for the
moment he put out the light and
popped into bed he had begun to de-
bate which disposal of his beard he
might the more comfortably make
above the sheet or beneath it. BY this
we learn that the beard like many
another luxury in life. carries with II
responsibilities and perplexities.