The Sun. — 1851-02-15 (London, England)

PLEA FOR BEARDS.  A correspondent of the Weekly News, calling himself MEr'ctili:)?.Y,, and, writing upon the abomination of shaving, says : " Why should men cut off what nature has given them for use, comfort, ornament, and as a distinguishing characteristic of their sex ? Is shaving a pleasing operation ? " If the choice lay between two evils, something might be urged in favour of the custom of shaving; but I do most strenuously contend that the beard is a positive good. It is useful, for it affords naturally what we are forced to supply artificially—warmth and protection to the throat. If the fashion of wearing the beard were to come in, we should have no more sore throats. It is ornamental—if you doubt it, look at Cardinal Bembo's picture—at the portraits of Titian, Shakspere, Fletcher, Spurs er, Chaucer, Alfred, Plato. I could name a great man who wore a beard, for every hair which I painfully shaved off this morning. It sets off the face as in a frame ; it gives dignity, and conveys the idea of strength, decision, manliness, depth of intellect, solidity—in short, everything may be said in its favour— nothing against it. ' What! I hear a fair friend exclaim, would the wretch have our husbands, our brothers, our sons, and our rephews, wear nasty beards, and look like Frenchmen ?' Certainly not, Madam; and one reason why we should not look like Irenchmen is, that our beards would not be nasty. If we ceased to shave, we should not cease to use soap and water, and I will venture to say that the English beard would be the cleanest, glossiest, handsomest thing in the world. Besides, the beard which I advocate is the beard given us by nature, in the form in which she has caused it to grow. I would not have it touched by the razor; let the scissors curtail and shape it when too exuberant : but my cry . is, ' a bas the razor!' You very seldom see a foreigner with the beard, the whole beard, and nothing but the beard. Lie shaves off his whiskers, or his moustache, or in some way or other manages to disfigure himself. Now, what I want is, the whole or none. Once admit that the use of the razor may be advantageous to some extent, and 1 am as far off my end as ever. Dear Madam, you know not the pains of shaving, and the .beauties of the beard.  "' This may be all very well for you,' observes a juvenis imberbis ; ' but supposing you are not blessed with a beard .fit to be seen' ' Supposing, my dear 3 young friend, you are not blessed with a handsome nose. . !,„ that any reason why others should cut off their respecottn nasal promontories, whether they be well formed_ _r of obonnour, Surely no. I declare to you, sir, upon niy word.t. h pleasure if it were the fashion to wear no noses, I would once submit to the pain of the operation lt uagainst the feature, if I could by so doing insure nvo's: of ampwitating that misery attendant upon the daily smooth-faced The hairy Esau sold his birthright to time would have the f their beards, but Jacob. The Jacobs of the amputattshe of the beard. Esaus of these days divest the sate for the sacrifice, so they offer not, as a bribe to ceruPen ~ much as a mess of pottage______—.,—....... mitisoedievr:s 0  ---- , iiij-E.c, --2 The Right lion, the .conmsenied to preside at a meeting of efurtii e important iwri, 0 subject, purpose, -a LordT proprietors of the Ball of Commerce having I.SIII3aUvoNrALS 01; steoot consider the ir large raoboomv liberally offered . , will be held there on Wednesday, the joined inst., iect, merchants ,1n d at, and dhparo,:tphihne-rus lai4nedettliit'tollewing Members of Parliament have joined the committee, of which Lord Wharncliffe is the president;— Sir James Duke, Bart., Joseph Hume, Esq., Robert S. Tennent, I:,q , John McGregor, Esq., Arthur Anderson, Esq., Juin, Williams, I, sq., William Scholfield, Esq., J. Lewis Ricardo, Esq., and Jacob Bell, Esq. A soldier of the 92d Highlanders, named James Grandison, committed suicide, on Saturday last, at the barracks, Kilkenny, by shooting himself through the head with his own musket. It appears that the poor follow had suddenly received an account of his father's death, and that his mother had been ill-treated at home by another son, and this affected his mind.