[Illustration: The House of Commons in the time of Sir Robert Walpole. Wigs in Parliament. ]

 AT THE SIGN OF THE BARBER'S POLE

 STUDIES IN HIRSUTE HISTORY

 BY WILLIAM ANDREWS

 AUTHOR OF "BYGONE ENGLAND" ETC. 

 COTTINGHAM, YORKSHIRE J. R. TUTIN 1904

PREFACE

Connected with the barber and his calling are many curiosities ofhistory. In the following pages, an attempt has been made, and I trustnot without success, to bring together notices of the more interestingmatters that gather round the man and his trade. 

In the compilation of this little book many works have been consulted, and among those which have yielded me the most information must bementioned the following:--

 "Annals of the Barber-Surgeons of London, " by Sidney Young, London, 1890. 

 "An Apology for the Beard, " by Artium Magister, London, 1862. 

 "Barbers' Company, " by G. Lambert, F. S. A. , London, 1881. 

 "Barber-Surgeons and Chandlers, " by D. Embleton, M. D. , Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1891. 

 "Barber's Shop, " by R. W. Proctor, edited by W. E. A. Axon, Manchester, 1883. 

 "Philosophy of Beards, " by T. S. Cowing, Ipswich. 

 "Some Account of the Beard and the Moustachio, " by John Adey Repton, F. S. A. , London, 1839. 

 "Why Shave?" by H. M. , London. 

_Notes and Queries_, and other periodicals, as well as encyclopædias, books on costume, and old plays, have been drawn upon, and numerousfriends have supplied me with information. I must specially mention withgratitude Mr Everard Home Coleman, the well-known contributor to _Notesand Queries_. 

Some of my chapters have been previously published in the magazines, butall have been carefully revised and additions have been made to them. 

In conclusion, I hope this work will prove a welcome contribution to thebyways of history. 

 WILLIAM ANDREWS. 

 ROYAL INSTITUTION, HULL, _August 11th_, 1904. 

CONTENTS

 PAGETHE BARBER'S POLE 1

THE BARBER'S SHOP 8

SUNDAY SHAVING 21

FROM BARBER TO SURGEON 26

BYGONE BEARDS 33

TAXING THE BEARD 56

POWDERING THE HAIR 59

THE AGE OF WIGS 71

STEALING WIGS 93

THE WIG-MAKERS' RIOT 95

THE MOUSTACHE MOVEMENT 96

INDEX 117

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

 PAGEThe House of Commons in the time of Sir Robert Walpole. Wigs in Parliament _Frontispiece_

The Barber's Shop, from "Orbis Pictus" 3

A Barber's Shop in the time of Queen Elizabeth 10

William Shakespeare (the Stratford Portrait) 15

Henry VIII. Receiving the Barber-Surgeons 29

Bayeux Tapestry 34

John Knox, born 1505, died 1572 37

John Taylor, the Water Poet, born 1580, died 1654 38

The Lord Mayor of York escorting Princess Margaret through York in 1503. Shows the Beard of the Lord Mayor 39

Beards in the Olden Time 42

The Gunpowder Conspirators, from a print published immediately after the discovery. Shows the Beards in Fashion in 1605 45

Geoffrey Chaucer, born about 1340, died 1400 52

Russian Beard Token, A. D. 1705 58

Egyptian Wig (probably for female), from the British Museum 72

The Earl of Albemarle 78

Man with Wig and Muff, 1693 (_from a print of the period_) 80

Campaign Wig 81

Periwig with Tail 82

Ramillie Wig 83

Pig-tail Wig 84

Bag-Wig 84

Heart-Breakers 89

With and Without a Wig 90

Lord Mansfield 93

Stealing a Wig 94

George Frederick Muntz, M. P. 100

Charles Dickens, born 1812, died 1870 106

THE BARBER'S POLE

In most instances the old signs which indicated the callings ofshopkeepers have been swept away. Indeed, the three brass balls of thepawn-broker and the pole of the barber are all that are left of signs ofthe olden time. Round the barber's pole gather much curious fact andfiction. So many suggestions have been put forth as to its origin andmeaning that the student of history is puzzled to give a correctsolution. One circumstance is clear: its origin goes back to far distanttimes. An attempt is made in "The Athenian Oracle" (i. 334), to tracethe remote origin of the pole. "The barber's art, " says the book, "wasso beneficial to the publick, that he who first brought it up in Romehad, as authors relate, a statue erected to his memory. In England theywere in some sort the surgeons of old times, into whose art thosebeautiful leeches, [Footnote: This is the old word for doctors orsurgeons. ] our fair virgins, were also accustomed to be initiated. Incities and corporate towns they still retain their nameBarber-Chirurgeons. They therefore used to hang their basons out uponpoles to make known at a distance to the weary and wounded travellerwhere all might have recourse. They used poles, as some inns stillgibbet their signs, across a town. " It is a doubtful solution of theorigin of the barber's sign. 

[Illustration: The Barber's Shop, from "Orbis Pictus. "]

A more satisfactory explanation is given in the "Antiquarian Repertory. ""The barber's pole, " it is there stated, "has been the subject of manyconjectures, some conceiving it to have originated from the word poll orhead, with several other conceits far-fetched and as unmeaning; but thetrue intention of the party coloured staff was to show that the masterof the shop practised surgery and could breathe a vein as well as mow abeard: such a staff being to this day by every village practitioner putin the hand of the patient undergoing the operation of phlebotomy. Thewhite band, which encompasses the staff, was meant to represent thefillet thus elegantly twined about it. " We reproduce a page from"Comenii Orbis Pictus, " perhaps better known under its English title ofthe "Visible World. " It is said to have been the first illustratedschool-book printed, and was published in 1658. Comenius was born in1592, was a Moravian bishop, a famous educational reformer, and thewriter of many works, including the "Visible World: or a Nomenclature, and Pictures of all the chief things that are in the World, and of Men'sEmployments therein; in above an 150 Copper Cuts. " Under each pictureare explanatory sentences in two columns, one in Latin, and the other inEnglish, and by this means the pupil in addition to learning Latin, wasable to gain much useful knowledge respecting industries and other"chief things that are in the World. " For a century this was the mostpopular text-book in Europe, and was translated into not fewer thanfourteen languages. It has been described as a crude effort to interestthe young, and it was more like an illustrated dictionary than a child'sreading-book. In the picture of the interior of a barber's shop, apatient is undergoing the operation of phlebotomy (figure 11). He holdsin his hand a pole or staff having a bandage twisted round it. It isstated in Brand's "Popular Antiquities" that an illustration in a missalof the time of Edward the First represents this ancient practice. 

In a speech made in the House of Peers by Lord Thurlow, in support ofpostponing the further reading of the Surgeons' Incorporation Bill, fromJuly 17th, 1797, to that day three months, the noble lord said that by astatute still in force, the barbers and surgeons were each to use apole. The barbers were to have theirs blue and white, striped, with noother appendage; but the surgeon's pole, which was the same in otherrespects, was likewise to have a galley-pot and a red rag, to denote theparticular nature of their vocation. 

A question is put in the _British Apollo_ (London, 1708):--

 ". . . Why a barber at port-hole Puts forth a party-coloured pole?"

This is the answer given:--

 "In ancient Rome, when men lov'd fighting, And wounds and scars took much delight in, Man-menders then had noble pay, Which we call surgeons to this day. 'Twas order'd that a hughe long pole, With bason deck'd should grace the hole, To guide the wounded, who unlopt Could walk, on stumps the others hopt; But, when they ended all their wars, And men grew out of love with scars, Their trade decaying; to keep swimming They joyn'd the other trade of trimming, And on their poles to publish either, Thus twisted both their trades together. "

During his residence at his living in the county of Meath, before he wasadvanced to the deanery of St Patrick's, Dean Swift was daily shaved bythe village barber, who gained his esteem. The barber one morning, whenbusy lathering Swift, said he had a great favour to ask his reverence, adding that at the suggestion of his neighbours he had taken a smallpublic-house at the corner of the churchyard. He hoped that with the twobusinesses he might make a better living for his family. 

"Indeed, " said the future Dean, "and what can I do to promote the happyunion?"

"And please you, " said the barber, "some of our customers have heardmuch about your reverence's poetry; so that, if you would but condescendto give me a smart little touch in that way to clap under my sign, itmight be the making of me and mine for ever. "

"But what do you intend for your sign?" inquired the cleric. 

"The 'Jolly Barber, ' if it please your reverence, with a razor in onehand and a full pot in the other. "

"Well, " rejoined Swift, "in that case there can be no great difficultyin supplying you with a suitable inscription. " Taking up a pen heinstantly wrote the following couplet, which was duly painted on thesign and remained there for many years:--

 "Rove not from pole to pole, but step in here, Where nought excels the shaving but--the beer. "

Another barber headed his advertisement with a parody on a couplet fromGoldsmith as follows:--

 "Man wants but little beard below, Nor wants that little long. "

A witty Parisian hairdresser on one of the Boulevards put up a signhaving on it a portrait of Absalom dangling by his hair from a tree, andJoab piercing his body with a spear. Under the painting was thefollowing terse epigram:--

 "Passans, contemplez le malheur D'Absalom pendu par la nuque; Il aurait évité ce malheur, S'il eut porté une perruque. "

The lines lose some of their piquancy when rendered into English asfollows:--

 "The wretched Absalom behold, Suspended by his flowing hair: He might have 'scaped this hapless fate Had he chosen a wig to wear. "

THE BARBER'S SHOP

The old-fashioned barber has passed away. In years agone he was anotable tradesman, and was a many-sided man of business, for he shaved, cut hair, made wigs, bled, dressed wounds, and performed other offices. When the daily papers were not in the hands of the people he retailedthe current news, and usually managed to scent the latest scandal, whichhe was not slow to make known--in confidence, and in an undertone, ofcourse. He was an intelligent fellow, with wit as keen as his razor;urbane, and having the best of tempers. It has been truthfully said ofthis old-time tradesman that one might travel from pole to pole andnever encounter an ill-natured or stupid barber. 

Long days are usually worked in the barber's shop, and many attemptshave been made to reduce the hours of labour. We must not forget thatcompulsory early closing is by no means a new cry, as witness thefollowing edict, issued in the reign of Henry VI. , by the ReadingCorporation: "Ordered that no barber open his shop to shave any manafter 10 o'clock at night from Easter to Michaelmas, or 9 o'clock fromMichaelmas to Easter, except it be any stranger or any worthy man of thetown that hath need: whoever doeth to the contrary to pay one thousandtiles to the Guildhall. "

[Illustration: A Barber's Shop in the Time of Queen Elizabeth. ]

In the reign of Queen Elizabeth the rich families from the countrythought it no disgrace in that simple age to lodge in Fleet Street, ortake rooms above some barber's shop. At this period, indeed, thebarber-surgeon was a man of considerable importance. His shop was thegathering-place of idle gallants, who came to have their sword-woundsdressed after street frays. The gittern, or guitar, lay on the counter, and this was played by a customer to pass away the time until his turncame to have his hair trimmed, his beard starched, his mustachioscurled, and his love-locks tied up. We give a picture of a barber's shopat this period; the place appears more like a museum than anestablishment for conducting business. We get a word picture of abarber's shop in Greene's "Quip for an Upstart Courtier, " published in1592. It is related that the courtier sat down in the throne of a chair, and the barber, after saluting him with a low bow, would thus addresshim: "Sir, will you have your worship's hair cut after the Italianmanner, short and round, and then frounst with the curling irons to makeit look like a half-moon in a mist; or like a Spaniard, long at the earsand curled like to the two ends of an old cast periwig; or will you beFrenchified with a love-lock down to your shoulders, whereon you maywear your mistress's favour? The English cut is base, and gentlemenscorn it; novelty is dainty. Speak the word, sir, my scissors are readyto execute your worship's will. " A couple of hours were spent in combingand dressing the ambrosial locks of the young Apollo; then the barber'sbasin was washed with camphor soap. At last the beard is reached, andwith another congee the barber asks if his worship would wish it to beshaven; "whether he would have his peak cut short and sharp, and amiablelike an inamorato, or broad pendent like a spade, to be amorous as alover or terrible as a warrior and soldado; whether he will have hiscrates cut low like a juniper bush, or his subercles taken away with arazor; if it be his pleasure to have his appendices primed, or hismoustachios fostered to turn about his ears like vine tendrils, fierceand curling, or cut down to the lip with the Italian lash?--and withevery question a snip of the scissors and a bow. " If a poor man enteredthe shop he was polled for twopence, and was soon trimmed around like acheese, and dismissed with scarce a "God speed you. "

The Puritans looked askance at the fashions introduced by the barbers. No wonder when the talk in the shop was about the French cut, theSpanish cut, the Dutch and the Italian mode; the bravado fashion, andthe mean style. In addition to these were the gentleman's cut, thecommon cut, the Court cut, and county cut. "And, " wrote Stubbes withindignation, "they have other kinds of cuts innumerable, and, therefore, when you come to be trimmed they will ask you whether you will be cut tolook terrible to your enemy, or amiable to your friend; grim and sternin countenance, or pleasant and demure; for they have diverse kinds ofcuts for all these purposes, or else they lie! Then when they have doneall their feats, it is a world to consider how their mowchatows must bepreserved and laid out from one cheek to another; yea, almost from oneear to another, and turned up like two horns towards the forehead. Besides that, when they come to the cutting of the hair, what trickingand trimming, what rubbing, what scratching, what combing and clawing, what trickling and toying, and all to tawe out money, you may be sure. And when they come to washing--oh, how gingerly they behave themselvestherein! For then shall your mouth be bossed with the lather or foamthat riseth of the balls (for they have their sweet balls wherewith theyuse to wash), your eyes closed must be anointed therewith also. Thensnap go the fingers full bravely, God wot. Thus this tragedy ended, comes the warm clothes to wipe and dry him withall; next the ears mustbe picked, and closed together again, artificially, forsooth! The hairof the nostrils cut away, and everything done in order, comely tobehold. The last action in the tragedy is the payment of money; and lestthese cunning barbers might seem unconscionable in asking much for theirpains, they are of such a shameful modesty as they will ask nothing atall, but, standing to the courtesy and liberality of the giver, theywill receive all that comes, how much soever it be, not giving anyagain, I warrant you; for take a barber with that fault, and strike offhis head. No, no; such fellows are rarae aves in terris, nigrisquesimillimæ cygnis--rare birds on the earth, and as scarce as black swans. You shall have also your fragrant waters for your face, wherewith youshall be all besprinkled; your musick again, and pleasant harmony shallsound in your ears, and all to tickle the same with rare delight, and inthe end your cloak shall be brushed, and 'God be with you, gentlemen!'"

John Gay issued in 1727 the first series of his "Fables, " and in the oneentitled "The Goat Without a Beard" we get a description of the barber'sshop of the period:--

 "His pole, with pewter basins hung, Black, rotten teeth in order strung, Rang'd cups that in the window stood, Lin'd with red rags, to look like blood, Did well his threefold trade explain, Who shav'd, drew teeth, and breath'd a vein. "

The wooden chair is next referred to, and then it is stated:--

 "Mouth, nose, and cheeks, the lather hides: Light, smooth, and swift, the razor glides. "

Old barbers' shops had their regulations in poetry and prose. Forfeitsused to be enforced for breaches of conduct as laid down in laws whichwere exhibited in a conspicuous manner, and might be read while thecustomer was awaiting his turn for attention at the hands of the knightof the razor. Forfeits had to be paid for such offences as thefollowing:--

 For handling the razors, For talking of cutting throats, For calling hair-powder flour, For meddling with anything on the shop-board. 

Shakespeare alludes to this custom in "Measure for Measure, " Act v. Sc. 1, as follows:--

 "The strong statutes Stand like the forfeits in a barber's shop, As much in mock as mark. "

[Illustration: William Shakespeare (the Stratford Portrait). ]

Half a century ago there was hanging a code of laws in a barber's shopin Stratford-on-Avon, which the possessor mounted when he was anapprentice some fifty years previously. His master was in business as abarber at the time of the Garrick Jubilee in 1769, and he asserted thatthe list of forfeits was generally acknowledged by all the fraternity tohave been in use for centuries. The following lines have found theirway into several works, including Ingledew's "Ballads and Songs ofYorkshire" (1860). In some collections the lines are headed "Rules forSeemly Behaviour, " and in others "The Barber of Thirsk's Forfeits. " Wedraw upon Dr Ingledew for the following version, which is the best wehave seen:--

 "First come, first served--then come not late, And when arrived keep your sate; For he who from these rules shall swerve Shall pay his forfeit--so observe. 

 "Who enters here with boots and spurs Must keep his nook, for if he stirs And gives with arm'd heel a kick, A pint he pays for every prick. 

 "Who rudely takes another's turn By forfeit glass--may manners learn; Who reverentless shall swear or curse Must beg seven ha'pence from his purse. 

 "Who checks the barber in his tale, Shall pay for that a gill of yale; Who will or cannot miss his hat Whilst trimming pays a pint for that. 

 "And he who can but will not pay Shall hence be sent half-trimmed away; For will he--nill he--if in fault, He forfeit must in meal or malt. 

 "But mark, the man who is in drink Must the cannikin, oh, never, never clink. "

The foregoing table of forfeits was published by Dr Kenrick in hisreview of Dr Johnson's edition of Shakespeare in 1765, and it was statedthat he had read them many years before in a Yorkshire town. This matterhas been discussed at some length in _Notes and Queries_, and it isasserted that the foregoing is a forgery. Some interesting comments onthe controversy appeared in the issue of March 20th, 1869. 

Women barbers in the olden time were by no means uncommon in thiscountry, and numerous accounts are given of the skilful manner theyhandled the razor. When railways were unknown and travellers went bystage-coach it took a considerable time to get from one important townto another, and shaving operations were often performed during thejourney, and were usually done by women. In the byways of history wemeet with allusions to "the five women barbers who lived in Drury-lane, "who are said to have shamefully maltreated a woman in the days ofCharles II. According to Aubrey, the Duchess of Albemarle was one ofthem. 

At the commencement of the nineteenth century a street near the Strandwas the haunt of black women who shaved with ease and dexterity. In StGiles'-in-the-Fields was another female shaver, and yet another womanwielder of the razor is mentioned in the "Topography of London, " by J. T. Smith. "On one occasion, " writes Smith, "that I might indulge the humourof being shaved by a woman, I repaired to the Seven Dials, where inGreat St Andrew's Street a female performed the operations, whilst herhusband, a strapping soldier in the Horse Guards, sat smoking his pipe. "He mentions another woman barber in Swallow Street. 

Two men from Hull some time ago went by an early morning trip toScarborough, and getting up rather late the use of the razor waspostponed until they arrived at the watering-place. Shortly afterleaving the station they entered a barber's shop. A woman lathered theirfaces, which operation, although skilfully performed, caused surpriseand gave rise to laughter. They fully expected a man would soon appearto complete the work, but they were mistaken. The female took a piece ofbrown paper from a shelf, and with this she held with her left hand thecustomer's nose, and in an artistic manner shaved him with her righthand. Some amusement was experienced, but the operation was finishedwithout an accident. The gentlemen often told the story of their shaveat Scarborough by a woman barber. 

At Barnard Castle a wife frequently shaved the customers at the shopkept by her husband, who was often drunk and incapable of doing hiswork. Louth (Lincolnshire) boasted a female barber, who is said to haveshaved lightly and neatly, and much better than most men. 

Many stories, which are more or less true, are related respectingbarbers. The following is said to be authentic, and we give it asrelated to us. The Duke of C---- upon one occasion entered a smallbarber's shop in Barnard Castle, and upon inquiring for the master wasanswered by an apprentice of fourteen that he was not at home. "Can youshave, then?" asked the duke. "Yes, sir, I always do, " was the reply. "But can you shave without cutting?" "Yes, sir, I'll try, " answered theyouth. "Very well, " said the duke, while seating himself, and loadinghis pistol; "but look here, if you let any blood, as true as I sit hereI'll blow your brains out! Now consider well before you begin. " After amoment's reflection, the boy began to make ready, and said, "I'm notafraid of cutting you, sir, " and in a short time had completed the featwithout a scratch, to the complete satisfaction of the duke. In gentletones his grace asked, "Were you not afraid of having your brains blownout, when you might have cut me so easily?"

"No, sir, not at all; because I thought that as soon as I should happento let any blood, before you could have time to fire I would cut yourthroat. "

The smart reply won from the duke a handsome reward. It need scarcely tobe added he never resumed his dangerous threats in a barber's shop. Alesson was taught him for life. 

The barber of an English king boasted, says a story, that he must be themost loyal man in the realm, as he had every day the regal throat at hismercy. The king was startled at the observation, and concluded that thebarbarous idea could never have entered an honest head, and for thefuture he resolved to grow a beard as a precautionary measure againstsummary execution. 

With a barber's shop in Lichfield is associated an amusing story, inwhich the chief figure was Farquhar, a dramatist, who attained a measureof success in the eighteenth century. His manner was somewhat pompous, and he resented with a great show of indignation the dalliance of themaster of the shop. Whilst he was fuming, a little deformed man came upto him and performed the operation satisfactorily. The same day Farquharwas dining at the table of Sir Theophilus Biddulph, when he noticed thedwarf there. Taking the opportunity of following his host out of theroom, he asked for an explanation of his conduct, and said that hedeemed it an insult to be seated in such inferior company. Amazed at thecharge, Sir Theophilus assured the dramatist that every one of theguests was a gentleman, and that they were his particular friends. Farquhar was not satisfied. "I am certain, " he said, "that the littlehumpbacked man who sat opposite me is a barber who shaved me thismorning. " The host returned to the room and related the story which hehad just heard. "Ay, yes, " replied the guest, who was a well-borngentleman, "I can make the matter clear. It was I who was in thebarber's shop this morning, and as Farquhar seemed in such a hurry, andthe barber was out, I shaved him. "

The works of the old dramatists and other publications contain allusionsto barbers' music. It was the practice, as we have said, when acustomer was waiting for his turn in a barber's shop to pass his timeplaying on the gittern. Dekker mentions a "barber's cittern for everyserving-man to play upon. " Writing in 1583, Stubbes alludes to music atthe barber's shop. In the "Diary of Samuel Pepys" we read: "After suppermy Lord called for the lieutenant's cittern, and with two candlestickswith money in them for symballs, we made barber's music, with which mylord was well pleased. " "My Lord was easily satisfied, " says awell-known contributor to _Punch_, "and in our day would probably haveenjoyed 'the horgans. '" We may rest assured that barber's music was ofquestionable melody. 

SUNDAY SHAVING

In bygone England, the churchyard was a common place for holding fairsand the vending of merchandise, and it was also customary for barbers toshave their customers there. In 1422, by a particular prohibition ofRichard Flemmyng, Bishop of Lincoln, the observance of the custom wasrestrained. 

The regulations of the Gild of Barber-Surgeons of York deal with Lord'sDay observance. In 1592 a rule was made, ordering, under a fine of tenshillings, "that none of the barbers shall work or keep open their shopon Sunday, except two Sundays next or before the assize weeks. " Anotherlaw on the question was made in 1676 as follows:--"This court, takingnotice of several irregular and unreasonable practices committed by theCompany of Barber-Surgeons within this city in shaving, trimming, andcutting of several strangers' as well as citizens' hair and faces on theLord's Day, which ought to be kept sacred, it is ordered by the wholeconsent of this court, and if any brother of the said Company shall atany time hereafter either by himself, servant, or substitute, tonse, barb, or trim any person on the Lord's Day, in any Inn or other publicor private house or place, or shall go in or out of any such house orplace on the said day with instruments used for that purpose, albeit thesame cannot be positively proved, or made appear, but in case the LordMayor for the time being shall upon good circumstances consider andadjudge any such brother to have trimmed or barbed as is aforesaid, thatthen any such offender shall forfeit and pay for every such offence10s. , one half to the Lord Mayor, and the other to the use of the saidCompany, unless such brother shall voluntarily purge himself by oath tothe contrary; and the searchers of the said Company for the time beingare to make diligent search in all such as aforesaid public or privateplaces for discovery of such offenders. "

The following abstract of an order of the Barber-Surgeons of Chestershows that the members of the Company were strict Sabbatarians:--

"1680, seconde of July, ordered that no member of the Company or hisservant or apprentice shall trim any person on the Lord's Day commonlycalled Sunday. "

In the Corporation records of Pontefract under the year 1700 it isstated: "Whereas divers complaints have been made that the barbers ofthe said borough do frequently and openly use and exercise theirrespective trades upon the Lord's Day in profanation thereof, and to thehigh displeasure of Almighty God. To prevent such evil practices for thefuture it is therefore ordered that no barber shall . . . Use or exercisethe trade of a barber within the borough of Pontefract upon the Lord'sDay, commonly called Sunday, nor shall trim or shave any person uponthat day, either publicly or privately. " We have in the last clause anindication of public shaving performed in the churchyard or the marketplace. 

The churchwardens of Worksop parish, Nottinghamshire, in 1729 paidhalf-a-crown for a bond in which the barbers bound themselves "not toshave on Sundays in the morning. "

At a meeting of the barber-surgeons of Newcastle-on-Tyne held in 1742 itwas ordered that no one should shave on a Sunday, and that "no brothershould shave John Robinson till he pays what he owes to Robert Shafto. "

The operation was in bygone Scotland pronounced sinful if performed on aSunday. Members of congregations are entitled to object to thesettlement of ministers, says the Rev. Dr Charles Rogers, provided theycan substantiate any charge affecting their life or doctrine. MrDavidson, presentee to Stenton in 1767, and Mr Edward Johnstone, presentee to Moffat in 1743, were objected to for desecrating theSabbath by shaving on that day. The settlement of Mr Johnstone wasdelayed four years, so persistent were the objectors in maintaining whatthey regarded as the proper observance of the Sabbath. 

The Rev. Patrick Brontë, father of the famous novelists, was PerpetualCurate of Thornton in Bradford Dale, from 1815 to 1820. Although a senseof decency was sadly deficient among the majority of the inhabitants ofthe district, they kept watch on the clergy, and were ever ready to makeknown to the world their presumed as well as their real offences andfailings. The mistakes of some of them are well illustrated in ananecdote related by Mr Abraham Holroyd, a well-known collector of locallore. When Mr Brontë resided at Thornton it was rumoured in the villagethat he had been seen by a Dissenter, through a chamber window, shavinghimself on a Sunday morning, which was considered to be a very seriousdisregard of the obligation of Sabbath observance on the part of aclergyman. Mrs Ackroyd, a lady residing in the parish, had an interviewwith Mr Brontë on the subject. On his hearing what she had to say, heobserved: "I should like you to keep what I say in your family; but Inever shaved myself in all my life, or was ever shaved by any one else. I have so little beard that a little clipping every three months is allthat is necessary. "

Occasionally, at the present day, barbers are brought before themagistrates for working on Sunday. They are summoned under an old Act ofCharles II. , for shaving on the Lord's Day. The maximum fine is fiveshillings, and the costs of a case cannot be recovered from thedefendant. Generally the local hairdressers' association institutes theaction. 

FROM BARBER TO SURGEON

From the ancient but humble position of the barber is evolved thesurgeon of modern times. Perhaps some members of the medical professionwould like to ignore the connection, but it is too true to be omittedfrom the pages of history. The calling of a barber is of greatantiquity. We find in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel (v. 1) allusionsto the Jewish custom of the barber shaving the head as a sign ofmourning. In the remote past the art of surgery and the trade of barberwere combined. It is clear that in all parts of the civilised world, inbygone times, the barber acted as a kind of surgeon, or, to state hisposition more precisely, he practised phlebotomy, the dressing ofwounds, etc. Their shops were general in Greece about 420 B. C. , and then, as now, were celebrated as places where the gossips met. Barbers settled in Rome from Sicily in B. C. 299. 

The clergy up to about the twelfth century had the care of men's bodiesas well as their souls, and practised surgery and medicine. Barbersgained much experience from the monks, whom they assisted in surgicaloperations. The practice of surgery involved the shedding of blood, andit was felt that this was incompatible with the functions of theclergy. After much consideration and discussion, in 1163, the Council ofTours, under Pope Alexander III. , forbade the clergy to act as surgeons, but they were permitted to dispense medicine. 

The Edict of Tours must have given satisfaction to the barbers, and theywere not slow to avail themselves of the opportunities the changeafforded them. In London, and it is to be feared in other places, thebarbers advertised their blood-letting in a most objectionable manner. It was customary to put blood in their windows to attract the attentionof the public. An ordinance was passed in 1307 directing the barbers inLondon to have the blood "privately carried into the Thames under thepain of paying two shillings to the use of the Sheriffs. "

At an early period in London the barbers were banded together, and agild was formed. In the first instance it seems that the chief objectwas the bringing together of the members at religious observances. Theyattended the funerals and obits of deceased members and their wives. Eventually it was transformed into a semi-social and religious gild, andsubsequently became a trade gild. In 1308 Richard le Barber, the firstmaster of the Barbers' Company, was sworn at the Guildhall, London. Astime progressed the London Company of Barbers increased in importance. In the first year of the reign of Edward IV. (1462) the barbers wereincorporated by a Royal Charter, and it was confirmed by succeedingmonarchs. 

A change of title occurred in 1540, and it was then named the Company ofBarber-Surgeons. Holbein painted a picture of Henry VIII. And theBarber-Surgeons. The painting is still preserved, and may be seen at theBarber-Surgeons' Hall, Monkwell Street, London. Pepys pronounces this"not a pleasant though a good picture. " It is the largest and last workof Holbein. 

The date assigned for its commencement was 1541, and it was completedafter the death of the artist in 1543. It is painted on vertical oakboards, 5 ft. 11 in. High, and 10 ft. 2 in. Long. It has been slightlyaltered since it was delivered to the Barber-Surgeons. The figuresrepresent notable men belonging to the company and leaders of thehealing art of the period at which it was painted. 

[Illustration: Henry VIII. Receiving the Barber-Surgeons. ]

In the reign of Henry VIII. , not a few disputes occurred between thebarbers and the surgeons. The following enactment was in force: "Noperson using any shaving or barbery in London shall occupy any surgery, letting of blood, or other matter, except of drawing teeth. " Laws weremade, but they could not, or at all events were not, enforced. Thebarbers acted often as surgeons, and the surgeons increased theirincome by the use of the razor and shears. At this period, however, vigorous attempts were made to confine each to his legitimate work. 

The Rev. J. L. Saywell has a note on bleeding in his "History and Annalsof Northallerton" (1885). "Towards the early part of the nineteenthcentury, " observes Mr Saywell, "a singular custom prevailed in the townand neighbourhood of Northallerton (Yorkshire). In the spring of theyear nearly all the robust male adults, and occasionally females, repaired to a surgeon to be bled--a process which they consideredessentially conduced to vigorous health. " The charge for this operationwas one shilling. 

Parliament was petitioned, in 1542, praying that surgeons might beexempt from bearing arms and serving on juries, and thus be enabledwithout hindrance to attend to their professional duties. The requestwas granted, and to the present time medical men enjoy the privilegesgranted so long ago. 

In 1745, the surgeons and the barbers were separated by Act ofParliament. The barber-surgeons lingered for a long time, the last inLondon, named Middleditch, of Great Suffolk Street, Southwark, onlydying in 1821. Mr John Timbs, the popular writer, left on record that hehad a vivid recollection of Middleditch's dentistry. 

Over the last resting-places of some barber-surgeons are curiousepitaphs. At Tewkesbury Abbey one in form of an acrostic is asfollows:--

 "Here lyeth the body of Thomas Merrett, of Tewkesbury, Barber-chirurgeon, who departed this life the 22nd day of October 1699. 

 =T=hough only Stone Salutes the reader's eye, =H=ere (in deep silence) precious dust doth lye, =O=bscurely Sleeping in Death's mighty store, =M=ingled with common earth till time's no more. =A=gainst Death's Stubborne laws, who dares repine, =S=ince So much Merrett did his life resigne. 

 =M=urmurs and Tears are useless in the grave, =E=lse hee whole Vollies at his Tomb might have. =R=est in Peace; who like a faithful steward, =R=epair'd the Church, the Poore and needy cur'd; =E=ternall mansions do attend the Just, =T=o clothe with Immortality their dust, =T=ainted (whilst under ground) with wormes and rust. "

Under the shadow of the ancient church of Bakewell, Derbyshire, is astone containing a long inscription to the memory of John Dale, barber-surgeon, and his two wives, Elizabeth Foljambe and SarahBloodworth. It ends thus:--

 "Know posterity, that on the 8th of April, in the year of grace 1757, the rambling remains of the above John Dale were, in the 86th yeare of his pilgrimage, laid upon his two wives. 

 This thing in life might raise some jealousy, Here all three lie together lovingly, But from embraces here no pleasure flows, Alike are here all human joys and woes; Here Sarah's chiding John no longer hears, And old John's rambling Sarah no more fears; A period's come to all their toylsome lives The good man's quiet; still are both his wives. "

BYGONE BEARDS

The history of the beard presents many items of interest connected withour own and other countries. Its importance belongs more to the pastthan to the present, but even to-day its lore is of a curious character. We find in Leviticus xiii. 29, the earliest mention of our theme, whereMoses gives directions for the treatment of a plague in the beard, and alittle later he forbids the Israelites to "mar the corners" of it. David, himself bearded, tells us that Aaron possessed one going down tothe skirts of his garments. In David's reign ambassadors were sent tothe King of Ammon, who, treating them as spies, cut off half of each oftheir beards. We are told that they were greatly ashamed, and David sentout to meet them, saying, "Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return. " To shave off the beard was considered by the Jews as amark of the deepest grief. 

[Illustration: Bayeux Tapestry. 

The above picture, showing two soldiers of William the Conqueror's army, is taken from the celebrated Bayeux tapestry. ]

To turn to the annals of our own land, we find that the ancient Britonsdid not cultivate the beard. The Saxons wore the hair of the head long, and upon the upper lip, but the chin was clean shaven. Harold, in hisprogress towards the fateful field of Hastings, sent spies in advance toobtain an idea as to the strength of the enemy. On their return theystated among other things that "the host did almost seem to be priests, because they had all their face and both their lips shaven, " a statementborne out by the representations of the Norman soldiers in the Bayeuxtapestry. It is recorded that when the haughty victors had divided thebroad lands of England among themselves, and when the Englishmen hadbeen made to feel that they were a subdued and broken nation, theconquered people still kept up the old fashion of growing their hairlong, so that they might resemble as little as possible their croppedand shaven masters. 

Julius II. , who ascended the Papal throne in 1503, was the first Pope toallow his beard to grow, "in order, " as he said, "to inspire thegreater respect among the faithful. " A curious custom of the Middle Ageswas that of imbedding three hairs from the king's beard in the wax ofthe seal, in order to give greater solemnity to the document. Anotherinstance of the value placed on this adornment of nature by some nationscomes to us in the story of the Eastern potentate to whom the King ofEngland had sent a man without a beard as his ambassador. The Easternmonarch flew into a passion when the beardless visitor was presented. "Had my master measured wisdom by the beard, " was the ready retort, "hewould have sent a goat. "

It is said that beards came into fashion in England in the thirteenthcentury, but by the nineteenth century they seem to have been given upby those holding leading positions in the land. Traces of beards do notappear on monumental brasses. A revival of the practice of wearing thebeard occurred in the reign of Henry VIII. , and in some quartersattempts were made to repress it. The authorities at Lincoln's Innprohibited lawyers wearing beards from sitting at the great table, unless they paid double commons; but it is highly probable that this wasbefore 1535, when the king ordered his courtiers to "poll their hair, "and permit the crisp beard to grow. Taxing beards followed, and theamount was graduated according to the condition of the person wearingthis hirsute adornment. An entry has often been reproduced from theBurghmote Book of Canterbury, made in the second year of the reign ofEdward VI. , to the effect that the Sheriff of Canterbury and anotherpaid their dues for wearing beards, 3s. 4d. And 1s. 8d. During the nextreign, Queen Mary does not appear to have meddled with the beard. Shesent four agents to Moscow, and all were bearded; one of the number, George Killingworth, had an unusually long one, measureing 5ft. 2in. Inlength, the sight of which caused a smile to light up the face of Ivanthe Terrible. It is described as a thick, broad, and yellow beard, andwe are told that Ivan played with it after dinner as if it were a newtoy. When Sir Thomas More laid his head on the block he carefully puthis beard aside, saying, "It hath done no treason. " John Knox (born 1505and died 1572), the famous Scottish reformer, whose name figures solargely in the religious annals of his country, was remarkable for thelength of his beard. The Rev. John More was a native of Yorkshire, andafter being educated at Cambridge settled at Norwich. He was one of theworthiest clergymen in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and gained the nameof "the Apostle of Norwich. " His beard was the largest and longest ofany Englishman of his time. He used to give as his reason for wearinghis beard of unusual size "that no act of his life might be unworthy ofthe gravity of his appearance. " He died at Norwich in 1592. 

[Illustration: John Knox, born 1505, died 1572. ]

[Illustration: John Taylor, the Water Poet, born 1580, died 1654. ]

In the first year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth an attempt was made toadd to the revenue by taxing at the rate of 3s. 4d. Every beard of abovea fortnight's growth. It was an abortive measure, and was not takenseriously. It was never enforced, and people laughed at the Legislaturefor attempting to raise money by means of the beard. In Elizabeth'sreign it was considered a mark of fashion to dye the beard and to cutit into a variety of shapes. In the reigns of the first James and thefirst Charles these forms attracted not a little attention from thepoets of the period. The rugged lines of Taylor, "the Water Poet, " areamong the best known, and if not of great poetical merit, they showconsiderable descriptive skill, and enable us to realise the fashions ofhis day. In his "Superbiæ Flagellum, " he describes a great variety ofbeards in his time, but omitted his own, which is that of a screw:--

 "Now a few lines to paper I will put, Of men's beards strange, and variable cut, In which there's some that take as vain a pride As almost in all other things beside; Some are reap'd most substantial like a brush, Which makes a nat'rel wit known by the bush; And in my time of some men I have heard, Whose wisdom have been only wealth and Beard; Many of these the proverb well doth fit, Which says, bush natural, more hair than wit: Some seem, as they were starched stiff and fine, Like to the bristles of some angry swine; And some to set their love's desire on edge, Are cut and prun'd like a quickset hedge; Some like a spade, some like a fork, some square, Some round, some mow'd like stubble, some stark bare; Some sharp, stiletto fashion, dagger-like, That may with whisp'ring, a man's eyes outpike; Some with the hammer cut, or roman T, Their Beards extravagant, reform'd must be; Some with the quadrate, some triangle fashion, Some circular, some oval in translation; Some perpendicular in longitude; Some like a thicket for their crassitude; That heights, depths, breadths, triform, square, oval, round, And rules geometrical in Beards are found. "

[Illustration: Lord Mayor of York escorting Princess Margaret throughYork in 1503. Shows the Beard of the Lord Mayor. ]

Some curious lines appear in "Satirical Songs and Poems on Costume, "edited by Frederick W. Fairholt, F. S. A. , printed for the Percy Society, 1849. The piece which is entitled "The Ballad of the Beard, " isreprinted from a collection of poems, entitled "Le Prince d'Amour, "1660, but it is evidently a production of the time of Charles I. , if notearlier. "The varied form of the beard, " says Fairholt, "whichcharacterised the profession of each wearer, is amusingly descanted on, and is a curious fact in the chronicle of male fashions, during thefirst half of the seventeenth century. " Taylor, the Water Poet, hasalluded to the custom at some length; and other writers of the day haveso frequently mentioned the same thing, as to furnish materials for acurious (privately-printed) pamphlet, by J. A. Repton, F. S. A. , on thevarious forms of the beard and mustachio. The beard, like "the Roman T, "mentioned in the following ballad, is exhibited in our cut--Fig. 1--froma portrait of G. Raigersperg, 1649, in Mr Repton's book. 

[Illustration: Beards in the Olden Time]

The stiletto-beard, as worn by Sir Edward Coke, is seen in Fig. 2. Theneedle-beard was narrower and more pointed. The soldier's, orspade-beard, Fig. 3, is from a Dutch portrait, also in Mr Repton's book. The stubble, or close-cropped beard of a judge, requires no pictorialillustration. The bishop's-beard, Fig. 4, is given in Randle Holme's"Heraldry. " He calls it "the broad, or cathedral-beard, because bishops, and grave men of the church, anciently did wear such beards. " "The beardof King Harry may be seen in any portrait of Henry VIII. And the amusingaccuracy of the description tested. The clown's beard, busy and notsubject to any fashionable trimming, is sufficiently described in thewords of the song. " We quote nearly the whole of this old ballad, infact all that has a real bearing on the subject of the beard:--

 "The beard, thick or thin, on the lip or chin, Doth dwell so near the tongue, That her silence on the beard's defence May do her neighbour wrong. 

 Now a beard is a thing that commands in a king, Be his sceptres ne'er so fair: Where the beard bears the sway, the people obey, And are subject to a hair. 

 'Tis a princely sight, and a grave delight, That adorns both young and old; A well thatcht face is a comely grace, And a shelter from the cold. 

 When the piercing north comes thundering forth, Let barren face beware; For a trick it will find, with a razor of wind, To shave the face that's bare. 

 But there's many a nice and strange device, That doth the beard disgrace; But he that is in such a foolish sin, Is a traitor to his face. 

 Now the beards there be of such a company, And fashions such a throng, That it is very hard to handle a beard, Tho' it never be so long. 

 The Roman T, in its bravery, Doth first itself disclose, But so high it turns, that oft it burns With the flames of a too red nose. 

 The stiletto-beard, oh! it makes me afeared, It is so sharp beneath, For he that doth place a dagger in 's face, What wears he in his sheath?

 But, methinks, I do itch to go thro' stich The needle-beard to amend, Which, without any wrong, I may call too long, For man can see no end. 

 The soldier's-beard doth march in shear'd In figure like a spade, With which he'll make his enemies quake, And think their graves are made. 

 The grim stubble eke on the judge's chin, Shall not my verse despise; It is more fit for a nutmeg, but yet It grates poor prisoners' eyes. 

 What doth invest a bishop's breast But a milk-white spreading hair? Which an emblem may be of integrity, Which doth inhabit there. 

 But, oh! let us tarry for the beard of King Harry, That grows about the chin, With his bushy pride, and a grove on each side, And a champion ground between. 

 Last, the clown doth rush, with his beard like a bush, Which may be well endur'd. "

Charles I. Wore the Vandyke-beard, made familiar to us by the greatartist. This fashion, set by the king, was followed by nearly the wholeof his Cavaliers. It has been thought by some students of this subjectthat with the tragic death of the king the beard disappeared, but if weare to put our faith in an old song, dated 1660, we must conclude thatwith the Restoration it once more came into fashion. It says:--

 "Now of beards there be such company, Of fashions such a throng, That it is very hard to treat of the beard, Tho' it be never so long. "

It did not remain popular for any length of time, the razoreverywhere keeping down its growth. 

[Illustration: The Gunpowder Conspirators, from a print publishedimmediately after the discovery. Shows the Beards in Fashion in 1605. ]

Sir Walter Scott's great grandsire was called "Beardie. " He was anardent Jacobite, and made a vow that he would never shave his bearduntil the Stuarts were restored. "It would have been well, " said thenovelist, "if his zeal for the vanished dynasty had stopped with lettinghis beard grow. But he took arms and intrigued in their cause, until helost all he had in the world, and, as I have heard, ran a narrow risk ofbeing hanged, had it not been for the interference of Anne, Duchess ofBuccleuch and Monmouth. " Sir Walter refers to him in the introduction toCanto VI. Of "Marmion":--

 "With amber beard and flaxen hair, And reverend apostolic air. Small thought was his, in after time E'er to be pitched into a rhyme. The simple sire could only boast That he was loyal to his cost; The banish'd race of kings revered, And lost his land--but kept his beard. "

He died in 1729 at Kelso. "Beardie's" second son, named Robert, was afarmer at Sandyknowe, and was Sir Walter Scott's grandfather. 

A contributor to _Notes and Queries_, for October 1st, 1859, gives thefollowing interesting particulars of a Shaving Statute relating toIreland:--"In a parliament held at Trim by John Talbot, Earl ofShrewsbury, then Lord-Lieutenant, anno 1447, 25 Henry VI. , it wasenacted 'That every Irishman must keep his upper lip shaved, or else beused as an Irish enemy. ' The Irish at this time were much attached tothe national foppery of wearing mustachios, the fashion then throughoutEurope, and for more than two centuries after. The unfortunate Paddy whobecame an enemy for his beard, like an enemy was treated; for thetreason could only be pardoned by the surrender of his land. Thus twobenefits accrued to the king: his enemies were diminished, and hisfollowers provided for; many of whose descendants enjoy the confiscatedproperties to this day, which may appropriately be designatedHair-breadth estates. " The effects of this statute became so alarmingthat the people submitted to the English revolutionary razor, and foundit more convenient to resign their beards than their lands. Thisagrarian law was repealed by Charles I. , after existing two hundredyears. 

The Macedonian soldiers were ordered by Alexander to shave, lest theirbeards should be handles for the enemy to capture them by. The smoothchin was adopted in the Greek army. To pull a person's beard has fromremote times been regarded as an act of most degrading insult. Dr Dorantells a tragic story bearing on this usage. "When the Jew, " says thedoctor, "who hated and feared the living Cid Rui Dios, heard that thegreat Spaniard was dead, he contrived to get into the room where thebody lay, and he indulged his revengeful spirit by contemptuouslyplucking at the beard. But the 'son of somebody' (the hidalgo) wasplucked temporarily into life and indignation by the outrage; andstarting up, endeavoured to get his sword, an attempt which killed theJew by mere fright which it caused. " In Afghanistan "the system ofadministering justice was such, " says the "Life of Abdur Rahman"(London, 1890) "that the humble were able to bring their claims beforethe sovereign by the simple process of getting hold of the sovereign'sbeard and turban, which meant to throw one's complaints on the shame ofhis beard, to which he was bound to listen. One day I was going to theHum-hum (Turkish bath) when a man and his wife, running fast, rushedinto the bathroom after me, and the husband, having got hold of my beardfrom the front, the wife was pulling me at the same time from behind. Itwas very painful, as he was pulling my beard rather hard. As there wasno guard or sentry near to deliver me from their hands, I begged them toleave my beard alone, saying that I could listen without my beard beingpulled, but all in vain. I was rather sorry that I had not adopted thefashion of the Europeans, whose faces are clean shaven. I ordered thatin future a strong guard should be placed at the door of the Hum-hum. "

Some of the ancient faiths regarded the beard as an appendage not to betouched with the razor, and a modern instance bearing on the old beliefwill be read with interest. Mr Edward Vizetelly, in his entertainingvolume "From Cyprus to Zanzibar" (London, 1901), tells some good storiesabout the priests in Cyprus. Mr Vizetelly went to the island as soon asit passed into the hands of the British Government, and remained there afew years. "On one occasion, " he says, "when I happened to be in thebazaar at Larnaca in the early afternoon, I was amazed to witness allthe shopkeepers, apart from the Maltese, suddenly putting up theirshutters, as if panic-stricken, but without any apparent cause. Inquiring the reason, it was only vouchsafed to me that someone hadshaved off a priest's beard. " The priest had been imprisoned for fellinga tree in his own garden, which was against the laws of the land then inforce. When in gaol the recalcitrant priest had his unclean hair andbeard shorn off, in accordance with the prison regulations. Theauthorities were not aware that the hirsute adornments of the OrthodoxCatholic faith were sacred. The act roused the Cyprist ire, and the HighCommissioner had to issue orders that if any priest was locked up infuture his hair and beard were to be left alone. 

Respecting the beard are some popular sayings, and we deal with a few asfollows. 

A familiar example is "To pull the devil by the beard. " When ArchbishopLaud was advised to escape from this country he said, "If I should getinto Holland, I should expose myself to the insults of those sectariesthere, to whom my character is odious, and have every Anabaptist come topull me by the beard. " This insulting saying is by no means confined toEngland. To demand a person's beard was regarded as a still greaterinsult. King Ryons, when he sent a messenger to King Arthur to demandhis beard, received the following answer:--

"Wel, sayd Arthur, thou hast said thy message, ye whiche is yemost vylaynous and lewdest message that ever man herd sent unto a kynge. Also thou mayst see, my berd is ful yong yet to make a purfyl of hit. But telle thou thy kynge this, I owe hym none homage, ne none of mynelders, but, or it be longe to, he shall do me homage on bothe hiskneys, or else he shall lese his hede by ye feith of my body, forthis is ye most shamefullest message that ever I herd speke of. Ihave aspyed, thy kyng met never yet with worshipful men; but tell hym, Iwyll have his hede without he doo me homage. Thenne ye messagerdeparted. " ("The Byrth, Lyf and Actes of Kyng Arthur, " edit, by Caxton, 1485, reprinted 1817. )

"To make any one's beard" is an old saying, which means "to cheat him, "or "to deceive him. " We read in Chaucer's _Prologue to the Wife ofBath_ thus:--

 "In faith he shal not kepe me, but me lest: Yet coude I make his berd, so mete I the"

[Illustration: Geoffrey Chaucer, born about 1340, died 1400. ]

And again, in the "Reve's Tale, " the Miller said:--

 "I trow, the clerkes were aferde Yet can a miller make a clerkes bearde, For all his art. "

A more familiar saying is "To beard a person, " meaning to affront him, or to set him at defiance. Todd explains the allusion in a note in hisedition of Spenser's _Faerie Queene_--"did beard affront him to hisface"; so Shakespeare's _King Henry IV. _, Part I. Act i. : "I beard theeto thy face"--Fr. "Faire la Barbe à quelqu'un. " Ital. "Fa la barbe aduno" (Upton. )

See Steevens's note on the use of the word Beard in _King Henry IV. _, which is adopted, he says, "from romances, and originally signified to'cut off the beard. '" Mr John Ady Repton, F. S. A. , to whom we are mainlyindebted for our illustrations of these popular sayings, directsattention to a specimen of defiance expressed in Agamemnon's speech toAchilles, as translated by Chapman:--

 --"and so tell thy strength how eminent My power is, being compared with thine; all other making feare To vaunt equality with me, or in this proud kind beare Their beards against me. "

In Shirley's play, _A Contention for Honour and Riches_, 1633:--

 "You have worn a sword thus long to show ye hilt, Now let the blade appear. COURTIER. --Good Captain Voice, It shall, and teach you manners; I have yet No ague, I can look upon your buff, And punto beard, and call for no strong waters. "

"It is difficult to ascertain, " says Repton, "when the custom of pullingthe nose superseded that of pulling the beard, but most probably whenthe chin became naked and close shaven, affording no longer a handle forinsult. " In the reign of James II. , William Cavendish, Earl ofDevonshire, paid £30, 000 for offering this insult to a person at Court. An earlier instance of pulling the nose may be found in Ben Jonson's_Epicæne, or the Silent Woman_, Act iv. Sc. 5. 

In "Aubrey's Letters" is an allusion to wiping the beard. "Ralph Kettle, D. D. , " we read, "preached in St Mary's Church at Oxford, and, inconclusion of a sermon, said, 'But now I see it is time for me to shuttup my booke, for I see the doctors' men come in wiping their beards fromthe ale-house' (he could from the pulpit plainly see them, and 't wastheir custome to go there, and, about the end of the Sermon, to returnto wayte on their masters). " An old play by Lyly, entitled _MotherBombie_ (1597-98), Act i. Sc. 3, contains the following passage:--

"Tush, spit not you, and I'll warrant I, my beard is as good as ahandkerchief. "

Our quotations from old plays are mainly drawn from Repton's littlebook, "Some account of the Beard and Moustachio, " of which one hundredcopies were printed for private circulation in 1839. 

The extracts which we have reproduced are not such as to cause the beardto find favour with the ladies. In Marston's _Antonio and Melida_, (1602), Act v. , we read as follows:--

"PIERO. --Faith, mad niece, I wonder when thou wilt marry?

"ROSSALINE. --Faith, kind Uncle, when men abandon jealousy, forsake taking tobacco, and cease to wear their beards so rudely long. Oh! to have a husband with a mouth continually smoking, with a bush offurze on the ridge of his chin, ready still to flop into his foamingchaps; ah! 't is more than most intolerable. "

In another part of the same play are other objections to the mustachios. We find in other old plays allusions to women combing and strokingbeards. "There is no accounting, " says Repton, "for the taste of ladies. Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, with his large massive beard, won theheart of the fair sister of Henry VIII. Although the 'Cloth of friez maynot be too bold, ' the courtship was most probably begun by the lady(_i. E. _ the Cloth of Gold). Although ladies do not speak out, they havea way of expressing their wishes by the 'eloquence of eyes. ' That thefair princess ever amused herself in combing or brushing her husband'sbeard is not recorded in the history of England. " Many references find aplace in bygone plays relating to combs and brushes for the beard. 

Starching the beard was an operation which occupied some time ifcarefully performed. It is stated in the "Life of Mrs Elizabeth Thomas, "published in 1731, of Mr Richard Shute, her grandfather, a Turkeymerchant, that he was very nice in the mode of that age, his valetbeing some hours every morning in starching his beard, and curling hiswhiskers, during which time a gentleman, whom he maintained as acompanion, always read to him upon some useful subject. In closing, wehave to state that cardboard boxes were worn at night in bed to protectthe beard from being disarranged. 

TAXING THE BEARD

Beards, in some instances, were taxed in bygone England, but not to thesame extent as in Russia, which had numerous singular laws in force fornearly sixty years. In nearly all parts of Europe, by the commencementof the eighteenth century, the custom of wearing beards had been givenup. Peter the Great was wishful that his subjects should conform to theprevailing fashion. In 1705 he imposed a tax upon all those who woreeither a beard or a moustache, varying from thirty to one hundredroubles per annum. It was fixed according to the rank of the taxpayer. Apeasant, for instance, was only required to pay two dengops, equal toone copeck, whenever he passed through the gate of a town. This tax gaverise to much discontent, and in enforcing it the utmost vigilance hadto be exercised to prevent an outbreak in the country. Notwithstandingthis, the law was, in 1714, put into operation in St Petersburg, whichhad previously been exempt. In 1722 it was ordered that all who retainedtheir beards should wear a particular dress and pay fifty roublesannually. If a man would not shave, and was unable to pay, he wassentenced to hard labour. This law was extended to the provinces, but in1723 peasants bringing produce into towns were wholly relieved from thistax. Peter passed away in 1725, and Catherine I. Confirmed all theedicts relating to the beard in the ukase dated 4th August 1726. 

A decree was issued by Peter II. In 1728 permitting peasants employed inagriculture to wear their beards. Fifty roubles had to be paid by allother persons, and the tax was rigidly enforced. The Empress Anne took afirm attitude against the beard. In 1731 she promulgated a ukase bywhich all persons not engaged in husbandry retaining their beards wereentered in the class of Raskolnicks, in addition to paying the beard taxof fifty roubles, double the amount of all other taxes. 

In 1743 the Empress Elizabeth confirmed the existing decrees in alltheir force. Peter III. , on his accession to the throne in 1762, intended to strengthen the laws of his predecessors, and prepared somestringent measures; but his sudden death prevented them from being putinto force. His widow, Catherine II. (1762), did not share his feelingsin this matter, and immediately on obtaining sovereign power she removedevery restriction relating to the beard. She invited the Raskolnicks, who had fled from the country to avoid the objectionable edicts, toreturn, and assigned land to them for their settlement. 

[Illustration: Russian Beard Token, A. D. 1705. ]

During thirty-eight years in Russia, the beard-token or Borodoráia (thebearded), as it was called, was in use. As we write we have one of thesetokens before us, and on one side are represented a nose, mouth, moustaches, and a large flowing beard, with the inscription "dingevsatia, " which means "money received"; the reverse bears the year inRussian characters (equivalent to "1705 year"), and the black eagle ofthe empire. 

Our facts are mainly drawn from a paper by Mr Walter Hawkins in the"Numismatic Chronicle, " volume vii. , 1845. He says that beard-tokensare rare, and he thinks that the national aversion to their originprobably caused their destruction or dispersion after they had servedtheir purpose for the year. 

POWDERING THE HAIR

In the olden days hair-powder was largely used in this country, and manycircumstances connected with its history are curious and interesting. Welearn from Josephus that the Jews used hair-powder, and from the East itwas no doubt imported into Rome. The history of the luxurious days ofthe later Roman Empire supplies some strange stories. At this periodgold-dust was employed by several of the emperors. "The hair ofCommodus, " it is stated on the authority of Herodian, "glittered fromits natural whiteness, and from the quantity of essences and gold-dustwith which it was loaded, so that when the sun was shining it might havebeen thought that his head was on fire. "

It is supposed, and not without a good show of reason, that the Saxonsused coloured hair-powder, or perhaps they dyed their hair. In Saxonpictures the beard and hair are often painted blue. Strutt suppliesinteresting notes on the subject. "In some instances, " he says, "which, indeed, are not so common, the hair is represented of a bright redcolour, and in others it is of a green and orange hue. I have no doubtexisting in my own mind, that arts of some kind were practised at thisperiod to colour the hair; but whether it was done by tingeing or dyeingit with liquids prepared for that purpose according to the ancientEastern custom, or by powders of different hues cast into it, agreeablyto the modern practice, I shall not presume to determine. "

It was customary among the Gauls to wash the hair with a lixivium madeof chalk in order to increase its redness. The same custom wasmaintained in England for a long period, and was not given up untilafter the reign of Elizabeth. The sandy-coloured hair of the queengreatly increased the popularity of the practice. 

The satirists have many allusions to this subject, more especially thoseof the reigns of James and Charles I. In a series of epigrams entitled"Wit's Recreations, " 1640, the following appears under the heading of_Our Monsieur Powder-wig_:--

 "Oh, doe but marke yon crisped sir, you meet! How like a pageant he doth walk the street! See how his perfumed head is powdered ore; 'Twou'd stink else, for it wanted salt before. "

In "Musarum Deliciæ, " 1655, we read:--

 "At the devill's shopps you buy A dresse of powdered hayre, On which your feathers flaunt and fly; But i'de wish you have a care, Lest Lucifer's selfe, who is not prouder, Do one day dresse up your haire with a powder. "

From the pen of R. Younge, in 1656, appeared "The Impartial Monitor. "The author closes with a tirade against female follies in these words:"It were a good deed to tell men also of mealing their heads andshoulders, of wearing fardingales about their legs, etc. ; for theselikewise deserve the rod, since all that are discreet do but hate andscorn them for it. " A _Loyal Litany_ against the Oliverians runs thus:--

 "From a king-killing saint, Patch, powder, and paint, Libera nos, Domine. "

Massinger, in the "City Madam, " printed in 1679, describing the dress ofa rich merchant's wife, mentions powder thus:--

 "Since your husband was knighted, as I said, The reverend hood cast off, your borrowed hair Powdered and curled, was by your dresser's art, Formed like a coronet, hanged with diamonds And richest orient pearls. "

John Gay, in his poem, "Trivia, or the Art of Walking the Streets ofLondon, " published in 1716, advises in passing a coxcomb--

 "Him like the Miller, pass with caution by, Lest from his shoulder clouds of powder fly. "

We learn from the "Annals of the Barber-Surgeons" some particularsrespecting the taxing of powder. On 8th August 1751, "Mr John Brooks, "it is stated, "attended and produced a deed to which he requested thesubscription of the Court; this deed recited that by an Act ofParliament passed in the tenth year of Queen Anne, it was enacted that aduty of twopence per pound should be laid upon all starch imported, andof a penny per pound upon all starch made in Great Britain, that noperfumer, barber, or seller of hair-powder should mix any powder ofalabaster, plaster of Paris, whiting, lime, etc. (sweet scentsexcepted), with any starch to be made use of for making hair-powder, under a pain of forfeiting the hair-powder and £50, and that any personwho should expose the same for sale should forfeit it and £20. " Otherdetails were given in the deed, and the Barber-Surgeons gave it theirsupport, and promised twenty guineas towards the cost of passing theBill through Parliament. 

A few years prior to the above proceeding we gather from the_Gentleman's Magazine_ particulars of some convictions for using powdernot made in accordance with the laws of the land. "On the 20th October, 1745, " it is recorded, "fifty-one barbers were convicted before thecommissioners of excise, and fined in the penalty of £20, for having intheir custody hair-powder not made of starch, contrary to Act ofParliament: and on the 27th of the same month, forty-nine other barberswere convicted of the same offence, and fined in the like penalty. "

Before powder was used, the hair was generally greased with pomade, andpowdering operations were attended with some trouble. In houses of anypretension was a small room set apart for the purpose, and it was knownas the powdering-room. Here were fixed two curtains, and the person wentbehind, exposing the head only, which received its proper supply ofpowder without any going on the clothes of the individual dressed. Inthe _Rambler_, No. 109, under date 1751, a young gentleman writes thathis mother would rather follow him to his grave than see him sneak aboutwith dirty shoes and blotted fingers, hair unpowdered, and a hatuncocked. 

We have seen that hair-powder was taxed, and on the 5th of May, 1795, anAct of Parliament was passed taxing persons using it. Pitt was in power, and being sorely in need of money, hit upon the plan of a tax of aguinea per head on those who used hair powder. He was prepared to meetmuch ridicule by this movement, but he saw that it would yield aconsiderable revenue, estimating it at as much as £200, 000 a year. Fox, with force, said that a fiscal arrangement dependent on a capriciousfashion must be regarded as an absurdity, but the Opposition wereunable to defeat the proposal, and the Act was passed. Pitt's powerfulrival, Charles James Fox, in his early manhood, was one of the mostfashionable men in London. Here are a few particulars of his "get up"about 1770, drawn from the _Monthly Magazine_: "He had his chapeau-bas, his red-heeled shoes, and his blue hair-powder. " Later, when Pitt's taxwas gathered, like other Whigs, he refused to use hair-powder. For morethan a quarter of a century it had been customary for men to wear theirhair long, tied in a pig-tail and powdered. Pitt's measure gave rise toa number of Crop Clubs. The _Times_ for April 14th, 1795, containsparticulars of one. "A numerous club, " says the paragraph, "has beenformed in Lambeth, called the Crop Club, every member of which, on hisentrance, is obliged to have his head docked as close as the Duke ofBridgewater's old bay coach-horses. This assemblage is instituted forthe purpose of opposing, or rather evading, the tax on powdered heads. "Hair cropping was by no means confined to the humbler ranks of society. The _Times_ of April 25th, 1795, reports that: "The following noblemenand gentlemen were at the party with the Duke of Bedford, at WoburnAbbey, when a general cropping and combing out of hair-powder tookplace: Lord W. Russell, Lord Villiers, Lord Paget, etc. , etc. Theyentered into an engagement to forfeit a sum of money if any of themwore their hair tied, or powdered, within a certain period. Manynoblemen and gentlemen in the county of Bedford have since followed theexample: it has become general with the gentry in Hampshire, and theladies have left off wearing powder. " Hair powder did not long continuein use in the army, for in 1799 it was abolished on account of the highprice of flour, caused through the bad harvests. Using flour for thehair instead of for food was an old grievance among the poor. In the"Art of Dressing the Hair, " 1770, the author complains:--

 "Their hoarded grain contractors spare, And starve the poor to beautify the hair. "

Pitt's estimates proved correct, for in the first year the tax produced£210, 136. The tax was increased from a guinea to one pound threeshillings and sixpence. Pitt's Tory friends gave him loyal support. TheWhigs might taunt them by calling them "guinea-pigs, " it matteredlittle, for they were not merely ready to pay the tax for themselves, but to pay patriotic guineas for their servants. A number of personswere exempt from paying the tax, including "the royal family and theirservants, the clergy with an income of under £100 per annum, subalterns, non-commissioned officers and privates of the yeomanry and volunteersenrolled during the past year. A father having more than two unmarrieddaughters might obtain on payment for two, a licence for the remainder. "A gentleman took out a licence for his butler, coachman, and footman, etc. , and if he changed during the year it stood good for the newlyengaged servants. 

Powder was not wholly set aside by ladies until 1793, when withconsideration Queen Charlotte abandoned its use, swayed no doubt by herdesire to cheapen, in that time of dearth, the flour of which it wasmade. It has been said its disuse was attributable to Sir JoshuaReynolds, Angelica Kauffmann, and other painters of their day, but it ismuch more likely that the artists painted the hair "full and flowing"because they found it so, not that they as a class dictated to theirpatronesses in despite of fashion. The French Revolution had somewhat todo with the change; a powdered head or wig was a token of aristocracy, and as the fashion might lead to the guillotine, sensible peoplediscarded it long before the English legislature put a tax upon its use. With reference to this Sir Walter Scott says, in the fifth chapter of"The Antiquary:" "Regular were the Antiquary's inquiries at anold-fashioned barber, who dressed the only three wigs in the parish, which, in defiance of taxes and times, were still subjected to theoperation of powdering and frizzling, and who for that purpose dividedhis time among the three employers whom fashion had yet left him. 

"'Fly with this letter, Caxon, ' said the senior ('The Antiquary'), holding out his missive, 'fly to Knockwinnock, and bring me back ananswer. Go as fast as if the town council were met and waiting for theprovost, and the provost was waiting for his new powdered wig. ' 'Ah, sir, ' answered the messenger, with a deep sigh, 'thae days hae lang ganeby. Deil a wig has a provost of Fairport worn sin' auld Provost Jervie'stime--and he had a quean of a servant lass that dressed it hersel', wi'the doup o' a candle and a dredging box. But I hae seen the day, Monkbarns, when the town council of Fairport wad hae as soon wantedtheir town-clerk, or their gill of brandy owerhead after the haddies, asthey wad hae wanted ilk ane a weel-favoured, sonsy, decent periwig onhis pow. Hegh, sirs! nae wonder the commons will be discontent, and riseagainst the law, when they see magistrates, and bailies, and deacons, and the provost himsel', wi' heads as bald an' as bare as one o' myblocks. '" It was not in Scotland alone that the barber was peripatetic. "In the eighteenth century, " says Mrs G. Linnæus Banks, author of the"Manchester Man" and other popular novels, "he waited on his chiefcustomers or patrons at their own homes, not merely to shave, but topowder the hair or the wig, and he had to start on his round betimes. Where the patron was the owner of a spare periwig it might be dressed inadvance, and sent home in a box or mounted on a stand, such as abarrister keeps handy at the present day. But when ladies had powderedtop-knots, the hairdresser made his harvest, especially when a ball or arout made the calls for his services many and imperative. When at leasta couple of hours were required for the arrangement of a single toupéeor tower, or commode, as the head-dress was called, it may be wellunderstood that for two or three days prior to the ball the hairdresserwas in demand, and as it was impossible to lie down without disarrangingthe structure he had raised on pads, or framework of wire, plasteringwith pomatum and disguising with powder, the belles so adorned ordisfigured were compelled to sit up night and day, catching what sleepwas possible in a chair. And when I add that a head so dressed wasrarely disturbed for ten days or a fortnight, it needs no stretch ofimagination to realise what a mass of loathsome nastiness the fineladies of the last century carried about with them, or what strongstomachs the barbers must have had to deal with them. "

When the eighteenth century was drawing to a close the cry for bread washeard in the land. In 1795 the price of grain rose very high on accountof the small supplies coming into the market. Bakers in many instancessold bread deficient in weight, and to check the fraud many shopkeeperswere fined sums from £64, 5s. To £106, 5s. The Privy Council gave thematter serious consideration, and strongly urged that families shouldrefrain from having puddings, pies, and other articles made of flour. King George III. Gave orders in 1795 for the bread used in his householdto be made of meal and rye mixed. He would not permit any other sort tobe baked, and the Royal Family partook of the same quality of bread aswas eaten by the servants. 

A great deal of flour was used as hair powder, and an attempt was madeto check its use. The following is a copy of a municipal proclamationissued at Great Yarmouth, the original of which is preserved in theoffice of the Town Clerk:--

 "DISUSE OF HAIR POWDER. 

 "Owing to the present enormous price of corn, and the alarming approach of a scarcity in that most necessary article, many towns throughout the kingdom have set the laudable example of leaving off for a time the custom of wearing powder for the hair; by which means a great quantity of wheat must infallibly be saved to the nation; and if the price be not reduced, it may at least be prevented from increasing. We, therefore, the Mayor, Justices, and principal inhabitants of Great Yarmouth, do recommend this example as worthy to be imitated; and we flatter ourselves the Military will not hesitate to adopt it, being fully convinced that appearances are at all times to be sacrificed to the public weal, and that in doing this they really do good. 

 "W. TAYLOR, Mayor. 

 "January 27th, 1795. "

Lord Hawkesbury, on February 20th, 1800, presented a bill in the Houseof Commons prohibiting bakers from vending bread that had not been bakeda certain number of hours. The bill was read a first and second time, and immediately went into Committee. It passed this stage, and went tothe House of Lords, where it was at once passed. Subsequently itreceived the royal assent. 

We find in a local paper, dated March 31st, 1800, that a baker in Hullwas fined £10 for selling bread within twenty-four hours of its havingbeen baked, agreeable to Act of Parliament for that purpose. 

The Tories often regarded with mistrust any persons who did not usehair-powder. The Rev. J. Charles Cox, LL. D. , F. S. A. , the eminentantiquary, relates a good story respecting his grandfather. "So late as1820, " says Dr Cox, "Major Cox of Derby, an excellent Tory, declined forsome time to allow his son Edward to become a pupil of a well-knownclerical tutor, for the sole reason that the clergyman did not powder, and wore his hair short, arguing that he must therefore be a dangerousrevolutionist. " In 1869 the tax on hair-powder was repealed, when onlysome 800 persons paid it, producing about £1000 per year. 

THE AGE OF WIGS

At the present time, when the wig is no longer worn by the leaders offashion, we cannot fully realise the important place it held in bygonetimes. Professional as well as fashionable people did not dare to appearin public without their wigs, which vied with each other in size andstyle. 

[Illustration: Egyptian Wig (probably for female), from the BritishMuseum. ]

To trace the origin of the wig our investigations must be carried to fardistant times. It was worn in Egypt in former days, and the Egyptiansare said to have invented it, not merely as a covering for baldness, butas a means of adding to the attractiveness of the person wearing it. Onthe mummies of Egypt wigs are found, and we give a picture of one now inthe British Museum. This particular wig probably belonged to a female, and was found near the small temple of Isis, Thebes. It was customary inEgypt to shave the head, and the wig was an excellent covering for thehead, much better than a turban, for the wig protected it from the raysof the sun, and its texture allowed the transpiration of the head toescape. The wigs were worn both within the house and out of doors. Thespecimens of Egyptian wigs in the British Museum consist of curled hairin the upper portions, and the lower parts and sides are made of plaitedhair. Ointment was used at the top of the wig in the same manner as ifit had been hair growing on the head. 

Assyrian sculptures frequently represent the wig, and its use isrecorded among ancient nations including Persians, Medes, Lydians, Carians, Greeks, and Romans. _Galerus_, a round cap, was the common nameamong the Romans for a wig. 

The early fathers of the Church denounced the wig as an invention of theEvil One. St Gregory of Nazianzus, as a proof of the virtue of hissimple sister Gorgonia, said "she neither cared to curl her own hair, nor to repair its lack of beauty by the aid of a wig. " St Jeromepronounced these adornments as unworthy of Christianity. The matterreceived consideration, or perhaps, to put it more correctly, condemnation, at many councils, commencing at Constantinople, and comingdown to the Provincial Council at Tours. The wig was not tolerated, evenif worn as a joke. "There is no joke in the matter, " said the enraged StBernard: "the woman who wears a wig commits a mortal sin. " St JohnChrysostom pleaded powerfully against this enormity; and others might bementioned who spoke with no uncertain sound against this fashion. 

Dr Doran relates a strange story, saying that St Jerome vouches for itsauthenticity, and that by him it was told to deter ladies from wearingwigs. "Prætexta, " to use Doran's words, "was a very respectable lady, married to a somewhat paganist husband, Hymetius. Their niece, Eustachia, resided with them. At the instigation of the husband, Prætexta took the shy Eustachia in hand, attired her in a splendid dressand covered her fair neck with ringlets. Having enjoyed the sight of themodest maiden so attired, Prætexta went to bed. To that bedsideimmediately descended an angel, with wrath upon his brow, and billowsof angry sounds rolling from his lips. 'Thou hast, ' said the spirit, 'obeyed thy husband rather than the Lord, and hast dared to deck thehair of a virgin, and make her look like a daughter of earth. For thisdo I wither up thy hands, and bid them recognise the enormity of thycrime in the amount of thy anguish and bodily suffering. Five monthsmore shalt thou live, and then Hell shall be thy portion; and if thouart bold enough to touch the head of Eustachia again, thy husband andthy children shall die even before thee. '"

Church history furnishes some strange stories against wearing wigs, andthe following may be taken as a good example. Clemens of Alexandria, soruns the tale, surprised wig-wearers by telling those who knelt atchurch that to receive the blessing, they must please to bear in mindthat the benediction remained on the wig, and did not pass through tothe wearer! Some immediately removed their wigs, but others allowed themto remain, no doubt hoping to receive a blessing. 

History supplies many interesting passages bearing on our presentinvestigations. The Lycians, having been engaged in war, were defeated. Mausoleus, their conqueror, ruthlessly directed the subdued men to havetheir heads shaven. This was humiliating in the extreme, and the Lycianswere keenly alive to their ridiculous appearance. The king's generalwas tempted with bribes, and finally yielded, and allowed wigs to beimported for them from Greece, and thus the symbol of degradation becamethe pink of Lycian fashion. 

Hannibal, the brave soldier, is recorded to have worn two sorts of wigs, one to improve, and the other to disguise his person. 

Wigs are said to have been worn in England in the reign of King Stephen, but their palmy days belong to the seventeenth and the earlier part ofthe eighteenth centuries. According to Stow, they were introduced intothis country about the time of the Massacre of Paris, but they are notoften alluded to until the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The earliestpayment for one in the Privy Purse expenses occurs in December 1529, andis for twenty shillings "for a perwyke for Sexton, the king's fool. "Some twenty years later wigs, or, to give the full title, periwigs, became popular. In France the mania was at its height in the reign ofLouis XIV. We are told that in 1656 he had not fewer than forty courtperruquiers, and these, by an Order of Council, were declared artistes. In addition to this, Le Gros instituted at Paris an Académie de Francedes Perruquiers. Robinson records that a storm was gathering about theirheads. He tells us "the celebrated Colbert, amazed at the large sumsspent for foreign hair, conceived the idea of prohibiting the wearing ofwigs at Court, and tried to introduce a kind of cap. " He lost the day, for it was proved that more money reached the country for wigs than wentout to purchase hair. The fashion increased; larger wigs were worn, andsome even cost £200 apiece. 

Charles II. Was the earliest English king represented on the Great Sealwearing a large periwig. Dr Doran assures us that the king did not bringthe fashion to Whitehall. "He forbade, " we are told, "the members of theUniversities to wear periwigs, smoke tobacco, or to read their sermons. The members did all three, and Charles soon found himself doing thefirst two. "

Pepys' "Diary" contains much interesting information concerning wigs. Under date of 2nd November, 1663, he writes: "I heard the Duke say thathe was going to wear a periwig, and says the King also will. I nevertill this day observed that the King is mighty gray. " It was perhaps thechange in the colour of his Majesty's hair that induced him to assumethe head-dress he had previously so strongly condemned. 

As might be expected, Pepys, who delighted to be in the fashion, adoptedthe wig. He took time to consider the matter, and had consultations withMr Jervas, his old barber, about the affair. Referring in his "Diary" toone of his visits to his hairdresser, Pepys says, "I did try two orthree borders and periwigs, meaning to wear one, and yet I have nostomach for it; but that the pains of keeping my hair clean is great. Hetrimmed me, and at last I parted, but my mind was almost altered from myfirst purpose, from the trouble which I foresee in wearing them also. "Weeks passed before he could make up his mind to wear a wig. Mrs Pepyswas taken to the periwig-maker's shop to see the one made for Mr Pepys, and expressed her satisfaction on seeing it. We read of the wig being atJervas's under repair in April 1665. Early in May, Pepys writes in his"Diary, " that he suffered his hair to grow long, in order to wear it;but he said, "I will have it cut off all short again, and will keep toperiwigs. " Later, under date of September 3rd, he writes: "Lord's day. Up; and put on my coloured silk suit, very fine, and my new periwig, bought a good while since, but durst not wear, because the plague was inWestminster when I bought it; and it is a wonder what will be infashion, after the plague is done, as to periwigs, for nobody will dareto buy any hair, for fear of the infection, that it had been cut off theheads of people dead of the plague. "

We learn from an entry in the "Diary" for June 11th, 1666, that ladies, in addition to assuming masculine costume for riding, wore long wigs. "Walking in the galleries at Whitehall, " observes Mr Pepys, "I find theladies of honour dressed in their riding garbs, with coats and doubletswith deep skirts, just for all the world like mine, and buttoned theirdoublets up the breast, with periwigs and with hats, so that, only forlong petticoats dragging under their men's coats, nobody could take themfor women in any point whatever. " Pepys, we have seen, wondered ifperiwigs would survive after the terrible plague. He thought not, but hewas mistaken. Wigs still remained popular. The plague passed away, andits terrors were forgotten. The world of folly went on much as of yore, perhaps with greater gaiety, as a reaction to the lengthened time ofdepression. 

[Illustration: The Earl of Albemarle. ]

In some instances the wig appears much out of place, and a notableexample is that given in the portrait by Kneller, of George, Earl ofAlbemarle. He is dressed in armour, and wearing a long flowing wig. Anything more absurd could scarcely be conceived. 

The beau of the period when the wig was popular carried in his pocketbeautifully made combs, and in his box at the play, or in other places, combed his periwig, and rendered himself irresistible to the ladies. Making love seems to have been the chief aim of his life. Sir JohnHawkins, in his "History of Music, " published in 1776, has an informingnote on combing customs. "On the Mall and in the theatre, " he tells us, "gentlemen conversed and combed their perukes. There is now in being afine picture by the elder Laroon of John, Duke of Marlborough, at hislevée, in which his Grace is represented dressed in a scarlet suit, withlarge white satin cuffs, and a very long white peruke which he combs, while his valet, who stands behind him, adjusts the curls after the combhas passed through them. " Allusions to this practice may be found in theplays from the reign of Charles II. Down to the days of Queen Anne. Weread in Dryden's prologue to "Almanzor and Almahide":--

 "But as when vizard mask appears in pit, Straight every man who thinks himself a wit Perks up, and, managing a comb with grace, With his white wig sets off his nut-brown face. "

Says Congreve, in the "Way of the World":--

 "The gentlemen stay but to comb, madam, and will wait on you. "

[Illustration: Man with Wig and Muff, 1693 (_from a print of theperiod_). ]

Thomas Brown, in his "Letters from the Dead to the Living, " presents apen-portrait of beaux as they appeared at the commencement of theeighteenth century. Some of the passages are well worth reproducing, asthey contain valuable information concerning wigs. "We met, " says thewriter, "three flaming beaux of the first magnitude. He in the middlemade a most magnificent figure--his periwig was large enough to haveloaded a camel, and he bestowed upon it at least a bushel of powder, Iwarrant you. His sword-knot dangled upon the ground, and his steinkirk, that was most agreeably discoloured with snuff from the top to thebottom, reach'd down to his waist; he carry'd his hat under his leftarm, walk'd with both hands in the waistband of his breeches, and hiscane, that hung negligently down in a string from his right arm, trail'd most harmoniously against the pebbles, while the master of itwas tripping it nicely upon his toes or humming to himself. " About thisperiod in cold weather men wore muffs as well as wigs. A ballad, describing the frost fair on the Thames in the winter of 1683-84, mentions amongst those present:--

 "A spark of the Bar with his cane and his muff. "

[Illustration: Campaign Wig. ]

Down to the middle of the eighteenth century wigs continued to increasein size. It will not now be without interest to direct attention to afew of the many styles of wigs. Randle Holme, in his "Academy ofArmory, " published in 1684, has some interesting illustrations, and wewill draw upon him for a couple of pictures. Our first example is calledthe campaign-wig. He says it "hath knobs or bobs, or dildo, on eachside, with a curled forehead. " This is not so cumbrous as a periwig wehave noticed. Another example from Holme is a smaller style of periwigwith tail, and from this wig doubtless originated the familiar pig-tail. It was of various forms, and Swift says:--

 "We who wear our wigs With fantail and with snake. "

[Illustration: Periwig with Tail. ]

A third example given by Holme is named the "short-bob, " and is a plainperuke, imitating a natural head of hair. "Perukes, " says Malcolm, inhis "Manners and Customs, " "were an highly important article in 1734. Those of right gray human hair were four guineas each; light grizzleties, three guineas; and other colours in proportion, to twenty-fiveshillings. Right gray human hair, cue perukes, from two guineas; white, fifteen shillings each, which was the price of dark ones; and right graybob perukes, two guineas and a half; fifteen shillings was the price ofdark bobs. Those mixed with horse-hair were much lower. It will beobserved from the gradations in price, that real gray hair was most infashion, and dark of no estimation. " As time ran its course, wigs becamemore varied in form, and bore different names. 

[Illustration: Ramillie Wig. ]

We find in the days of Queen Anne such designations as blackriding-wigs, bag-wigs, and nightcap-wigs. These were in addition to thelong, formally curled perukes. In 1706 the English, led by Marlborough, gained a great victory on the battlefield of Ramillies, and that gavethe title to a long wig described as "having a long, graduallydiminishing, plaited tail, called the 'Ramillie-tail, ' which was tiedwith a great bow at the top, and a smaller one at the bottom. " It wasat the great battle fought before the town of Ramillies that France lostthe whole Spanish Netherlands, and Europe gained a wig from the vanityof Louis XIV. , of whom Thackeray irreverently speaks in his "HenryEsmond, " as "a little, wrinkled old man, pock-marked, and with a greatperiwig and red heels. " Lord Lyttelton in his letters thus refers to theFrench king: "Louis XIV. Annexed great dignity to his peruke, which heincreased to an enormous size, and made a lion's mane the object of itssimilitude. That monarch, who daily studied the part of a king, wasnever seen uncovered but by the barber who shaved him. It was not hispractice to exchange his wig for a nightcap till he was enclosed by hiscurtains, when a page received the former from his hand and delivered itto him in the morning before he undrew them. The figure of the greatBourbon must at times have been truly ridiculous. " It is stated inRead's _Weekly Journal_ of May 1st, 1736, in a report of the marriage ofthe Prince of Wales, that "the officers of the Horse and Foot Guardswore Ramillie periwigs by His Majesty's order. " This wig survived untilthe days of George III. We meet, in the reign of George II. , other formsof the wig, and more titles for them; the most popular, perhaps, wasthe pig-tail. The pig-tails were worn hanging down the back, or tied upin a knot behind as shown in our illustration. This form of wig waspopular in the army, but in 1804 orders were given for it to be reducedto seven inches in length, and finally, in 1808, to be cut off. It isrecorded that when the Reform Bill of 1832 received the Royal assent, the Lord Bathurst of the period solemnly cut off his pig-tail, saying, "Ichabod, for the glory was departed. "

[Illustration: Pig-tail Wig. ]

In the first reformed Parliament only one pig-tail was returned, andthat was Mr Sheppard, M. P. For Frome. 

[Illustration: Bag-Wig. ]

Here is a picture of an ordinary man; by no means can he be regarded asa beau. He is wearing a common bag-wig, dating back to about the middleof the eighteenth century. The style is modified to suit an individualtaste, and for one who did not follow the extreme fashion of his time. In this example may be observed the sausage curls over the ear, and thefrizziness over the forehead. 

We have directed attention to the large periwigs, and given a portraitof the Earl of Albemarle wearing one. In the picture of the House ofCommons in the time of Sir Robert Walpole we get an excellent indicationof how popular the periwig was amongst the lawmakers of the land. Farquhar, in a comedy called "Love and a Bottle, " brought out in 1698, says, "A full wig is imagined to be as infallible a token of wit as thelaurel. "

Tillotson is usually regarded as the first amongst the English clergy toadopt the wig. He said in one of his sermons: "I can remember since thewearing of hair below the ears was looked upon as a sin of the firstmagnitude, and when ministers generally, whatever their text was, dideither find or make occasion to reprove the great sin of long hair; andif they saw any one in the congregation guilty in that kind, they wouldpoint him out particularly, and let fly at him with great zeal. " DrTillotson died on November 24th, 1694. Wigs found favour with parsons, and in course of time they appear to have been indispensable. A volume, in 1765, was issued under the title of "Free Advice to a YoungClergyman, " from the pen of the Rev. John Chubbe, in which herecommended the young preacher always to wear a full wig until age hadmade his own hair respectable. Dr Randolph, on his advancement to thebishopric, presumed to wait upon George IV. To kiss hands withoutwearing a wig. This could not be overlooked by the king, and he said, "My lord, you must have a wig. " Bishops wore wigs until the days ofWilliam IV. Bishop Blomfield is said to have been the first bishop toset the example of wearing his own hair. Even as late as 1858, at themarriage of the Princess Royal of England, Archbishop Sumner appeared inhis wig. 

Medical men kept up the custom of wearing wigs for a long period:perhaps they felt like a character in Fielding's farce, "The MockDoctor, " who exclaims, "I must have a physician's habit, for a physiciancan no more prescribe without a full wig than without a fee. " The wigknown as the full-bottomed wig was worn by the medical profession:--

 "Physic of old her entry made Beneath the immense, full-bottom'd shade; While the gilt cane, with solemn pride To each suspicious nose applied, Seemed but a necessary prop To bear the weight of wig at top. "

We are told Dr Delmahoy's wig was particularly celebrated in a songwhich commenced:--

 "If you would see a noble wig, And in that wig a man look big, To Ludgate Hill repair, my boy, And gaze on Dr Delmahoy. "

In the middle of the last century so much importance was attached tothis portion of a medical man's costume, that Dr Brocklesby's barber wasin the habit of carrying a bandbox through the High Change, exclaiming:"Make way for Dr Brocklesby's wig!"

Professional wigs are now confined to the Speaker in the House ofCommons, who, when in the chair, wears a full-bottomed one, and tojudges and barristers. Such wigs are made of horse-hair, cleaned andcurled with care, and woven on silk threads, and shaped to fit the headwith exactness. The cost of a barrister's wig of frizzed hair is fromfive to six guineas. 

An eminent counsel in years agone wished to make a motion before JudgeCockburn, and in his hurry appeared without a wig. "I hear your voice, "sternly said his Lordship, "but I cannot see you. " The barrister had toobtain the loan of a wig from a learned friend before the judge wouldlisten to him. 

Lord Eldon suffered much from headache, and when he was raised to thepeerage he petitioned the king to allow him to dispense with the wig. Hewas refused, his Majesty saying he could not permit such an innovation. In vain did his lordship show that the wig was an innovation, as the oldjudges did not wear them. "True, " said the king; "the old judges worebeards. "

In more recent times we have particulars of several instances of bothbench and bar discarding the use of the wig. At the Summer Assizes atLancaster, in 1819, a barrister named Mr Scarlett hurried into court, and was permitted to take part in a trial without his wig and gown. Nextday the whole of the members of the bar appeared without theirprofessional badges, but only on this occasion, although on the previousday a hope had been expressed that the time was not far distant when themummeries of costume would be entirely discarded. 

We learn from a report in the _Times_ of July 24th, 1868, that onaccount of the unprecedented heat of the weather on the day before, inthe Court of Probate and Divorce the learned judge and bar appearedwithout wigs. 

On July 22nd, 1873, it is recorded that Dr Kenealy rose to open the casefor the defence in the Tichborne suit; he sought and obtained permissionto remove his wig on account of the excessive heat. 

Towards the close of the eighteenth century few were the young men atthe Universities who ventured to wear their own hair, and such as didwere designated Apollos. Women, as well as men, called into requisition, to add to their charms, artificial accessories in the form of wigs andcurls. Ladies' hair was curled and frizzed with considerable care, andfrequently false curls were worn under the name of heart-breakers. Itwill be seen from the illustration we give that these curls increasedthe beauty of a pretty face. 

Queen Elizabeth, we gather from Hentzner and other authorities, worefalse hair. We are told that ladies, in compliment to her, dyed theirhair a sandy hue, the natural colour of the queen's locks. 

[Illustration: Heart-Breakers. ]

It is recorded that Mary Queen of Scots obtained wigs from Edinburgh notmerely while in Scotland, but during her long and weary captivity inEngland. From "The True Report of the Last Moments of Mary Stuart, " itappears that when the executioner lifted the head by the hair to show itto the spectators, it fell from his hands owing to the hair beingfalse. 

We have previously mentioned Pepys' allusions to women and wigs in 1666. Coming down to later times, we read in the _Whitehall Evening Post_ ofAugust 17th, 1727, that when the King, George II. , reviewed the Guards, the three eldest Princesses "went to Richmond in riding habits, withhats, and feathers, and periwigs. "

[Illustration: With and Without a Wig. ]

It will be seen from the picture of a person with and without a wig thatits use made a plain face presentable. There is a good election story ofDaniel O'Connell. It is related during a fierce debate on the hustings, O'Connell with his biting witty tongue, attacked his opponent on accountof his ill-favoured countenance. But, not to be outdone, and thinkingto turn the gathering against O'Connell, his adversary called out, "Takeoff your wig, and I'll warrant that you'll prove the uglier. " The wittyIrishman immediately responded, amidst roars of laughter from the crowd, by snatching the wig from off his own head and exposing to view a baldpate, destitute of a single hair. The relative question of beauty wasscarcely settled by this amusing rejoinder, but the laugh was certainlyon O'Connell's side. 

An interesting tale is told of Peter the Great of Russia. In the year1716, the famous Emperor was at Dantzig, taking part in a publicceremony, and feeling his head somewhat cold, he stretched out his hand, and seizing the wig from the head of the burgomaster sitting below him, he placed it on his own regal head. The surprise of the spectators maybe better imagined than described. On the Czar returning the wig, hisattendants explained that his Majesty was in the habit of borrowing thewig of any nobleman within reach on similar occasions. His Majesty, itmay be added, was short of hair. 

Wigs were not confined to men. At the commencement of the eighteenthcentury little boys attended school in wigs and cocked hats. "Had Ilived in the reign of good Queen Anne, " wrote Lord Lyttelton, "my babyface must have been adorned with a full-bottomed periwig as large asthat which bedecks the head and shoulders of Mr Justice Blackstone whenhe scowls at the unhappy culprit who is arraigned before him. " We learnfrom Miss Agnes Strickland that "Marie Antoinette was the first personwho broke the absurd fashion of dressing infant boys as droll miniaturesof their fathers. She attired the unfortunate Dauphin in a simple bluejacket and trousers, for which she was reviled, as if little bag-wigsand tiny cocked-hats, and all the paraphernalia of full dress, had beenpoints of moral obligation. There are noblemen yet in existence, " shesays, when writing her history, "who can remember, at six years old, joining the juvenile parties given by George III. And Queen Charlotte, dressed after the models of their fathers' court costumes, with powderedside-curls, single-breasted coat, knee-buckles, and shoe-buckles. "

It will not be without interest to give a picture of a full-bottomedwig, and we select as an example the one worn by the great LordMansfield. It was made by Mr Williams, a noted barber in his day, whohad among his patrons many famous men, including Dr Samuel Johnson, buthe prided himself most on making the full state wig for Lord Mansfield, and the one which is represented on his imposing monument in WestminsterAbbey. After the famous lawyer had been laid to rest, the wig which isrepresented on his monument was the subject of a very odd litigation, which was fully reported in the _Times_ for 1823. An action, it isstated, was brought by Mr Williams, a barber, against Mr Lawrence, torecover Lord Mansfield's full state wig, which had again come into thepossession of the perruquier after the death of his lordship. The wighad been graciously lent by the barber to one Lawrence, belonging to thelegal profession, but also an amateur actor. In this wig, we are told, he proposed to disport himself in the character of Shylock. Theplaintiff could not get it back again, and brought the action for itsrecovery. The wig had been accidentally burnt, and the judge awarded theplaintiff the sum of £2 as a compensation for the loss of the relic. 

[Illustration: Lord Mansfield. ]

STEALING WIGS

[Illustration: Stealing a Wig. ]

In the palmy days of wigs the price of a full-wig of an Englishgentleman was from thirty to forty guineas. Street quarrels in the oldentime were by no means uncommon; care had to be exercised that wigs werenot lost. Swift says:--

 "Triumphing Tories and desponding Whigs, Forget their feuds, and join to save their wigs. "

Although precautions were taken to prevent wigs being stolen, we aretold that robberies were frequently committed. Sam Rogers thus describesa successful mode of operation: "A boy was carried covered over in abutcher's tray by a tall man, and the wig was twisted off in a moment bythe boy. The bewildered owner looked all round for it, when anaccomplice impeded his progress under the pretence of assisting himwhile the tray-bearer made off. " Gay, in _Trivia_, thus writes:--

 "Nor is the flaxen wig with safety worn: High on the shoulders in a basket borne Lurks the sly boy, whose hand, to rapine bred, Plucks off the curling honours of thy head. "

THE WIG-MAKERS' RIOT

On February 11th, 1765, a curious spectacle was witnessed in the streetsof London, and one which caused some amusement. Fashion had changed; theperuke was no longer in favour, and only worn to a limited extent. Alarge number of peruke-makers had been thrown out of employment, anddistress prevailed amongst them. The sufferers thought that help mightbe obtained from George III. , and a petition was accordingly drawn upfor the enforcement of gentlefolk to wear wigs for the benefit of thewig-makers. A procession was formed, and waited upon the king at StJames's Palace. His Majesty, it is said, returned a gracious answer, butit must have cost him considerable effort to maintain his gravity. 

Besides the monarch, the unemployed had to encounter the men of themetropolis, and we learn from a report of the period they did not fareso well. "As the distressed men went processionally through the town, "says the account, "it was observed that most of the wig-makers, whowanted other people to wear them, wore no wigs themselves; and thisstriking the London mob as something monstrously unfair andinconsistent, they seized the petitioners, and cut off all their hairper force. "

Horace Walpole alludes to this ludicrous petition in one of his letters. "Should we wonder, " he writes, "if carpenters were to remonstrate thatsince the Peace there is no demand for wooden legs?" The wags of theperiod could not allow the opportunity to pass without attempting toprovoke more mirth out of the matter, and a petition was publishedpurporting to come from the body-carpenters imploring his Majesty towear a wooden leg, and to enjoin his servants to appear in his royalpresence with the same graceful decoration. 

THE MOUSTACHE MOVEMENT

At the present time, when moustaches are general, it is difficult torealise the opposition raised against them in this country half acentury ago. Few outside the military had the courage to follow afashion which has become general. In the first year of the reign ofQueen Victoria, we gather from the police court proceedings atMarlborough Street, London, how unpopular at that period was themoustache. The following Report is drawn from the _Times_ of September21st, 1837: "Yesterday, a young man, 'bearded like the pard, ' who saidhe was a carpenter employed on the London and Birmingham Railroad, applied to Mr Rawlinson, the sitting magistrate, for an assault warrant, under the following ludicrous circumstances. 

"Mr Rawlinson: What do you want a warrant for?

"Applicant: I'll tell your worship, and you'll say it's the mosthaggrawating, and provoking thing as ever was heard on. Vell then, Igoes to my vork, as usual, this 'ere morning, ven one of my shopmatessaid to me, 'Bill, you arn't shaved your hupper lip lately, ' says I. 'Vy, ' says he 'Cos, ' I replied, 'I intends vearing mustachios to looklike a gentleman, ' 'Vell, then, ' says he, 'as you intends to become afashionable gentleman, p'raps you'll have no objection to forfeithalf-a-gallon of ale, as it's the rule here that every workman votsports mustachios, to have them vetted a bit. ' Vell, has I refused tohave my mustachios christened, they made game of them, and said theyweren't half fledged; and, more nor all that, they hustled me about, andstole my dinner out of the pot, and treated me shameful, and so I wantyour advice respecting my mustachios. 

"Mr Rawlinson: My advice is, go to the barber and have them shaved offwithout loss of time. 

"Applicant: Can't part with a single hair. 

"Mr Rawlinson: You want to look like a grenadier, I suppose?

"Applicant: My granny-dear (God bless her dear old soul!), she never hadsuch a fashionable and warlike appendage in her life. 

"Mr Rawlinson: What business has a carpenter with a quantity of longhair hanging from his lip?

"Applicant: The reason vy I rears it is 'cos it's fashionable, and makesme look like a man of some courage. 

"Mr Rawlinson: Fashionable, indeed! I wish, with all my heart, that thefashion was discontinued. Why need an Englishman make a Jew of himself?It is disgusting to see persons strutting through the streets withmustachios, and sometimes a fringe of hair round the face and chin, which is dignified by the name of whiskers. As you won't take my advice, I can't assist you. 

"Applicant: Vot! not for striking me on the hupper lip?

"Mr Rawlinson: Then your moustachios must have saved you. 

"Applicant: No, they didn't. 

"Mr Rawlinson: How's that?

"Applicant: 'Cos the hair ain't long and thick enough; they're onlyyoung 'uns as yet. There was no occasion to strike me. 

"Mr Rawlinson: And there's no occasion for you to wear mustachios. Youmay have a warrant if you like, but I think you had better not. "

"The man with the mustachios then withdrew. "

About 1855 the beard movement took hold of Englishmen. The Crimean Warhad much to do with it, as our soldiers were permitted to forego the useof the razor as the hair on the face protected them from the cold andattacks of neuralgia. About this period only one civilian of position inEngland had the hardihood to wear the moustache. He was Mr GeorgeFrederick Muntz, a member of Parliament for Birmingham. He was a notablefigure in the House of Commons, and is described as manly in appearance, with a handsome face, a huge black beard, and moustache. He died 30thJuly, 1857, and is regarded as the father of the modern moustachemovement. Another early moustache member was Colonel Sibthorp, therepresentative for Lincoln, who bore Mr Muntz company for some time inthe House of Commons. Daniel O'Connell wrote a biting epigram onColonels Sibthorp, Percival, and Verner, the first of whom wasremarkable for his length of beard, whilst the others had none:--

 Three Colonels, in three distant counties born, Lincoln, Armagh, and Sligo did adorn. The first in matchless impudence surpass'd, The next in bigotry, in both the last, The force of nature could no further go, To beard the first she shaved the other two. 

It will be noticed that the foregoing is a parody on Dryden's celebratedtribute to Milton. 

[Illustration: George Frederick Muntz, M. P. ]

The enlightened electors, however, did not take kindly to the beardedpolitician. It is related by Dr Hedderwick, the well-known Glasgowjournalist, that at the time the moustache movement was making slowprogress, the candidate for Linlithgowshire was an officer in theLancers, a man of ability, family, and fashion, who wore a heavilyhirsute upper lip. He received an intimation from a leader of his partythat his moustache might prejudice him in the eyes of a ruralpopulation. The candidate replied that he had already considered thepoint, but it was the rule in his regiment that it would be cowardly tosuccumb, and that he was "determined to face it out. "

We have it on good authority that a Cabinet Minister, about 1855, causeda gentleman to be told that the beard and moustache did not look well ona man holding a civic position under the Crown. This Minister did notthen imagine that shortly men with beards and moustaches would sit byhis side as members of the Cabinet. Even a Colonial Governor about halfa century ago was not supposed to wear a moustache. Dr Hedderwick, inhis "Backward Glances" (Edinburgh, 1891), tells us that on a certainSunday he was rambling with his friend, Mr Charles Maclaren, thewell-known editor of the _Scotsman_, to Loch Long, when he saw somecarriages conveying a number of ladies and gentlemen to church. "Sittingobliquely on an Irish jaunting-car, " says the doctor, "was a portlypersonage with a dark heavy fringe on his upper lip, and otherwisedistinguished appearance. I suggested that it might be Sir HenryPottinger, the celebrated diplomatist and Colonial Governor. We knew hehad returned to England, and I had heard he was visiting in Scotland onthe banks of Loch Long. 'No, no, ' said Mr Maclaren, 'it's quiteimpossible it can be he. A civilian of great intelligence and sensewould never wear a moustache. '" We may gather from the foregoing theprejudice of the period against facial adornments. 

From about 1855 to some years afterwards we resided at the small town ofAlfreton, Derbyshire, where, if by chance the boys saw a man with amoustache, with one accord they commenced calling after him, "Jew, Jew, Jew, " or "Frenchy, Frenchy, Frenchy, " and, if that did not make anyimpression, they commenced stoning the offender against the unwrittenlaws of the land. In later years our barber at Wakefield was somewhat ofa dandy, and would, perhaps, have preferred being called a tonsorialartist. He was the first to cultivate a moustache in that West Ridingtown, and he told the writer with pride that in those distant days hewas one of the sights of the place, but his vanity had many checks fromthe rough lads, and even men, of Wakefield. Before his death he saw manyfollow his lead. 

A teacher of music was the first to wear a moustache in Nottingham. Heattracted the attention of young and old, and was deemed a greatcuriosity. The younger generation made matters lively for the musicmaster. Speaking on this theme to an old Nottinghamshire friend, withwhom we often discuss olden days and ways, he stated to us how he wonhis wife because he had not a moustache. It appears another eligibleyoung man was anxious to win the young lady, but his character wasregarded as doubtful because he cultivated a moustache. After a shortengagement our friend was married in the year 1855. At this period themoustache movement was making slow progress in Nottingham. 

Mr W. P. Frith, R. A. , published in 1887 an amusing "Autobiography, " anddevotes not the least attractive chapter of his work to "The BeardedModel. " He relates how difficult it was to find a bearded model, and howat last he discovered one. He says that in crossing Soho Square one dayhis attention was drawn to a crowd of little boys, who seemed to beteasing an old man in the manner of the London street boy. "Why don'tyou get your 'air cut?" said one. "Yah! where's your bundle of oldclothes? Yer ain't got 'em in that 'ere basket, 'ave you?" said another, "Let's 'ave a look. You're a Jew, you know; now, ain't you?" and so on. All this, observes the artist, because the old man wore a long greybeard, then such a rarity. The young gentlemen had mistaken their man. He soundly punished two elder boys, and Mr Frith found he was not a Jew. How he became a model does not come within the scope of our presentstudies. 

Mr Frith says that the head of a well-known firm of drapers in RegentStreet refused to employ shopmen who wore moustaches, or men who partedtheir hair down the middle. In days before the moustache was popular, MrFrith shows how even in art circles its adoption retarded progress. "Iwell remember, " says Mr Frith, "a book illustrator named Stuart, who, according to his own notion, ought to have been on the throne of Englandinstead of drawing on insensible wood blocks. He could trace his descentfrom James I. He could sing Jacobite songs, and very well, too, and hewas certainly like Charles I. There was not the least doubt about hispedigree in his own mind; and he was such a nuisance when once launchedinto the long list of Royal blood, that we declared our unanimousconviction of the justice of his claims, and implored him to put themforward in the proper quarter, as we were powerless in the matter. TheStuart beard, exactly like the Vandyke portrait of Charles, was thetreasured ornament of our friend's face, and though he was assured thatthe publishers felt such doubt of his abilities, and such a convictionof his utterly unreliable character and general dishonesty inconsequence of his beard--one man going so far as to tell him it costhim £200 a year--he refused to remove it. " Mr Frith says when theVandyke beard became white his poor friend would have died in extremepoverty had he not received well-deserved assistance from a fundestablished to meet cases like his. 

The directors and managers of banks made a stand against the moustachemovement. It is asserted that the authorities of the Bank of Englandissued an order "that the clerks were not to wear moustaches duringbusiness hours. " It is not surprising to learn that the amusing orderwas soon cancelled. At the present time, at one of the great banks inthe Strand, the clerks have to be clean shaven. To illustrate the rigidmanner of enforcing the order, Mr Frith quotes the case of an oldservant of the bank, who was severely attacked by erysipelas in the faceand head. Even after convalescence the tenderness of the skin madeshaving impossible, but the old clerk begged to be allowed to return tohis desk. He was told by one of the principals, in a kind note in answerto his application, that the bank would endeavour to get on without himuntil his face was in a condition to bear the attention of his razor. 

In the earlier years of the moustache movement, clerks might bedismissed for not being clean shaven. Contractors, as a rule, we shouldregard as being the least particular of any class of employers aboutthe personal appearance of their servants. Yet we have it on reliableauthority that a trusted superintendent of one of the great contractorsserved the firm in Russia, and there cultivated the beard and moustache. On his return to England he displayed no disposition to resume the useof the razor. The head contractor grew alarmed at the terrible examplehe was setting those engaged in the office, and insisted that theadornment should be cut off, which was done. The poor fellow caughtcold, and in a few days died. 

[Illustration: Charles Dickens, born 1812, died 1870. ]

An important firm of timber merchants in Hull made it a condition thatany clerks employed by them should be clean shaven. This rule wasstrictly enforced until the firm closed its career a few years ago. 

Mr Serjeant Robinson, in his interesting and informing volume, "Benchand Bar Reminiscences" (London, 1889), deals with the legal aspect ofour theme. He says for many years anterior to 1860 scarcely a beard, andcertainly not even a downy symptom of a moustache, was to be seen on theface of a practising barrister. Towards the close of the first half ofthe nineteenth century a quiet, gentlemanly, well-informed barrister, named Brierley, used to attend the Central Criminal Court, wearing along flowing beard and a thick moustache. These hirsute adornments gaveoffence to the leaders who regularly attended the sessions. No otherexception could be taken to him. A meeting of the senior Bar was held, and he was summoned to attend. He was called upon to defend his action. Instead of denying the jurisdiction of the tribunal that was to judgehim, he recognised the enormity of his crime, and excused himself on theground of a serious affection of the throat, and stated that it wasunder urgent medical advice that he was induced to transgress theunwritten ordinances of the Bar. Despite the reasonableness of the plea, a small majority passed upon him a vote of censure for subjecting theBar to general ridicule by his extravagant physiognomy. "This was, " saysMr Serjeant Robinson, "the worst that could befall him, for of course hecould not be prevented from coming within the sacred precincts of thecourt, nor from taking his seat at the Bar table. The only means ofcarrying out the resolution was by sending him to Coventry. But he didnot give them the opportunity of executing it, for he seldom appearedafterwards. It is not known what became of this barrister after he hadbeen driven from practising his profession in the courts. "

Several old laws regulated wearing the beard in the bygone times. In thereign of Queen Elizabeth a decree went forth that no barrister shouldappear in court with a beard of more than a fortnight's growth. 

Barristers with beards and moustaches are not much less common at thepresent time than those without them. This is no doubt the result of themartial order which passed over the country at the introduction of theVolunteer movement. The moustache was regarded as indispensable to themilitary appearance of the citizen soldier. 

Old illustrated books relating to the worthies of the Church oftencontain portraits of divines with flowing beards and moustaches. Inmodern times the cultivation of these adornments of the face has givenrise to not a little discussion in Church circles. Early in 1861 thenewspapers criticised the charge of the Bishop of Rochester, whichincluded a denunciation of the development of beards and moustachesamong the clergymen of his diocese. The writing in the press for andagainst the facial adornment had little point, but it gave rise to morethan one book dealing with the subject. An author issued "An Apologyfor the Beard; addressed to men in general, and to the clergy inparticular" (London, 1862). The Bible and other books are quoted againstshaving. James Ward, R. A. , the celebrated animal painter, produced inbook form a "Defence of the Beard. " He dealt with his subject onscriptural grounds, and gave eighteen reasons why man was bound to growa beard unless he was indifferent as to offending his Creator and goodtaste. Mr. Ward asked, "What would a Jupiter be without a beard? Whowould countenance the idea of a shaved Christ?" The artist set anexample to others by adopting the beard when it was not popular. On thetitle-page of another work was declared: "A Breach of the Sabbath, and aHindrance to the Spread of the Gospel. " The writer designated himself"Theologos. " If his views were carried out, it would lead to thepractice which prevailed among the Essenes, who never did on the Sabbathanything that was customary for them to do on other days. The HighChurch clergymen use the razor, and as a rule the moustache isdiscarded. For some time not a few of the clergy in the lower ranksjoined the moustache movement, but it was not until 1889 that a bishopwas included. The late Bishop Ryle, of Liverpool, was the first to giveup in modern times the use of the razor. Quite a sensation was causedtowards the close of 1892 when it became known that the Archbishop ofYork did not approve of the moustache among his clergy. In severalquarters the barber was visited, and the cherished moustache and beardswept away, it is said, to please the head of the Church in the NorthernProvince. Not so with a moustached candidate for Orders from Hull. Hehad been spending two or three days at Bishopthorpe before ordination, but gentle hints failed to induce him to make a clean shave. As a finaleffort the chaplain of the Archbishop asked him if he thought it was nottime he cut off his moustache. He replied that he did not think of doingso, and asked why he should. "Well, " said the chaplain, "you see thesaints in the stained glass windows have not any moustaches. " "That maybe so, " said the candidate, "but as I am not intended to be a saint andstuck in a window, I mean my moustache to remain. "

Speaking at a reunion of the Leeds Clergy School held on June 6th, 1899, Dr Eden, the Bishop of Wakefield, said he recently noticed a paragraphin the newspapers which said that the Bishop of Wakefield had given itout that he was very much against the clergy wearing moustaches. "Aftera little while this legend increased in definiteness, and the nextparagraph I saw was that the Bishop of Wakefield had 'commanded' thecurates of his diocese to shave clean. A little while after that I tookup a London paper, and I saw it stated: 'The Bishop of Wakefield hasjoined the anti-moustache brigade, and we believe he has the sympathy ofHis Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. ' I waited a little longer, for Ifelt sure something more would come, and then I took up another paperand found that an exceedingly respected Prebendary of St Paul's inLondon had been uttering remarks, either in public or to thereporters--I don't know which--in which he held up the Bishop ofWakefield as being one of those foolish people who had largely exceededtheir episcopal powers. I was given a very round lecture upon thecontrast of my conduct with that of my predecessor, who would never havethought of issuing such a foolish order to the curates to shave theirmoustaches. The curates were recommended to do nothing of the kind, buta fear was expressed that a large number of them would probably complywith the demand. Still that was not quite the end of the legend; I hadof course a great deal of private correspondence arising out of thisnewspaper paragraph, but only the other day I heard--I have not seenit--that a cartoon has appeared in a London paper in which the Bishop ofWakefield is represented with a drawn razor in his hand in full cryafter a Wakefield curate with a moustache. That is a very good exampleof finding the truth about yourselves in the newspapers, for I have themost astounding fact of all to tell you, and that is that I have neversaid a single word about moustaches from first to last. I knew you wouldforgive me making this little personal reference because it is notpersonal to myself and to many of those in this tent. "

A former Bishop of Wakefield, Dr Walsham How, related a good story. "Thevicar of an East London parish, " said the bishop, "was one of the firstLondon clergymen to grow his beard. The then Bishop of London wished tostop the practice, and, as he was going to confirm in that church, senthis chaplain to the vicar to ask him to shave it off, saying he shouldotherwise select another church for the Confirmation. The vicar repliedthat he was quite willing to take his candidates to another church, andwould give out next Sunday the reason for the change. Of course thebishop retracted. "

We are told in the "Life of R. W. Dale" (London, 1898) that this famousBirmingham preacher, about 1860, was clean shaven, but with "long blackhair that hung over his cheeks and ears like a mane. " In a year or twoit was cut short. He then let his beard grow, and, after somehesitation, his moustache. Many of the older people, we are told, werescandalised, but remained silent; some wrote to the newspapers inprotest. The moustache was declared to invest ministers "with an air oflevity and worldliness. " A letter of approval purported to come fromthe shade of a Wesleyan minister, the Rev. H. D. Lowe, who, in 1828, hadhis beard cut off by order of the Wesleyan Conference. It ran asfollows:--

 "REVEREND AND BEARDED SIR, --It rejoiced my shade to see you not only addressing Methodists, but sitting among many of the identical men who required that cruel sacrifice of me, and that unrebuked when you even spoke of dreaming of belonging to the 'Legal Hundred, ' bearded though you are. "

Professor Hodgson used to tell a good story of a shaky village knight ofthe razor who gashed the minister's cheek. "John, John!" cried thereverend sufferer, "it's a dreadful thing that drink!" "'Deed it is, sir, " mildly assented John, "it makes the skin unco tender. "

The electors of Hull, who returned to Parliament Sir Henry Vane theyounger, Andrew Marvell, the patriot, and in later times, WilliamWilberforce, the emancipator of the slave, have never, as might bereadily believed, been backward in adopting reasonable measures ofreform. On December 1st, 1859, at the Hull Watch Sub-Committee, it wasmoved by Mr Moss, seconded by Mr Clarke, and carried unanimously: "Thatit be a recommendation to the Watch Committee to permit the police towear a beard and moustache if they think fit. " A week later, namely, onDecember 7th, at the Watch Committee, it was moved by Mr Mayfield, andseconded by Mr Fountain: "That a resolution of the Sub-Committee ofDecember 1st, granting permission to police to wear the beard andmoustache, if they think fit, be confirmed by this Committee. " It waspointed out by one of the members of the Council, who was advocating thepassing of the resolution, that it would give a "fierce appearance tothe police. "

In course of time the leading gentlemen of the land adopted themoustache, and those in the lower walks of life were not slow to followtheir example, the result being that it is worn now by all sorts andconditions of men. 

The moustache figures in recent wills. In 1862, one made by Henry Buddcame into force, and declared as follows against the wearing ofmoustaches by his sons in the following terms: "In case my son Edwardshall wear moustaches, the devise herein before contained in favour ofhim, his appointees, heirs, and assigns of my said estate, called PepperPark, shall be void; and I devise the same estate to my son William, hisappointees, heirs, and assigns. And in case my said son William shallwear moustaches, then the devise hereinbefore contained in favour ofhim, his appointees, heirs, and assigns of my said estate, calledTwickenham Park, shall be void; and I devise the said estate to my saidson Edward, his appointees, heirs, and assigns. "

Mr Fleming, an upholsterer, of Pimlico, by his will, proved in 1869, left £10 each to the men in his employ who did not wear moustaches, andto those who persisted in wearing them, £5 only. 

In the daily newspapers of July 11th, 1901, it was stated: "Frenchmotor-car owners having shown a disposition to make their chauffeursshave, the latter combined in defence of their moustaches, which theydeclare to be a sanitary protection. "

INDEX

Absalom, 7, 8Age of wigs, 71-93Agrarian law repealed, 48Albemarle, Earl of, 78---- Duchess of, 17Alexander III. , Pope, forbids clergy to act as surgeons, 27Alfreton, 102Anne, Queen, 82Assyrian sculptures, 72"_Antiquarian Repertory_, " quoted, 2"_Athenian Oracle_, " quoted, 1Aubrey, quoted, 17, 54

Bag-wig, 84Bakewell, Derbyshire, epitaph from, 32Ballad of the Beard, 41-44Banks, Mrs G. Linnæus, quoted, 67Banks and the moustache, 105Bar and the moustache, 107Barber-surgeon, antiquity of, 26Barber's pole, 1-8Barber's shop, 8-24Barbers and surgeons, laws relating to their work, 28---- separate, 31Barbers' Company, first Master of the, 27Barnard Castle, 18Barristers without wigs, 88Bathurst, Lord, cuts off his pig-tail, 84Bayeux tapestry, 34Beard protection against neuralgia, 99Beardie Scott, 47Beardless Britons, 33Bible, quoted, 33Bleeding at Northallerton, 31Blomfield, Bishop, 86Boxing the beard, 56Brand's "Popular Antiquities, " 5_British Apollo_, quoted, 6Britons, 33Brontë, Rev. P. , story about, 25, 26Bygone beards, 33-56

Campaign wig, 81Canterbury, Sheriff of, 36Cavaliers, 44Chair, barber's, 14Charles I. , 38, 44, 48---- II. , 25Charlotte, Queen, 66Chaucer, quoted, 52Chester barber-surgeons, 23Church denounces wigs, 73---- denounces moustache, 108Churchyards, barbers shave in, 21, 23Clergy caring for men's bodies and souls, 26Cloth of gold, 55Cockburn, Judge, 87Combing the wig, 79Congreve, 79"_Comenii Orbis Pictus_, " quoted, 2Comenius, Bishop, 2Contractors and the moustache, 105Cox, Rev. Dr J. C. , quoted, 70Crimean War, 99Crop clubs, 64Curing a joking duke, 18Cyprus customs, 50

Dale, R. W. , 112Defence of the beard, 109Delmahoy's wig, 86Demanding the beard, 51Desecrating the Sabbath by shaving, 24, 25Disuse of hair powder, 69Doran, Dr, quoted, 73Drapers refuse to employ men with moustaches, 104Drury Lane, five women barbers of, 17Dryden, quoted, 79Duke and barber's boy, 18Dyeing the beard, 37

Earliest mention of the beard, 33Early gild in London, 27Eastern potentate, 35Eden, Dr, and the moustache, 110Egyptian wigs, 71Eldon, Lord, 87Elizabeth, Queen, 37, 38Epigram on three colonels, 100Epitaphs on barber-surgeons, 32

Fairholt, F. W. , 41False hair worn by women, 88Farquhar, 20Female follies, 61Fined for wearing beards, 35, 36First illustrated school book, 2Forfeits, 14-16Fox, C. J. , 64France, wig mania in, 75Free advice to a young clergyman, 85Frith, W. P. , "Autobiography" quoted, 103From barber to surgeon, 26-32Frost fair, 81

Gallants, gathering of, 9Galley-pot, 5Garrick, 14Gauls, 60Gay, J. , quoted, 13, 61, 95_Gentleman's Magazine_, quoted, 62George III. And wig-makers, 95---- sets his subjects a good example, 69---- IV. And Dr Randolph, 86Gold-dust used as hair-powder, 59Grain, high price of, 68Great seal, 76Guitar, 9

Hannibal, 75Hastings, Battle of, 33Hawkesbury, Lord, and new bread, 70Hawkins, Sir J. , quoted, 79Heart-Breakers, 89Hedderwick, Dr, quoted, 101Henry VI. , 48Henry VIII. , 35Hentzner, quoted, 89High Church clergymen, 109Hodgson, Professor, 113Holbein's picture, 28Holme, R. , quoted, 81House of Peers, 5How, Dr Walsham, 112Hull baker fined, 70---- candidate for Holy Orders and his moustache, 110---- policemen and the moustache, 113---- timber merchant and the moustache, 110

"Impartial Monitor, " quoted, 61Incorporation of Barbers, 28Irish Shaving Statute, 47

Jewish custom, 26Jews used hair-powder, 59Johnson, Dr, 16Johnstone, Rev. E. , desecrating the Sabbath by shaving, 24Julius II. , 34Juvenile wigs, 92

Kauffmann, A. , 66Kenealy, Dr, 88Kenrick, Dr, 16King's barber, 19Knox, John, 36, 37

Last barber-surgeon in London, 31Laud, Archbishop, 51"Letters from the Dead to the Living, " 79Lichfield, 20Lincoln's Inn and the beard, 35London women barbers, 17Lord's Day observance, 21-25Louis XIV. , 83Louth, 18Lowe, Rev. H. D. , 113"Loyal Litany, " quoted, 61Lyttelton, Lord, 91

Macedonian soldiers, 48Maclaren, C. , editor of the _Scotsman_, 102Magistrate and the moustache, 97Malcolm, quoted, 82Manner of using hair powder, 63, 68Mansfield, Lord, 92Marie Antoinette, 92Marston, quoted, 54Mary Queen of Scots, 89Massinger, quoted, 61Medical men and wigs, 86Ministers shaving on Sunday, 24, 25Missal, 5Mock doctor, 86More, Rev. J. , 36---- Sir Thomas, 36Moustache and the motor-car, 115---- movement, 96-115Muffs, 80Muntz, G. F. , 99Music, barber's, 9, 21

Newcastle-on-Tyne, barber-surgeons of, 24_Notes and Queries_, quoted, 16, 47Nottingham, story of moustache and marriage, 103

Objectionable mode of advertising blood-letting, 27O'Connell, D. , 90One pig-tail only returned to the reformed Parliament, 84

Paris, massacre of, 75Pepys, quoted, 31, 76Percival, Col. , 99Periwig with tail, 81Peter the Great, 91Phlebotomy, 2-5Pig-tail, 84Pitt, 63Plucking the beard, 48, 49Poetical signs, 7, 8Politics and the moustache, 101Pontefract, 23Powdering the hair, 59-71Pulling the nose, 54Puritans, 11

"Quip for an Upstart Courtier, " 9

"Rambler, " quoted, 63Ramillies, Battle of, 82---- wig, 83Reading regulations, 9Red rag, 5Reform Bill, 84Repton, J. A. , 41Retailer of scandal, 8Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 66Robinson, Serjeant, quoted, 106Rogers, Dr C. , quoted, 24Romans and hair-powder, 59Russian laws, 56-59Ryle, Bishop, 109

Sandy-coloured hair, 60Saxons and hair-powder, 59Sayings, old, 51-56Saywell, Rev. J. L. , quoted, 31Scarborough, woman barber at, 17Scott, Sir Walter, quoted, 66Sealing custom, 35Shakespeare, quoted, 14, 53Shaving heads, 74Sheppard, Mr, M. P. , 84Shirley, quoted, 53Short-bob, 83Sibthorp, Col. , 99Speaker's wig, 87Starching the beard, 55Stealing wigs, 93-95Stephen, King, 75Stow, quoted, 75Stratford-on-Avon, 14Street frays, 9Strickland, Agnes, quoted, 92Stripes on barber's pole, colour of, 5Strutt, quoted, 60Stuart, artist, story of, 114Stubbes, 12Stupid barbers unknown, 8Sumner, Archbishop, 86Sunday shaving, 21-25Surgeons' Incorporation Bill, 5Swift, quoted, 5-7, 94

Taxing hair-powder, 62, 63, 65---- the beard, 37, 56-59Taylor the Water Poet, 38, 41Tewkesbury Abbey, epitaph from, 31"Thirsk Forfeits, " 15Thurlow, Lord, 5Tichborne trial, 88Tiles, fine of, 9Tillotson, Dr, 85Timbs, John, quoted, 31_Times_, quoted, 64, 88, 97Token, beard, 58Tours, Edict of, 27Tragic story, 48

Verner, Col. , 99Vizetelly, quoted, 50

Wakefield, first man to wear a moustache at, 102Walpole, Horace, quoted, 96---- Sir Robert, 85Ward, James, quoted, 109Wesleyans and the beard, 113_Whitehall Evening Post_, quoted, 90Wig-makers' riot, 95, 96Williams, noted barber, 92Wills and the moustache, 114With and without wigs, 90"Wits' Recreations, " quoted, 60Women barbers, 16-18Working hours, long, 9Workshop and Sunday shaving, 23

Yarmouth, curious bill at, 69York, Archbishop of, 110---- Gild of Barber-Surgeons, 21"Yorkshire, Ballads and Songs of, " quoted, 15, 16