Dealings With The Dead Volume II Part 25

Hoc jacet in tumulo raptus puerilibus annis Pantagathus, domini cura, dolorque sui, Vix tangente vagos ferro resecare capillos Doctus, et hirsutas excoluisse genas.

Sic, licet, ut debes, Tellus placata, levisque; Artificis levior non potes esse manu.

In attempting a version of this, I feel, as if I were about to disfigure a pretty spinster, with a mob-cap.

Here lies Pantagathus, the slave, Petted he liv'd, and died lamented; No youth, like him could clip and shave, Since shears and razors were invented.

So light his touch, you could not feel The razor, while your cheeks were smoothing; And sat, unconscious of the steel, The operation was so soothing.

Oh, mother Earth, appeas'd, since thou Back to thy grasping arms hast won him, Soft be thy hand, like his, and now Lie thou, in mercy, lightly on him.

Rochester was right; few things were ever benefited, by translation, but a bishop.

The _Tonstrinae_, or barbers' shops, in Rome, were seldom visited by any, but the humbler cla.s.ses. They were sometimes called the _Shades_. Horace, Ep. i. 7, 50, describes Philippus, an eminent lawyer, as struck with sudden envy, upon seeing Vulteius Mena, the beadle, sitting very much at ease, in one of these shades, after having been shaved, and leisurely cleaning his own nails, an office commonly performed by the barbers:--

Adrasum quendam vacua tonsoris in umbra, Cultello proprios purgantem leniter ungues.

There were she-barbers, in Rome, residing in the _Saburra_ and _Argiletum_, very much such localities, as "_the Hill_," formerly in Boston, or _Anthony Street_, in New York. Martial describes one of these _tonstrices_, ii. 17--

Tonstrix Saburrae fancibus sedet primis, etc.

Some there were, of a better order. Plautus, Terence, and Theophrastus have many allusions to the barbers' shops. They have ever been the same "_otiosorum conciliabula_," that they were, when Terence wrote--resorts of the idle and garrulous. In old times--very--not now, of course--not now, a dressmaker, who was mistress of her business, knew that she was expected to turn out so much work, and so much _slander_. That day has fortunately gone by. But the "barber's tale" is the very thing that it was, in the days of Oliver Goldsmith, and it was then the very thing, that it was, as I verily believe, in the days of Ezekiel. There are many, who think, that a good story, not less than a good lather, is half the shave.

It is quite _in rerum natura_, that much time should be consumed, in waiting, at the _tonstrinae_--the barbers' shops; and to make it pa.s.s agreeably, the craft have always been remarkable, for the employment of sundry appliances--amusing pictures around the walls--images and mechanical contrivances--the daily journals--poodles, monkeys, squirrels, canaries, and parrots. In the older countries, a barber's boy was greatly in request, who could play upon the _citterne_, or some other musical instrument.

If there had not been a curious a.s.semblage of _materiel_, in an old Roman _tonstrina_, it would not have been selected as an object for the pencil.

That it was so selected, however, appears from a pa.s.sage in Pliny, x.x.xV.

37. He is writing of Pureicus--arte paucis postferendus: proposito, nescio an destruxerit se: quoniam humilia quidem sequutus, humilitatis tamen summam adeptus est gloriam. Tonstrinas, sutrinasque pinxit, et asellos, et obsonia, ac similia--He had few superiors in his art: I know not if the plan he adopted was fatal to his fame; for, though his subjects were humble, yet, in their representation, he attained the highest excellence.

He painted barbers' and shoemakers' shops, a.s.ses, eatables, and the like.

A rude sketch of Heemskerck's picture of a barber's shop lies now upon my table. Here is the poodle, with a cape and fool's cap, walking on his hind legs--the suspended bleeding basin, and other et caetera of the profession.

Little is generally known, as to the origin and import of the barber's pole. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, surgery was in such low repute, that farriers, barbers, sow-spayers, and surgeons were much upon a level. The truth of this, in respect to surgeons and barbers, has been established by law: and, for about two hundred years, both in London and Paris, they were incorporated, as one company. I remember a case, reported by Espina.s.se--not having the book at hand, I cannot indicate the volume and page--which shows the judicial estimate of surgery then, compared with the practice of physic. A physician's fees, in England, were accounted _quiddam honorarium_, and not _matter of lucre_, and therefore could not be recovered, in an action at law. Upon an action brought for surgical services, the fees were recoverable, because surgeons, upon the testimony of Dr. Mead, were of a lower grade, having nothing to do with the pathology of diseases, and never prescribing; but simply performing certain mechanical acts; and being, like all other artificers and operatives, worthy of their hire.

Nothing can more clearly exhibit the low state of this n.o.ble science, at the time, and the humble estimation of it, by the public. Chirurgery seemed destined to grovel, in etymological bondage, [Greek: cheir ergon], a mere _handicraft_. Barbers and surgeons were incorporated, as one company, in the fifteenth century, in the reign of Edward IV., and were called barber-surgeons. At the close of the sixteenth century, Ambrose Pare, the greatest surgeon of his time in France, did not reject the appellation of _barber-surgeon_. Henry VIII. dissolved this union, and gave a new charter in 1540, when it was enacted, that "_no person, using any shaving or barbery in London, shall occupy any surgery, letting of blood, or other matter, excepting only the drawing of teeth_." The _barber-surgeon_ was thus reduced to the _barber-dentist_, which seems not so agreeable to the pract.i.tioner, at present, as the loftier appellation of _surgeon-dentist_. Sterne was right: there is something in a name. The British surgeons obtained a new charter, in 1745, and another, in 1800, and various acts have been subsequently pa.s.sed, on their behalf. July 17, 1797, Lord Thurlow, in the House of Peers, opposed a new bill, which the surgeons desired to have pa.s.sed. Thurlow was a man of morose temperament, and uncertain humor.

He averred, that so much of the old law was in force, that, to use his own words, "the barbers and surgeons were each to use a pole, the barbers were to have theirs blue and white, striped, with no other appendage; but the surgeons', which was the same, in other respects, was likewise to have a gallipot and a red rag, to denote the particular nature of their vocation."

Brand, in his Popular Antiquities, says, that the barber's pole, used in bleeding, is represented, in an illuminated missal, of the time of Edward I., Longshanks, whose reign began in 1272. Fosbroke, in his Encyc. of Antiquities, page 414, says--"A staff, bound by a riband, was held, by persons being bled, and the pole was intended to denote the practice of phlebotomy." According to Lord Thurlow's statement, in the House of Peers, the pole was required, by the statute, to be used, as a sign. The first statute, incorporating the barber-surgeons, was that of Edward IV., as I have stated. The missal of Edward I., referred to by Brand, shows, that the usage was older than the law, and, doubtless, that the popular emblem was adopted, in the statute, to which Lord Thurlow refers, as still in force, in 1797.

In Brand's Newcastle, I find, that "it is ordered, Dec. 11, 1711, that periwig-making be considered part and branch of the Company of Barber-_Chirurgeons_."

The history of the pole is this: A staff about three feet high, with a ball on the top, and inserted, at the bottom, in a small cross-piece, was very convenient for the person to hold, who extended his arm, as he sat down, to be bled; and a fillet, or tape, was equally convenient for the ligature. These things the barber-surgeons kept, in a corner of their shops; and, when not in use, the tape or fillet was wound or twirled round the staff. When the lawgivers called for a sign, no apter sign could be given unto them, than this identical staff and fillet; much larger of course, and to be seen of men much farther.

No. CXLII.

Ancient plays abound with allusions to the barber's _citterne_, or lute, upon which not only he himself, and his apprentices were accustomed to play, but all the loiterers in the _tonstrina_. Much of all this may be found, in the Glossary of Archdeacon Nares, under the article CITTERNE, and in Fosbroke's Antiquities.

The commonness of its use gave rise to a proverb. In the Silent Woman, Act II., scene 2, Ben Jonson avails of it. Morose had married a woman, recommended by his barber, and whose fidelity he suspected, and the following pa.s.sage occurs, between Morose and Truewit. Lond., 1816, iii.

411.

_Morose._ That cursed barber!

_Truewit._ Yes, faith, a cursed wretch indeed, sir.

_Morose._ I have married his _cittern_, that's common to all men.

Upon this pa.s.sage is the following note--"It appears from innumerable pa.s.sages, in our old writers, that barbers' shops were furnished with some musical instrument, commonly a cittern or guitar, for the amus.e.m.e.nt of such customers as chose to strum upon it, while waiting for their turn to be shaved, &c. It should be recollected, that the patience of customers, if the shop was at all popular, must, in those tedious days of love-locks, and beards of most fantastical cuts, have been frequently put to very severe trials. Some kind of amus.e.m.e.nt therefore was necessary, to beguile the time."

In old times, in old England, barbers were in the habit of making a variety of noises, with their fingers and their shears, which noises were supposed to be agreeable to their customers. Fosbroke, p. 414, refers to Lily's old play of Mydas, iii. 2, as showing the existence of the custom, in his time. Lily was born about 1553. There were some, who preferred to be shaved and dressed quietly. Nares, in his Glossary, refers to Plutarch, De Garrulitate, for an anecdote of King Archelaus, who stipulated with his barber to shave him in silence. This barbers' trick was called the "_knack with the fingers_;" and was extremely disagreeable to Morose, in Ben Jonson's play, to which I have referred. Thus, in i. 2, Clerimont, speaking of the partiality of Morose for Cutbeard, the barber, says--"The fellow trims him silently, and has not the knack with his shears or his fingers: and that continence in a barber he thinks so eminent a virtue, as it has made him chief of his counsel."

As barbers were brought first into Rome, from Sicily, so the best razors, according to Nares and Fosbroke, before the English began to excel in cutlery, were obtained in Palermo. Their form was unlike those now in use, and seems more perfectly to correspond with one of the Roman names, signifying a razor, i. e. _culter_. The blade, like that of a pruning knife, or sickle, curved slightly inward, the reverse of which is the modern form.

Smith, in his Ancient Topography of London, says--"The flying barber is a character now no more to be seen in London, though he still remains in some of our country villages: he was provided with a napkin, soap, and pewter basin, the form of which may be seen, in many of the ill.u.s.trative prints of Don Quixote. His chafer was a deep leaden vessel, something like a chocolate pot, with a large ring or handle, at the top; this pot held about a quart of water, boiling hot; and, thus equipped, he flew about to his customers."

Old Randle Holme says, "_perawickes_" were very common in his time, about 1668, though unused before "contrary to our forefathers, who wore their own hair." A barber, in Paris, to recommend his bag wigs, hung over his door the sign of Absalom. Hone, i. 1262, states that a periwig-maker, to recommend his wares, turned the reason into rhyme:

"Oh, Absalom, oh Absalom, Oh Absalom, my son, If thou hadst worn a periwig, Thou hadst not been undone."

Hutchinson, i. 152, says periwigs were an eyesore in New England, for thirty years after the Restoration of Charles II.

Among the Romans, after Mena introduced the practice of shaving, those, who professed philosophy, still maintained their dignity, and their beards, as an _ecce signum_. Hence the expression of Horace, Sat. ii. 3, 35, _sapientem pascere barbam_: and of Persius, iv. 1, when speaking of Socrates:

barbatum haec crede magistrum Dicere, sorbitio tollit quem dira cicutae.

Of those, who wear beards, at the present day, it has been computed, that, for one philosopher, there are five hundred fools, at the very lowest estimate. Manage them as you will, they are troublesome appendages; of very questionable cleanliness; and mightily in the way of such, as are much addicted to gravy and spoon victual. Like the burden of our sins, the postprandial odor of them must be sometimes intolerable.

What an infinite variety of colors we have now-a-days! Bottom, in Midsummer Night's Dream, i. 2, is in doubt, what beard he shall play Pyramus in, and, at last, he says--"I will discharge it in either your straw-colored beard, your orange tawny beard, your purple ingrain beard, or your French crown-colour beard, your perfect yellow." Now I can honestly aver, that every fifth dandy I meet, looks precisely like Bottom, performing Pyramus. Now and then, I meet a fine, full, black beard; but, even then, it seems to me, that the proud satisfaction the fortunate proprietor must feel, in going about town with it, must be, in some degree, counterbalanced, by the necessity of sleeping in it, during the summer solstice.

The fancy colors, proposed by Bottom, refer to the dyes, in use, at the period, when Bottom flourished. Indeed, dyeing the beard is of the highest antiquity. I have no authority that Aaron dyed his. In 1653, John Bulwer published his "Anthropo-Metamorphosis," or Artificial Changeling, a very able and curious production. For the antiquity of the silly practice of dyeing the beard, he refers to Strabo. Old John Bulwer, ch. ix., comments, with just severity, upon the conduct of those ancient fools, who adopt the practice--"_In every haire of these old c.o.xcombs, you shall meet with three divers and sundry colors; white at the roots, yellow in the middle, and black at the point, like unto one of your parrat's feathers_." What a graphic description of this nasty appendage! It has ever been to me a matter of infinite surprise, how any mortal can presume to say his prayers, with one of these pied abominations on his chin; giving the lie direct to the volume of inspiration, which avers that he cannot make one hair black nor white.

Another mystery--how can any man's better half become reconciled to a husband, dyed thus, in the wool! The colors are not all fast colors, I believe; and are liable to be rubbed off, by attrition.

Beards were cultivated, to such an excess, in Elizabeth's time, as to require and receive a check from the legislature. "The growth of beards,"

says Nares, in his Glossary, "was regulated by statute, at Lincoln's Inn, in the time of Eliz.--Primo Eliz. it was ordered, that no fellow of that house should wear a beard above a fortnight's growth. Transgression was punished with fine, loss of commons, and finally expulsion. But fashion prevailed, and in November, the following year, all previous orders, touching beards, were repealed."

It was formerly calculated, by Lord Stanhope, that the sum, expended upon snuff, and the value of the time, consumed in taking it, and the cost of snuff-boxes, handkerchiefs, &c., if duly invested, would pay off the national debt. I have a proposal to offer, and I offer it, timidly and respectfully, for the consideration of those amiable females, who go about, so incessantly, doing good. Perhaps I may not be able to awaken their interest, more effectually, than by suggesting the idea, that here is a very fair opportunity, for the formation of another female auxiliary society. I take it for granted, that there are some of these bearded gentlemen, from whom contributions in money, could not easily be obtained, for any benevolent object. There are some, whose whole estate, real, personal, and mixed, comprehends very little, beyond a costly malacca joint, a set of valuable shirtstuds, and a safety chain. Still if we cudgel the doctrine of political economy, we may get some small contributions, even from them.

Cortez found, in the treasury of Montezuma, a mult.i.tude of little bags, which were, at last, discovered to be filled with dead lice. The Emperor, to keep the Mexican beggars out of mischief, had levied this species of tax. I am well aware, that the power of levying taxes is not vested in young ladies. They have certain, natural, inherent rights, however, and, among them, the right and the power of persuasion. Let them organize, throughout the Union, and establish committees of correspondence. Let them address a circular to every individual, who wears a beard; and, if their applications succeed, they will enjoy the luxury of supplying a comfortable hair mattra.s.s, to every poor widow, and aged single woman in the United States.

No. CXLIII.