BEARD -BEATIFICATION. 



Iiotne in the ocean as on land. An individual of 

 this species was seen, by the late northern explorers, 

 in the middle of Melville sound, swimming across, 

 where the shores were at least thirty miles apart. 

 The polar bear is the most exclusively carnivorous 

 of the genus, though equally capable of living on 

 vegetable food with the rest. He preys upon seals, 

 the cubs of the whale, morse, &c., or the carcasses 

 of whales left by whalers after removing the blubber. 

 Individuals of this species are sometimes, though 

 rarely, seen in caravans of wild animals, where they 

 appear to suffer extremely from heat, as they bathe 

 frequently in water provided for the purpose. When 

 ice is placed in the cage, they roll upon it with great 

 satisfaction, and show every sign of being gratified. 



The black bear of America is distinguished by its 

 colour and a peculiarly convex racial outline. It is 

 found very generally in mountainous and forest lands, 

 and subsists, in a great degree, on berries and vege- 

 table substances, though it preys upon small animals 

 :uul insects, which it searches for industriously, by 

 turning over large logs of decayed timber. It is 

 rarely, if ever, known to attack man, unless in self- 

 defence. It is very fond of young corn and honey, 

 which, being an expert climber, like the brown 

 European bear, it obtains by plundering the wild 

 bees. 



The grisly bear inhabits the country adjacent to 

 the Rocky mountains, and is, of all the race, the 

 most dreadful for size, strength, and terrible ferocity 

 ot nature. 



The Malay, Asiatic, or long-lipped bear, is a na- 

 tive of the mountainous parts of India, and feeds on 

 white ants, rice, honey, the fruit of the palm, &c. 

 The species is inoffensive and timid, burrows in the 

 ground, and lives in pairs, together with the young, 

 which, when alarmed, seek safety by mounting on 

 the backs of the parents. 



BEARD; the hair round the chin, on the cheeks, 

 and the upper lip, which is a distinction of the male 

 sex. It differs from the hair on the head by its 

 greater hardness and its form. The beard begins to 

 grow at the time of puberty. The connexion be- 

 tween the beard and puberty is evident from this, 

 among other circumstances, that it never grows in 

 the case of eunuchs who have been such from child- 

 hood ; but the castration of adults does not cause the 

 loss of the beard. According to Cassar, the Germans 

 thought, and perhaps justly, the late growth of the 

 beard favourable to the developement of all the 

 powers. But there are cases in which this circum- 

 stance is an indication of feebleness. It frequently 

 takes place in men of tender constitution, whose pale 

 colour indicates little power. The beards of differ- 

 ent nations afford an interesting study. Some have 

 hardly any, others a great profusion. The latter 

 generally consider it as a great ornament ; the for- 

 mer pluck it out; as, for instance, the American 

 Indians. 



The character of the beard differs with that of the 

 individual, and, in the case of nations, varies with 

 the climate, food, c. Thus the beard is generally 

 dark, dry, hard, and thin in irritable persons of full 

 age : the same is the case with the inhabitants of hot 

 and dry countries, as the Arabians, Ethiopians, East 

 Indians, Italians, Spaniards. But persons of a very 

 mild disposition have a light-coloured, thick, and 

 slightly curling beard : the same is the case with 

 inhabitants of cold and humid countries, as Holland, 

 Britain, Sweden. The difference of circumstances 

 causes all shades of variety. The nature of the 

 nourishment, likewise, causes a great variety in the 

 beard. Wholesome, nutritious, and digestible food 

 makes the beard soft ; but poor, dry, and indigestible 

 food renders it hard and bristly. 



In general, the beard has been considered, with 

 all nations, as an ornament, and often as a mark of 

 the sage and the priest. Moses forbade the Jews to 

 shave their beards. With the ancient Germans, the 

 cutting off another's beard was a high offence ; with 

 the East Indians, it is severely punished. Even now, 

 the beard is regarded as a mark of great dignity 

 among many nations in the East, as the Turks. The 

 custom of shaving is said to have come into use in 

 modern times during the reigns of Louis XIII. and 

 XIV. of France, both of whom ascended the throne 

 without a beard. Courtiers and inhabitants of cities 

 then began to shave, in order to look like the king, 

 and, as France soon took the lead in all matters of 

 fashion on the continent of Europe, shaving became 

 general ; but it is only since the beginning of the 

 last century, that shaving off the whole beard has 

 become common. Till then, fashion had given 

 divers forms to mustachoes and beards. 



Much could be said, and has been said, in a medi- 

 cal point of view, on shaving the beard. Such a 

 discussion would lead us, however, here too far. It 

 is not to be denied, that the mouth, one of the most 

 expressive parts of the countenance, is shown to much 

 better advantage in consequence of shaving ; but, at 

 the same time! old age appears to much greater dis- 

 advantage, the beard concealing the loss of the teeth. 

 Moreover, the eye gains much in expression by a full 

 beard. Every one knows the, trouble of shaving ; 

 and who does not remember Byron's computation of 

 the amount of this trouble in Don Juan ? Seume, a 

 German author, says in his journal, " To-day I threw 

 my hair-powder apparatus out of the window : when 

 will come the blessed day, that I shall send the shaving 

 apparatus after it !" Perhaps the best description of 

 the miseries of shaving is to be found in the Noctes 

 Ambrosianae (Blackwood's Magazine). 



Shaving, among many ancient nations, was the 

 mark of mourning ; with others, it was the contrary. 

 Plutarch says that Alexander introduced shaving 

 among the Greeks, by ordering his soldiers to cut off 

 their oeards; but it appears that this custom had 

 prevailed before among the Macedonians. The Ro- 

 mans began to shave about 454 A. U., 296, B. C., 

 when a certain Ticinius Moenas, a barber from Sicily, 

 introduced this fashion. Scipio Africanus was the 

 first who shaved every day. The day that a young 

 man first shaved was celebrated, and the first hair 

 cut off was sacrificed to a deity. Adrian, in order to 

 cover some large warts on his chin, renewed the 

 fashion of long beards ; but it did not last long. In 

 mourning, the Romans wore a long beard sometimes 

 for years. They used scissors, razors, tweezers, &c., 

 to remove the beard. The public barber shops 

 (tonstrince), where the lower classes went, were much 

 resorted to ; rich people kept a shaver (tonsor) among 

 their slaves. 



BEARN ; before the revolution, a province of France, 

 at the foot of the Pyrenees, with the title of a princi- 

 pality; about forty-two miles long and thirty-six broad; 

 bounded E. by Bigorre, N. by Armagnac, Tursun, 

 and Chalosse, W. by Dax, a part of Soule, and the 

 Lower Navarre, and S. by the Pyrenees. It belong- 

 ed, with Navarre, to Henry IV., when he obtained 

 the crown. The plain country is very fertile, and 

 the mountains are covered with fir trees, while within 

 are mines of copper, lead, and iron ; and the little 

 hills are planted with vines, which yield good wine. 

 It is now included in the department of Lower Py- 

 renees. Pau was the capital town. Population 

 about 220,000. 



BEATIFICATION, in the Roman Catholic church ; an 

 act by which the pope declares a person beatified or 

 blessed after his death. It is the first step to canoni- 

 zation, i. e. the Raising one to the honour and dignity 



