196 A HISTORY OF 



them as the principal marks of the passions ; the ears discover their joys 

 or their terrors with tolerable precision ; and denote all their internal 

 agitatious. The smallest ears, in men, are said to be the most beauti- 

 ful ; but the largest are found to be the best for hearing. There are 

 some savage nations who bore their ears, and so draw that part down, 

 that the tips of the ears are seen to rest upon their shoulders. 



The strange variety in the different customs of men appears still 

 more extravagant in their manner of wearing their beards. Some, 

 and among others, the Turks, cut the hair off their heads, and let their 

 beards grow. The Europeans, on the contrary, shave their beards, 

 and wear their hair. The negroes shave their heads in figures at one 

 time, in stars at another, in the manner of friars ; and still more com- 

 monly in alternate stripes ; and their little boys are shaved in the same 

 manner. The Talapoins of Siam shave the heads and the eye-brows 

 of such children as are committed to their care. Every nation seems 

 to have entertained different prejudices at different times, in favour of 

 one part or another of the beard. Some have admired the hair upon 

 the cheeks on each side, as we see with some low-bred men among 

 ourselves, who want to be fine. Some like the hair lower down ; some 

 choose it curled, and others like it straight. " Some have cut it into 

 a peak, and others shave all but the whisker. This particular part of 

 the beard was highly prized among the Spaniards : till of late, a man 

 without whiskers was considered as unfit for company ; and where 

 nature had denied them, art took care to supply the deficiency. We 

 are told of a Spanish general who, when he borrowed a large sum of 

 money from the Venetians, pawned his whiskers, which he afterwards 

 took proper care to release. Kingson assures us, that a considerable part 

 of the religion of the Tartars consists in the management of their whis- 

 kers ; and that they waged a long and bloody war with the Persians, 

 declaring them infidels, merely because they would not give their 

 whiskers the orthodox cut. The kings of Persia carried the care of 

 their beards to a ridiculous excess, when they chose to wear them 

 matted with gold thread : and even the kings of France, of the first 

 races, had them knotted and buttoned with gold. But of al nations, 

 the Americans take the greatest pains in cutting their hair, and pluck- 

 ing their beards. The under part of the beard, and all but the whis- 

 ker, they take care to pluck up by the roots, so that many have sup-, 

 posed them to have no hair naturally growing on that part ; and even 

 Linnaeus has fallen into that mistake. Their hair is also cut into 

 bands ; and no small care employed in adjusting the whisker. In fact, 

 we have a very wrong idea of savage finery, and are apt to suppose 

 that, like the beasts of the forest, they rise, and are dressed with a 

 shake : but the reverse is true ; for no birth-night beauty takes more 

 time or pains in the adorning her person than they. I remember 

 when the Cherokee kings were over here, that I have waited for three 

 hours, during the time they were dressing. They never would ven 

 ture to make their appearance till they had gone through the tedious 

 ceremonies of tiie toilet ; they had their boxes of oil and ochre, their 

 fat and tneir perfumes, like the most effeminate beau, and generally 

 look up four hours in dressing, before they considered themselves as 

 fit 10 be seen We must not, therefore, consider a delicacy in poin 



