Chignons. 565 
also most artistically constructed for the puffing out of the 
hair. 
Surely, however, our lovely sisterhood can dispense with 
these foreign falsities. Let Belinda bloom and charm 
our eyes simplex munditiis. Beauty, when unadorned, is 
still adorned the most—the lustrous light of her flashing 
eye, the natural bloom of her peach-like and rosy cheek, 
and the auburn or raven tresses, flowing unbound and 
showered over her well-shaped shoulders, are far more 
enchanting, to our view, than whole pyramids of other 
folk’s hair ! 
We may remark that hair has been, from the most 
ancient days, esteemed either as an ornament or as an 
ensign of dignity or religion. By the Jews, hair was 
worn long, just as it grew; but that of the priests 
was cut every fortnight. Black hair was esteemed by the 
Hebrews as most beautiful. The hair, indeed, of both 
Jewish and Grecian women engaged a principal share of 
their attention; and we are sure that our Anglo-Norman- 
Saxon belles follow energetically the time-honoured 
precedent. The Romans seem to have been no less 
anxious with respect to theirs. They generally wore it long, 
and dressed it in a variety of ways, ornamenting it with 
gold, silver, pearls, &c. 
It is further recorded, that the ancient Britons of either 
sex were extremely proud of the length and beauty of their 
hair, and were at much pains in dressing and adorning 
it. We hardly ever meet in the poems of Ossian, with 
a description of a fine woman, or a beautiful man, but the 
hair is mentioned as one of his or her greatest beauties. 
Neither sex relied on the attributes of Nature, but alike, 
discontented with the dispensation of Providence, which 
commonly allotted them fair or yellow hair, assiduously 
bathed it in washes in order to render its colour more 
bright. The recipe of one of these washes is said to 
have been a composition of lime, the ashes of certain 
vegetables, and tallow. May we ask, if modern products 
are equally offensive ? They made use, too, of various arts in 
order to make their hair grow thick and long, which was 
not only esteemed a great beauty, but was also considered 
to be a mark of dignity, and of noble birth We have 
mentioned the mythic Juno; we may advert to the 
historical Boadicea, who is described by Dio as rejoicing 
in very long hair, flowing over her shoulders, and reaching 
down over the middle of her back. 
ZL 2 
