well-drawn, pictures. Richard himself appears with a beard both on his monument and on his great seal. It was the fashion to wear it forked, (indeed, Chaucer himself wore it in this fashion, as did also his con-temporary poet, Gower,) yet I much doubt, whether its wear was general, and in the reigns of his successors, Henries, the Fourth, and Fifth, beards, it may be suspected, were seldom worn.

We are now arrived, gentle reader, at the days of John Halle, who lived in the reigns of Henry, the Sixth, and Edward, the Fourth. Those Monarchs did not wear the beard. From the time of Richard, the Second, to Edward, the Fourth, extravagance may have decreased, yet there was, in many respects, a great correspondency of fashion. John Halle does appear with a beard: he was a "marchant," and so far he does confirm the appropriation of Chaucer, who thus tells us,

"A Marchant was ther with a forked berd,
In mottelee, and highe on hors he sat,

And on his hed a Flaundrish bever hat."

It is very true, that the beard of John Halle is not forked, but, from the days of Richard, the Second, to those of Edward, the Fourth, the fashion, as to shape, may have altered, and yet itself continued, as more peculiarly appropriated to the merchant. I have said, that the fashion was not then general, and I am borne out in this supposition by the fact, that, in his description of the numerous pilgrims to Canterbury, although the faithful Chaucer assigns

the beard to the miller, and the frankelein, (7) yet of the reve (or steward) he tells us,

"The reve was a slender colerike man,

His berd was shave as neighe as ever he can."

Let us also refer to the plate of "Dethe and the Galante." We have here the portrait of a contemporary, the beau of that age, dressed, and garnished, according to the fashion of the times, but-with smoothened chin. This, therefore, is decisive as to the usage of the times.

John Halle, as he appears in the generally faithful plate (p. 89) does not betray such advanced age, as he does in the illuminated portrait in the halle, and there his full hoary locks, and beard, pronounce him a man evidently far gone in years. This fact affords (were

there need of it) an additional strong argument against any opponent, who may be disposed to favour the already refuted hypothesis, that this is the portrait of the Earl of Warwick and Salisbury! He (on the testimony of Rous) was slain at the battle of Barnet at the early age of 42!

The beard seems only very partially worn during the succeeding reigns of Edward, the Sixth, and Richard, the Third, and in that of Henry, the Seventh, it grew out of fashion. That the Sovereign himself did shave is wellattested, not only by his monument, and great seal, but by the testimony of his "Privy Purse Expences," (see the Excerpta Historica, p. 106,) where appears this satisfactory charge: 6 A 1496. Jan 22 To a barbor that did shave the King 4s." Much in such a national taste de

pends on the King-and his Court. If he, with grave caprice, personally encourage the growth of hair on the sovereign chin, the pliant courtiers, if not restrained, would generally follow the example, and the fashion becomes national; but, on the other hand, if the King shave, the nation in general lacks the beard.

The following reign, that of Henry, the Eighth, illustrates this remark-he cropped his hair, and wore the beard. With the authority of an eastern despot, he commanded his courtiers to be polled-short hair, and beards prevailed. He adopted the broad, and square, beard, that, as we may presume, it might harmonise with his broad, and square, face, and thus-square beards became the fashion.

It may be remembered, that, in earlier times, the Church denounced the beard, yet I have reason to believe (on the authority of his medal) that Wickliffe, the Rector of Lutterworth, and the Father of the Reformation, who lived in the time of Edward, the Third, when beards were held in high esteem, did wear one; but certain it is, that, at the later period of the Reformation, beards were worn by Clergy and Laity-by Protestant and Catholic. Pope Julius, the Second, in his own person, then sanctioned the fashion, in which he was supported by his contemporaries, Charles, the Fifth, Francis, the First, and Henry, the Eighth. Pope Clement, the Seventh, the con-temporary also of Henry, the Eighth, (a fine medal of whom is now before me,) wore a flowing beard, as did also John Knox, the celebrated Scotch Reformer.

The amiable, and youthful, Edward, the Sixth, did not live to enjoy the dignity of the beard, but in the succeeding reign of Mary, her husband Philip, the King of Spain, wore one, that did him honour, and that of his contemporary, Pope Julius, the Third, waved on his breast. Those of Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley, might have contended for their length, and these were even surpassed in size by the double-pointed beard of Reginald Pole, and the pendant one of Bishop Gardener; but, though his flowing locks thus streamed to the wind, yet mercy, alas! was not to be found beneath them.

Pass we on now to the reign of Elizabeth, and here let us notice the sarcastic remarks of Harrison on the wayward, and fickle, fashions: "I will saie nothing" (says he)" of our heads, which sometimes are polled, sometimes curled, or suffered to grow at length like womans lockes, manie times cut off aboue or vnder the eares round as by a woodden dish. Neither will I meddle with our varietie of beards, of which some are shauen from the chin like those of Turks, not a few cut short like to the beard of Marques Otto, some made round like a rubbing brush, other with a pique de vant (O fine fashion!) or now and then suffered to grow long, the barbers being growen to be so cunning in this behalfe as the tailors. And therefore if a man haue a leane and streight face, a marquesse Otto's cut will make it broad and large; if it be platter like, a long slender beard will make it seeme the narrower; if he be wesell

becked, then much heare left on the cheekes will make the owner looke like a bowdled hen."*

In this reign of Elizabeth we meet with the gallánt, the vain, and the ambitious Leicesterwe meet him with his bearded locks, flowing, and, as I wot, well combed, and perfumed withal. Bacon and Walsingham, Jewell and Hooker, Drake and Shakspeare, Statesmen and Divines, Heroes, and Play-wrights-all wore the beard. We were then indeed, truly, a bearded nation. From the Courtier to the Serving-man-all-all--wore the beard. James, the First, succeeded to the throne, and, under his sanction, the fashion still prevailed; and it continued during the reigns of Charles, the First, and the Second. The beard, however, gradually lessened in size, and an anomaly was now arisen, which it behoveth me here to remark, which is, that for the full beard was often substituted a slender, and pendant, lock, on the middle of the chin, and this was also usually accompanied by mustaches. Charles, the First, wore the full beard, descending to a picked point, but his opponent, Cromwell, took the single lock, or beardlet, (if the expression may be allowed me,) and I am not sure, whether these respective adoptions did not partially beget a political distinction. The Cavaliers, I think, wore the full beard, and the Roundheads the single lock, or beardlet, each with some exceptions. The beard still decreased generally in size, and, I believe, became fully extinct in the reign of James, the Second. In Description of Britaine, p. 289 (1807.)

*