Trichocosmos: Notes historical, æsthetical, ethnological, physiological, anecdotal and tonsorial, on the hair & beardAnonymous
History
Trichocosmos: Notes historical, æsthetical, ethnological, physiological, anecdotal and tonsorial, on the hair & beard
Anonymous
Barbering; Beards; Hair; Hairdressing; Wigs
That the colour of the hair in certain races has undergone a
considerable change in the course of time is apparent from what
is known to have taken place in Britain. The ancient Germans were
universally characterized by red hair and blue eyes, and what is termed
a strongly marked zanthous constitution; but, Niebuhr says, the Germans
are now far from being a light-haired race; and Chevalier Bunsen
remarks that he has often looked in vain for the golden or auburn locks
and light cærulean eyes of the old Germans among their descendants,
but in Scandinavia he found the colour of the hair and eyes precisely
those described by Tacitus. From this it is inferred that the altered
conditions of life, brought about by civilization, have produced a
change in the physical character of the people. Such change, however,
is confined within very narrow limits; in the hair it is but a mere
shade of colour or variation in its crispness. Under the microscope,
the definite form of the human hair is most exact and uniform; so
much so, that Mr. Queckett was enabled by this test to confirm the
conjectures of the Archæological Society, in a very scientific manner,
respecting some portions of skin taken from church doors in Essex, and
from Worcester Cathedral. Tradition said, pirates and persons guilty
of sacrilege in old time were flayed, and their skins nailed to the
church door. Mr. Queckett was to determine if the relics confided to
his charge, and which looked exactly like scraps of old parchment, were
really portions of the human body. A few hairs were discovered adhering
to the skin and this decided the point--it was unmistakeably human hair
and human skin--and the Archæologists were made happy by the discovery.
Would that we could send the smallest fragment of one of those skins
with but a solitary hair upon it--which Hanno hung up in the Temple
of Juno--to Mr. Q., with the publishers’ compliments, that he might
ascertain the true character of the hairy people the old Carthaginian
fell in with on his route.
The colour of the hair is also an indication of temperament: black
hair is usually accompanied by a bilious temperament; fair and auburn,
with the sanguine and sanguine-nervous; and very light hair, with a
temperament mild and lymphatic.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account