The soldier's-beard doth march in shear'd
In figure like a spade,
With which he'll make his enemies quake,
And think their graves are made.
The grim stubble eke on the judge's chin,
Shall not my verse despise;
It is more fit for a nutmeg, but yet
It grates poor prisoners' eyes.
What doth invest a bishop's breast
But a milk-white spreading hair?
Which an emblem may be of integrity,
Which doth inhabit there.
But, oh! let us tarry for the beard of King Harry,
That grows about the chin,
With his bushy pride, and a grove on each side,
And a champion ground between.
Last, the clown doth rush, with his beard like a bush,
Which may be well endur'd."
Charles I. wore the Vandyke-beard, made familiar to us by the great
artist. This fashion, set by the king, was followed by nearly the whole
of his Cavaliers. It has been thought by some students of this subject
that with the tragic death of the king the beard disappeared, but if we
are to put our faith in an old song, dated 1660, we must conclude that
with the Restoration it once more came into fashion.
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