In closing, we
have to state that cardboard boxes were worn at night in bed to protect
the beard from being disarranged.
TAXING THE BEARD
Beards, in some instances, were taxed in bygone England, but not to the
same extent as in Russia, which had numerous singular laws in force for
nearly sixty years. In nearly all parts of Europe, by the commencement
of the eighteenth century, the custom of wearing beards had been given
up. Peter the Great was wishful that his subjects should conform to the
prevailing fashion. In 1705 he imposed a tax upon all those who wore
either a beard or a moustache, varying from thirty to one hundred
roubles per annum. It was fixed according to the rank of the taxpayer. A
peasant, for instance, was only required to pay two dengops, equal to
one copeck, whenever he passed through the gate of a town. This tax gave
rise to much discontent, and in enforcing it the utmost vigilance had
to be exercised to prevent an outbreak in the country. Notwithstanding
this, the law was, in 1714, put into operation in St Petersburg, which
had previously been exempt.
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