heard a duly-authenticated instance of their being detected in French chignons. Not a lock of Russian hair comes to France except on Muscovite heads. We get, by way of Marseilles, a large quantity of hair from Italy, chiefly from Sicily, Naples, and the Papal States-you remember about the young Roman girl who sold her hair to buy the pope a Zouave-and a moderate quantity from Austria, Bohemia, Belgium, and Spain, across the frontiers, but our principal supplies are home ones, and chiefly come from Brittany, Auvergne, Artois, and Normandy, and in a less degree from Languedoc, Limousin, Poitou, and Bourbonnais. We count the Breton hair the most valuable of all by reason of its extreme fineness, and from its having been covered up in the large caps the peasants wear during its most active period of growth, from its never having been previously curled, but simply rolled up in bands, and finally because it has rarely even been combed!' Auvergnat hair our merchant pronounced to be too coarse to use alone, though it worked up very well mixed with other kinds. Spanish hair, good enough in itself, was too decidedly black, too sombre, to suit ordinary complexions; it was therefore requisite to mix this also, to soften it, in fact, with hair of a more delicate shade; the same with the tow-like tint of the Flemish hair, which had to be made more sunny-looking by the addition of German hair of a richer blond. Neapolitan hair, we were informed, was but little esteemed in the trade, a circumstance at which we were surprised, as the hair of the Caprian peasant women, which is dark, lustrous, long, and massively rippled, is among the finest in the world. The particular German hair from which the chignons of the tender shade termed angel's blond are made, commands, it seems, the highest price of all.

The long hair pulled out of ladies' heads by the comb, and which in Paris is thrown every morning on the rubbish-heaps of the city, is carefully picked up again by the chiffonniers and sold by them for

making what is called têtes-et-pointes, that is, the cheap curl or tuft of hair, the roots of the individual hairs composing which are not all at one end. Nothing in the way of hair would appear to be wasted; that of a bad shade of colour is dyed, generally black, and even the clippings, which the hairdressers can turn to no other account, are sold by them to be manufactured into perukes and chignons for the more expensive class of wax dolls.

One has spoken of chignons at 1500 francs, but this is of course a purely exceptional price, arising first of all from the peculiar colour of the hair, namely, a bright gold shade; secondly, from its great length-nearly three and a half feet

and thirdly, from its bulk and its extreme fineness, to combine all which necessitates a single chignon being carefully selected from an immense stock of hair, several hundred weight, in fact.

When this golden-tinted hair was the rage in Paris, and women, in despair of otherwise acquiring it, powdered their heads with gold, a hairdresser of the Rue Vivienne exhibited in his window a chignon formed entirely of the finest gold thread, and the price of which was 1000 francs; but whether he ever manufactured more than this sample aureate chignon, or persuaded a single fair one to parade these veritable golden locks, we are unable to say. At the present time about 250 francs appears to be the average Paris price for a superior chignon of an ordinary tint, and from twelve to seventy francs for the commoner article.

We all know that the wearing of false hair by beauties in their prime dates back anterior to the Christian era, and that Ovid speaks of the German slaves' hair with which the Roman women sought to enhance their charms, going publicly to make their purchases at the shops of the Gallic hair-merchants situate near the Temple of the Muses, and under the peristyle of the Temple of Hercules. The chignon, however, has only been known under its present name since about the time when 'coiffeurs themselves first came

into vogue in the middle of the eighteenth century. Up till that period there had been only barbers and perruquiers, the former of whom shaved and bled their customers, while the latter merely cut hair and manufactured wigs, so that ladies were obliged to have their hair dressed by their femmes de chambre. Gradually the race of coiffeurs arose to perform this intricate operation, and as a matter of course trenched on the privileges of the perruquiers, for they cut hair as well as dressed it. Ere long a storm of discontent ensued, and an action that kept all Paris in a ferment for months was brought by the perruquiers against the coiffeurs, who had at this time increased to 1200 in number, for illegally infringing on their rights. The coiffeurs pleaded in their defence that the dressing of ladies' hair was 'a liberal art,' and therefore foreign to the profession of perruquier. We have,' said they, with ludicrous consequentiality, 'to embellish nature and correct its deficiencies. It is our task to reconcile the colour of the hair with the tint of the complexion, so as to enhance the beauty of the latter; to grasp with taste the variegated shades of the tresses, and so dispose the shadows as to give more spirit to the countenance, heightening the tone of the skin by the auburn tint of the locks, or subduing its too lovely splendour by the neutral shade which we communicate to the tresses.' Thanks to the influence exercised by the fair sex the coiffeurs gained the day, and, elated with their victory, proceeded to form a corporation, baptising themselves 'Académiciens de la Coiffure et de

la Mode,' at which piece of presumption the French Academy itself took umbrage, and Paris was amused by a new trial. This time the coiffeurs were beaten, whereupon they modestly styled themselves 'professors,' a designation they were permitted to retain, as the professors of the French colleges, less susceptible than the Academicians, entered no protest against their usurping this title.

Now-a-days hairdressers style themselves indiscriminately professors and artists, and have their occasional public exhibitions like other artists, with this difference, however, that they invite the public not only to admire the result of their labours, but to witness them produce their masterpieces. In Paris these exhibitions take place regularly at the Salle Molière, and imitations of them have more than once been given at the Hanover Square Rooms. A most ravishing picture is presented at the moment when the artist-his hand generally trembling with emotion at the outset of the operation-undoes the band that confines the hair of the lady who submits her tresses to his manipulative skill. A blond, auburn, brown, or jet-black avalanche suddenly descends, enveloping the rounded shoulders of the fair one like a rich silken mantle. Gradually, beneath the dexterous fingers of the artist, all these recalcitrant tresses are gathered up and grouped with consummate skill according to some particular type of coiffure, such as the Classic, the Louis Quatorze, the Pompadour, the Watteau, the Premier Pas, the Caprice, the Hirondelle, or the Empire.

H. V.

sible to come at; but, obviously, it cannot be inconsiderable, although made up of small outlays; indeed, perhaps the smallness of outlay, in most cases, should induce a suspicion that a great deal more is expended than we imagine; and this remark applies to the cost of spills or pipe-lights, spittoons, and cigar-holders-the latter having been invented, we suppose, for the purpose of economizing the weed, as it enables the smoker to secure complete combustion, or a holocaust-losing, however, the pleasure of savouring the precious morsel; indeed, smoking a cigar through a tube may be compared to kissing your sweetheart through a respirator. Thus, then, the real annual cost of smoking must greatly exceed even the large sum above stated; indeed, we fear that it cannot be set down at less than ten millions sterling per annum.

However, we will confine' the inquiry to the positive sum of 8,177,812l., giving 58. 4d. per head of the entire population per annum. Now, the smokers of the United Kingdom are obviously in the minority of the population; so that here must be an enormous individual consumption of tobacco in some shape or other to account for this vast expenditure. It would be a valuable fact to ascertain the number of smokers and snuff-takers in the United Kingdom, with a view to the discovery of the physiological consequences of the practice; and this item might be usefully required in the next census of the population. But inquiries which we have made from tobacconists satisfy us that the largely preponderating consumers of tobacco, by smoking, snuffing, and chewing, are the working classes. Among these twelve to fourteen ounces of tobacco a week is an average consumption; that is to say, at a cost of not less than three shillings a week, or, roundly, say 87. per annum. It is easy to see from this figure how the hundreds and thousands of our tobacco expenditure mount up and make up the vast sum before us. At this rate a dozen of them would spend

on tobacco about 100l. per annum; and one hundred and twenty will waste in tobacco smoke 1000/. & year. Among our tradesmen the figure diminishes, and perhaps it may be set down at about four ounces of tobacco smoked per week, which, estimated at the same lowest cost, will be 27. 128. per annum. Many of this class smoke much more, and even indulge in the more expensive luxury of cigars; so that, all the opportunities considered, it seems probable that this class of smokers, although fewer in numbers, may, after all, vie with the former in the consumption of tobacco. That the productive, labouring, or working classes are the chief supporters of the revenue from tobacco is evident from the fact that, in the last fiscal year-a time of pressure and privation on the working classes-the duty on tobacco has fallen off by 41,000l.! This we believe to have been the first instance proving a decline in the consumption of tobacco 'from time immemorial.' If the personal expenditure of the higher classes be not absolutely so great as that of the lowest, it must still be considered that in their entertainments a supply of tobacco or cigars is generally deemed essential; and therefore the annual cost of smoking may be to them even greater than that of the lowest. There is, doubtless, much in all this to make us thoughtful with regard to our own country; but it appears that the account of tobacco smoking is much greater in other countries. In Hamburg, it is said that 40,000 cigars are smoked daily in a population whose adult males scarcely amount to 45,000 individuals-a fact which seems incredible. In France it is about 18 oz. per head, three-eighths of this quantity being used in the form of snuff. France originated snuff-taking, and England followed her example; but the practice has vastly diminished in this country of late years, and seems to be entirely on the decline.

In Denmark the consumption of tobacco is not less than 70 oz., or 4 lbs. per head of the population; and in Belgium it averages 731 oz., or 4 lbs. per head. In some of the

North American States the proportion greatly exceeds these quantities, whilst among Eastern nations it is believed to be still greater. The average consumption of tobacco by the whole human race of 1000 millions is, at the present time, at least 70 oz., or 4 lbs. 6 oz. a head -the total quantity consumed being at least two millions of tons, or 4,480 millions of pounds.

One incontestable fact is, that the consumption of tobacco keeps pace with the growth of populations all the world over; and there is reason to believe that the above-stated consumption is rather less than the actual quantity.

In the presence of this modern consumption of tobacco it may be curious to call to mind that in former times it seems to have been proportionately much greater. Thirty years after its introduction into England-that is, during the reign of King James I.-the practice of smoking was more general than at the present day, although far more costly: for the king states that some of the gentry bestowed three and some four hundred pounds a year upon that precious stinke'representing a much greater value of the present money; and he lays particular stress upon the interesting fact that the mistress could not in a more mannerly kind entertain her lover than by giving him, out of her fair hand, a pipe of tobacco.'

According to Aubrey, the pipe was handed from man to man round the table, and tobacco was actually sold for its weight in silver.' 'I have heard,' says he, 'some of our old yeoman neighbours say that when they went to Malmesbury or Chippenham they culled their biggest shillings to lay in the scales against the tobacco.'

Some of our mechanics in England literally smoke all day. Not long ago one of them, whose habit was to have a pipe in his mouth all day long, whether filled or not, was found dead in his bed with his pipe in his mouth-the coroner's inquest finding him dead by apoplexy, caused by smoking.' Many of the same class chew tobacco as well as

smoke it, and at the same time; and we are assured by tobacconists that among their customers are boys of all ages down to ten, who not only smoke, but actually chew tobacco, ravenously stuffing a quid into their mouths, as stated to us, before leaving the shop. Many a working man will tell you that he would rather go without his dinner than his pipe; and this is so far the explanation of the mystery, leading us to the next inquiry-concerning the joys of smoking.

Decidedly the introduction of tobacco is a strange fact in the history of civilized man. While civilization advances so slowly, a fetid herb conquered the world in less than two centuries. This rapid and continuous extension is the downright fact which proves that tobacco appeals to the very depths of human nature.

Can it really be said that tobacco only satisfies a fashion, a caprice, an inveterate habit, whilst it is a substance which the workman, the poorest of the land, will get at the cost of real privations, with the pence which they gain by the sweat of their brow? In spite of so many medical observations to the contrary, do these facts justify us in believing with the eminent German physician Knapp, that tobacco exerts a useful influence on the human body and its functions?'

Be that as it may, there is no denying that tobacco responds to that imperious craving after sensation with which man is tormented. The savage of America, in his semistarvation and wretchedness; the soldier in the bivouac, ill-fed perhaps, anxious and weary; the sailor on the deep, in the dull monotony of toil and peril; the effeminate inhabitants of tropical regions, who dread to think under the whelming weight of their burning climate; the idler of our towns; the Turk, enervated by the premature exercise of the reproductive function, and sunk in the double inertia of fatalism and despotism, all make use of tobacco as our dandies use the ballroom and the theatres, as the poet sips coffee (or gin), as the savant gives lectures, all resolves itself into