The Tories often regarded with mistrust any persons who did not use hair-powder. The Rev. J. Charles Cox, LL.D., F.S.A., the eminent antiquary, relates a good story respecting his grandfather. "So late as 1820," says Dr Cox, "Major Cox of Derby, an excellent Tory, declined for some time to allow his son Edward to become a pupil of a well-known clerical tutor, for the sole reason that the clergyman did not powder, and wore his hair short, arguing that he must therefore be a dangerous revolutionist." In 1869 the tax on hair-powder was repealed, when only some 800 persons paid it, producing about £1000 per year.
At the present time, when the wig is no longer worn by the leaders of fashion, we cannot fully realise the important place it held in bygone times. Professional as well as fashionable people did not dare to appear in public without their wigs, which vied with each other in size and style.
[Illustration: Egyptian Wig (probably for female), from the British Museum.]
To trace the origin of the wig our investigations must be carried to far distant times. It was worn in Egypt in former days, and the Egyptians are said to have invented it, not merely as a covering for baldness, but as a means of adding to the attractiveness of the person wearing it. On the mummies of Egypt wigs are found, and we give a picture of one now in the British Museum. This particular wig probably belonged to a female, and was found near the small temple of Isis, Thebes. It was customary in Egypt to shave the head, and the wig was an excellent covering for the head, much better than a turban, for the wig protected it from the rays of the sun, and its texture allowed the transpiration of the head to escape. The wigs were worn both within the house and out of doors. The specimens of Egyptian wigs in the British Museum consist of curled hair in the upper portions, and the lower parts and sides are made of plaited hair. Ointment was used at the top of the wig in the same manner as if it had been hair growing on the head.
Assyrian sculptures frequently represent the wig, and its use is recorded among ancient nations including Persians, Medes, Lydians, Carians, Greeks, and Romans. _Galerus_, a round cap, was the common name among the Romans for a wig.