"When High-Class Ladies Wore Masks That Made It Impossible to Speak"

"Along with the mask, a small glass bead was discovered that would have been attached to a string behind the visard’s mouth hole. This bead (sometimes a button) was how the visard was kept on the face. As opposed to unseemly head straps, a lady sporting a visard would hold the bead between her teeth to keep the mask in place. If she wanted to talk, she’d have to remove the mask. This had the side effect of essentially silencing the wearer. In the Elizabethan era, when visards were at their pinnacle of popularity, this silence was generally viewed as adding mystery to a lady’s character."

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/visard-mask-elizabethan-visor-blank-16th-century?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=atlas-page

Gotta maintain your whiteness and silence ladies