Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1869-09-09

From earliest infancy it has been cher
ished ambition of mine to be shaved some
day in a palatial barber-shop of Paris. /
wished to recline at full length in cushion
ed invalid chair, with pictures about me,
and sumptuous furniture; with frescoed
walls and gilded arches above me, and vistas
of Corinthian columns stretching far before
me, with perfumes Of Araby to intoxicate
my senses, and the slumbrous drone of dis
tant noises to sooth me to sleep. At the end
OF an hour l would wake up regretfully and
find my face as smooth and as soft as an in
fants, Departing, would lift my hand
above that BARRIERS head and say, "Heayen
bless you my son!
So we searched high and low for bar
ber's shop. We entered one, and said
wanted to be shaved. The barber inquired
where my room was. / said, never mind
where my room was, wanted to be shaved
there, on the spot. The doctor said he
would be shaved also. Then there was an
excitement among these two BARRIERS! There
was a wild consultation, and afterwards
hurrying to and fro and feverish gathering
up of razors from obscure places and ran
sacking for soap. Next they took us into
little, mean, shabby back-room; they got
two ordinary sitting-room chairs and placed
us in them, with our coats on. My old, old
dream of bliss vanished into thin air!
/ sat bolt upright, silent, sad, and solemn.
One of the wig-making williams lathered my
face for ten terrible minutes and finished by
plastering a mass OF suds into my mouth.
| expelled the nasty stuff with a strong
English expletive and said, =" Foreigner, be-
ware!" Then this outlaw strapped his
razor on his boot, hovered over me omi-
nously for six fearful seconds. and then
swooped down upon me like the genius of
destruction. The first rake of his razor
loosened the very hide from my face and
lifted me out of the chair. / stormed and
raved, and the other boys enjoyed it. Their
boards are not strong and thick. Let us
draw the curtain over this narrowing scene.
Suffice it that submitted, and went through
with the cruel infliction of shave by
French barber; tears of exquisite agony
coursed down my cheeks, now and then,
but I-survived. Then the incipient assassin
held basin of water under my chin and slop-
ped Its contents over my face, and into my
with mean pretense of washing away the
soap and blood. He dried my features with
a towel, and was going to comb my hair,
but asked to be excused. said, with
whitening irony, that 1t was sufficient to be
skinned declined to be scalped.
l went away from there with my hand
kerchief about my face, and never, never,
never desired to dream of palatial Partisan
barber shops any more. The truth is, as /
believe | have since found out, that they
have no barber shops worthy of the name,
in Paris-and no BARRIERS, either, for that
matter. The imposter who does duty as a
barber brings his pans and napkins and i'm
plements Of torture TO your residence and
deliberately skins you in your private apart
ments. All, I have suffered, suffered, suffered,
here in Paris, but never mind-the time is
coming when l shall have dark and bloody
revenge. Some day Partisan barber will
come to my room to skin me, and from that
day forth that barber will never be heard OF
ZVoin's NeU Book.