The Republican journal., 1871-08-17
About BARRIERS.
A SAD CASE OF FACIAL AFFLICTION.

SAD CASE OF FACIAL AFFIICTIoN.
All things change except BARRIERS, the
WAYS of harbcrs and the Surroundings OF
BARRIERS. These never change What one
experiences in Il BARRIERS shop the first
tnae he enters one is what he always ex-
prliences in barber shops aGerward till
the end of his days. A man approached
the door from Jones street as | approach
ed ii from Main-a thing that always hap
pens. hurried up, but it was of no use;
he entered the door one little step ahead
of me, and followed in on his heels and
saw him take the only vacant chair, the
one presided over by the best barber. 1t
always happens SO. sat down, hoping
that might fall heir to the chair belong
ing 10 the better of the remaining two
BARRIERS, for he had already begun comb
ing his mans hair while his comrade was
NOT quite done rubbing up and oiing his
customers locks. | watched the probable
tiles with strong interest. When | saw
No. was gaining on No. my interests
grew to solicitude. When No stopped
moment to make change on bath ticket
for new conner, and lost ground in the
race, my solicltude rose to anxiety. When
No. | caught up again, and both he and
his comrade were pulling the towel away
and brushing the powder from their custo-
mer's checks, and it was about an even
thing which one would say sNextm first,
my very breath stood still with the sus-
penSe. But when, at the final culminat-
ing moment No. | stopped to pass a
comb {; couple of times through his custo-
mer's eyebrows, L saw that he had lost
the race by Il single instant, and rose in
dignant and Quilted the shop, to keep from
falling into the hands of No. 2; for have
none of that cnviable tirmness that en-
ables a man to look calmly into the eyes of
q waiting barber and tell him he will wait
for his fellow BARRIERS chair. stayed out
fifteen minutes and then went back, hop
ing for better luck. OF course all the
chairs were occupied now, and four men
sat waiting, silent, unsocable, distraught,
and looking bored, as men always do who
are waiting their turn in BARRIERS shop.
| sat down in one of the iron-armed COM
partments Of IN old sofa, and put in the
time for a while, reading the framed adver-
tlsements of all sorts of quack nostrums
for dyeing and coloring the hair. Then
read the greasy names on the private bay
rum bottles; read the names and noted
the numbers on the private shaving cups
in the pigeon-holes; studied the stained
and damaged cheap prints on the walls,
of battles, early Presidents, and voluptu-
Gus recumbent sultanas, and the tiresome
and everlasting young girl putting her
grandfather's spectacles on; execrated in
my heart the cheerful canary and the dis
tracing parrot that few barber shops are
without. Finally, searched out the least
dilapidated of the last years illustrated
papers that Uttered the foul centre table,
and conned their unjustiliable misrepre-
sensations of old forgotten events. At
last my turn came. A voice said "Next y
and ! surrendered to-No. of course. 1t
always happens so. | said meekly that |
was in n hurry, and it affected him as
strongly as if he never heard it.. He
showed ur my head and put napkin I'M
der it. lie plowed his fingers into my
collar and fixed a towel there lie ex-
plored my hair with his claws and sug-
gested that it needed trimming. l said l
did not want il trimmed. lie explored
again and said it was pretty long for
the present style-better have a little
taken off; it needed it behind, especially.
! said had had it cut only week before