The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1879-07-30
The Female Barber.

The Female Barber.
In the course Of my wanderings met
the woman who shaves, a type supposed
extinct.
i met her at b, little town of
5000 inhabitants, in the Department of
the Loi1e-In-ferieure. A copper plate
hung in front of the little shop. of course
the latter was painted blue An old ROYAL
decree obliged all BARRIERS to do so; 1t is
still their favorite color. Plain curtains
excluded the eye Of the stranger.
turned the door-knob. Two women
came out OF the back shop. an old and
young one. Then I said, looking about
me as if trying to find the barber:
~ would like to he shaved ,s.~
cat your service, Monsieur" was the
answer. 4tE '9@}e"a& t-as .i rMt~ aas5
The elder of the two women pushed
chair towards me. An ordinary chair,
not a BARRIERS fauteull The Younger
woman tied a towel around nv neck.
She took it out of one Of those monumen
tai cupboards we find in the provinces.
It gave me secret feeling of satisfaction
to see that the younger woman was to be
the operator. A feeling puerile in itself,
perhaps. Those who have sensibility are
not so much to be pitled as Lafontaine
would have us believe. Little things
give them great pleasure sometimes.
The "barberess"- reminded me,
l do not know why, of that female barber
in the ''Lutrin' who Boilear- Despreaux,
yielding to an everstr aimed sense of the
dignlfied, replaced by female clock
vcnder. -,. .I.
The "barbercss," say, began by lath-
ering me, not with brush, but with her
hand, or rather two fingers. Do you un.
derstand now why would have objected
to the process if performed by an old
hand, wrinkled and hard? OF course, the
one applying the lather was not in the
least patrician- still it was passable not
withstanding, while the sensation pro-
duced as it passed over my face was one
of peculiar irritation annoying rather
than agreeable. The hand seemed to
have a preference for my chin, and kept
raising it with gentle taps as we do to
children when we tell them, ironically,
"that's nice clean face, isn't it,"
No such thought certainly entered the
woman's head. Still, was ill at case. l
thought she would never be done. for
got the proverb, "Well lathered is half
shaved" I stole a glance at her from
time to time. She was woman of about
rs years of age--a brunette-not too full.
Her features were regular, and as nearly
delicate as could be without being 60. A
kerchief of violet and red, such as they
Ewear in the country, was crossed over her
bosom. Every time I looked at her I
met her eyes handsome ones they were,
too. I do not know anything more in
tinidating OF ridiculous than the position
OF man pinioned as I was, his head
thrown back, his chm covered with soap
Looking into woman's face. He can
not speak, he cannot even smile.
When she thought my face sufficiently
prepared, she left me to whet her razor on
leathern thong. I had time to appre-
ciate the elegance of her figure. She
came back armed with the razor In the
hand that weapon-for it is weapon
would never have caused me the slightest
uneaslness. Brandished by woman, it
caused me grim feeling of apprehen-
sion I could not entirely repress. All
that was gentle in the female BARRIERS
face seemed gradually to fade away. The
vision of Judith passed before my eyes.
[ closed them Involuntary. I thought
of the many women I had wronged; Of
my ingratitude; of the many infdelities
l had been guilty of. I felt it had been
very foolish and very vain to think that
my numerous mideeds would go unpun-
ished.
All this time the razor ran, or rather
fitted, like butterfly of steel, over my
pallfd countenance. A sort of vertigo
seized me,---it seems surprising now. Old
forgotten dramas in real life came back
to memory. Again I saw haggard and
angry faces. heard chorus of COM
plants, reproaches, and menaces. In the
rapid succession of ideas that female bar
Der appeared to me as the minister and
the instrument of all their vengeance.
And still the razor flew.
The feeling finally became insupporta-
BILE. gave bound as some one strug-
Cling to be free. She stopped at once,
and said, in a very natural tone of voice:
"Do 1 hurt you, Monsieur?'' --,-.--
I Redeemed with shame, and stammer-
ing "No, not at ALL settled back in my
chair. 49,
The fact is, her hand was remarkably
light,-I mean the one that held the ra-
zor: The other hand, the left, rested
sometimes on my cheek, sometimes on
my neck; in order to produce the necessa-
ry tension of the skin.
When she was about to shave my upper
lipQ do not wear mustache), she gave
my nose little pinch. Was it absent
mindedness or professional zeal? Or a
little malice, perhaps? | cannot tell.
Whatever it may have been, it was suffi-
Gent to instantancously dissipate my YER
tigo and bring me back to realities again.
In three minutes was shaved sEand
we'll shaved, too" My "barberess' my
barberess-what coxcomb!- Offered to
wash my chin for me. This time de-
cliaed, and washed it myself.
When left the little shop both the
women overwhelmed me with thanks.
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