Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-12-12
HINTS TO BARRIERS.
suggestions to the Professors of the
TOnsOri:al Art Which They will Not
Heed.
Mark Twain.

1t is safe to say that nine out Of ten OF the
men one meets on the streets in our cities shave,
or rather are shaved. Some shave the mus
tache. some shave the chin, some the cheeks
Indeed, one must go into mathematics to the
tables of permutatiOns and combinations to fin d
how many varieties of shaving are possible
Woman is accused of being the party who de-
votes her time to appearances and frivolities of
the mirror, but, after all, man does his share
of it.
And it is true that shaving is a very old
custom, nor have we anything to say against
it, except that it is unnatural and is. and
should be acknowledged to be, a concession to
the looking glass. and to vanity. But the poin t
is that old as is the art, 1t is singular thing
how few know how to shave. NEARLY all men
shave In the passive voice." This may be taken
as the grammatical phrase or as an acknow-
ledgment of the voice of the barber. which
they have to endure. Each Specification is true.
And while nearly all men consent to refer their
shaving to few who make 1t business only
u fraction of those few understand their art.
There is financial blunder at the bottom of
it that makes trouble all through. The dogma
that shave is a shave is mistake. One man
with stiff beard and full face will choose to
have his whole expansive cOuntenance clear
shOrn; another will shave only his upper lip.
alike. One may require thirty minutes attention.
the other ten minutes. The first will dull razor
the second not effect its edge. To each it is ten
cents.
Now, BARRIERS working day, we will assume
is ten hours long. If he is occupied three
quarters of his time. he must be buster than
usually appears. This gives him seven hours
labor. and, if he struck day of half-hour faces
his whole receipts would be S1.40. If his luck
gave him ten-minute cases, he would take in
nnfr For.
the seductive side issues-the hair-cuts and
shampOOs of the trade-that bring in more
per hour than the fundamental industry.
Now, as the price and the circumstances of
shaving go, it is a constant hurry to finish a
man. as shaving scarcely pays at the best, and if
he is one of the most important subjects-full
shave and stiff beard-it is loss to work upon
him. To shave him carefully costs too much
time and costs the edge of the razor. To skim
over his face, cutting off sections of beard here
and there. and leaving odd GASES of hair along
the deserts of the cheek. saves the razor and
spells the person who pays for the operation,
and who should not be entirely forgotten. The
scale of prices ought to be regulated by what
one gets, and BARRIERS ought to have the courage
to charge for what they do.
How q bad Husband Got Rid OF His
Wife.
A telegram from Buffalo, N. Y. last night
says: Mrs. Collins. the wife of prominent Brad
ford man, who has been for some months con-
fined in the Buffalo state insane asylum, has
been taken out on writ Of habeas corpus. and
it was stated by her counsel and friends that she
has never been insane. There is scandal In
connection with the case. A short time before
her arrest she was told that her husband was
unfaithful, and she openly accused two Brad
ford ladies Of undue familiarity with him.
She then came to Buffalo with view to obtain
ing divorce. and was soon aftcrward commit
ted to the asylum. 1t is alleged that there was
crookedness in the manner of her commitment.