The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1883-02-23
Saxon Barber.Shops.

In many respects. He has introduced
many reforms and innovations, and has
secured thereby a very large and re-
spectacle patronage. His chairs are
trifle easier than any have yet seen in
Chemnitz, and he has a rather primi-
tive attachment fastened to their backs,
against which you can rest your head.
In one of these chairs l sit me down,
resting my feet upon a little wooden
stool-one OF his most recent and most
alarming innovations. He takes white
towel and fastens it between my neck
and nv shirt-collar in front, and anoth-
er white towel which he fastens between
my neck and my shirt-collar behind.
He is then approached by little boy,
his son, who hands him shallow bowl.
filled with thin lather. The barber dips
his fingers into the lather and smears
my face with it. Cups and brushes are
unknown here, but the lather is made
fresh for every customer, and this is q
step in advance of the American GUS
tom. After rubbing the lather in thor
oughly he hands the bowl back to the
boy, who bows and retires. Then he
shaves me. / have been educating him
mp to what believe to be the proper
standard, and think he will shortly be
able to understand that / haven't got
the :uticle of cowboy nor the cheek
of canal horse. He does pretty well
now. At first he only went over my
face once. Once was all that was Fec
essary, for he carried everything away,
and gave me such a clean shave that /
did not require his services again for
month. communicated to him as best
l could, and as delicately as l could,
great hurry. and that if he would be
kind enough to go over my face twice,
the first time very slowly and the Sec
ond time very gently, so that the razor
would have soothing effect upon me.
he would be comforting an obligation
for which / could never sufficiently
thank him. His method of shaving
even now, regret to say, is not of
caressing nature. and find that am
frequently lifted out of the chair. But
this is due to forgetfulness on his part.
and he always makes amends for such
little unpleasantnesses afterward by rub
bling his coat-sleeve into my eye, or by
breathing hard into my ear and making
me nervous.
When he has shaved me the little boy
approaches again with another shallow
bowl filled with cold water, and the
barber applies that to my burning face
with his fingers, also. Then he applies
a towel, and he is done. If would
like to have my hair combed l must tell
him so. He will not comb it unless l
do. Shaving is one thing in Germany.
and having your hair combed is anoth-
er. Nine-tenths OF those who visit the
barber, or who are visited by him. do
not have their hair dressed. 1t is no
part of the job, and is not included in
the regular fee. Most of them come to
him with their hair already dressed,
and others 90 to their homes after
shaving and dress it themselves. 9th
ers, again, use a pocket-cOmb in the
barber-shop, to straighten out any little
irregularities which may have been
caused by the barber during the process
of shaving. The Germans, poor as well
as rich, are very particular about their
hair. and it is not allowed to suffer the
slightest neglect. Whatever the bar
ber' S failings may be as a shaver. he is
a great success as hair-dresser. You
cannot leave his chair until each par
ticular hair is made to lie in its own
particular place, and he can put more
kinks into your golden or raven or au-
burn or cardinal locks than were ever
dreamt of in your philosophy. Horatio.
1t is not the custom here, either, for a
barber TO go over your face more than
once, nor do most of them battle your
face afterward As soon as you are
shaved they thank you. and you are ex-
pected to step to the waSh-bowl, hard
by, and douse your own face.
l think that one of the principal
reasons for the backwardness of the
barber-shops in Germany is that they
are seldom patronized by the better
class. The fashionable and popular
thing here is to have the barber come
to your room or your residence. Two
thirds of all the work done by the bar
bers is done in this way. You NAV
leave an order with them to call tn ee
or four times week, say on Tuesdays,
Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, at
six. seven, eight or nine o'clock in the
morning, and as sure rs the hour comes
your barber is at hand. l go to the
shop, like others, only when / wish for
some reason to break the usual appoint
ment, or when am in too great hurry
to wait for the barber to call. | don't
like the system, but it is the fashion.
and this would be mournful world if
onS did not or would not or could pot
keep up with the fashion. When you
are in Chemnitz you must get shaved
like the Chemnitzerc.
OF course shaving at home is uncom-
Portable and unsatisfactory. The kit
which the barber carries with him con
sists merely of a razor, some lather and a
towel. There are no cOnveniences at
hand, and the chairs can not in the very
nature of things be suitable for such
purpose. The only thing in the way
of chair that have been able to find
which does not crick my neck until [
am entirely disabled for business, is one
of the species allied easy but must
say that lather spots here and there
have not improved the appearance OF
the upholstery in the least. If little
domestic controversy which is now 60
ing on should become too warm for me,
why l will get shaved in bed, for I'll be
hanged if I'll go through life with a
neck so stiff that | can not turn my head
without turning my whole body like an
automaton. Besides this shaving at
home arrangement sets bad example
for the children. The coming OF the
barber is an event in their heathenish
young lives. While he is shaving me
they stand at distance in front. with
their eyes and mouths open. making all
sorts of grimaces and placing my life
constantly in danger. This is not all.
1t was only yesterday that we caught
our year-old holding the head of
our two-year-old over the back of