The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-08-01
A Barber Talks. lBarbers' oGazette.I

lBarbefs' Gazette.
 Shaving a mans face makes you in- innate with him; you can't help it, that's fact" said the gentlemanly barber, as he rubbed an additional dose of lathel on the customers chin. "l don't mean to say that you become his bosom friend with the first shave, but let him come regularly dor three months and you know all about his business, his family, his friends. his meals and everything else. The most interesting customer is tbe lover. He is a daisy, particularly when he first arrives and con6dentially asks you to make his hair curl little on the forehead and to shave him very smooth as he is going to see his girl. By the time you have finished his face, it's ten to one you know as much about the lady as he does. As time goes on, you can tell by his moods how his love affair pro- gresses, until the period arrives when he either grows 6ckle and tells you of his new flame, or gets tilted and grows a beard, which only brings him at odd times to the shop for trim mings, or else gets married and stays away altogether.
 The dude, Of course, is always with us," further said the barber rubbing wig orously at the bald spot on the custom CTS head, he very seldom has much hair on his face, bat he likes to feel the razor. When he has anything above his mouth he is always careful to request |: Please don't take of the end of my moustache,' and you don't because as a forgotten his pocket-boo& is constant occurrence, and so is the man who owes you two slaves and never comes again. He don't mean to stay away, but, when- ever he thinks of you, he hasn't enough change, and so he goes somewhere else for his scraping.
 "The stingy man is the least popular customer. He never by any chance gives you the change, even if it is only five cents, and it's funny to see what little in- terest is taken in such 2 man. The boy always forgets to brush him of, and usually manages to knock down his hat. He never gets clean towel and is usual ly shaved with the raz or you are honing down. That's the way he catches it. But the contrast with the generous cus- toner is the man who never takes change out of quarter, and very often leaves a dime with the boy beside. Why, we al- most eat him up with attention we all, from the boss downward, brush him of we treat his hat with the tenderness of a baby we bathe his face with the particu. lar lavender water of the dude customer we laugh at all of his jokes and admire all his clothes in fact, we are his admir- CTS from the moment he enters until he leaves us. Speaking of clothes reminds me that the dressy customer is the young man who comes to us for a first opin- ion on his last new suit and he generally takes our advice in regard to fit. Com plete admiration of his taste generally brings out quarter of dollar.
 "The most perplexing customer" con- tinued Snip, as he waxed the ends of his patrons moustache, Sis the doubtful one Sometimes he is all talk, and at others he has not a word to say. Occasionally he knocks you silly by telling you to keep the change out of half dollar, and then for the next week or month he looks as sharply after his five cents change as though his life depended on It."
 Some barbers make money, SUD- pose ?" queried the customer, as he rose from the chair.
 A>Os VII A1SAJ, Sis, duO ao ptS iiiOuCy at that. unless you get some capital and become boss barber. Very few jour- neymen barbers earn more than SIS a week, the maj ority less than SIo. Christ mas time brings $2o to $3o in tips, and sometimes an old suit of clothes or other halfworn raiment is given to US by a customer. Still, there are worse trades than shaving and cutting hair, and, now l think of it, don't think mentioned the drunken customer to you, who is the most valuable of the lot. He either wants to be sobered up because he is drunk or sobered down because he has been drunk. He has to be doctored with iced towels and Jumps of ice behind his ears and strong doses of bay rum and flaming, and cocktail brought in by the boy, and more ice, and, finally, when he is through and says How muchr 'l'n leave that to you, sir never brings less than half a dollar. and very often means a whole one. Thank you, sir; call again."