Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1889-01-25
"HATH Nor 4 JEW EyEN."

Mr. Saintou, the hairdresser, was a
Frenchman, therefore his English neigh.
bors regarded him with suspicion. He was
also exceedingly stout, and his stoutness
had come upon him at an unbecomingly
early age, 50 that he had long been the Oh
ject of his neighbors' merrment When
| to these facts it is added that. although a
keen and prosperous business mnn, he had
attained the age of fifty without making
any effort to marry, enough will have been
said to show why he was disliked
Why was he not married We're Eng
llsh women not good enough for him The
pretty milliner across the street had been
heard to remark in his presence that she
should never refuse man simply because
he was a foreigner Or if he did not want
an English wife, why did he not import
one from Paris with his perfumes no.
there was no reason for his behavior, and
! Mr.. Saintou was the object Of his neigh
bOrs aversion.
Neighbors are often wrong in their esti-
mates. In the heart of this shrewd and
stout French hairdresser there lay the ca
! pacity for that one supreme and lasting af-
| fection which is the halo crown of every
| truly noble life, and Of which how many
hearts, which bear this worlds reputation
] r.
love story was in the past, and it had come
about in this way.
! One day when the hairdresser was still "A
| young man, not long after he had first set
tied in Albert street the door of his shop
| opened and young woman came in Her
| figure was short and broad, and she was
lame, walking with crutch. Her face and
features were large and peculiarly frank
in expression, and upon her head was a
very large hat. When she spoke, it was
with loud staccato voice her words fell
after one another like hailstones in a storm:
there was no breathing space between
them
II want Mr. Santoun
what may have the pleasure Of show
ing madame =
Good gracious, | told you | wanted to
be shown Mr. Saintou Are YOU Mr. San-
tou None Of your assistants for me
want my hair cut.
The hairdresser laid his hand upon his
heart, as though to point out his own iden-
tity. He bowed, aud as even at that age
he was very stout the effort Of the bow
caused his small eyes to shut and open
themselves again. There was nothing stac-
cato about the manner Of the hardres,er
he had carefully cultivated that address
which he supposed would be most soothing
to those who submitted themselves to his
operations
VERY well, " said the little lady. appar-
emily satisfied with the Identification, 81
want my hair cut 1t is like Il sheaf Of
corn. 1t is like court train 1t is like
seven horses names tied together, if they
were red 1t is like comets tail
1t Is probable that the hairdresser only
took in that part Of this speech upon which
he was in the habit of concentrating his
attention. aud that the force Of the similes
which followed one another like electric
shocks escaped him altogether He was
about to show the new customer into the
ladies' room where his staid and elderly
sister was accustomed to ofiicaie, but she
drew back with decision.
NO, not at all | have come to have my
hair cut by Mr. Saintou. AMI | want to
/ have it done in the room Y,i,h the long row
Of chairs where the long row Of men get
shaved every morning | told my sister
should sit there. You have no men in at
this time of day, have you, Mr.. Saintou Z
| Now | shall sit here in the middle chair
and you shall wash my hair
My father Is the baker around the cor
/ ner He makes good bread do you wash
/ peoples hair as well VIII you squirt wa
/ ter on it with that funny tube viii you
| put it in my eyes Now, | am up on the
chair. Don't put the soap in my eyes, Mr..
| Saintou.'
Salntou was not a man easily surprised
/ Permit me, mademuiselle, would il not be
/ better 10 remove the hat Mon Dieu Ho-
/ ly Mary, what hair ~ For as the Eastern
women carry their burdens on the crown
I of the head TO ease the weight so, when
the large hat was off, it appeared that the
/ bakers daughter carried her hair.
Like the hair of woman on hair
restOrer bottle, if it were red, - remarked
the girl in answer 10 the exclamation
NO mademoiselle, no, it is not red. Mon
/ Dieu is not red. Holy Mary it is the
| color Of the sun. Mon Dieu what hair -
/ As he untwined the masses it fell over the
/ long bib, over the high chair, down till it
swept the floor, in one unbroken flood of
/ light.
Wash it, and cut it, and let me go home
to make my fathers dinner" said the
/ quick voice with decision. My father is
the baker round the corner, and he takes
his dinner at two
is it that mademoiselle desires the ends
cut = asked the hairdresser, resuming his
professional manner.
(which ends =
Which ends ~ he exclaimed, baffled.
Mon Dieu these ends, and he lifted a
handful of the hair on the floor and held it
before the eyes of the girl.
Good heavens, no Do you think am
going to pay you for cutting those ends
It's the ends at the top | want cut. Light
en it that's what want Do you think
am woman in a hairdresser's advertise
ment TO sit all day looking at my hair
have to get my fathers dinner Tighten
it, Mr.. Saintou cut it off that's what
/ want
Mon Dieu, no :" Saintou again relapsed
from the hairdresser into the man He
too, could have decision. He leaned against
the next chair and set his lips very firmly
together by all that is holy, no, ~ he
said; you may get some villain English
man to cut that hair, but me never
You speak English very well, Mr.. San
tou. Have you been long in the country
Well, wash the hair, then, and be done
Don't put the soap in my eyes"
Saintou was in ecstases. He touched
the hair reverently, as one would touch the
garments of a saint. He laid aside his or
dinary brushes and sponges, and going int
the shop he brought thence what was best
and newest. Do not laugh at him. tiavt
We not all at some time in our lives met
with what seemed the embodiment of uul
ideal have we not set aside for the time
our petty economies and reserves anC
brought forth whatever we had that wa,
hest of thought or smiles or vesture
"Ah, mademoisele,' he said, ITO take
care of such hair forever-that would he
heaven | am Frenchman | have
soul | can feel "
SHOULD You be afraid to die a suddel
4 Mr. trfi..
from the depths of shower of water.
'Ciel We do not speak of such things
mademoiselle, There will come time
know when my hair will turn gray thel
for the sake of my profession ! shall b'
obliged to dye it. There will come tim,
after that when | shall die but we do no
even think of these things, it is better not.
But should you be afraid to die now !
persisted the girl
Every much afraid, said the hairdress
er candidly,
Then don't feel, Mr.. Saintou. neveI
feel make il the business of my life moi
to feel They tell me there is somethinl
wrong at my heart, and that if | ever fee
glad or sorry | shall go off, pop, like
CROW from tree when you have shot it
like spark that falls into the water"
The hairdresser meditated upon this fo
some time, He did not believe il. lie ha,
drawn the bright hair back now from TN
water and was fondling it with his whites
aud softest towels
"Who was it that said TO Mademoisell
that her heart was bad =
Good gracious, Mr. Saiutou, my heart
not bad, | know my catechism and 20 /
church, aud cook my fathers dinner ever
day, and very good dinner it is, too
What put it into your head that had a ba
heart =
Pardon, Mademoiselle mistake. VIII
told Mademoiselle that she was sick a
heart Z"
Good gracious heavens | am not sic
at heart, To be sure my mother is dead
and my sister is ill., and my father is a
cross as two sticks, but for all that | an