Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-07-23
THE TALkArlvE BARBER.
as Tells All He Knows About HIS AT
 and Its History.

THE TALkATivE BARBER. a. Tells All He Knows About His Art
 and Its History.
 ssThat man's chronic grumbler," the barber said to Detroit Free Press re- porter, as he glanced after reurine cus- tomer ''Nothing is dainty enough for him. Dd you ever see better appointed snoP than mine2"
 furnished room, with it's luxuriant cnaars' plate glass mirrors, nickel plated cuspi- dores, emblazoned shaving mugs, glittering cut glass bottles, etc., and declared that no never had. "I wonder what he'd say about barber l shop of a century or more ago" growleo the barber. "It wasn't like 8 boudoir, promise you Why, Wat pay every week | for duplicate copies of papers for my GUS. toners to read would have paid the rent o1 | a shop a hundred years ago" "But in those old days the barber shops l were supplied with papers, too," suggesteo l the reporter.
 l "Oh. yes," admitted the barber, who was | a very intelligent man of his class. "But l the cost wasn't any thing like the same. Remember, take all the leading dailies' | too. Yes, they had the newspapers. An old etching of barber shop by Toms has
 this couplet under it:
  Waiting ones the paper read
 "Rarbers burned candles in brass chan
 deliers. which emitted an unpleasant odor. Often the barber had a stick With'a cross ) piece thrust into his apron string, ana ln
 the cross piece, which was almost as hlgn
 as his chin, candle burned. A century 1 ago a basin was used, with half circle 1n , the rim. which went around the throat. There were dished places in it to hold the
 balls of soap It Was suGh 2 basin that the
 valiant Don Quixote took from the enohant-
 ing barber, imagining 1t to be golden head piece. Itell you, things weren't any thing as comfortable as they are now" "I wonder # harhers talked as much as they do pow,H the reposteF said, with 2 twinkle in his eye
 "There isn't any doubt about that" re- phed the barber. "An old poetref to the 5 failingl
 :. Combs out your wig and tells a story: t 'They were not only garrulous, but k9p. r up an odd snapping noise with their nn- @ gers. In Ben Jonson's Silent Women Is a character named Morose, who especially S | eulog,zed barbep who was silent and d1d | not snap his fingers. The more audihla the
 cracking of the fingers the higher the bar
 Der stood in the fraternity. Do you know
 what led to the peculiar custom" Il The reporter confessed that Ee didn't.
 "Even at that day the proverb, g good r lather is half the shave,' was in vogue. The l. delicate refinement of the brush had not @ been introduced, and the barber enerReti- l. oally ru bbsd the lather over the customer g @ face with his fland. The barber threw on
 the father which adhered to hls hngess by t. a peculiar jerk which caused the fingers to q crack"
 i. ''The couplet you quoted said something e about bieeding." remarked the reporter: .s "From that originated the striped pole, did Q 1t not9''
 st "Yes. In those days barber was also e
 surgeon. Do you know, I looked up that a thing oniy the other day. Tread that among at the adaptations of Heriot's celebrated hos n pital, founded in Edinburgh in 1928, IS one IF that there was to be chi11r0eon barber to
 cut the hair of the inmates, and look to the T. cure of ali those who in any way shall ;, stand in need of his art,' Bleeding was ,t grasped long, stout staff, and his arm wa. ,' bandaged with long fillet or tape. This Al blood stained bandage was kept wound
 around the pole when not in use, and tho
 pole was placed outside the door to indicatt = to passers-by where they might be bled Is Finally painted pole was used instead"
 "What Is the earliest reference to shay d. ing among the classic nations'" asked tht ce reporter.
 II "No, you don't, either," warily replied 1e the barber. "You are not going to see me G. swimming back to shore. Iknow, however a. that Apollo and Mercury were the onl,
 deities of oIden times who are represented ,n beardless. The old Dutch theologists de ha clare that beard grew on Adams chil ,e after Eve had tempted him. Diogenes wor' s. beard; scipio Africanus shaved ever! "a day. Alexander ordered the Macedonian or soldiers to shave, and smooth chins became oi the fashion until the Turks took Byzantium o when only the conquerors were allowed | a5 wear boards. The Normans treated tn Ia II Anglo-Saxons the same way" he "How about the Mohamnedansl" aske m the reporter.
 ad "A barber would probably starve in thei ,i1 country. They venerate their boards g. w much that they bury the hair which come y z. off in combing them. They broke the frs ;t hair as it was combed out, to propitiate tn angels. They considered that the alvin
 image of man resided in the beard"