Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-04-26
A BARRIERS CHAT.
His Views OF Customers-His First Ex-
perience With q Corpse.

His Views OF Customers-His First Ex-
perience With . Corpse.
Talking about queer people" said barber
on street to a STAR reporter the other day, as
the latter was being shaved, "a barber has
more opportunities to see cranky people than
anyone else in the world. / remember when
hrst went into the business" he said, as ne adj
Justed the towel more firmly around the
scripe's neck, Il was very nervous and imps-
tient, but 1t didn't take long to get that out OF
ne, for by the time you shave two or three
crusty old individuals you have lost all your
temper and are as submissive as lamb. We
see great big side of human nature Also" he
continued, as he whitewashed the reporters
face, for here q man has an opportunity 10
see people under all conditions. Why, can
tell the moment see a man whether my duties
are going to be pleasant or not There has
been a great deal said about BARRIERS talking too
much; but when you hear a mas growl because
q barber is trying to make his stay in the chair
pleasant you can put him down as peing q man
who shayes once a week and wants q close
shave every time. You see there is q class of
men who visit my establishment and insist
upon having a close shave. You know what
this means. They are afraid we will leave an
hours growth of beard on their faces and they
and lose the percentage on the 10 cents which
We charge"
ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE.
"How do you like the business2" asked TIE
STAR reporter, as soon as he had the chance.
SWELL, cannot say that l am in love with IL.
1t is too confning. Then, again. the people
you have to deal with are not always pleasant
But it is good enough, l suppose. for those who
like it and the truth is have to like il for the
reason that there is more money in il for me
than anything else. would rather shave fifty
people, however, than cut the hair of one young
man. You see, by youngsters mean that class
OF young men who are just beginning to make
calls. They are very particular about their
hair and if a barber should happen to leave a
hair standing on end it means good-by to his
| trade. Now, old men are good customers and
while they are particular in not allowing their
hair to grow too long, they scarcely ever have
any directions to give, but merely say Go
ahead and suit yourself Now, when we strike
q man like that you can bet we are going to do
| liver me from dudes" continued the tonsorial
artist, as he sprayed cologne over the reporters
face.
CUTTING DUDES HAIR.
Gtgives me the cold quivers when they come
in here to have anything done. They scarcely
ever have q shave; they don't need one for the
reason, 1 guess, that they take after their
| mothers and don't have beard. But they want
their hair cut and it must be in the latest style.
One fellow will stand before the glass fully five
| minutes before taking seat. After surveying
himself carefully fore and aft he will tell you
| that he wants his hair cut in the latest style,
with little fringe on each side and 'pawt' in
| the middle. Well, he takes his seat and you
| commence. You havn't cut more than an
eighth Of one side when up he jumps and says:
'Bawber, don't you think you are cutting a
| little too fine on that side? and SO on and SO on
| until his hair is cut. You see We cannot afford
to do this sort Of thing. Our time is money,
probably more so than in any other business,
| for you see we get paid by the piece and not by
the day, 80 that when q young man comes in
here and takes up q large portion of our time
| 1t means money out OF our pockets. Hair cut?
All right; just lean a little back"
| The reporter obeyed and the knight OF the
scissors continued: Il like to shave dead men;
not because there is any peculiar fascination in
| the operation but there is money in it You
see we get from % to $40 for every job Of that
sort, and then the work is easy, comparatively
| speaking, for the flesh is soft and pliable and
| the beard easily removed.
| HIS FIRST DEAD CUSTOMER.
| II never shall forget the time shaved my
first dead man" he went on, as he grabbed the
scribe's fore lock and cleared it of unceremo-
niously. st was down south, and had only
been q journeyman two weeks, when one moon
| light night my door bell rang violently and
| some one asked for me. Well, went to the
| door. There stood lady all dressed in black
Between her sobs she told me her father had
| died and she wanted me to prepare his face for
| burial. OF course, knew that the old man
| wanted a shave, but was kind of surprised
that the daughter should come, instead of leav-
ing it to the undertaken, as is the custom. Well
to make long story short, l put couple of
| razors in my pocket and the rest Of my outfit
| and soon arrived at the old mans house. II
| was situated on a lonely road in the midst Of a
| large clump of chestnut trees. The body Law
| in the front parlor and without any ceremony
was conducted to the door and left. moved
| over toward the body, which lay on q cooling
| board. covered with q sheet, exposing the face
The eyes were wide open and the jaw had
| fallen. The moon shone over the tree tops
| and into the room and put such strange light
| on the old mans face that 1 was scared almost
| to death. Well, I commenced to shave him, but
| those eyes kept looking at me and every now
| and then 1 fancied L heard some one say;
| Look out, there, your razor drags.' l COM
pleted the job somehow or other and left SIS
| better off, but don't think fifty times that
amount would have tempted me to shave an
other dead man that night. L soon got over
my scare, however, and now, as have already
said, / kind of like il. There is another class of
people who go to make BARRIERS life misera-
Bile, and that is the women. Oh, they are a
tough set, fretful, particular, and, above all,
close. / have several patrons who ladies,
in here usually once a month to get q shampoo
and man must be as careful as though he
were scratching the head Of baby two weeks
old II is right funny to see them come in
here and take off the false hair and sit on it
while We shampoo them. We play a great
many jokes on them if the opportunity pre-
sents itself"