The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-04-29

"One OF my customers has just come
back from Europe" said the learned
French barber, land he has been telling
me about woman barber he met in
Italy. Monsieur he said to me, I shall
never forget her. I believe you are a
good barber and have the right idea of
your mission, but really you cannot
hold a candle to her. I tell you, she is
divine. When she put the lather on my
FACET had my beard off then, you
know-it was as though my face had
been bathed in nectar.
when she drew the razor across my
cheek, was thrilled with delight. And
when she put on tho bay rum and ran
her fingers through my hair, ali, then,
monsieur, | realized what it is to be
caressed by an angel! Unfortunately
she had big brother who watched her
carefully, and SO I had little chance to
talk to her. She was Light and graceful
as gazelle and absolutely beautiful.
Her clear, olive com .lexion, dark hair
and perfect features won me at glance.
haven't got over her fascination yet. If
I could have her for barber always, I'd
have my hair dressed every other hour"
II looked at him in pity. Monsieur
l said to him, Z can easily understand
your devotion to this beauty, but do not
mistake your love for the woman for
your devotion to the artistic. If I were
not rival for your affections, would
strongly urge you to continue to patron
ize her barber chair. There would he no
surer way Of disenchanting you and MAX
ing you learn to hate her.
"'What 10 you meant he asked me.
"'I NEAR. monsieur replied, that,
With all due respect for your divinity,
there never was a good woman barber,
and it is my firm conviction there never
will be. Why! Monsieur, there are some
things which We cannot explain. They
are the mysteries OF life, far beyond all
our philosophers. Why is one man.
bright and another dull? Why are there
optinists and pessirnists? Why do some
love to linger over their Burgundy while
others rush through their dinners in Is
minutes? Why are some women pretty
and others ugly? Are not these some of
the unsolvable riddles of our stranga ex-
istence? All, monsieur, ] would like to
tell you why woman, gentle, lovely,
sweet woman, cannot make a good bar
Der, but it is beyond me, although I have
studied the question much.
"What told him is tryla. There are
women who can shave fairly well, but
there is none that can trim a beard or
cut hair property. You may say there
are few men who can do SO. It is
true. Twill not deny what is self evi-
dent. But, monsieur, there are some
men who rise To the occasion, while there
are no women. They have not the lSnack
which is genius in the barber, the paint
er, the sculptor. They cannot do that
undesirable something which gives style,
force and character to the hair and beard.
Even the women themselves, slow to ac-
knowledge their inability to do anything
that man can do, recognize this. Else
why do the best ladies' hair dressing
shops have mel to cut the bangs and
dress the hair Of the customers? And
what a difference there is between the
appearance CT the women whose hair is
dressed by the men BARRIERS and that of
the women who give themselves over to
women barbersl Let us not dwell upon
this unpleasant subject.
81 have seen many women BARRIERS in
the villages of France. They were the
wives and daughters of deceased men
BARRIERS. You see when the country bar
Der dies he leaves nothing to his family,
End his old CT storners transfer their pat
Fonage to the wife or daughter, SO that
the family may not starve Really it
makes little difference with them, for
their skins arc so tough and leathery
that the razor glances off of them, and
never having known what proper hair
cutting or beard trimming is they never
notice the lack Ut it.
Il remember well go years ago, shortly
after came to New York from Paris,
how two women BARRIERS opened a shop
In this city. Their sign read, Women
do the business here One was Ger
man girl who mad been a ballet dancer
and knew-no more about the BARRIERS art
than-you will pardon me. monsieur
you do. The other was French girl. I
knew her and her family in Paris. Her
father kept shop in one Of the busy av-
enues, and on Saturday night his place
was crowded. Ills assistants were his
wife and two daughters. His wife fixed
the customers hair, one daughter kept
the curling irons hot, the other daughter
lathered the customers faces, and he did
the shaving, going from one chair to an
other. You see, it was a common kind
OF shop, patronized by the bourgeoisie
only. Well. tlda girl who had set up in
business in New York was the girl who
had done the lathering in Paris.
''She had come here to earn her living.
had met the ex-ballet dancer, and the
two had concluded that they might make
hit as BARRIERS New York wasn't as
big then as it is now, and the citizens
were greatly astonished at the idea of
women BARRIERS. A good many men went
to them for fun, and the newsnancrs
made sport of them. Of course thev
knew nothing If barbering. The French
girl came to me and asked me to teach
her how tn c11+ hair and 4,.;,,o las, -