The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-18
From Yesterday,s First Edition.
SHAVING FOR A WAGER.
A New Kind of Sport-4o Men in is
Minutes and 10 Seconds.


a bloody one The curtain of the Imper-
ial Theater in the Aquarium was down,
and as the spectators filed into their seats
the men turned up the collars of their
coats and the women shivered. The
referee, a short and round-bodied gentle
man, looked grave but calm. The con-
test" he said to The Pail Malln repre-
sentative, taking the blush-white articles
of agreement from the inside pocket of
his top coat, lis for e25 side and the
championship. Lloyd is the challenger,
and understand that if Lloyd is de-
feated Wick will 20 to America to meet
all corners in a tonsorial combat. The
referee is to be the sole judge of points,
and there is but one stipula-
ment-namely, that ] shall make a diff
ference between cuts arising from in
efficiency and those which may be due to
INEQUALITIES of the surface. 1t is time
for the show to begin, and l must take
my place" The referee climbed the steps
leading to the stage, showing the curtain
to one side. and was lost TO view. The
occupants of the back seats and of the
gallery began to stamp their feet by way
of informing the management that the
proper tim had arrived for the unveil-
ing of the stage The signal was given
and the curtain was raised. The specta-
tors looked upon a row of ten BARRIERS
chairs. Behind these, at a small table,
sat the referee. AT his right hand, on
the table, was stop watch. In front of
him was some paper. He was busily en-
gagged in writing. The occupants of the
back seats and of the gallery applauded,
but to the applause the referee paid no
attention, evidently believing that he
was entitled to it.
The applause having come to an end,
the referee stepped to the footlights,
which were on vacation, and read the
articles of agreement, finishing with the
hope that the best man might win. As
the spectators had heard this before at
prize, dog, and, perhaps, cock fights, they
applauded. The referee said that the
men were to shave against each other for
an hour each night until Dec Is, by
which time, in his opinion, the question
of superiority would be established be-
yond the ghost of a doubt The referee
retired and sat down at his table. Then
the orchestra, consisting of pianist, fell
to- The strains were low and mournful-
the sort of music that is supposed to de-
note the immediate proximity of the vii
lain and the extreme peril of the heroine
There was a tramp of many feet, and a
body of fifty or sixty men marched in in
an irregular manner upon the stage.
| They formed a semi-circle behind the
referee, and almost filled such parts of
| the stage as were not occupied by the
| Tyrolese Alps, the referees table and the
referee, and ten BARRIERS chairs.
Suddenly the orchestra burst forth
into a livelier air, and Mr.. Wick and
Mr.. Lloyd STROBE upon the stage To be
perfectly accurate, Mr.. Lloyd strobe and
Mr. Wick tripped. The champion, as Mr.
| Wick describes himself is rather short,
but not at all pursy His cheeks are as
smooth as marble-topped table, and
| upon his upper lip is that brand of mus
tache which only patience, perseverance,
time and brilliantine can develop into
| that condition of robustness which would
withstand single tug. To deface its
contour by an absent-minded chew would
| be impossible. Mr.. Wick was supple in
| his movements, and displayed nothing
| that could be said to approach nervous
ness. Mr.. Lloyd is much taller and
| stronger looking than his adversary. If
the men were opposed to each other,
| armed with axes, no sane person would
| back Mr. Wick. The latter's opponent
wears no hair upon his face, though he
| looks as if, were it in the interest of his
| occupation, he could raise both whiskers'
| beard and mustache. He did not seem so
| much at home under the public gaze as
| his opponent Both men were clad in
| large white aprons. Accompanying them
were ten young men, who were also clad
| soap, soap boxes and shaving brushes.
| Half of the contingent were to act as
latherers for Mr.. Wick, the other half
for Mr. Lloyd. The two principals looked
| at the row of chairs and said they were
| too close together.
Two rows were made of the chairs. The
army of victims looked at the chairs, the
assistants, the principals, the spectators
| and at each other Some of them grinned
hut 81 fl,aff,
meanor, as if they thoroughly understood
the gravity of their situation. All of the
victims we're young. None of them
seemed to have passed the thirteenth
milestone, while the cheeks of not a few
had seldom been caressed by a razor. 1t
| afterward transpired that most OF the
men were customers of the combatants,
! and were Just as deeply interested as the
latter in the result. Suddenly one of the
| latherers shouted, Now, step up, gents "
The chairs were instantly filed Towels
were thurst under the chins of the first
ten, and they were well and truly lath-
cred, the ten were. COP shouted the
referee in a tone devoid of a single
tremor. Two razors were flourished aloft.
Each descended upon the left cheek of a
victim. The orchestra dashed into a
theme that breathed fame and slaughter
The spectators stamped their feet upon
the floor, and the battle ragged with I'M
exampled ferocity. Wick quickly de-
monstrated that his touch was the more
delicate, and the rapidity of his move
| ments threw his admirers into spasms of
| enthusiasm. Lloyd was more deliberate
and showed that he possesses a down-cut
that was certain 10 save time if there
were no protuberances in the way Wick
finished his first man while Lloyd was
scraping the chin of his. Wick sprang to
the next chair and attacked his second
subject with a celebrity that promised
gore. No gore few, however Lloyd
shaved his third man in thirty seconds.
Wick polished of his fifth in fifteen sec
onds, but the cheeks of the subject were
downy. The moment man was shaved
he was told TO leave the chair and lose no
time about it. The towel that had rested
upon his chest was taken away and an
other was thrust into his hand. With
the latter he was expected to wipe the
soap away. No water was used. One
man objectedto wiping his face with a
towel and used a handkerchief. Another
looked at the towel suspiciously as if he
had never seen one before, and was walk
ing away with his soap-decorated face,
when it was wiped for him. Zone down
another comes on, - was the word The
contestants scraped at top speed for ten
minutes and were never kept waiting.
The ochestra did not stop to take breath.
Several of the spectators mounted the
stage, and excitement was running high,
when the referee called Halt" The