Delaware gazette and state journal., 1896-03-26
BARBERs AND nan LUoK.
Some OF the Fcars of the lost Superstition
of All the Crafts.
Washington Tinnoa

lacking ability of barber to talk, ono
OF his most characteristic attributes
has been almost entirely overlpoked-
his superstition. As class BARRIERS
arc said to be the most superstitious
members OF any craft or profession
known.
The giddy girl may foresee evil when
she looks on the infant moon over her
left pulled sleeve and through the
branches of spreading sapling; the
colored nanny" may be able to see
a whole consignment of variegated
trouble In the passing of black cat
across her path, and the ebony crap
shooter may experience complete an
initiation OF hope when he discovers
the loss of his rabbits foot, but tho
barber finds himself in the embrace of
superstition when he would not wilfully
be there and when he can only describe
himself as under the control of some
occult power.
For instance, it is common complaint
among tonsorial artists that they do not
care to shave the succulent youth
upon whose face the lather brush and
razor have not yet made their debut.
For some cause akin to that which
with the embryo beard, he will also
hold himself aloof from the man who
has had shave so recently that he
would not look uncanny to go without
the luxury for another "a hours, and vet
whose face would hardly pass muster
were he going TO make his initial ap-
pearance before tho bridal alter.
Only day or two ago the reporter sat
N a ID al oh n ma ~
of the above description came IN. All
the chairs were full, but the newcomer
was NEXT after tho reporter. Each
wielder of the FURNISHED steel spied the
newcomer in turn, and perceptible
expression of annoyance came over
every face. The occupant of one chair
was finished, and the barber there sta
ioned beckoned the reporter to come
on. Then there began a race among
all the razor artists to SEQ who could
kill the greatest quantity of time.
Never before did six chairfuls of men
receive such patient attention in the
adornment Of the countenance as they
received on that occasion.
The man with tho beard of short
duration squirmed in his seat and road
the morning papers, advertisements
through simultaneously, and each be.
came suddenly seized with fit OF
coughing that sent each to tho door,
where they stayed until the head
man ordered one in to take the job.
"Why is it that you all hate to shave
such faceY" asked the reporter after,
wards.
81 dunno, boss, " one of the artists
responded, "but I'd redder do mos
anything; radder trudge through the
grabeyard on dawk night, dan shabt
man wot don't need it. | kahn
'splain it, though. But bad luck'i
gwine to come on de man wot hab to dc
SO, sure as muffin.
There is something in the eye or fac,
Of man, too, that will often unnervt
the man that holds the razor over him
much, probably, to the eventual dis
comfort of the former, especially afte
his face is left as design for pounded
beefsteak.
A young Washington physician
who neither practices nor believes il
hypnotism, tells of an adventure alonl
this line he experienced short tim
ago. When he sat down in the barber
chair he gave casual glance at tn
man who was SO soon to amputate hi
beard. The physician had never beei
in the shop before, and had never seel
the barber. He caught tho latte
square in his organ of vision, and tn
barber flushed perueptibly
Presently the agitator of the razor re
turned to spread tho lather. This tim
he seemed to instinctively look for tn
doctor's eyes, and again tho two pair
of optics met. The nervousness of tn
barber increased to such an exten
that at this point he let fall his brush
Again the eyes of the shaver and tn
shaved met, and tho nervousness of tn
former increased like the velocity of al
egg dropped from the top of the monu
ment.
The physician then saw that he wa
having a mysterious effect on the bar
her, and he thereupon fixed his eye
continually upon him. 1t was eviden
that there was some unseen power tina
neither understood at work on the bar
Der. Finally, after taking u doze
strokes with the last of which he re
moved section about the size of
dino from the physician's chin, h
gave up the job.
'' am sorry, sir, but | can't ehav
you" he said, as he proceeded wit
nervous fingers to paste the dissevere
section of the chin in place 'Yo
make mo nervous, and | will have t
call someone else 20 my assistance.
Another barber finished the io
without the slightest evidence of nerl
BUSINESS.
BARRIERS, too, in the same shop. ofte
have hesitancy about shaving th
regular customers of their fellow chail
man. This is no more ON account {
the familiarity with the whims Of th
particular patron that may exist wit
his regular" but because Of thf
strange something that causes them
pass the man who doesn't really need
shave from ono chair to another
/, fact, this adverseness to Shawn
another's customer has gone SO far as
cause the patron, who understood th
case, to go to another shop durin
the week his own barber was on vaci
tion or while he was sick.
} There arc possibly half dozen lef
handed BARRIERS in Washington. Or
! who has not happened to meet wit
such an artist of the face can scarcel
realize the sensation experienced whe
, sitting in the chair of such barbe
; In his appai emily back handed we
the barber will begin shaving on the le
8 side of tho face, and the effect is SUI
4 to produce feeling tinged with vi
J comfortableneass in the mind of til
patron.
| Fell in the Canal.
0 Patrick Carroll of near St Georgt
t had a narrow escape from drownir