Evening star., 1902-02-15
A BOYS FIRST SHAVE
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II noticed last evening" said the remi-
niscential Eckingtonian up in the forward
end OF the car that my eldest boy is COM
Ing along toward the shaving age. He
was sitting by the reading lamp. and the
light fell athWart his features at such an
angle as to show that he has lot Of down
on his countenance thatH have to come
off. Pretty soon I'll have to be making ar
rangements with my barber to keep that
boys face shaved
We'll, this set me to thinking Of the time,
way back yonder. when l reached the shaw
Ing age, 1t don't seem such an almighty
long time ago, at that, although the hg-
ure looks sizeable enough when expressed
In years. Member as we'll as IL 1t were
yesterday how tickled and fattered l feit
one night when my dad got to looking me
over curiOusly from beneath his bushy eye
proWs at the supper table.
Son, said he to me, you'll nave TO De
scraping that face of yours pretty soon
Il guess flushed lot at that and my
sisters and younger brothers laughed out
loud. was the first boy OF the family 10
get along to the shaving age. and 1t seem
ed funny to them to think of me needing
a Scrape.
We'll. from the minute that my father
told me that had attained the shaveable
age, L was all worked up about IL. MY
ing outfit of my own without considerable
saving up. and / didn't feel as II my dad
would stand for my fooling with MS shaV-
ing appliances modest and inexpensive as
they were. decided that there was only
one thing for 1t. and that was to use my
fathers razor on the quiet and take
chance on his finding me out.
So. on the following Sunday afternoon.
when he was taking nap downstairs on
the parlor lounge, l crept up to his room
and sneaked his razor and strop ana cup
out of the little washstand drawer. l had
seen him go through the motions so fire.
quently that didn't anticipate much trou-
bic at the job. and, as matter or fact,
didn't have any trouble.
but l surely was embarrassed and an
noyed when my two groWn-up sisters, both
Of them several years older than l was.
sneaked into the room and caught me In
the act of taking my first shave How
they did guy me. those teasing girls! They
bent over and carefully looked at the piece
of newspaper on which 1 had wiped the
razor, and they said that they couldn't
see anything but suds on the paper. and
asked me If l had started to shave yet.
When l pettishly told them that / had. of
course, and that l had finished the job.
they gazed, at me solemnly and told me
that they couldn't see any difference In
the looks of my face. Then my mother
stole into the room and saw what was In
progress. She didn't say word about my
using my dads shaving things. but the
tears came into her eyes. and she hugged
me- bless the lovabie woman that she was,
and she called me her big, grown man, and
dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief
and never understood for years and years
afterward why the little mother felt sort
o queer and strange over the spectacle Of
her first-bOrn son going through the mo-
tions of his first shave!
We'll I felt pretty big that day and for
days afterward. My dad didn't notice any
change in my appearance at the Sunday
evening supper table. which disappointed
me quite a lot, although if he'd noticed that
I'd shaved I'd have been compelled to tell
him that I'd used his razor. | can remem-
ber that felt quite acutely disappointed.
too. over the fact that when passed my
hand over my face the next morning after
shaving my countenance didn't seem to be
rough and In need Of another scrape, as
had fancied it would seem
Fact is, as the days went on and there
didn't seem to be many signs of sprOuting
on my face. L began to be worried good
deal, especially as my sisters kept asking
me when l Was going to take another
shave After a couple Of weeks however.
there seemed to me to be sufficient hirsute
growth on my then smooth face to warrant
another shave, and this time decided that
I'd dodge the chatting of my sisters by
going taA barber shop.
II never did forgive that barber-neyer
went into his place again after that first
time. Why? Well because when strutted
into the shop and climbed into the chair he
inquiredi, in a matter of fact tone faithough
Hair. cut?'e
''rhat was insult No l.
No. l replied, prettily snappily guess
for youngster51 'shaver
Well, he gdnnsd and bent his eyes close
to my face. and that was insult No >. He
shaved me all right, but I'd never SO much
as pass by that Barber's shop for years
afterward.
"A few weeks later I'd saved up enough
money to buy a cheap shaving kit of my
own, and burned IL l didn't Deliberately
shave twice day for a long time after
purchasing it. once in the morning and once
in the evening, SOS to fetch my beard out
as rapidly as possible. When, after a year
or SO, the beard got 50 tough that the razor
made the right kind of a scraping noise in
going over it, | suppose 1 was about as
conceited young monkey as walked under
the light Of the stars.
And, as l say, it wasn't until years and
years afterward that understood why #
was that my good mother had given way
to that little demonstration Of tears when
she caught me taking my first shave, but T
can understand it now, and when I men
toned to my wife at going to bed time la st
night that our eldest boy would soon ar
rive at the razor age. she was silent and
thoughtful for long time. Peculiar way
OF looking at some of these little old
things, women. eh?"