Descriptive.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 375, 16 July 1903, Page 7

Descriptive.

TWO CLEVER LADY BARBERS. LANE, London, "•oqjaetK- of a .unique barber's fe* : %bopf : I« ■ 'belongs * to two ladies, wbo have shown their ability •to manage end run their business in ran i|p^Tdafce'';::in*D^e^ < *Tse Wtpfc' .recency spent with the ;f air barbejea; aixd: "jyae charmed w|th the itdriefl they had to tell of how they bravely faced fierce opposition,]

tQsfiMJf a livelihood in a palling that had WtMto been looked 1 upon as belonging exclusively to the 'sterner sex. ' f»<w * If sfrouldVe stated, perhaps, that . the present business was founded by a formetproprietor some nine "years ago, but-ia now; in the hands cf Miss May Per.©ival-Jnd, Her Mies j Bella Weston. Eor the past seven years Misa Percival has conducted the business with the ; nioet wonderful success. Every year her returns show an increase^ and at the present time slie employe four assistants, all women, of course, bo numerous are the customers to this interesting establishment. ' It was on a Monday morning when I strolled down Chancery Lane- and, entered thejshop; Jhinkihg that IthaV day would be a slack one and the most appropriate time to learn something from the.controlling heads of .the establishment about their profession and how they came to enter

iit. In J .for.Migs. P|rcivaFahd |er aawetants werj Hi ;buisy, three of them ikbayiijig, anfi thij> iother cutting: a customer'! haii, In a few*'minutes another H gentiemsh opened the door, and I at once realised -that: the lady barbers in "Chancery Lane had very little leisure time. . At the first opportunity Miss Percival came forward and gave me some interesting facts, about her profession. When questioned-' why stfe adopted such a calling, she replied : « Why, it is not difficult to see that it is one of the-very few ? professions •that is not and f ones ajnj:ord3n|ry, intelligent f womjani i>an follow'arid make a liveliia hood out of. ..„■ * J, first, started , as- a lady barber

ten years' agbT Having acquired a thorough maßtery of all the barber's arts,jvhen|his business was in the market soine,time ago I purchased it in co-operation with mv present partner,; ;Miae Bella ever increasing one, and I keep four assistants to get through thje;work,' .Miss Percival spoke very* enthu-: eiastically about the future of the lady barber. Many of us girls have shaved onr brothers at some "time or other, and have been surprised at the ease with which we manipulated the razor. But to become a lady barber it is necessary to undergo some training.. A little practice, and the -nervousness a young woman naturally feels-in shaving a stranger will'soon)' pass away. Miss Percival laid great stress, on- the fact .that wjpmen ate really better barbers 5 than the flist place, they are much lighter, their touch iis not so heavy J while' they take more pains. T : .--.. 4-g a y*» the„calling4B,a.,. very i>piea-. -S* n 'f o *J§» | A'j3professiohalibarfler is* looked upon as ,an extremely garrulous individual. ; experience, has proved that men prefer to come to her because they have discovelred >;thafc ;i women j-iake; more pains over their work.. In a*n ordinary shop of thebarber is to get his customer out Of the chair' as quickly-as Amongst Mies Perceval's clients.are. many well-known 1 members gf tH,et ; legaLand other learned professions. , f> 3air* barbers In Chancery *L&ise>arei adept-in ?the manipulation of the.raaoE and the scissors. They, will cut your hair in any fashion you wfeh,ari#eEave you as smoothly and coinfpttftbly as., the—most--fidgety-bachelor could deeire. -The establishmertt/i^:*verp Bense ; ,..a fOrst-claas-i

shampOjipingi singe--. ing- lfti# cigarettes, as well as tea and coffee, 'Hiay be purchased. The shop, which is situated in the basement, is well lighted by electricity, is smartly fitted up, and boasts, of every convenience for the workers. A CAUTION TO RAILWAY . —--TRAVELLERS. _ ~. With 'reference to*the"'mysterious death of Sir James Montgomery, who was found recently on the Midland fßfiiJDway;, hAving :falien on tha ti&itt a'* carriage 8 in i which he wis travelling alene, Sir Oliver Ledge writes to 'The.Times -•Ai 'i&i & . a I doubt ii *it is generally 'known tbat of the two doors to a railway carriage in rapid motion one is safe £hjf> other dangerous, and, iu view of a recent fatal accident, you will perhaps allow,me toi utter ;a caution. The, door oh- the t- left^?with- thfe hinges forward, the one normally useld'for iiigreesi and egress, is safe, ,but ,ya,e.dcQi on thejright, with datch forward, used at stations with island .platlcfmji, j Jfiirfiiy i unsafe iJoHopeil even slightly—e.g., to release an im- * prisoned piece of \ \ coat: while j the train is going fast. . The wind rushing by it at bur* ricane speed gets into the chink, and -anatcheil the door wide opJen,|thereb|r opener 1 %lth his hand on the latch out on to the line. Verification is not recommended, but 'the' fbJce which a door 'can thub exert*i» theoretically, for instance, if the dooris 6ft by Sftjiand *if exerts an pressureof 201b 8 to the square 'foot, the force on the open door is 3cwt»

'Next,' barber shop word, id f the audible evidence of administrationiof one of those un- | written laws "which are v enforced t more strictly then many engrossed statutes. < Next' is part of the (fairplay code, and probably was in"BKBl in , invieible ">k on imper-, ||p|9*e parchment by the patrons of shesrst man who scraped chins for Hale,** It is « first come, first served' crystalled. THe .barbeV who permits' any man to break the law ©f 'next' is punished on the spot, as an accessory after the fact, "the'criminal who slides ,intpa chair before his lawful turn, is looked' upon. a» a worthy candidate for penitentiary honors. tr "•• »;<. a A man may step ahead of the one before him fti the line leading to the bpx office of U fheatre and every person in line ' u will, feel "a personal grievance against but no one, holds the ticket .seller responsible for tbiß infraction of .the,' first come, first served' rule. A hurried -depositor may reach over the shoulders of those who lined up before him in "front r of' the receiving teller's window, but hd one feels that the nian behind the plate glass screeii' is a subject for a grand jury investigation. , But in a barber 'next' mpah's next. It is the bajjip principle, on which the constitution andl by-laws of the tonsorial,, profession » are founded. Any barber who will per- \ mit the wrong man 4 to get into the <£ right place after he has called out] .'Nextl' loses the respect of his customers then and there.

He is a brave man who refuses to comply with the request, 'Will you give me a light?' * The on* with a lighted cigar and-the one with a cigar he wants fca smoke may be so •strange to eaiJH other thdtthey ; never dreamed of each olher's . -existence/ This generally, is ihel case;'but 909 times gut of 1,000 ; .the smoker hands over \ his .lighted c sfrg pother -man lights his,-the cigaVMi* >retu*ned * with thanks* and the unwritten -law, **Never v refuse a' request for alight,' ; which-has conle down through many generations of smokers, has'been duly and promptly obeyed.