At the Sign of the Barbers Pole | Page 5

which the possessor mounted when he was an
apprentice some fifty years previously. His master was in business as a
barber at the time of the Garrick Jubilee in 1769, and he asserted that
the list of forfeits was generally acknowledged by all the fraternity to
have been in use for centuries. The following lines have found their
way into several works, including Ingledew's "Ballads and Songs of
Yorkshire" (1860). In some collections the lines are headed "Rules for
Seemly Behaviour," and in others "The Barber of Thirsk's Forfeits."
We draw upon Dr Ingledew for the following version, which is the best
we have seen:--

"First come, first served--then come not late, And when arrived keep
your sate; For he who from these rules shall swerve Shall pay his
forfeit--so observe.
"Who enters here with boots and spurs Must keep his nook, for if he
stirs And gives with arm'd heel a kick, A pint he pays for every prick.
"Who rudely takes another's turn By forfeit glass--may manners learn;
Who reverentless shall swear or curse Must beg seven ha'pence from
his purse.
"Who checks the barber in his tale, Shall pay for that a gill of yale;
Who will or cannot miss his hat Whilst trimming pays a pint for that.
"And he who can but will not pay Shall hence be sent half-trimmed
away; For will he--nill he--if in fault, He forfeit must in meal or malt.
"But mark, the man who is in drink Must the cannikin, oh, never, never
clink."
The foregoing table of forfeits was published by Dr Kenrick in his
review of Dr Johnson's edition of Shakespeare in 1765, and it was
stated that he had read them many years before in a Yorkshire town.
This matter has been discussed at some length in Notes and Queries,
and it is asserted that the foregoing is a forgery. Some interesting
comments on the controversy appeared in the issue of March 20th,
1869.
Women barbers in the olden time were by no means uncommon in this
country, and numerous accounts are given of the skilful manner they
handled the razor. When railways were unknown and travellers went by
stage-coach it took a considerable time to get from one important town
to another, and shaving operations were often performed during the
journey, and were usually done by women. In the byways of history we
meet with allusions to "the five women barbers who lived in
Drury-lane," who are said to have shamefully maltreated a woman in
the days of Charles II. According to Aubrey, the Duchess of Albemarle
was one of them.

At the commencement of the nineteenth century a street near the Strand
was the haunt of black women who shaved with ease and dexterity. In
St Giles'-in-the-Fields was another female shaver, and yet another
woman wielder of the razor is mentioned in the "Topography of
London," by J.T. Smith. "On one occasion," writes Smith, "that I might
indulge the humour of being shaved by a woman, I repaired to the
Seven Dials, where in Great St Andrew's Street a female performed the
operations, whilst her husband, a strapping soldier in the Horse Guards,
sat smoking his pipe." He mentions another woman barber in Swallow
Street.
Two men from Hull some time ago went by an early morning trip to
Scarborough, and getting up rather late the use of the razor was
postponed until they arrived at the watering-place. Shortly after leaving
the station they entered a barber's shop. A woman lathered their faces,
which operation, although skilfully performed, caused surprise and
gave rise to laughter. They fully expected a man would soon appear to
complete the work, but they were mistaken. The female took a piece of
brown paper from a shelf, and with this she held with her left hand the
customer's nose, and in an artistic manner shaved him with her right
hand. Some amusement was experienced, but the operation was
finished without an accident. The gentlemen often told the story of their
shave at Scarborough by a woman barber.
At Barnard Castle a wife frequently shaved the customers at the shop
kept by her husband, who was often drunk and incapable of doing his
work. Louth (Lincolnshire) boasted a female barber, who is said to
have shaved lightly and neatly, and much better than most men.
Many stories, which are more or less true, are related respecting barbers.
The following is said to be authentic, and we give it as related to us.
The Duke of C---- upon one occasion entered a small barber's shop in
Barnard Castle, and upon inquiring for the master was answered by an
apprentice of fourteen that he was not at home. "Can you shave, then?"
asked the duke. "Yes, sir, I always do," was the reply. "But can