" Writing in 1583, Stubbes alludes to music at
the barber's shop. In the "Diary of Samuel Pepys" we read: "After supper
my Lord called for the lieutenant's cittern, and with two candlesticks
with money in them for symballs, we made barber's music, with which my
lord was well pleased." "My Lord was easily satisfied," says a
well-known contributor to _Punch_, "and in our day would probably have
enjoyed 'the horgans.'" We may rest assured that barber's music was of
questionable melody.
SUNDAY SHAVING
In bygone England, the churchyard was a common place for holding fairs
and the vending of merchandise, and it was also customary for barbers to
shave their customers there. In 1422, by a particular prohibition of
Richard Flemmyng, Bishop of Lincoln, the observance of the custom was
restrained.
The regulations of the Gild of Barber-Surgeons of York deal with Lord's
Day observance. In 1592 a rule was made, ordering, under a fine of ten
shillings, "that none of the barbers shall work or keep open their shop
on Sunday, except two Sundays next or before the assize weeks.
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