BARBER, one who trims or shaves the beards of other people, or is employed in dressing hair or ma king wigs. This profession, like all the other polite arts, is only known in those nations, which have made a certain progress in civilization. No mention is made of barbers by any Roman author till the 454th year of the city ; but there, as elsewhere, when they were' once introduced, they soon became men of great no toriety, and their shops were the resort of all the loungers and newsmongers in town. Hence they are alluded to by Horace as most accurately informed in all the minute history both of families and the state : " Omnibus et lippis not urn et tonsoribus esse." These convenient gentlemen seem to have been al most exclusively entrusted with the important care of adorning the persons of the public ; for not only the hair and beard, but likewise the nails, received new grace from their skilful hands. Nor did their use fulness terminate here. They likewise handled the lancet with great delicacy ; and had sometimes the honour of breathing a vein, or of dressing an wound, to persons of high rank and fashion. Amidst these
numerous avocations, it frequently happened that their customers were obliged to wait long before they could be attended to : and to prevent them from becoming impatient, the shops were provided with musical instruments with which they might en tertain themselves ; the more interesting amuse ment of newspapers being yet unknown. Much learning has been spent in endeavouring to account for the origin of the barber's pole. Some writers, from an excessive fondness for simplifying, have re ferred it to the word poll or head. But, in truth, this party coloured staff was intended as an indication of the dignity and variety of the profession practised within, intimating emblematically, that the master of the shop was not a barber merely, but likewise a surgeon. Barbers were incorporated with the sur geons of London, but with no license to practise any branch of surgery, except drawing teeth and let ting blood ; 32 Hen. VIII. c. 42. They were de graded, however, from this honourable association by the 18 Geo. II. c. 15. (p)