Page:Popular Tales and Romances of the Northern Nations (Volume 2).djvu/90

 make a virtue of necessity, and patiently allow oneself to be throttled. Frank obeyed the order, threw off the mattress, rose from his couch, and took the assigned place on the chair.

The spectre barber put the napkin round the neck of his trembling customer, seized his scissars, and cut off Frank’s hair and beard. Then he proceeded to cover his chin, and even his head, with soap lather, and, when this was done, he shaved him smoothly, so completely so that not a hair was left above his shoulders. When the spectre had completed this operation, he washed Frank very clean, dried him carefully, bowed, packed up his implements, resumed his scarlet cloak, and turned to depart. The consecrated candles burned perfectly bright during the whole of the proceeding, and, by the light, Frank saw in the mirror opposite him that the barber had made him like a Chinese pagod. He was vexed at losing his beautiful brown curls, but he breathed freely, being aware that he should escape otherwise unhurt, and that the spectre had no longer any power over him.