M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1858-01-14
Human IInir Fair.

Human Hair Fair.
Very few ofour gentle readers, prob
ably, ever heard OF or imagined such
a thing as o Human Hair Fair. AS
few, perhaps, ever thought OF enqui-
ringinto the source of the beautiful
tresses which are seen every day Ia
those armories of Venus, the win
dows Of the hair dressers. We are
however, by late French
paper, that this is the season of the
annual hair fair at Morlass, in the
Lower Pyrenees, in france. Morlass
is.near the city of Pau, and it is from
Pah'Journal that we derive some
account of the fair the present season.
The hair dealers were crowding into
the place from all points, from Tou-
louse and even from Bordeaux and
the young peasant girls of the neigh
borhood, famous for their fine and a.
bundant heads OF hair, were focking
to the market like sheep, to be shorn
of their locks for other and prouder
heads. Even young husbands accom-
pany their wives, to insist upon their
despoiling themselves, fol trifling
consideration, of their beautiful heads
OF hair. Twenty francs (tour dollars)
is the highest price which is given
for the richest head of hair, and ANA
jority Of the damsels part with their
locks for tenth part Of that sum.
This singular market is held in the
open street, and attracts crowds Of GU.
rious rs well as interested PERSONS
Girls are seen to be shcared in public,
while others are waiting their turn,
with their caps in their hands and
their long hair combed out and hang
ing down to their waists. The shear
erS are men, as well as women. Some
of our fair readers will conclude that
this must be a degrading scene. But
how else could the stock Of wigs and
frizettes, and bands, and top.picces,
and curls, which is needed to prop up
tho tottering beauty of the sex, be
supplied9 Tons of black silken hair,
sheared in the manner above describ-
ed from the heads OF the peasant dam
sells OF the south Of France, are i'm
ported into this country annually.
There are fairs in other places in
the south of France and in Brittany,
whore adventurous virtuosos buy up
and shear the crops of the fair-haired
damsels. At first blush it would seem
that female vanity would effectually
prevent such traffic as this. But
cupidity and Incidence are stronger
passions than vanity; ard fashion
even lends its aid to this singular Gus
tom Of parting with the first orna.
ment to the person which nature af-
fords.
In Brittany, particularly, where the
finest and most silken black is procu-
red, it is the universal fashion, from
childhood upwards to wear caps so
close as completely to conceal the hair.
The peasant girls there have particu-
larly fine hair, and in the greatest
abundance. 1t is so common as not
to be a mark of beauty; and the peo.
pie are morally incapable Of appreci.
ating it as intrinsically beautiful and
attractive. 1t is a truth which ought
not to be told, perhaps, in presence o
all our ladies, that the charming friz
cites and tresses which beautify the
heads Of our charming bellies, may
possibly have been shorn from BretoI
damsels of very filthy and loathSom(
habits.
The Bretons are neither Normanl
nor French, but more Welch thai
anything else; and they are wild anC
savage, and as idle and dirty as hu
man nature can we'll be and exist
The poorer women wear their dresses
until they become dirty, patched, tat
tered and ragged, so that the materi
rial Of which they are made can scarce
ly be traced. The houses of the pea
SAINTS are generally built of mud
without convenience. The chestnut
which abounds in the country, fur
nishes, to a considerable extent, th'
food of the poorer classes. Although
inhabiting fine country, capable o
rendering them prosperous and veal
thy, the Bretons grovel on in supin,
idleneSs and dirt. No wonder thu
women sell their hair, which is abun
dant and marketable. The people ar
accustomed to subsist upon the pro
ducts Of spontaneous crops. In tn
PyreneeS the people are industriou
and frugal, and the women are accus
toned to regard a fine head of blacl
or dark brown hair as only a luXurian
burden. Boston Courier.
KNOCKING OUT TEETH, FOR BEAUTY