, 1870-04-03
ChlKuoaA

since the fnvaaion Of ths Romans, says
ChateaubsiAnd in his :" Memoirs, ~" the French
to decorate heads lces favored BY nature than
their Own. and even now the women OF Brit
t2ny sacrifice thxt ornament for the sake OF
sone silk kerchscf Of many colo1s st one Of
I the periodical fairu."
In the environs Of the Chateau de Cam
| the 18th Of September. in the centre Of An s1-
tenaivo meadow. This il the local fete. In the
midst Of coptuEuHs, Eyp~ics. bearleAlers IN
dispensable .ttendants 1t these fetes, you witl
look in vain for tho RID Indian eilks or which
ChAte1uhriand speaks. But II you go to tbs
\ the very outskirts OF tho village, you
will there see carts drAped With ~hite
I canvas, the owue1s Of which oIar packets of
bri]lisnt-colored handkerchiess, mostly Of cot
ton for sale. For one OF these handkasrhiefs,
which are about half franc apiece, the dealsr
often succeeds il obtaining M entire crop Of
hAj.. It has been said that the girls Of Hrit-
tnny and AuveEgns never sell their hair till
compelled by extreme poverty. This, how
ever. is incorrect The trade In hair dAtes
] An established custom The hesi-lresses
Wozu BY the women and girls OF the country
| conceal the absence Of tlesscs; and the shorn
lambs look none tho wozse for the absence of
their wool; Girls engaged to ba married sell
thei1 sutu1s as7 husbands, ' fos sse' In s.sa Z,
Of buying trinket or some M4i-
| Gle Of fuIniture TO begin housekeeping. The
Breton hair is much priced for its unfivhlled
boftness and lustre; and the traders in Brit
tany are not content with tho produce Of fa,rs
and village J1es, but travel about the whole
yesr. teInpting the posscsaotu Of beautiful
blonde or dark treeses to exchange them for
some bright rsg. often not worth half franc
In the Breton towns, hair-drcsscrs will give
twenty fI.nes for Pound Of long hair, that
bcanE the fixed price throughout the province
but tho young girf Of the towns arc not 70
easily persuaded a. their country sisters TO
part with this great natural ornament. Tue
EAlue OF good head Ut hair is generally About
ten fr.ncs, the moet abundant crop seldom
weighing moro than half pound.
In AuveEKne the hair trade il carried On in a
much more open manner. The trAdrr comes
~ bis gig to all the fars Of Atnbre, Saint An
theme, Arlant Aurillac. and lIom. He pitches
bis tent-on the summit Of which floats the
El-colored tlag--in the Eni,1nt of grand dis
play OF butter. eggs, vegetables, and fruit,
does IN Brittany: but. standing On the plat
form Of his booth, his shirt aleetes rolled
up to his shoulders. invitcs tho women and
girls IN loud so.cs to come up aud show
bio crowds Of men and women IN
wooden shoea; the women, IN short ekirts.
wearing colored caps or ntraw hats with
broad brimB, the men dressed in green cloth
Jackets and enormous hats. One after another
the young girls mount upon the platform, uu-
coTer their heals, undo their plaits, md az
Mbit their treasures in the pEcsenee of the
crowd The buyer a1Amiues them carefully,
and makes Lis offer. As soon - bargain il
struck, each girl disappears into the interior Of
rss a. i 4hs 5ssR
and takes to her heels. These dcmonat1k-
lions deter no one, and almost every girl fol-
lo~s in the s.eps Of the first. NeveItheless,
it does sometimes happen that the
Young men unite, and after eyeins the
would soon mako N end Of him. il he did not
pack up and drive on with his booty ~ fast -
possible. 1hanha to the awiftncss OF hia
horse he may escape from the danger Of be-
ing pillaged; but lie generally disappears
among clouds Of dir, stones, bad eggs, and in
fact whatever may bc within reach Of the gal
liant fellows.
After the travelling dealer haa completed
his tour through the provinces. he takea his
goods TO Paris, or eone other large town.
where he receives fo fer every p9oond Of hair
to the quality, After passing through various
processes, including much cleansing, it IL final
" made into chiguons.
To form one large chignon the produce OF
thirty heads is often required, and It ID to be
as il is supposed 10 be wanting in the supple
ness requisite for curling and plating. Many
prefer to the hair Of tha llretonnes that Of the
German girls, which is often very beautiful,
though r1rely met with in full perfection.
Chignons Of tho tint known as 'sangeic
blonde" which is chiefly found in Germany,
aye sold st an e1orbi.ant pEica. But every
kind Of hair IL in use for chignous, even the
long hsjrs comted Out of the head. which, in
Paris, are picked out of the drt-heAps By the
chi6oniers, and sold by them to the. hair
dresrers for the ke.es a Pcin.es-s species Of
frisette made Of hair Of different qualities and
uneven lengths. In fact. nothing Is lost: hair
Of an unpopular color ia generally dyed blark,
&nd even parings Of hair ara used up for wigs
and ethgpons for dolls.
Fifteen hundred francs il an exceptional
prlce for cInenon- But such sum is said to
have been actually lAid for one Of golIeu
shade three feet aul half in length At the
present time a very superior chignon e4u be
lad for 80 francs, AMI ordinary cMgnons arc
sold at prices varying from twelve 10 fifty
fraDCA