The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1882-12-23
SUDDEN WHITENING or THE HAIR.

SUDOEN WHITENING VI thE MAIN.
There are few topics among what
may be called the curiosities Of Ply
siology, which have greater fascina-
ton for the popular mind than the
sudden bleaching Of the hair, which is
asserted to sometimes occur under
the influence Of strong emotion as
intense grief or fear. The possibility
of such an occurrence has been
strongly denied by many, including
some who have right to be con-
sidered rs authorities in such matters.
Among those who have declared
themselves incredulois is DIR.
Erasmus Wilson, whose standing is
too well known to need enlarging
upon. His unbelief, however, was
considerably shaken by the case Of a
young lady who, on receiving news
of the shipwreck and death Of her
husband elect, fell into a swoon, last
ing five hours, during which her dark
brown hair become, as white as
cambria handkerchief. Though
convinced Of the reality of the oc-
currence, DR.. Wilson seems to be in
state of considerable doubt and
uncertainty as to the way in which
the change is brought about. "If'
says he, sit be established that the
hair is susceptible Of permeation by
fluids derived from the blood-a
transmission of fluids from the vessels
of the skin into the substance of the
hair really occurs, the quantity and
nature being modified by the peculiar
ity of constitution or state of health
of the individual-it follows that such
fluids, being altered in their chemical
qualities, may possess the power Of
imprcssing new conditions on the
structure into which they enter, Thus,
if they contain an excess of salts Of
lime, they may deposit salts Of lime
in the tissue Of the hair, and so pro.
ducc a change in Its appearance from
dark to grey" So far, therefore, as
Prof. Wilson understands the matter,
it resolves into Il question of ''may
bc's." Some OF the older stories Of
this sudden change in the color of
the hair are probably mythical; at
any rate they are not well a,ithentieat-
ed. A few more modern instances,
however, may be mentioned which
have come Under tho observations of
persons now or recently living. One
of the most remarkable of these
occurred in the experience of Staff
Surgeon Parry, who was serving in
India during the mutiny. Among
the prisoners taken In a skirmish at
Chamda was a sepoy of the Bengal
Army. He was brought before the
authorities and examined Fully
alive to his position the Bengalee
stood almost Supplied with fear,
trembling greatly, with horror and
despair plainly depicted on his count
enance. Suddenly, in the midst of
the examination, the by-staEders
were startled by the sergeant in charge
Of the prisoner eXclaiming. "He is
turning grey!' All eyes were turned
on the unfortunate man, watching,
with wondering interest, the change
coming upon his glossy, jet black
locks. In half an hour they were of
a uniform grey hue. A similar change
has sometimes taken place in the
course of a single night One of the
witnesses in the Tichborne case
testified that, the. night after hearing
of his fathers death, he dreamed
that he saw him killed before his eyes,
and found, on awakening, that his hair
had turned quite white. The writer
of this once knew a venerable clergy
man, who related that when quite u
young man, his hair turned grey so
rapidly that some of his flock waited
on him to demonstrate against what
they considered undue frivolity in
adopting the then fashionable custom
of powdering the hair. The two
following eases are especially curious,
The first was that of n young lady
who first heard of her lovers treacliery
by reading an account of his marriage
in a newspaper. After night
brooding over the traitors haseness,
her looking glass disclosed the as
tOnishing fact that the hair ON one
side of her head had bleached TO a
color more becoming ~ grandmother,
while the other half of her trcsses re-
tanned their natural golden brown.
Even this was not 50 bad as the case