Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1882-09-23
Stories, Sketches, SC.
SUDDEN WHITE HAIR.

With so many professors of the
art of rejuvenation proclaiming their
readiness to turn old faces into
new ones, and restore the HAIR to it's
original abundance and color, the
putting of young heads upon old
shoulders should be easy enough ;
but the proverblal impossibility Of
putting old headsupon young should
ers still seems to hold, although the
feat has sometimes been accomplish
ed by Nature herself. Sorrow, not
Time, frosted the bright tresses of
Mary Stuart and Marie-Antionette !;
and theirs were not the only queenly
heads that have been prelnaturely
whitened by care and anxiety.
While Hanover was waging an un-
equal contest with Prussia, a lady
in attendance upon the consort of
the brave, blind king, wrote thus Of
herroyal mistress: !" In the last two
months, her hair has grown quite
gray. | may say white. -Four
months since, one could scarcely dis
Germ gray hair now | can hardly
see dark One.u
A similar change has often taken
place IN the course Of q single night.
One of the witnesses in the Itch
borne case deposed that the night
after hearing Of his fathers death he
dreamed he saw him killed before
his eyes, and found on awaIling that
his hair had turned quite white. An
old man with snow-white hair said
to DIR. Moreau: any hair was as
white as you see it now, long before
| had grown old. Grief and des-
pair at the loss of a tenderly- loved
wife turned my locks in a single
night when was not thirty years OF
age. Judge, then, of the force of
my sufferings. His white hairs
brought no such recompense with
them, as happened IN the instance
of the gay gallant who had the hardi-
hood to hold love-tryst in the pal
ace grounds of the king of Spain.
Betrayed by the barking of an I'M
sympathetic hound, the telling of
the old, old story was interrupted
by the appearance of the kings
guard. The scared damsel was al
lowed to depart unchallenged; but
her lover was held captive, to an
swer his offence. Love-making un-
der the shadow of the royal palace
was a capital crime; and so over
whelmed with horror at the idea Of
losing his head for following the
promptings of his heart, was the
wooer, that before the sun rose, his
hair had turned quite gray. This be-
ing told King Ferdinand, he par
doned the offender, thinking he was
sufficiently punished.
When the Emperor Leopold was
about to make his grand entry into
Vienna, the old sexton of st. 10.
seph's Cathedral was much troubled
in his mind. Upon such occasions
it has been his custom to take his
stand on the pinnacle Of the tower
and wave a flag as the imperial pa
geant passed by; but he felt that
age had so weakened his nerve that
he dared not again attempt the per-
il0us performance. After thinking
the matter over he came to the con-
clisi0n that he must find substi.
tute; and knowing bis pretty dahgh-
ter had plenty of stalwart suitors,
the old fellow publicly announced
that the man who could take his
place successfully should be his son.
in-law. To his intense disgust, the
offer was at once accepted by Ga
briel Petersheim, his special aver
sion, and the special fay0rite of the
girl, who saw not with her fathers
eyes. On the appointed day, Wen
ma opened its gates to the new-made
Emperor but it was evening, or
near upon evening, when the young
flag bearer welcomed the procession
from st. Joseph's Tower. His task
performed, Gabriel whould have de-
scended from the airy height, hut
found his way barred. Two wretch
es had done the treacher0us sex
tons bidding, and closed the trap
door OF the upper stairway, leaving
the brave youth to choose between
precipitating himself on the pave