Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1885-11-05
A WUuAN'S HAIR.
REPORTER FINDS A ROMANCE IN
REAL LIFE
A Starving Woman Sells Her Tresses and
So kegains Her Husband
Luck May Lie I'm u Lock Of
Hair.
philadelphia Times I


hair" said member of well-known firm
Of human hair importers the other day. "A
French lady Of noble blool, who has been
my friend for years. wrote me few months
ago. enclosing lock Of har, which was q
peculiar shade of drab and OF silky fneness
She wanted me TO match it, and | set about
doing so. dispatched my agents all over
Europe, but nowhere could they find a
thread Of hair that would match the sample.
Il then inserted an al vertisemsnt in the
principal Philadelphia, New York ami
Boston papers, Offering liberal reward for
a switch Of the desired quality and color.
One day a woman Of about 20 years Of age
shabbily dressed, but with form and face
that Venus might have envied, entered my
office
=" Il came in answer to your advertise
ment.' she said, and, removing her hat, un-
bound luxuriant coil OF hair, that called
from me an involuntary cry Of admiration
'Will this dof she asked.
Il examined her hair, and compared it
with the sample sent me by the couatess.
The two were so similar that wnen l mixed
them togs ther could not distinguish one
from the other
TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS AN OUNCE.
" This hair is exactly what l want said L,
and will give you 500 an ounce for it
Take it off. she said, with nervous
trembling OF her voice that at once at
tractei my attention- Il am starving, and
my baby. and what you are willing to pay
is fortune to us
Il became interested AMI Questioned her.
After little hesitation she told me her
story. Her husband had been q sea cap
aria. a
had sailed for the west coast Of Africa. His
vessel was never heard OF after leaving
port, and it was presumed that she had
foundered at sea and all had been lost The
presumed widow had struggled to maintain
herself and infant child, but with indiffer-
ent success Finally, whom suffering from
the pangs Of hunger, she had read my ad.
vertise ment and hastened To my place Of
business, praying inwardly that her hair,
which had been her husbands pride. might
be OF the required shade.
swell, to make q long story short
bought her hair, which weighed -four
ounces. AMI paid her $500 for it. sent tbs
switch To my customer, the countess, and
wrote her the history of the hair. She is q
woman of great wealth and goodness oi
heart The return mail brought me a let
poy thc iooi itetc
sailors widow 81, 900 extra i did SO and
wrote an account of the affair to our official
journal. which is published In New York.
The story was so romantic that the dali y
papers copied il and received several let.
ters from charitable people offering pecun-
iary assistance To the sailors widow. Sine
was proud and refused to receive any help
THE HUSBANDS RETURN.
One day, about three weeks after the pub
lication Of the story. man. who was
bronzsd and bearded, cams into my Office
very much excited. He held in bis hand a
copy Of New York paper and unfolding il
pointed TO my story.
Can you give me the address of thi,
womanf he asked eagerly. She Is my wife.
thought her dead"
while | wrote down the address he told
me his story His vessel had been ship
wrecked on the African coast and he and
two others of the crew alone managed
to reach the shore IL was several months
before they managed 10 reach a
civilized port. He Immediately sent word
Of the disaster 10 the owners of the found
cred vessel and wrote to his young wife.
From the former he received a reply, but
he heard no word from his wife, anC when
he reached Philadelphia he discovered that
she had mysteriously disappeared.
~One day in looking over a paper he came
across my story and had hurried to my
Office to learn fuller particulars. sent him
to his wife in my carriage. and you can
imagine what occurred at the meeting. for
each believed the other dad. / wrote to
the countess, giving the sequel to the story,
and the result was that the shipwrecksd
captain now cammads her yacht aud the
wife who sacrificed her hair to buy bread
sails with him on every voyage"