Milford chronicle., 1885-10-30
MATCHING ALOCK OF HAIR
outcome or a Hair Merchants
Advertisement.
a Husband aud Wife Who Thought Each
Other Dead Reunited.

Il had a strange experience once in
human hair" said member of the
firm of John E. LAHORE & Co., human
hair importers. "a French lady OF
noble blood, who had been my friend
for years, wrote me few months ago,
inelosing a lock of hair, which was
peculiar shade of drab and silky fine
ness. She wanted me to match it, and
set about doing so.
81 inserted an advertisement In the
principal Philadelphia, New York and
Boston papers, offering liberal re-
ward for a switch OF the desired quail
ty and color. One day woman of
about 20 years of age. shabbily dressed,
but with form and face that Venus
might have envied, entered my office.
az came in answer to your adver-
tisement," she said, and removing her
hat unbound luxuriant coil of hair
that called from me an involuntary
cry of admiration. win this do? she
asked.
81 examined her hair and compared
it with the sample sent me by the
Countess. The two were so similar
that when l mixed them together 1
could not distinguish one from the
other.
"'This hair is exactly what want,
said, and will give you 5000 an
ounce for it.
g Take it off, she said, with ner-
vous trembling of her voice that at
once attracted my attention. 4 am
starving, 1 and my baby, and what
you are willing to pay is fortune to
as
81 became interested and questioned
her. After little hesitation she told
me her story. Her husband had been
a sea captain and shortly after they
were married 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 hands had been lost. The pre-
sumed widow had struggled to main
tain herself and infant child, but with
Indifferent success. Finally, when
suffering from the pangs of hunger,
she had read my advertisement and
fastened to my place of business, pray
ing in wardly that her hair, which had
been her husbands pride, might be Of
the required shade.
"Well, I bought her hair, which
weighed four ounces, and paid her $500
for it. 1 sent the switch to my Gus
toner, the Countess, and wrote her the
history of the hair. She is a woman
of great wealth and goodness of heart
The return mail brought me letter
authorizing me to pay the poor littl'
sailors widow $1,000 extra. 1 wrot'
an account of the affair, which wa
published. One day, about three
J weeks after the publication of thu
| story, a man, who was bronzed ant
| bearded, came into my Office very mucl
, excited. He held in his hand cop.
of New York paper, and unfolding |
pointed to my story.
/ "'Can you give me the address o
, this woman?' he asked eagerly. 'sh
is my wife. thought her dead
4 "While wrote down the address h
l told me his story. His vessel had bee
shipwrecked on the African coast, an
: he and two others of the crew alon
A managed to reach the shore. 1t wa
( several months before they manage
4 to reach civilized port. He immediate
f " sent word of the disaster to til
i owners of the foundered vessel an
f to his young wife. From the former b
1 received a reply, but he heard no wor
1. from his wife, and when he reaches
n Philadelphia he discovered that st
+ had mysteriously disappeared. On
i day in looking over a paper he can
e across my story and had hurried to m
r. Office to learn further particulars.
sent him to his wife in my carriag
and you can imagine what occurred
the meeting, for each believed the oil
r er dead. 1 wrote to the Countess, gil
?. ing the sequel to the story, and the r
II suit was that the ship wrecked ca
6 tain now commands her yacht, ar
e. the wife who sacrificed her hair to bl
IS bread sails with him on every voyage
10 philadelphia Times.