New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1885-11-25
The Hair Merchants Story.

y
~ had a strange experience once in
human hair said member of the
firm of John E. LAHORE & Co., human
hair importers. ga French lady OF
noble blood, who has been my friend
for years, wrote me few months ago,
inclosing lock of hair which was a
peculiar shade OF drab and of silky
tineness. 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 a liberal re-
ward for a switch of the desired quail
ity and color One day q woman of
about 20 years OF age, shabbily
dressed, but with form and face that
Venus might have envied, ent cred my
office.
came to answer to your adver-
tisement, she said, and, removing
her hat, unbound a luxuriant coil of
hair that called from me an involunta-
y
she asked.
81 examined her yair and compared
it with the sample sent me by the
Countess. The two were so similar
that when l mixed them together l
could not distinguish one from the
other.
"'This hair is exactly what l want
said, land | will give YOU 5000 an
ounce for it,
"'Take it off, she said, with a nerv-
GUS trembling of her voice that at
once attracted my attention. 4 am
starving, l and my baby, and what
you are willing to pay is a fortune to
u.s.
II became interested and questioned
her. After a little hesitation she told
me her story. Her husband had been
q 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
presumed widow had struggled to
maintain 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,
praying inwardly that her hair, which
had been her husbands pride, might
be Of the required shade.
''Well, thought her hair which weigh
ed four ounces. and paid her $500 for
it. sent the switch to my customer,
the Countess, and wrote her the his
tory of the hair. She is woman of
great wealth and goodness of heart.
The return mail brought ne a letter
authorizing me to pay the poor little
sailors widow 81 600 extra. | wrote
an account of the affair which was
published. One day, about three
weeks after the publication of the
story, a man who was bronzed and
bearded, came into my office very much
excited. He held in his hand a copy
OF New York paper and unfolding it
pointed to my story.
"'Can you give me the address of
this woman? he asked eagerly. She
is my wife. | thought her dead.''
While wrote down the address he
Coid me MS story. His vessel had been
shipwrecked on the African coast, and
he and two others OF the crew alone
managed to reach the shore. It was
several months before they managed
to reach a civilized port. He imme-
dlately sent word of the disaster to
the owners of the ioundered vessel and
wrote to his young wife. From the
former he received a reply, but he
heard no word from his WIFE and when
he reached Philadelphia he discovered
that she had mysterionsly disappear !
ed. One day in looking over a paper !
ne came across my story and had hur-
ried to my Office to learn fuller particu-
lars. | sent him to his wife in my car i
rage, and you can imagine what oc-
CURED at the meeting, for each believed
the other dead. / wrote to the Coun- /
tess, giving the sequel to the story,
md the result was t,at 4ha