The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-10-31
THE HAIR MERCHANTS STORY.
[Philadelphia rimes.1

!" I had a strange experience once in human hair," said member of the firm of John E. Lafore & Co.,, human hair importers. "A French lady of noble blood, who has been my friend for years, wrote me few months ago, inclosing a lock of hair, which was peculiar shade of drab and of silky 6neness. She wanted me to match it, and set about doing so.
 inserted an advertisement in the principal Philadelphia, New York and for switch of the desired quality and color O1e day woman of about 20 years ot age, shabbily dressed, but with a form and face that Venus might have en. vied, entered my office.
 "' came in answer to your advertise ment," she said, and, removing her hat, unbound luxuriant coil c. hair that called from me an involuntary cry of ad- miration. Will this do? she asked. 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 could not distin- guish one from the other.
 "' This hair is exactly what want said, and will give you $2oo an ounce for it.
 Take it off, she sad with nervous trembling of her voice that at once at- tracted my attention. | am starving, and my baby, and what you are willing to pay is fortune to us.'
 became interested and questioned her. Alter little hesitation she told me her story. Her husband had been a SC captain and shortly after they were mar ried had sailed for the west coast of Africa. His vessel was never heard of after leaving port, and it was presumed that sh~ had foundered at sea and all hands lost. The presumed widow had struggled to maintain herself and infant child, but with indifferent success. Fi- nally, when suffering from the bangs of hunger, she had read my advertisement and hastened to my place of business praying inwardly that her hair, which had been her husbands pride, might be of the required shade.
 "Well, bought her hair, which weighed four ounces, and paid her $500 for it. 1 sent my switch to my customer, the countess, and wrote her the history of the hair. She is woman Of great wealth and goodness of heart. The return mail brought me a letter authorizing me to pay the poor little sailors widow $I GOO extra wrote an account of the affair which was published. One day, about three weeks after the publication of the story, man. who was bronzed and bearded, came into my office very excited. He held in his hand a copy of a New York paper and unfolding it pointed to my story.
 Gan you tell me the address of this woman ?" he asked eagerly. She is my wife, l thought her dead.'
 While wrote down the address he told me his story. His vessel had been shipwrecked on the African coast, and he and two others of the crew alone man. aged to reach the shore. It was several months before they managed to reach a civilized port. He immediately sent word of the disaster to the owners of the foundered 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 mysteriously disappeared. One day in looking over a paper he came across my story and had hurried to my office to learn fuller par ticulars. sent him to his wife in my carriage, and you can inagine what oc- cured at the meeting for each believed the other dead. wrote to the countess, giving the sequel to the story, and the result was that the ship-wrecked captain now commands her yacht, and the wife who sacrificed her hair to buy bread sails with him on every voyage"