The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1886-02-25
Wife Found.

Wife Found.
A hair dealer n Philadelphia told
a Times reporter the following
story: /
1 had a strange experience once
in human hair. A French lady OF
noble blood, who had been my
friend for years, wrote me a few
months ago, enclosing a lock OF
hair, which was peculiar shade Of
drab and of silken .tineness. She
wanted me to match it., and l set
about doing so. / dispatched my |
agents all over Europe. but nowhere
could I find a thread of hair that
would match the sample.
then inserted an. advertisement
in the principal Philadelphia, New
York apd Boston paper tofering
liberal reward for 8 switch of. the
desired quality and color One day
woman of about 20 years of age,
shabbily dressed, but with a form
and face that Venus might have en-
We'd, entered my. Office. - 800 i
81 came in to. answer an
advertisement" she. said, and re-
moving her hat, unbound luxuii-
ant coil of hair that called forth. an
Involuntary cry of admiration.
"Wlll this do?'' she asked.
/ examined her hair and compar
ed it with sample sent me by the
countess. The two were so similar
that when 1 mixed them together /
could not distinguish one from the
other.
"This hair is exactly what l
want" l said, "and l will give you
5000 an ounce for il"
"Take it off," she said, with a
nervous trembling of her voice that
at once attracted my attention.
81 am starving, L and my baby, and
what yo4 are willing to pay is for
tune to u.s."
1 became interested and CUES
toned her. After little hesita-
ton she told me her story. Her
husband had been a sea captain
and shortly after they were married
had sailed for the Best SHORE
OF Africa. His vessel was never
heard of after leaving port and it
was presumed that she had foun
dered at sea and all hands had been
lost. The presumed widow had
struggled hard to maintain heTsel
and infant child, but with Indifferent
success. Finally, when suffering
from the pangs of hunger, she read
my advertisement and fastened 10
my place of business, praying in
Wardly that her hair, which had
been her husbands pride might be
Of the required shade.
"Well, TO make long story short,
1 bought her hair, which weighed
! .enr ounces, and paid her $500 for
it. / sent the switch to my Gus
toner, the countess, and wrote her
the history of the hair. She is 8
woman of great wealth and good
ness of heart. The return mail
brought me letter authorizing me
To pay the poor little sailors widow
81 900 extra. / did so, and wrote
an account Of the affair to our Off
cial journal, which is published in
New York. The story was so ro-
mantle that the daily papers copied
it, and received several letters
from charitable people Offering pc
cuniary assistance to the sailors
WIDOW. She was proud, and refused
to receive it.
One day, about three weeks after
the publication of the story, a man,
who was bTonzed and bearded,
came into my office very much ex-
cited. He had in his hand = copy
of New York paper andiunfolding
it pointed to my story.
"'Can you give the address of
this WomanP he asked eagerly.
She is my wife. 1 thought her
dead.'"
"Whiie 1 wrote down the address
he told me his story. His vessel had
been shipwrecked on the African
coast, and he and two others alone
had managed to reached the shore.
1t was several months before they
managed to reach a civilized port.
He Immediately sent word OF the
disaster to the owners of the foun-
dered vessel and wrote to his young
wife. From the former he received
reply, but he heard no word from
his wife, and when he reached Phil
adelphia 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.
I sent him to his wife in my car
riage, and you can imagine what &C.
Cured at the meeting, for each be-
lieved the other dead. l wrote TO
the countess, giving the sequal to
the story, and the result was that
the shipwrecked captain now COM
mands her yacht, and the wife who
sacrificed her hair to buy bread
sails with him on every voyage"