Year: 1872

| About twenty years ago a wealthy family
/ resided in one of our Southern towns in the
| enjoyment of all the advantages that ample
means and social position could bestow. The
| happy household consisted of father-one of
the most elegant and accomplished men of the
| world-a mother, delicate, refined and lovely,
| and daughter Just budding into womanhood,
| and promising to become one of the handsom-


est women in the section where she resided


AS matter of course the young lady was rails


ed with the utmost care, and ere she was twelve
years of age became a local wonder for the ex-


tent of her accomplishments while the beauty


of her person and the amiablty of her dspos
tion heightened the charms of her more intel
lectual attractions One element of the beauty
of this young lady was a very luxurant suit of
hair, which, even at this early age, fell in a
glttering cataract (for it was of that dark au-
burn hue which scintillates in the sunshine)


from her well-shaped head to within an inch
or two of the floor. All promised richly for
the future. Time passed, and as the girl grew
to womanhood her parents deemed it necessary


to add to the natural grace and well cultivated
demeanor the advantages which are derived
from travel and association with the polished
society of European capitals. Continental
tour was ~ ade, to the very evident delight and


benefit of the daughter, but which for the pa
rents had different termination. The hus-


ba nd and father, with all his accomp mplishments,
had one weak element in his organization, and
hat was fondness for the gaming table,
Living queitly in rural district at home, he


had been enabled to quench this baneful de-


sire, but at Homburg and Baden Baden he had
Welded to the temptation and the spell was
only to be eappeased by indulgence The hitherto
happy family brought up in Paris, and here,
while the daughter, under the chaperonage of
her mother, was eceiving her finishing polish
in the courtly society of that gay capital,
the father was gradually, though surely, bring
ing her to the vortex of that ruin he was pre-
pairing for the whole family. With gamblers
varying luck, the chances seemed for a while
evenly balanced between large gains and heavy
)nsses, (for it was no child's game this South
ron played,) but, as is sure to be the case in
time, luck so called, deserted him, and his pro-
Sress to utter ruin swift.


The crushing intelligence was conveyed to
the mother and daughter by the suicide of the
ia ther, when it became known to them that
their worldly effects consisted only of their
jewels and wearing apparel. The mother was
unable to withstand the shock, and was pros
trated by an attack of lever, and for many


weeks it was doubtful whether life or death
would gain the victory in the struggle for an
other victim. But life had a faithful ally in
the person of the daughter, and ultimately tr-
umphed. The long sickness in an expensive
hotel ompletely exhausted the proceeds of the
J
daughter from time to time sacrificed, and now
that with convalescence, came a natural de-
sire to return once more to the quiet retire
ment of their former rural home, (which was
saved from the wreck only by the fact that it
was the property of the daughter, bequeathed
to her by her grandmother, there was nomoney
tn meet the expenses of the trip. The devoted
laughter had last resource left, and dearly as
she priced this treasure, she hesitated not a


moment, but proceeding to q coiffure's, in the
ncighborhood of the hotel, she unwound the
thick folds of her auburn tresses, and shaking
the mass from her shoulders to the floor re-
realed to the astonished artist sight which
his eyes had never before beheld, in an expert
cpce of forty years in business-a luxuriaut


aass of hair trailing from the young lady's
head foot or more on the floor, while she
stood erect.


''Will you buy this? ?" she asked. catching a
few strands with her white and tapering fin
gers and holding them up to his view.


When the astonshed artist had feasted his
admiration for some moments on this magnif-
cent sight, he made to comprehend that
was :, trim HE p,,,Ul 30 possess 10. y,
net slow to bargain. The price required q
five thousand francs, and on this point the young
llly was unyielding; so despite all his efforts
II obtain a slight modification, he was compel
led to pay the stipulated price, knowing well
that he was fortunate in getting it even at this
sum.


The mother and daughter returned to their
home in the South, and the hair embelished
the show case of the fortunate dealer, to the
envy of every one in Paris in the same trade.
lie, for a long time refused to part with it,
lhough many offers were made to him. Three
years ago he yielded to an offer from a New
York dealer, and disposed of portion of it
This dealer in turn was beset by offers for his
part by others who were envious of his rare
possession and by others still whose enterprise
impelled them to procure the best in their line
which the world afforded. Of these latter was
NJ. Jeannerett, of this city, who, three years
ago first saw this remarkable mass of hair in
the case of the New York dealer, and imme
diately made overtures for its possession. On
ly after the laspe OF three years was he sue
ceesful, and so it happens that twelve year af-
ter the magnificent suit of dark auburn hair,
sixty six inches in length, has shorn from the
head ofa Southern lady in Paris, we find por-
tion of it exposed in the window of Southern
dealer, No. 62 Lexington street, not great
many miles from the quiet home of its former
possessor.