AN UNWELCOME ORNAMENT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1413, 22 November 1886, Page 3

AN UNWELCOME ORNAMENT.

Nature occasionally indulges in curious freaks upon the human body and in frea- s which a e sometimes sad drawbacks to the personal appearance. " h t, for instance, can well be more disTessing for a comely matron of middle age to discover that horns similar to ram’s horns are growing upon her head, and te otdiged to allow them to grow until they reach a size which prevents h f hiding the deformi'y with any cap, ha-, or bonnet ? The lady thus afflicted is • f rench woman, and ■ er cu i us case h 0 been reported to the Academy of Mfricine. tone had reached her fortieth year when the first hor - made | ts unwelc< appearance on her forehead. It wt I shortly followed by a second, which, however, fell off itself after attaining tl e length of twenty-four centimeters ; but the first remained, to the great inconvenience of the poor woman, who was by it prevented from resting her head comfortably upon a pillow. Ultimately a surgical operation was undergone, and tho objectionable ornament was removed. Tho patient recovered her health and peace of m nd, but not for long. Six months after the operation another horn began to grow precisely on the same spot, tho latest news tiven the Academy of Medicine concerning it being that it had reached the length of five centimeters, and bids fair to grow rapidly The phenom non it seems, is a rare one, but cases of tl • kind are not unheard of London Standard.