The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-09-25
Character in Hair.

'It is fact" said the barber, "that
better idea of character is expressed
by the beard oftentimes than by the
countenance. The art of reading char
acter by the beard is taught as
science in Paris under the name of
photography and understand book
is shortly to be published in which the
principles of this science will be given
IN detail. Did you ever notice that
people of very violent temper have al
ways close growing hair? It's fact
that every man having close-growing
hair is the owner of decided temper.
It's easy enough for me to note at a
glance how a mans hair grows. Then
1 know how to handle him. Men of
strong temper are generally vigorous,
but at the same time they are not al
ways fixed in their opinions. Now,
the man with coarse hair is rooted to
his prejud;ces, Coarse hair denotes
obstinacy. It's not a good business
policy to oppose man whose hair is
coarse. The eccentric man has always
fine hair, and you never yet saw man
of erratic tendencies, who at the same
time had a sound mind, that was not
refined in his tastes. Fine hair indi-
Gates refinement. You may have no.
ticed that men engaged in intellectual
or especially in aesthetic pursuits,
where delicacy of taste is required,
have invariably fine, luxuriant hair
and beard. These same men as class,
particularly painters, are always re-
markable for their personal peculiari-
ties. Take Oscar Wilde, for example.
His hair is as fine and soft as chiId's
and you remember how much fun was
made of him because he persisted in
wearing knee-breeches. Oscar Wilde
couldn't help that, however. He had
to act different from other men be-
cause his mind had an erratic bent. I
went to see him when he lectured here
just to satisfy myself whether he was
a humbug. The moment I caught
sight of his hair, which, you remem-
ber, he wore down his back, 1 was sat-
isiied the man was in earnest, though
very eccentric. The brilliant, sprjght-
ly fellow, who, by the way, is almost
always superficial. has generally a
curly beard. If not, h's hair is curly.
It's easy to bring a SIN lie to the face of
man whose hair is curly. He laughs
where colder natures see nothing to
laugh at. But that's because his mind
is buoyant and not deep enough to
penetrate the bottom of things.
''There is a good deal of difference
between coarse hair and hair that is
harsh, though it requires an expert to
distinguish it. For example, mans
mustache may be of texture as fine
as silk. and yet cannot be trained to
grow into a successful curve. That's
because the hair is harsh. Now. peo-
pie whose hair is harsh have amiable
but cold natures. They are always
ready to listen, but its difficult to
arouse Their feelings. In men of this
disposition the hair on their heads is
generally, in fact almost always, OF
darker shade than their boards. When
the beard is full, covering the entire
face, the color wares from dark
shade near the roots to red. which col
ors the end of the hair. They forget
easily, and often leave a cane or an
overcoat behind them in barber shop.
They are great procrastinators.a and are
bad at keeping appointments. Think
over your acquaintances and see it the
man who is habitually slow has not a
mustache or beard of lighter shade
than his hair. It's always the case.
They are the men who come in late at
the theater and get to the depot just in
tine to miss the train. But study phil
ography as science. 1t takes years of
study and observation to acquire it.
From long practice and a natural lik-
ing for the art, 1 have attained consid-
cradle skill in discerning character.