Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-08-11
TIE COLOR RED.
FORMERLY IT WAS THE CENTER
OF MANY SUPERSTlTlONS.

Curious Methods In Ancient Medical Prac-
tice-Scarlet for the Smallpox
for Sore Throats-Red Hair.
1t is said that in ages long ago. in the
infancy of art. in was customary, in at
tempting portraiture. always to paint the
garments of the male red and of the fe-
male blue; and that even now child. on
being given a cake Of red and one of blue
paint. would instinctively invest his girl
with blue frock and his boy with red
coat. 1t is true that, even now, girl
children are more frequently dressed in
blue and boys in red, but this may have
its origin in the fact that blue is the color
of the virgin, to whom, in the Roman
Catholic church. all girls are dedicated.
The color red was the center of many
interesting superstitiOns, most of them
probably now extinct. There was an old
belief that medicinal substances bore i'm
pressed upon their external surfaces, by
planetary influences, the virtues which
they possessed. The connection between
the properties of substances and their
color was also q time honored opinion.
White was supposed to have refrigerant
and red heating qualities, and hence from
their colors hot and cold properties were
allotted to different medicines. This led
to curious errors in practice. Red flowers
were given for maladies affecting the san
guiferous system, yellow for those of the
hillary secretion. and so on. Red was
supposed to have peculiarly healing eff.
feet on smallpox. to the cure of which it
was applied, both externally and in
ternally.
But scarlet is efficacious in other dis
eases besides smallpox In various parts
of the West Indias it is believed that O
strip of scarlet cloth. however narrow.
worn around the neck will keep off whoop-
ing cough In the west of Scotland it is,
or was, common to wrap red flannel round
the throats of children for the same rea-
son. and the virtue, we are told, lay not
in the flannel. but in the color. The VIC
| Tins of scarlet fever were also sharers in
the benefits of red. Within the present
century there were exposed for sale in a
| shop in Fleet street tongues of red cloth,
be worn round the throat by patients
cted with that malady. The soothing
cts of red, or perhaps rather of beau
tirul color generally, are quantity set
forth in passage which we take from
| tAt huDTtN AlkoAD III tLc DIlllSu huStulu.
"Sir William Dugdaie told me that he
finds TINT the art of painting in glasse
came first into England in King Johns
time. The curious Oriental reds, yellows.
| blues and greens in glasse painting.
especially when the sun shines. doe much
| refreshe spirits After this manner did
DR.. r. revive the spirits of a poor dis
| tracted gentleman; for whereas his former
ply sitians shut up his windows and kept
him in utter darknesse, he did open his
window lidds. and let in the light and
| filed his windows with glasse of curious
tinctures. which the distempered person
could alwaies be looking on, and it did
conduce to the quieting of his disturbed
spirits
| The belief that red colors were useful
In sickness was probably connected with
an equally widespread belief that they
were obnoxious to evil spirits. To the
present day in China people wear red cloth
| in the pocket and braid their children's
| hair with red silk to keep them from the
evil eye At the death of q New Zealander
red was employed as literally as possible.
| probably for the same reason. The house
of the deceased was painted red. Wher-
ever the corpse was rested on its last jour
ney. some rock, or stone, or tree which
| happened to be near was painted red, and
IL the body was conveyed by water, when
| it was taken ashore at it's destination it
was painted red before it was abandoned.
| In ancient England sore throats were
cured by wearing charm which was tied
round the neck in a red rag, and to pre-
vent nose bleeding 1t was customary to
| wear skein of scarlet silk round the
neck tied with nine knots in front If
| the patient was q man, the silk had to be
put ON and the knots tied by a woman: if
the patient was woman, by man. In
Aberdeenshire no notable housewife
| would turn out her cows to grass for the
| first time in the season with any conf
dence unless they were fortified against
| the evil eye by piece of scarlet worsted
| tied round the tail
All over England and Wales. and. to a
lesser degree. in Scotland, there existed
till recent-very recent-times a rooted
prejudice against people with red hair
Now, whether from the influence of the
teaching Of Mr.. Burne Jones and Mr..
Walter Crane. or from the advance of civ
| ilization, it is not easy to determine. but
In fashionable circles this prejudice has
not only disappeared. but has been re-
| placed by an enthusiastic admiration for
the former despised color. Possibly. in
some remote parts of the country, the
term carrots" may still be one of re-
proach. but it is certain that the heroines
| of at least half sf the novels of the day
| rejoice in locks Of this now enviable shade
| curling back from their ivory temples
"J. II. G." in Home Journal