The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-02-24
The Innurncc Of rnInr-

Scientists have recently turned their at
tention To the influence OF color on pa
/ tients suffering from certain diseases. Il
is claimed that in cases OF measles. small
pOX, and like ailments the hue Of furni-
ture hangiugs and clothing is CT impor-
lance This is not a new idea The blue
glass cure" Of a quarter Of a century ago
is still remembered and away back in
the days Of Henry l. Of England. it was
claimed that an English Prince was cured
OF smallpox largely through the use Of
scarlet clothing hangiugs. and furniture
II is also said quite positively by Hindu
philosophers that there is a distinct anu
well-understcOd relation between c0lols
and mental and physical attributes. and
they prescribe garments Of certain tints
as mental and moral tones.
Whatever may be the exact scientific
value Of this agent in the treatment Of dis
ease. there is every ro-son 70 suppose that
it has some value, especially upon pa
tients who are at all sensitive in such
matters. To some people an inharmonious
contrast Of color in the room where they
are in as offensive as a disc0rd is to a
trained musician. They object as strong
~ 10 crude greens. vioIets. and crfms0n-.
badly combined. as a person with an ear
fer music would to hearing a piece Of IN
ferior character badly played over and
over again. Others, without this keen
sense Of color values. still feel the diff
ference between room or costume ar
ranged with due reference 70 these 9ril-
ciples. and one which violates every law vi
harmony. There are few indeed who have
not at least rudimcntary taste ia such
matters
1t is rather important that the American
public should be educated in this respect.
As people. we have lost the instructive
understanding Of esthetic laws which
primitive peoples seem to have and we
have not yet learned to understand them
with the brain. The Indians blanket the
German. Norwegian. French and Italian
peasant costume. show a finely developed
sense Of the laws Of color. which has
grown up through generations OF evolution.
LafcadiO Hearn states that the negroes and
half-breeds Of Martinique. during the two
hundred OF more years in which they came
in contact with civilization through slav-
~.
Of color which governed absolutely the
costumes Of the women. They did this
without instruction. and apparently
through sheer Intuition. The COlors which
women Of each complexion might properly
wear were prescribed almost to a shade.
and only certain combinations Of these
could be used. The result. as one may
see nv reading the scheme of arrange
ment. was a singular and gorgeous beau
ty of costume which might easily. when
! developed in rich fabrics. eclipse the most
carefully constructed European gowns
This Illustrates rather curiousIy the gen
eral rule that untutored human nature
chooses the. artistic by intuition. The rea-
son why the garments OF the country boy
or girl. or the half-civilized savage. seem
grotesoue TO urban eyes is not that the
gay color is in itself ill-chosen. but that
it is in the wrong place and form. When
a peasant wears red shirt OF a country
girl a gown of dull blue. the effect. in the
woods and fields. is what we call pictur-
esque. The same costume. in a drawing
room. developed in broadcloth or satin.
would seem ridiculous We lose some
thing in artistic beauty and appropriate
ness in following the fashions set by Par
/ is and London The peasant dress of the
/ old World has beauty Of form and eolos
which is all its own Perhaps this has
/ something to do with the quaint charm
of life among the people We do not know
how much mere beauty OF garb and sur