The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1903-08-21
MADNESS In COLORS.
TlNTS THAT WILL TURN THE. BRAIN
AND INVITE DEATH.

Purple 10 the Most L~thaI of All
Hues. md scarlet IL Nearly ns Had.
Blue VIII Stimulate the Bsain. hut
IL VIII Wreck the Nerves.
II purple walls and red tinted win
dows surrounded you for II month. with
no color but purple around you.'b 10y the
end of, that time you would be a maG-
man. No matter how strong the brain
might be. IL would not stand the strs..l.
and it. is doubtful IL you would ever re-
cover your reason. for purple Is IL
most dangerous color there is in i,.s
effects on the brain. which IL renches
by way of the nerves OF the eye. 't'' Z
/ A splash or two of any other color
In the room would save your reason for.
some time longer. but dead purple
would Kill you eventually rs surely az
would foul air Scarlet is as bad. but
scarlet has different. effect 1t pro-:
duces what is called homicidal mania
"a madness that drives its victim to
kill his fellows. especially his nearest
relatives. Even on animals scarlet has
this effect. 1t will drive bull or "a
tiger to charge naked spear. But
purple. on the contrary. brings on mel
ancholy or suicidal marfia.
Blue, as long as there is no trace OF
red I'm 1t. stimulates the brain and helps
it, but its effect on your nerves. IL you
are saturated with 1t and cannot get
away from 1t. is terrible. Scientists
class blue as n kind OF drug In its ef-
fects on the brain.
II excites the Imagination and gives
a craving for music and stagecraft.
but II has a reaction that wrecks the
nerves. III you doubt il stare hard for
few minutes at large sheet OF
bright blue paper or-cloth-not flowers.
for there Is good deal of green in
their blue-and YOU, viii find that it
will make your eyes ache and give you
a restless. uneasy feeling.
Green. on the other hand. is the king
Of colors. and no amount of it can do
any harm. On the contrary. 1t soothes
the whole system and preserves the
eyesight- II you were shut up in an
artificial green light for a month 1t
would develop your eyesight immense
ly, but II would be fatal. because when
you returned TO the world you would
be utterly unable to stand ordinary
lights and colors and you would GER
tainly contract ophthalmia. or possibly
destroy the optic nerve altogether un-
less you were very mindful to take
great care.
Most people Imagine the sky In clear
weather to be blue. II Is really white
tinged with green. 1t is only the dis
tance and clearness which make II
/ seem blue.
Green Is 30 soothing that IL makes
q big difference In the length of an
Illness. helping the system TO fight the
| disease. and nearly all hospital wards
l have every possible detail about them
colored green. Sage green is the most
/ soothing tint Of all: metallic green.
however. is by no means so good
Solitary confinement in a yellow cell
| for six weeks VIII hopeessly weaken
| any system and produce chronic hys.
| teria- A long course of IL Will pro-
| duce foolish lunacy. and even on q
| guinea pig or q rabbit viii drive the
i animal at last TO bite and wound Itself
| or reduce It to such a state u nervous
i ness that IL will die of sheer fright II
/ suddenly startled
On the other hand. II you are moi
/ smothered with It yellow is the healthi
/ est. cheericst color there is. and will
| make a dark room bright and habita
BILE when even green would be cold
and depressing. But to be well "soused'
with yellow day and night. and TO bt
/ unable to get away from ii. would
bring you TO nervous madness within
/ two months ut the outside.
| Sheer deal white. unbroken. will de
stroy your eyesight as surely as cata
ract would IL you are exposed to 1t 70
n few days-a week at the latest. Il
kills the optic nerves, and the sigh
goes out like candle. while the effec
on the brain is so maddening tha
blindness is almost n relief.
This is why arct-a explorers have tt
wear colored goggles" of green tintet
glass: otherwise "snow blindness" al
1t is called. and which is really .'whit'
blindness" is almost a certainty. Ever
in the polar regions. though. the white
IL not complete. The sky breaks Ii. Il
1t did not no man could keep his eye
sight there without glasses.-New Yorl