The Opelousas courier., 1903-04-18
HAIR AND INTELLECT.
Mental Peculiarities Of Blondes and Brus
nettes Compared.

ueCCeS
Some curious statistics relating to
hair have been collected by the school
authorities at Lille. Thus the auburn
haired boys are generally at the head
of the recitation classes and the blonde
girls learn their lessons best. Auburn
boys and blonde lasses come out high
est as arithmeticians, but in compost
ton they are nowhere. The dark
quality Of imagination, and in their
composition know how not to fatigue
the attention. They have movement
and originality. In short, they seem, as
compared to the auburns and blondes,
born stylists. Now that I think Of it.
Sarah Bernhardt is, or was, auburn.
haired, and Nine. Bartet had light
brown hair twenty-five years ago-so
light as to be almost fair. l should
not call the late Nine. Jacques Stern
(Croizette) in the heyday of her charms
a blonde. But she had a darkish shade
Of fair hair that looked like heavy.
sheeny, floss silk, and the ruddiness
that one associates with auburn. Nine.
Samary was also fair, without being
exactly a blonde.
I daresay the auburn boys and blonde
lasses in the Lille elementary schools
are of Flemish, that is to say phleg-
matte race. Their brains do not grow
at once Gongested when they stand
up to recite, and for that reason they
keep the mastery of the vocal organs.
In short, they continue to know what
they are about. The dark children are
probably of Celtic, that is to say Gallic.
origin. The blood comes with a rush to
their brains, and they grow confused.
splutter and break down. If they
could only be taught to remain silent
for a few moments, they would be all
the better for this rush, as the con.
fusion would have passed away, leav.
ing only stimulated mental organs.
Goldsmith, who vas dark, always be-
gan by being confused in conversation.
O'Connell wore a black wig, but his
real hair in his youth was auburn. ]
re~collect very old people who heard
him plead in his prime speak of it as
such. But perhaps he might not have
recited so well what somebody else had
written.
I have rarely heard a great French
orator recite. Grevy, the President
Of the Republic. was n of the few,
and he reached perfection in r~eciting
Voltaire's verses to Emile. Gambetta.
in a low, sweet voice, recited sometimes
passages from his favorite poets.
Theirs would commit nothing to mem,
DRY in the way Of a poem or a speech
by another author. He had himself
too much to say to incumber his MIND
with the writings Of others. Louis
Blanc shone, however, in reciting dec
lamatory passages from Corneille anG
Racine, but his brother Charles-a fair.
Jewish-looking man, not unlike the
first Baron James de Rothschild-beat
him in defamation at the ecclesiastical.
school where they passed their youth
Charles Blanc triumphed in both mas,
culine and feminine parts, and drew
LSutS 1IOh Ills .1CfS1Sud p1SSCttOl !
eyes as Andromaque. Louis was bes1
as Polyeucte or the Cid. Imagine wee
Louis Blanc giving the illusion of thai
historic warrior! Victor Hugo never
seemed grander than in reading some
noble work of his own. An old pass
port given to him in his twenty-seventf
year speaks of him as having auburn
hair, long and remarkably thick.
heard him recite the ITO be or not tC
be" soliloquy as translated by his
preston into it!
To come back to stage people, the
two Coquelins are fair. Mile. Schnei.
der, who rather recited than sang il
The operettas Of Offenbach, was re.
markably fair. 1t may be that the late
Queen Victoria would have read hel
speeches less well had she been q
brunette. Rachel is an illustrious in.
stance on the other side. l do not
know whether her rival and sup
Ristori, should be classed
lmong the dark or fair actresses. WheI
made her acquaintance the early
,olor of her hair and complexion had
Ieparted. She had a fair-haired brother
Who suddenly became white haired.
lie used to teach italian, however, in
singing school.
Finally, IN the subject of hair, l am
'orry to say that the red-headed boys
md girls In the Lille schools-les rouz
It les rousses-are at the bottom in
v%erything save in g~ood-conduct marks.
Nor are they remarkable for good
lealth. The dark boys behave better
han the auburn or the fair, but are
more sensitive to praise or blame
Truth.
An A3uaPftainO MnroJ-