Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1904-06-29
THE GIRL WITH RED HAIR.

an old friend of the father. ITS re-
markably fine and healthy child. There's
only one thing you may not like.
"What is it?' asked the father anX-
iously.
.Wen it looks to me very much as If
she would gave red hair
Good heavens!'' said the father, that
is nv Great great-uncle Anthony, 1t is
not the first time that horrible feature
Of his has cropped up in the family. Red
hair! Well, we all have our cross"
The baby, as is not infrequent with
babies, grew up to be a girl. She went
into the great world of other girls at
least as much of the great world as
could be got into an excellent boarding
school at Ramsgate. She found there
friends and enemies. The enemies, with
the tactlessness of youth, said Ginger"
in a loud voice when she went past :
she turned to her friends, even to her
dearest friend of all. Il want YOU to
tell me the TRUTH she said. rs my
hair too awful?"
NO, not awful It's red of course.
but then think what lots of it you've
got.'
1t seemed to her poor consoia ton
when a thing is bad to reflect that you've
got great deal of it. For while she
was depressed. She even thought AMI
spoke of the religious life.
THAT would be no good to you"
laughed much older girl. They
wouldn't have you"
'NNhy not?"
Because of the color of your hair.
| That means certain temperament, you
| know
But the maiden with the red hair did
not know. and she was still Young. and
there We're plenty of things to eat, ana
some of them were nice. And there wcla
games to be played, and there were lots
of other girls to join in the fun. SEe
thought little more of the color OF her
hair until she went out into the world.
Yes, as almost invariably happens
when a girl grows up, she became
woman. She was quiet and subdued.
She dressed very, very meekly. Size
talked patiently to elderly married men
and did not expect the least attention
from men of her own age. She was good
to the poor and she was kind to cats.
and this went ON until she happened to
overhear the really great artist.
The really great artist was talking
6tlOUtl dU ldlSc. VIII biIS uOo1 y ptli
She heard her name mentioned with an
ecstatic intonation. And the devil tempt
ed her to listen moment or two longer
"Of course" the great artist said, she
would be beautiful anyhow, but the
crown of it all is that hair. | never saw
such an absolutely lovely color. It is
perfectly glorious. How other women
must envy her"
Then she went upstairs and rang her
bell and said she was going to have her
hair done in quite different way. And
wher it was done in quite a different
way so as to display it to the uttermost
she went out into Regent street and the
parts about Bond street. and in that
neighborhood spent far more than she
could afford on new dresses.
She had spent so much that she went
home tame and economical in a sordid
omnibus. And in the omnibus she over
heard this phase, ''Yes, but never could
stand red hair
She thought then that it was the
greatest of pities that there We're not
more really fine artists in the world.
Others have had the same thought and
there is much to be said for it. Was
she charm or was she disgrace? It
is terrible to have neither the confidence
of beauty nor the resignation Of the
definitely plain. There flashed into ner
mind something that girl at school had
said about temperament. She was not
conscious that she had got any tempera
Jnent. She sought out an elderly
psychologist of her acquaintance with
face like an educated chimpanzee and
asked him about it.
Il wish to goodness he said irrita-
bly,, you wouldn't put those personal
questions to me. If you must know |
should say that red hair is almost III
variably associated with strong passions
and not infrequently with an untr}ist-
worthy disposition"
So she sought another psychologist
OF quite different kind. He was re-
mote and dreamy old man. He bleated
to her much that she did not understand,
but she did gather definitely that there
was no such thing as color and no such
thing as hair; they were a part of the
box of decisions which we are pleased
to dignity with the name of life, they
had no absolute existence, and if they
had it would not matter
And then this poor woman gave it No.
IT is difficult to be one definite charac-
ter all by yourself with no support from
the prevailing opinions of others. Her
own individuality was not strong enough
to stand the conflict of Judgments To
one she was beautiful and to one she
was plain. Some accredited her with
temperament, but on this the last psy-
| biologist had had nothing to say. She
simply did not know where she was.
She was like a cork tossed on whirl-
pool. 1t was too bad And it was all
because she had red hair. There seemed
to her to be nothing for it but DEATH
SO she dyed.
And the great artists fury was such
that he had to be taken away. He is. !
am told, perfectly comfortable in the
asylum and believes that he is cactus.
barry Pain. IN London Sphere.
The Spirit of the West