The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-04-27
GIRL With RED HAIR

she would have red hair
Good heavens," said the father, that
l. my great-great-uncle Anthony. 1t Is
not the first time that horrible feature OF
his has cropped up in the family. Reo
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 Ramsgaae. She found three friends
and enemies The eenmies, with the
tactlessness of young said Ginger! IN
a loud voice when she went past So she
turned to her friends, even to he rdearest
friend OF all. Il want you to tell me the
truth" she said. is my hair too aw-
full"
No. not awful It's red, of course,
but then think what lots Of if you've got :"
1t seemed to her poor consolation-when
a thing is bad TO reflect that you've got
a great deal OF it. For a while she was
depressed She even thought and spoke
of the religious life.
THAT would be no good to you" laugh
ed a much older girl. They wouldn't
have you
why nOt?"
.-Because of the color of your hair. That
means a certain temperament. you know -
But the maiden with. the red hair did
not know. and she was still young and
there were plenty of things to eat, and
sotne of them were nice And there were
games to be played. and there were lots
of other girls to join in the fun. She
Thought little more of the color of her
hair until she went out into the world.
Yes, as almost invariably happens when
q girl grows up, she becomes woman
She was quiet and subdued. She dressed
very, very meekly. She talked patiently
to elderly married men and did not ex-
pect 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 overbear the really
great artist.
The really great artist was talking
aloud and at large, with the door open.
She heard her name mentioned with an
ecstatic information. And the devil tempt
ed her to listen a moment or two longer.
'Of course" the great artist said, she
would be beautiful anyhow. but the
crown of it all is that hair. l never saw
such an absolutely lovely color. 1t is per-
fectly 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 a different way. And
when 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 Bend 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 great
est of pities that there were 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 a
cha rm or was she a disgrace? 1t is ter
rible to have neither the confidence of
beaI uty nor the resignation of the def
nitely plain. There flashed into her mind
that a girl at school had said
about temperament. She was not con-
Bc'ious that she had got any tempera-
Rent. She sought out an elderly psychol-
ofyist of her acquaintance with u face
Hike an educated chrmpanzee and asked
him about it.
( Il wish to goodness. he said irritably.
..you woldn't put those personal ques-
lions to me. If you must know | should
say that red hair is almost invariably
associa ted with strong passions and not
with an Enthusiastically dis
positioH.
So she sought another psychologist of
quite different kind. He was a remote
and dreamy cid man Be 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
ss hair; they were part of the box Of
decisions which We are pleased to dignity
with name of life. they had no absolute
existence. and il they had it would not
matter
And then this poor woman gave it up
1t is difficult 10 be one definite character
all by yourself with no support from the
prevailing opinions of others. Her own
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 tempera-
ment. but on this the last psychologist
had had nothing to say. She simply did
not know where she was She was like
a cork tossed on a whirlpool. 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 wa ssuch
that he had to be taken away. He is, l
am told. perfectly comfortable in the
asylum and believes that he is cactus
Barry Pain. in Eondon Sphere.