The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1907-09-26
BLUE EYES AND sRowr.


+ nicn Crueb ana FReoGhGr0uNS
! Northerners have an inyincIble tend
I ency to assign virtue or goodness t,
] the fair complexion, wickedness .o
: falseness to the dark. II one could rel,
, upon the test Of novels 1t might be ar
gued that this prejudice Is weakening
for the william, whether male or fe
male, Is sometimes blonde nowadays
J and the heroine brunette. One NIGH
almost venture to say that 1t was new
er 80 formerly. Perhaps there is ne
sound reason for thinking that the blue
eyed are truthful, horest and loving
In the sense Of affection and constancy
rather than the brown.
But the striking reports on the asso-
citation of complexion and disease In
hospitals which DIR. Bedd0es suggest
ed long ago, and DR. Shrubsall, fore
most among many, now is carrying out,
have certain bearing ON the point,
says the Pail Mall Gazette. They prove
that dark hair and eyes are supplant-
ing the light in this country-a fact
which all thoughtful persons have OBJ
served. But also they demonstrate the
reason-whlch Is, shortly, that the
blonde are constintionally unified to
endure the conditions Of town life and
actually perish In the foul atmosphere
and the barbarism Of the slums. Adults
enter the hospital in proportions far too
great and children die They must have
fresh air, wholesome exercise and de-
cent surroundings to keep in health.
But these are the conditions of rustic
life, which, as universal experience in
all ages, agrees, preserves, If 1t does
not generate, such virtues as simplicity,
truthfulness and honesty, which town
life, favored by the dark, corrupts.
Upon the other hand, the brown-eyed
peoples assert that the fair are treach-
erous and cruel. This is q common
belief In Italy, where 1t might be traced
to a popular Renaissance of the blonde
northerners who ravaged that hapless
country from generation to generation.
But it Is much older. Plutarch cites a
epigram passed upon Cato
the Censor, who was red-haired and
which shows that it was cur
rent even then. And 1t is an article of
faith all through the east.
Sir Edward Malet tells in his biogra- |
ply how he once called at Alexandret- |
"a, and the population assembled, be-
ieving him to be the new governor of
Cyprus To his dragoman he expressed
/ hope that they were fayorably I'M I
pressed by his appearance, at any rate,
tut the dragoman honestly replied that
t was not so-a blue-eyed governor
hey thought must be harsh and cruel.
md he added that the feeling Is gen.
raj all through the Levant By the
amous code of Menu, an orthodox Hin
100 is fatty forbidden to marry wom-
n with gray eyes-or red hair-perhaps
or this reason, though none is assigned.
n all cases it may be that a tradition
f ruthless invaders from the north has /,
aused the prejudice, since many At
hans, and many Pensions of the Wild
r tribes are fair-not to mention the &
British in modern times. But that is
i assumption.
We are using the term blue-eyed In
sense. AS a matter Of
lct, that color is the rarest by far of Z
Il. Some assert, indeed, that it does
OF exist, and many doubtless have new
seen It. Perhaps the rarity of blue
not to be regretted, unless by enthu-
asts who set beauty above charity and 8
For all animals which have Q
ne eyes are more or less hard of 7
caring" This is generally known in T
lie case of cats, anG 1t is equally true I
horses and wild creatures. 1t is an
stance of correlation, as Darwin term g
| the mysterious law, and one would Q
.pect to find it apply to human be-
at blue or green or gray eyes have
Lrrower range of expression than :
Irk. Perhaps, indeed, the fair do not
spond so quickly to the impulse of the
of more sedate or cooler tenn
rament, they cannot meet word or
thought halfway and flash back the
swer instantly. At any rate, brown
es, which we call black, have an adj
ntage in power of expression.
1t used to be taken for granted that
wages possess a wider range of eye
hit and keener observation than civil
d men. Common sense favored the
lief, and report published by the
-geon of the Western opthalmic hos
al some years ago gave an alarn&t51g
'ture of the State Of things among
lool children. But persons who speak
til authority have contradicted the
1ular notion of especially
ssrs. Spencer and Glllen, In their
.at work on the Central Tribes of
and DR.. Engelmann. OF
Irse, these witnesses may have I'M
lal powers of vision, but their re-
rks show at least that the European
y be equal In this respect to Austria
savages, who are famous for their
sight, and that exceptional capacity
ong them is by no means universal.
Crow of Victory.