The Washington herald., 1913-10-05
BEWARE OF THE RED HEAD.
Ancient Traditions AscrIbed Mis-
fortune to Auburn Locks.

Ancient Traditions AscrIbed Mis-
fortune To Auburn Locks.
From the Boston Globe.
Salute no red-haired man nearer than
thirty feet off," runs an old French
proverb, land even so, hold three stones
in the fist wherewith to defend thyseH."
From Biblical times to the present day
can be traced the prejudice against red
hair. Never lodge at red-haired peo-
pies houses runs a precepL in the
fifteenth century, 'bOke of curtasye,
for these be fOlke that are to drede."
According to one tradition, this distrust
Of red-haired people dates from the time
of Judas, who himself red-haired, caused
treachery to be ever afterward connect
ed with hair of that color.
Shakespeare alludes to this belief. Says
ROsalind. complaining of her lover. His
very hair is of the assembling color.
WhereHpon Celia answers her: Some
thing browner than Judas" Marston.
too, in THE 1nsatiate Countess" makes
one of his characters remark: 81 ever
thought by his red beard he would prove
Judas"
In Sweden prejudice against red hair
was very strong; here its connection
with treachery was twofOld, for the
traitor, Ashjorn, who betrayed Canute,
possessed red hair. In Germany also
red hair met with scant regard. THE
short in stature says a German prov
erb, are naturally uproud, and the red
haired untrustworthy." Nor is this lat
ter belief by any means extinct at the
present time.
Red hair however unjustly, is still as
Scotland with i'll luck as well. In the
highlands he who meets a red-haired
woman when starting on a journey will
be well advised. say the wiseacres, to
return home and start the journey
afresh, and in Ireland red-haired people
are supposed to exercise the same bale
full influence upon any undertaking.
The writer, staying in Western Come
mara not long ago for brown trout fish
ing, complained one day that sport had
been unusually poor. The landlord
smoothed his chin and pondered for
some little time upon the reason for
this lack of fish. Then suddenly his
face lightened-the lakes. after all, II
seemed. were not in fault. Sure" he
said, ''ye'll have met Red Maggie Muir
ply on the way to the lake? Twas her
self that passed by the minute afterr'
The fairy folks are at one with human
beings in disliking red-haired people,
although in other connections they are
by no means averse to red. Piskies, in
deed, are some times known in the West
of England by the name of 'red-caps,"
owing to their fondness for caps of the
color: while fairy cows-those strange,
hornless animals which have the power
of crossing the sea by themselves-are
invariably red.
But the unfortunate human possessor
of red hair meets with scant courtesy
from the fairy folks; he it is who suf-
fers most acutely from the unwelcome
attentions of spriggans and buccas. He
will be decoyed across the bogland at
night by lights like those yoe cottage win
dows, only to find that these lights have
in truth no existence; his cattle will be
pisxy ridden, his colts chased all night
long. Only, indeed, by wearing his coat
turned inside out and drawing his cap
well over that obnoxious hair can he
hope to mitigate, such unwelcome atten-
tons.