The secret of content for most women is not perfection, but change. They can not even be satisfied with their looks long at a time; but Mary, Queen of Hearts as well as Scots, must draw an auburn wig over her luxurious tresses, dark and smelling of violets, for which regal-haired Elizabeth would have given the ruffs out of her best gowns, and her recipe for yellow starch with them. The “pretty Miss Vavasour,” who changed her chignon every morning with her costume, was a type of the fickle beauties of the day, who are always better satisfied with some other woman’s style than their own. Women of intelligence send urgent requests for something to change the color of their hair, either to make the front locks match the châtelaine braid, or to bleach it outright. Fair blondes, whose sunny locks have been their pride, find with dismay that this infantile tinge, which makes a woman look so young and charming, is deepening into mature ash-brown--a shade with no prestige or attraction whatever. In their exact eyes it is mortifying to wear a blonde braid several degrees lighter than the crown tresses. These last are growing, and constantly change, while the ends keep their early tinge. Very few light-haired people pass from youth to middle age without such a change. But, unless the difference is very startling, it may be made agreeable by skillfully dressing the hair. Light or varied hair should be crimped or waved, when its tints will appear like the play of light and shade. Contrary to all writers on this point, I contend that crimping does not necessarily injure the hair. If it is killed--pulled out by the roots, or broken by frizzing--the blame is due to careless or ignorant dressing. My own hair was dressed regularly twice or thrice a week with hot irons for years, and it never grew so fast or was in such a satisfactory state. It was thoroughly combed and brushed, kept clean by weekly washing, and each time it went under the curling-tongs it came out moist and stimulated by the heat. The reason was, the clever French coiffeur knew his business, and never allowed the hot iron to come directly in contact with the hair. Each lock was done up in papillotes, and then pinched with irons as hot as could be without scorching. Stiff hair may be trained to curl by long and patient treatment with hot irons, and be all the better for it. The secret of safe hair-dressing is never to pull the hair, never scorch, and always wrap a lock in paper before applying the iron. Common round curling-irons and frizzing-tongs may be safety used if thin Manilla paper is folded once around them. So in crimping: the hair may be done up on stout crimping-pins held by slides, or braided in and out of a loop of thick cord, a bit of thin paper folded over the crimp, and the pinching-iron used with safety every day, provided the hair is not pulled too tight in braiding it. The country method, where friseur’s irons are unknown, is to lay the