The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1854-06-14
The Size of Heads.

c with regard to the large head an
= small head controversy, VIC must say "
e have never been ablo to come to any tai
n giblc concinsion. Cuvicr's head mu,
:, have been large, for his brain weighe
: sixty-fvc ounces. This is generally az
counted the heaviest known healtl,
: brain but VIC were recently told of
, working-man who died in Uuivcrsit
College Hospital London, and who's
head was so large tha the students ha
l the brain weighed, out of curiosity ,whe
they found it to weigh sixty.soven our
ces, though perfectly healthy. On ii
quiry, all that they could learn abou
! the man was, that he was said by hi
, neighbors to have had rGmarkabl,
good memory. The brain of DR. Aber
, cromby, Of Edinburgh, weighed sixty
} three ounces. DIR. Chalmers had yer,
large head, indeed Joseph Hume and ht
were said to have the largest heads il
the kingdom and yet his brain weighed
hut fifty-thrce ounces-almost under the
average. On the other hand, Byron had
a small head, at least Mr.. Leigh Hunt
informs us that his hat, which is not a
very large one, use to 90 quite over
Byron's head, but his brain is said tc
have weighed nearly four pounds. Keats
and Shelly had very small heads, Mr.
Leigh Hunts hat going over them too
Rafiaello had small head Sir Walter
Scott had a small head SO had Ncand
er, the church historian so, also if VIC
recolloct Alright what Bernal Diaz SAYS
had Cortez, the Conqueror of Mexico
Yelling Ion head is said to have been
under the average size. The brain oi
Mrs. Manning, the murderess, was a
pound lighter than her husbands. The
skull Of Rush was very large, measuring
we think, upwards Of "a inches round.
Pcriclcs, as we know, had a largo head
50 had Mahomet so had Mirabeau so
had O'Connell Lamartinc describes
Napolcon's as a small head which had
bulged out The skull of the poet
Burns was carefully measured whom it
was desintcrred on the burial ofhis wife:
it measured twenty-five and quarter
inches round, which allowing half an inch
for the integuments, would make the cir
cumferonce ofthe living head ,wonty.two
ana three quarter iuchcs largish head
but not extraordinary Goethe's head,
we believe, was not remarkable for size
About Shaksrcare's bcad our only in.
formation must be from the Stratford
bust which Chaniroy pronounced, from
certain signs. to be almost certainly
modelled from AN oriniual ems, ,akor of.
ter death. Il is curious ,xounl. of a
f,recone conclusion. that Mr. unob Nil.
lor spoqk.un Of thi5 bus, in his al,niro.
be work. ogiitl,l Firs. impressions of
England and its peaplan describes the
head. from personal iusnection. as Il vary
large one. The skull he saws must have
been OF a capacity to contain all DR.
Chalmers's brains. This, as Dr. CLal.
mers was then alive, was tantamount 10
saying it was Of the LARGEST known III.
mcnsions. Now, with this very Joscrin.
ton in onr memory. we havo ourselves
examined the Stratford bust with the ut.
most closqncss and care and we unhosit.
atingly declare that the head in that
bust is. if not Il smallisb one ot leost
such as anv average Enelish hat could
easily fit. We 5CI;cre il is n small:sb
head. In short. from all the statistics
We have at command respectinr LARGE
and small heads, including our own pri-
vatc observations among our acauaintan-
ces. we have never been able to Obtain
any presenting conclusion on the point
The opinion Of David Scott the nointcr
was, that large heads were generally
found in successful men Of the world sucL
as statesmen. bankers and the like. and
that the iineness of nervous tissue reoui.
site for the purely intellectual lives of
artists, thinkers, and letorarv men zen.
orally. connoted a small or AVERAGE size
of head. Even this oninion bowcver
will break down. if annlied in nr,ctico
We know very energetic. prudential ana
weiehty men. with smallisb heads. and
we know men with very larce heads who
seem at home only in the most cvnuis;,e
and ornamental kinds Of mental oct;y;,v
More sure than any conclusion that can
be come to on this point of s.c seem.
to DO notion we have heard advanced
with respect to tho form Of heads
Length Of head from front to back we
have heard an eminent and very ohserv.
ing man declare to be, according 10 his
experience. the most constant nLysiocno.
mic sign of ability. Only in one smi
ncnt head, that Of Sir Walter Scott had
he found this sign wantinr. and in His
case, if properly considered the want WAS
significant Next TO lcnctb or don,,,
his idea was, that height over tbe ears