The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1879-07-15
/ TEE HUMAN EYE:


$3.50 Eve. and earean. md Eyes OF
~ s.v.,iy HIue-Whst Powers said
"a IYawssorns or Exprsssion.
From The Boston Traveller
Hnu,a,, eyes, End particularly the eyes OF
4;,,e women, and great men, are always Inter
rsting things, aud so we quote here what
prof. SeeIey, In his {. Life and Times OF
Stein.D takes from one Of Arndes works
respactipc the eyes OF two great men. " BE
II here said once for ALL observes Arndt,
{. in answer to those who always come out
with the finest white skin and the piues!
siiyer-clear eyes as the genuine marx OF
,aobleness and genius in man, tRat Tue Two
greatest Germans OF the nineteenth century,
Goethe and Stein, observed the world from
brown eyes though there was this diner
encc, that the Goethean eye, broad ana
open. looked rather down for the most part
with such radiance upon all around, and
upon people, while STEMS eye. smaller ana
keener, rather cleaned than shone, ana at
times very iercely flashed. Usually 1t ex-
nreesed Sriendliness and honesty, but when
he was In serious or positive angry mood
Il was capable OF flashing in formidable
manner. The most mischievous eyes in
women are brown, accordingly to experts.
They are all-powerfu!, are the eyes OF
women, whatever their color-blne, or
hack. or brown, or hazel, or chestnut, or
gray. or green. Becky Shap had green
ewes. and they did immense execution.
Telyety violet eyes are sugularly beautiful
h,.t ,tis said they do not wear well, and
wash badly. Eyes should wash well, con-
sidering bow much they have to DO with
tears. Yellow eyes are not more common
than yellow diamonds, and they rank
amone eyes about as high as yellow dla-
monds rank among diamonds. They are
more numerous among men than among
women. and noyelists give them to peculiar
descripfions OF their Villains-the lazy,
dreamy sort OF Williams, who, however, eau
Are nm on occasion, and become the YER
riest devils Of destruction. They are often
given TO the snake, but we have seen eyes
in snakes that were anything but yeilo"'
and snaky eyes in human beads that were
OF the deepest black. White eyes are dead
ewes. SO far as expression goes, and remind
the observer OF fish at the market; put III
moments OF passion they become quite as
expressive as eyes ever shouiu De. Coin-
monty, they convey the expression OF blina-
ness, as we'll as OF moral leeDleness.
Touching the color OF the eyes, 1t should
be born in mind that the same word bas
different meanings at different periods.
One Of the heaviest, and therefore the most
accurate, OF the Shakspearean commenta-
tors-for il is the rule with the many that no
brilliant man can be accurate, and no accu-
rate man brilliaut-assures US that ''What
we now call blue eyes were in Sbakspeare's
time called gray, and were considered as emil
nently beautiful" Heavenly blue We assume
TO be meant the real azure or true blue,
upon which the celestials are supposed to
have the strongest claim, as that has upon
them the strongest claim in return. Cooper,
in one OF his novels, when describing two
youny women, observes: Gone peculiar
charm was common to both: and it is a
charm, though the strongest instance L ever
saw Of it in my life was in Italy, that may
be said to belong almost exclusively to the
Auelo-Saxon race; mean that expression
OF the countenauce which so eminently be-
tokens feminine purity and feminine ten
deruess united-thc look which artists love
TO inpart to the faces OF angels. Each OF
the girls had much OF this; and suppose it
was principally owing to their heavenly blue
eyes. doubt II any woman with black or
hazel eyes, notwithstanding all the orliiian-
CIV OF their beauty, ever possessed inns
charm in the higher degree" Inc
lower animals often have most expressive
ewes that are intensely beautiful being OF
beauty that endures, perhaps, because theY
do not suffer from the moraiWear; ana tear
NJ the passions and the appetites; and yet
those animals suffer much from the perse.
cniions and cruellics Of man.-~Fear and
terceness belong to such eyes in perfec-
tion: fear because the lives OF the feebler
animals are passed in almost constant ter
ror. and fjercencss because the holder anil
mails are ever on guard against attack, or
are searching for food. What can be more
patbetc than the appealing look OF q
tinid spaniel that is ill.used, OF that is look
int, for its lost lord !? What fercer than the
ewes Of a fighting animal at bayp
The theory Is becoming common that, III
itseh. the eve is nothing, and that what we
cali its expression comes entirely from Its
surroundings, its setting, as we may say
We were inclined 10 laugh at this when hrs
we heard OF it; but having read the arsu
ments made in its support, it strikes US al
being shrewd view OF the eye, ana its
position and purpose. What IS meant pJ
the surroundings OF the eye is best eX
planned by passagein Hawthorne's ttallal
"Note- Books" In which he mentions
conversation he had with Powers, tht
sculptor. s'Spcaking OF human eyes, ne Cd
served that they did not depend for thei
expression upon color, nor upon any ilsh
OF the soul beaming through them, mol
any glow Of the eyeball, nor upon anything
but the form and action OF the surrounding
muscles. He illustrates it by saying that i
the eve OF a wolf, or OF whatever tiercel
animal, could be placed in another setting
it would be found capable Of the utmos
geNleness OF expression You yourself,
said he. have very bright and sharp leol
sometimes; but it is not in the eye Itself.
His own eyes, as / could have sworn. were
glowing all the time he spoke; and, remem
bering how many times I,haye seemed to SCI
ewes glow and blaze and flash and sparkle ant
melt and soften. and how all poetry is illumi
mated with the light of ladies' eyes, and how
many people have been smitten by the light
ming OF an eye, whether in love or anger, il
was difficult to allow that all this subtles
and keenest fire Is Elusive, not even phos.
phorescent, and that any other jelly in the
same socket would serve as we'll as the
brightest eye. Nevertheless, he must be
right OF course be must, and am rather
ashamed ever 10 have thought other.
wise. Where should the light come
from? Has man a flame inside OF
his head? Does his spirit manifest it.
self in the semblance Of flame 2 The
moment we think OF it the absurdity be-
comes evident. / am notquite sure, how
ever, that the outer surface OF the eye may
not reflect more light in some states OF feel.
ing than others; the state OF health certain
ly has au influence OF this kind" Haw-
thorne somewhere says OF w ebster, /" II his
eyes had not been in such deep cayerns,
t.. IT,. y n u .