, 1880-10-17

servant; but this It Is not For at&nouRn ne
dent that he sees everything: His thoughts arc
probably turned inwards, Or are sngaEed with
nhpE rathsn fan anra wffe anee maet Of heTs
to spenk, is abstraated or preoccupted: but ne
meGhau auically informs himself, out Of tho cor
t5s4 q ss SaSer Sf n
1nSs3a peopls without enoountering the Yaze q
t6em &c viii III inevitably Teeosaze al acqua!nt
ance on the other side OF tho street, Or calculate
to an inch the rate Ut speed vt whic1 ne must
bus from one direction and tho hansom from
the other. Such composure tp the midst or tur~
moil will strike the country visitor with aston
account for 4 large part Of it; yet the tmPassive
face would probably appear 1ar less impressive 2
than 1t does nad NOT the contraction OF the 1aciat
muscles brought about by the constant ASSAULTS
OF 3nnnmerabie impressions, and the lmposst-
b,llty OF responding to taam al, become IN \
manner fixed
The great distinction, as 1t seems to us, be-
tween oity life and country life, as affecting
the contours Of faces, IS that ths former Is
life Of conflict, the latter life Of repose.
There Is conflict Ia the country, but 1t Is
physical in character, the conflict with the
soil for bread: but 1t is healthy conflict
that is crowned with rest at the close Of each
day and Is renewed with zest on the morrow
It has no dissimuIations, no conceaiments,
no suspicious. The sun bronzes the face and
the winds burn it, but body and soul are
acting together, and the conntryman leads
one life Everything about him tends to re-
pose There is q feeling OF rest In the hills,
and yales, and streams, In al the sights and
sounds of Nature, and there is no sense OF
danger In his surroundings, and, as the Spec
tator says, I'VE let our faces alone, so to say;
our sensuous organization fultills its normal
function Of reaching outwards In questo1 tm-
pressions: it Is never put upon its defense,
never compelled to transform itself from
channel OF communication with the outward
world into q buckler against such commun1-
cation" When we speak OF the struggle OIL
life we always mean the struggle In cities
There is no struggle of life in the country.
There may be a struggle for life such as Is
involved In physical labor Of hard kind,
but it Is natural, harmonious, restful in its
outcome, and merely the fulhllnent or q
great and healthy law Of being. In cities
this life is all struggle, and the struggle Is
artificial, being not only struggle with our
neighber but struggle with ourselves; aud
in this conflict, SO great is the dissimula-
tion practiced and the reserve maintained,
that no man knows his neighbor and scarcely
knows himself; whereas In the country each
knows the other In spite OF the small
disslmulations which even husbandinen
may practice. These dissimulations. how
ever, are so natural that they do not
amount to concealmentst and do not ill.,
voive conflict, nor are they at variance with
absolute repose. Rest is the highest good,
and that rest is found at It's maximum In the
country, and shows itself in the country
face, which grows and expands naturally.
There is no rest In the city, for rest In the
midst Of a continual struggle would imply
defeat. Under such conditions the city face
cannot maintain its natural contours. The
reserve of the individual shows itself il the
reserve Of the face, and 1t Is just as marked
in woman as In man, and 1t Is just as difficult
to read In the one as in the other the inner
person from the physical signs Of expression
in the face.