Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-12-24
AGRQs.GGy.
Some Striking storie. Concerning a New
TEST OF Character.

TEST OF Character.
a LARGE COLLECTION OF TYPICAL EARs-A MAN
WHO REFUSED 4 HEArY PRICE FOR HIS HEARING
APPARATUS-HoW THE DEAD EAR MARKET Is
Run.
al used to notice when a lad said sue
cessful business man To a ST. Louis GJoJe-De,a-
ocr0t reporter. that in making their final
awards at country fairs on the quality of all
sorts OF blooded stock. the judges universally
examined the ears OF the animals. Whether it
were thoroughbred horse. Berkshire hog,
dog of any special breed. from toy terrier to
bull or . pointer. or whether 1t were a Cots
void OF SOuthdown sheep. the ear was always
one Of the chief points, and if that were faulty.
al the other good qualities went for naught.
This set me thinking that. as men represent
every quality known to the brute creation. the
ears OF men would be likely to serve as pretty
sure indicia of Character. / then commenced
studying. i first of all procured good speci-
men of what We will call the normal human ear.
one taken from the head of a man of good char
scter and In whom all the various qualities and
propensities had been about evenly balanced,
an upright. level-headed practical man of the
world This ear Istudied until Ihad thoroughly
mastered all the convolutions and surfaces that
1t presented"
You say you procured an ear; you mean
model of an ear2"
No a genuine ear I've bought hundreds
of them, and now have about 200 typical ears
that I'll show YOU" With this the old gentle
man unlocked his safe and produced two pack
ages tied up in oiled silk, soft and flexible as
kid and semi-transparent. Untying one of
these packages, there fell out on to the table
number of nOndeScript fragments of mummi-
fed looking stuff, which, on examination.
proved to be dried. or, rather. partially tanned
human ears, ali in perfect state of preserva-
tion so far as the retention of shape is con-
cerned.
Why. where did you get all these7'
bought em. Of course"
''Of the hospitals!"
''No of the undertakers. The ears of crimi-
mails and paupers would be no use to me. They
would serve no purpose in the way OF study;
the character OF the criminal is so clearly mark
ed that one type is sufficient TO know all by.
while paupers have no character at all. No,
what / want. and have generally succeeded in
securing. is the kind of ear that has belonged to
some one of marked character. some man who
has achieved something in the world. 1t would
make some people stare if they should exhume
their deceased relatives and find that they are
sleeping the last sleep with only one ear to help
them listen for the last trump"
But Is it possible that you can buy the ears
Of dead people from the undertakers?'
why not? Some are foolish enough to let
prejudice get the better of business instinct but
very few. And then. see how easy it is to quietly
slice off an ear after the last look has been had
and how can S2J or $50 be earned easier.
Besides, it is all in the interest of human knOwl-
edge"
You do meet with difficulties sometimes
them"
Certainly. and men always will who investi-
gate natural phenomena in the face of preju-
dice. But the most obstinate fool / ever had
to deal with was half-starving artist whose
ear | wanted to get on account of its remarka-
fArmatInn Ha yfol moi of nytro f1ir,ar
imaginative qualities: totally incapable of con-
Quoting ordinary business affairs but q real
genius. / offered that man $500 for one of his
ears. and the stupid fellow refused it."
Offered to buy live mans ear from him?"
Eyes, why not. He was poor, half starved,
didn't. / believe. know where to get the next
meal for himself and his wife and children. and
one would have thought that he would have
jumped at the chance to get $500 for such
trihing inconvenience. / assured him that /
only wanted the external cartilage and did
not mean to deprive him OF the ear-hOe, which
is the only really indispensable part of the
organ after ALL Moreover. / offered to supply
him with a false ear. so as to keep up appear
ances, but he would not listen to me, and
missed one OF the finest opportunities of my
life"
Have you any tropical ears among this lot
on the table?'
''Yes. 1 opened this particular package to
show you one very remarkable example. See
about q score of the leathery looking articles),
here are all sorts of ears; ears of men who were
deeply imbued with religious feeIings-there's
an ear, for instance, OF revivalst; ears of pro-
Dounced atheists, ears of honest men and ears
of rogues; ears of acute lawyers and ears of
dull money grabbers, whose only study in life
has been how to hold on to dollar. Here's
the ear of a somewhat noted newspaper
man"
what"
''Oh, don't be aghast; newspaper mems ears
are generally hrst-class specimens, full of char
acter.. Some of 'em are awfully long, but the
poor fellows couldn't help that. But here's the
particular ear was looking for"
THE THIEF's EARS.
'Now, just see how the lobe OF that ear goes
down into the check: in front there is no lobe
to the ear at all. don't say, mark you. that
every one who has an ear of that formation is
thief but do say that he has the propensities
OF one, and only needs opportunity or tempta-
ton to develop them. You know Becky Sharp
said that she could have been an honest woman
on ESQ year, and there are hundreds Of peo-
pie who are only not dishonest because they are
SO fortunately situated financially as to be be-
yond the reach of temptation. In some very
marked cases, such as in that of the former
owner OF this ear. which is remarkably typical
In formation, even the possession of wealth
does not prevent from stealing or cheating
Aus It's Is almost
the counterpart Of a pair that are worn by
man Of former high standing in the business
world. but who is now serving term in the
penitentiary. j used to have occasion often to
meet this man in business and was surprised.
for years. to see him retain the confidence of his
employers: indeed. his apparent trustworthi-
ness almost caused me to doubt the value of nv
theory. Atleast. Ihad come almost to regard him
as an exception to the rule but the event proved
my views TO be correct. He was detected in an
enormous system Of theft that had been going
on for years 1t is only week or two ago 1
had occasion to let a contract for building an
extensive wall. and among the bidders was one
who offered to do the work half dollar a
thousand lower than any one else. But when
] saw the man his ears told me not to trust him.
know he would have robbed me In some way
had he got the contract"
1.-The establishment Of such theory would
raise the price Of ear-muffs considerably"
''Ges, or create demand tor false ears: they
make very misunderstanding ones out of glass
DOW. But see, here's another typical ear"
THE UsURER's EAR.
"You see this thin cartilage, with the roll dis
appearing in the northeast corner. and the ear
itself coming almost to point, somewhat like
fox's. That is the ear of q keen. INSCRIPTIONS.
hard-hearted money-lender; one Of those chaps
who seem TO take positive delight in Oppress-
ing the unfortunate and in wringing from them
extOrtiOnate interest for small accommodations
Some OF these ears set well back like fox's
when it Is snarlng; they are the worst cases. In
others the upper point stands slightly forward;
sucn men are rather shrewd and cunning than
cruel, but they are not very pleasant folks at
the best Others OF this sort, again, are NOV