Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1888-08-11
Tho Windows OF the Soul.

Some poetical gentleman has called
the eve "tho window of the soul" and
ut ali times and among nearly Ill peo-
pie it is regarded rs the great feature
of expression; that is, by persons who
arc neither amateurs in nor professors
of that quasi science, physiognomy.
These gentlemen devote their time and
treatises rs much to the nose rs to tho
eyes, propounding rules or characters
deduced from tho wrinkles of the lore
head and warts on the cheek, the sig
mitigation of the chin, the index of the
mouth and score OF other dlversities
OF feature.
First, as to the eyes us feature in
national physiognomy Lavater, whom
discussing this question, gives the fol-
lowing rs the result OF his observations:
That The Italians have small eyes; the
Germans light-colored eyes, surrounded
with many wrinkles; the English
strong, open, liberal and stcadlast eyes,
and tho Swiss dull eyes.
The Laplanders, according to Bullion,
have narrow eyes, the pupils OF yell
low brown, inclining to Il black, and the
eyclids retiring toward the temple. Tho
eyes of the Tnrtars, he says, are small
md sunken, eyebrows large, covering
tho eyes, and the eyelids thick. The
eyes of the Chinese are small, their
eyebrows large and the eyelids raised.
The New Hollander has dull, black
eye, thick eyebrows and eyelids half
Shut habit acquired in infancy to
preserve the eyes from the gnats. 10
the Spaniards Button gives good eyes, :"
to the Cloths blue eyes, and to the Fin
landers heavy lids and the iris OF
deep yellow.
Winckelmann holds the opinion that
the shape and color of the eyes are very
largely the result of climate and other
direct conditions. Thus, he says, tho
small, half-closed, blinking eyes OF the
Esquimaux ore duo to natures attempt
to preserve the sight from the dry, cold
air and the clI'Ilsion Of light from tho
snow amidst which they live. The small
eyes of all the distant and northern
nations, he says in another place, are
in consequence of the imperfection Of
their growth. 1t is upon the authority
of IL philosophic writer named DE PAW
that the Peruvian has an eye the apple
of which is black and the white not
very clear.
Eyes have always been regarded as
tribal Indications Tacitus, for example,
describes the Germans as "iierce, with
blue eyes and rel lair" The Celts are
described us swarthy and dark-eyed,
the Gunls are rsd-haired and light-eyed,
while the Nubians and Egyptians have
always been spoken of rs dark-cycd.
These characteristics have not appar-
entity changed, and it may be said
roundly that the people of the temper,
ate zone have generally light-colorcd
eyes, while these Of the extreme zones
are dark.
OF the races, the only one that can
be said to be light-eveI is the Cancas-
i'm, and even this race is by no means
uniform as to color in it's eyes. The en-
TIRE human history goes TO prove that
the light-haired, b.ue-eycd races arc
capable of the highest degree of civiliz-
alton, but it does not by any means
prove that the highest degree of civiliz-
ation is confined to the blonde races.
There was period when.hlue-eycd per-
sons were rarely seen, and to-day seven
eighths of the words inhabitants have
dark eyes. Not only is the majority
OH the side of the dark-eyed, but statls-
tics would seem to Indicate that that
majority is increasing. In paper read
some time ago before the Swedish An
chronological Society it was stated that
brown eyes were becoming more COM
mon in Switzerland, North Germany,
Belgium and Sweden, and that out Of
every one hundred SET OF light-eycd
parents ffty-six per cent. OF the chill
dren had dark cycs.-Sa1, Francisco