The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1888-11-21
PHENOMENA OF THE EYE.
REMARKABLE ATTRIBUTES OF
THE VISUAL ORGAN
Tho Rad Opaque Eyc-How Turks
Enlarge the Eye-Valuable Hints
fer SIrengt hcning Weak EYcs.

bltukluHs UOb us WIlAtI Ut uuillftI VI
sex, but from the point of scientific OBJ
servation, when | say that he revelations
of physical, mental and aiTectional con-
ditions made by the eye are as remqrka-
BILE as any phenomena of nature.
Take, for instance, young sensitive
person of consumptive habit, in ordinary
health and in love. Watch the eyes of
such a one, and you will sec as pretty a
specimen of phosphoric light as that
which plays about certain flowers in full
bloom. The state of nervous excitement
uses up the phosphorus Of the body
pretty fast, and it will flash behind the
eyelids like the fire on summer waves.
Botanists and other people have seen the
mimic flashes white lily three days
blown will send from its petal on a warm
electric summer night. have seen as
literal flash leap between the eyelids of
a lad of twenty-five, dead in love as he
could be with an absent woman. He
was nervous. triAe poetic and over
strung, his eyes dlated, changeful after
glittering like a cats. In short, human
battery, overcharged with nervous cleo
tricity. In one case beside that of the
italian actor, Rossi, have noticed the
same flash which appeared to leap from
the eye, not play like sheet lightning
with it. But then Rossi was rs highly
electric as human beings are, in normal
condition. Love and genius both are
literally combustion of nervous force,
and the eye is the peep hole of the fire
in the brain.
Somebody ought to write q novel
about people with opaque eyes, those
black or dark blue eyes which are trans.
parent as so many Swiss pebbles. They
are eyes of intensely passionate natures,
strong for good or evil, but with tenden
cies the wrong way, the eyes of born
devils in human shape. When such dull
dark eyes show the red light that comes
of caution, insanity in its first stages is
at work on the brain, and such man or
woman needs care life long. or some
crisis of trouble may lead to an outbreak
OF madness. 1t is the eye of one likely
in frenzy to commit manslaughter.
The most beautiful eyes in the world
are the clear gray, with large pupils, and
iris which changes and dafkens with
feeling as from the shadow of cloud.
The steadiness, brllliance and suscepti-
bility of such eyes are index to the rarest
intelligence, quick and accurate, and the
high romantic sentiments which in such
characters become passions. Truth,
ilberality, loyalty, are the vital breath of
such spirits, but alas those eyes are not
of the long-liyed. Dust is over them al.
most before we can say we have known
them for our own. The blush white of
the eye betokens consumption before its
hectic brightness alarms with unearthly
beauty, and the loss of color in the pu-
pill, turning brown instead of black, is
caused by heart disease.
The Turks regularly cut open the
outer corner Of the eyelids, if the ewes
Of girl are not large enough for their
ideas of beauty, and inferior eyes can be
gradually enlarged by gently drawing
The lids apart, day after day, and bath.
ing them in cool, soft water. The
stronger the eye :he larger it will
seem, for the first instinct of weak ewes
is to contract and spare themselves from
light. Americans ruin their eyes with
too much newspaper reading. The
enormous tax of going over twenty col.
umns of close print daily, besides office
work, is more than human organs can
bear, One uses his eyes more in this
way in month than our forefather's
did in years study over black letter
folios. Reading long lines on a wide
page is trying to the sight, as there is n
change of focus necessary in following
the lines which is positively hurtful. So
says b. Joy JefTries, of the Massachusetts
Eye and Ear Infirmary, who gave the
warning that the eyes of school children
we're steadily injured by defective books,
desks and lights.
To have beautiful, slightly eyes, we
mn hax cfr
oil causes of harm. Never read. write
or work with the light from window in
front OF the eyes. Artisans iniure their
sight past recovery by working at
bench directly in front of a window.
when they should be placed with the
back to it. The light in front falls into
the eye, which contracts to lessen what
1t cannot bear, with the invariable re-
suit of weakened sight Lamps, gas let's
and student lamps are often placed so
near the head as TO heat the eyes iniuri-
ously. The simplest shade stops this by
making current of air between itself
and the lamp. Heated rooms weaken
the eyes; so do SIN al bonnets which do
not shade the face; so does a glare of
light, or light that is too dim In short
the eyes need great deal more care
than they get. Ill health of any
sort weakens them. Going with cold |
feet causes more harm to the eyes than
anyone ever suspects, and many cases of |
weak eyes are relieved at once by hot
foot baths and thick stockings. The !
sight is often strengthened by applica- |
tlons just above the eyebrows and on
the temple rather than the eyeball itself.
| like very much DIR. Brinton's pre-
scription for weak eyes where there is
no special disease. Steep handful of
fresh red peppers or ginger roots in half
pint of alcohol, aud wet the temple
and brow above the eye with this twice |
daily, letting it dry. Very strengthen. !
ing is lotion of a teaspoonful of table
salt dissolved in a tumbler of distilled |
water. A little of this is put in any
concave glass that will fit the eyebalI |
and the eye is opened in the water for a |
minute or two, three times a day. Drs.
Brinton and Napheys say tablespoonful |
of roek-salt in a quart of water, dip !
ping the face in and opening the ewes
in the water, which is vigorous and |
more convenient form of the same appli- /
cation. Probably the best eye.restorer
in nature is eight or nine hours of sleep
night in a cool, dark room, the light |
kept down by dark green shades at the /.
windows, two sets of them if needs be.
This is better than shading the ewes.
Plenty Of sleep restores the liquid soft
81 .