Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1889-05-30
PHILOSOPHY or TEARS.

valuable information That May Prove
Uncomfortable tn Somo Young Men.
1 was in company the other day with
my friend, the professor of chemistry,
and. being in a reflective mood, l
CHANGED to say: Professor, tears are
curious thing"
by no means. - replied he, prompt
ly. Their composition is quite
simple: about ninety-eight parts water.
and two parts salt, albumen and
mucus."
L did not pursue the, he,conversation,
but thought, without saying so, thatif
tears are not u curious thing, u pro-
fessor of chemistry certainly is.
happened, q few days after, to re-
peat the conversation to our professor
'f. physiology, who, bringing his SUPER
ciliary muscles into pay, said:
Simple as it may appear to DR..
Atom, the genesis of tears is quite a
complex process, and they have
multiple mechanical- functions. They
are secreted by the lachrymal gland,
and partly. by; the Iorbicufaris muscle
are conveyed into the alaehcymal canal,
and thence into the eye, which they
flood, and thus effectuate dctersi0h,
facilitate the movement Of the cyeball,
and preserve the transparency OF the
so-caIlcd cornea."
could only respond: II dare say.
"A you tell me is very wonderful and
very complex. but how an earth do
the>littie babies learn TO cry so early
and so wellp" did not tell him that
| did not comprehend & word he had
uttered, and hence the wondcr-omne
@Th0tnnf 7'r0f maJni fc''. Much less
did l reveal what-was passing, in
my m nd, Itt'seemelto me- that SCI
ence is like a ppin4vefy useful for
sticking things" together. and very.
nicely .cohtrived for: this purpo SC; bat
one'1man spends his whole life in coil
ing the .hGhd: another in shaping tho
'ha5t,' 4, an and sanotherain sharReaing the
poi1f, whTte each understands nothing
but his i9iwn 9ci part of the pin. ... +,
1t next ;occ1EErred to: mo to find ont
What tho poeelsaa about tRaSs. They
. trayel from Sarth to A64venn very mp
id VI ina "dGrfhE. deSuaory WY, and
always t9EoAgh niata and clouds. sec
ing things and parts of things very
ihtdisSpqtay, .andAraanly telling tho
truth about what they do see; yet.
notwithstanding, they now and then
EssseHpI1 to: lind tt:.ssSnss" things of more
or less value which other, people do
not know. 81. .# -.
:; As we do not at present keep pro-
fessor Of poetry az our university, l
begun to rummage among my books.
The ffstlines that met my ego were
these: -..|. e.. -t
Tears, feelings bright, ombod cI form, aro
More pure than dewdrops Natures tears"
Here isra definition Of tear, that We
can accept without avcrsion--tcars
arc the bright. bodily form of feeling.
The poet does not tell US that when wo
weep we arc doing nothing more than
sccr"t1ng q mucoTlS fluid bv means OF
, tho lhchrymal gland. Ho feels bound,
howeveh' to'stiits the facti that tears
are not 1s2re, pure than, dew-drops.
Tho whole truth would havo been that
they ave notas pure >byaa good deal.
Perhaps Mr.. Bailey did not know that
they Contain mucous. albumen and
salt. We wish we, did not possess tho
uncomfortable information. We shall
never again b., able to kiss tho tears
from her check with the relish that
onco wo did, j. L. l.. Preston, in At
lantic.