The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-08-29
Acquired Facial Expression.


 The incessant flow of involuntary nerve-currents to the facial muscles doubtless accounts for the odd simi larity of expression among men of the same vacations. In many such cases the conditions are so complex that it seems impossible to lay ones finger upon the special items of environment which conduce to the facial charac- teristice exhibited by nearly all mem- bers of certain trades and professions. What, for instance, Is there about the process of making shoes which evokes the unmistakable cobbler's visage. The portrait of Edward, the Banff natural ist, in Mr. Smiles book shows the type in a marked degree. As far as my own observation carries me, the cause must be looked for in the last, lapstone and wax-end of old-fashioned cordwainery; since men who work the machines in modern boot factories, or who do or dinary repairing, do not exhibit the ex- precision. It appears probable that the tailor's distinctive type of face may have been partially created by his habit of working his jaws concomitantly with his shears. Let anyone catch a person cutting a piece of tough metal with scissors, and he will see that the lower part of the face wags in rythmic and spontaneous unison with the blades. Shepherds and farm laborers who join sheep-shearing gangs certainly acquire a different expression while engaged in this kind of work. ... -.r.a, ...,
 The east of ,eountenance by which one so easily recognizes groom is partially applicable from the fact that the mus cles htat close hte jaw and compress the lips are always called into play when we are asserting our will over that of a horse. Nearly all jockeys and horsey men have a peculiar set of the mouth and chin, but have been unable. to distinguish any special characteristic about the eye or upper part of the face. It is instructive to compare the yisage of the ruler of horses with that of-the ruler of men. The horseman's face shows command in the mouth, the drill-sergeant's in the mouth and the eye. The last is undoubtedly the most effective instrument in exacting obedience from our own species. Here we get hint of the cause of that want of dignity, that element of coarseness, which is discernable in the counte- nances of some men and women who have much to do with horses. The higher and nobler method of expressing authority is outweighed by the lower and more animal one. Generally speak ing,' 1t strenuous contest with minor difficulties, which produces a thin and rigid set of lips. 1t is seen almost in- variably in housewives of the Martha type, who are Careful and troubled about many things" and whose souls are shaken to the center by petty wor- ries within doors, and strife a entrance with shortcomings of the scullery-maid or the cook. .,,
 The compressed lip so loved and so often misinterpreted by novelists is a sign of weakness rather than strength. It tells of perpetual conflicts in which the reserves are drawn into the fray. The strong will is not agitated into strenuous action by the small worries of the hour. and the great occasions which calls for it's whole force are too few to produce permanent impress of this kind upon the features. The com manding officer assured of his mems obedience does not habitually keep his lip muscles in state of tension. Look at the sea captain. the most absolute monarch on earth. He carries author ity and power in his face, but 1t resides in his eye and the confident assurance of his easily set mouth. Every spar and shaft and muscle in his floating realm must obey him, and he knows it. This is probably why the sea-captains and the eSengine drivers show a certain similarity of type. The engine driver can make his captive giant, strong as 10000 men obey the pressure of his finger. His lips are usually calm, like those of the statues of the wielder of on Olympus. Who ever saw man commanding man-of-war or driving a locomotive with the con tentious lip of a school usher? The typical expressions of the members of those three liberal professions which Sir Thomas Browne says are all found- ed upon the fall of Adam are well enough recognized to have been long ago the prey of the caricaturist. The several distinctive traits of each, and the possible cause which. gave rise to them. are too complex to be dealt with in single article. Speaking very gen. eraay, the cleric's face is indicative of authority of the thin-lipped kind, and of digniaed sense of the sanctity of his office. The doctors jaw and mouth are less rigid, yet tell of decision. His eye is vigilant and sympathetic, and his whole facial aspect conveys the idea, of a fund of untapped wisdom, The law yer's countenance is confident and con fidential, with a bouncing alertness of the eye, and a prevailing expression of weighX perspicacity. Dr. Louis. RoBins son in Blackwood's Magazine.