Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-01-12
THE CHEMISTRY OF TEARS.
Have Their Functional Duty 20 Do Like
Every Other Organ Of the Body.
lNrltfen for the nlanatchl

Tears are never idle Tennyson was
using a poets byperbole when he said
So They have their functional duty 10
accomplish, like every other organ Of
| the body. and the lachrymal gland is not
| placed behind the eye simply to I'll space
| or 10 give expression 70 emotion.
| II Is usual for the laity to believe the
| latter theory, FOR tears are indissolubly
| connected with sorrow. although eye
! specialists assert that there Is no scien-
tlhc explanatioH|or this acceptance.
The only reason Is this: That the tear
sac Is formed OF many sympathetic nerve
| flores. that IN any emotional condition
| OF the lody discharge the glands secre-
| tons. one may Weep Tor Joy and the
| expression Is not paradox,cal though COM
monty 50 considered. The psychic action
OF tears Is purely a nervous one, the
reflex action Is produced from physical
reasons. Tickling the nose on facing the
wind may cause shower Of tears as
abundant as the result Of deepest grief
or greatest pleasure.
The chemical properties OF tears consist
Of phosphate Of lime and soda. making
them very salty. bat never bitter. Their
action on the eye Is most beneficial. ana
h re- consists their prescribed duty 10 the
body. washing thoroughly that sensitive
organ. which allows no foreign fiuid TO do
the same work. Nothing cIeanses the eye
Ike d good, salty. shower bath, ami
medical art has followed natures law in
this respect. advocating the inyig0rating
solution for any distressed condition OF
tn optics. Tears do not weaken sight.
but improve it. They act "a a tonic to
the muscular vision, keeping the eye soft
and limpiI. and il will he noticed that
women in whose eyes sympathetic tears
gather quickly. have brighter tCnderer
orbs than others. When the pupils are
hard and cold. the world attributes It
10 ones disposition. which is a mere
figure Of speech. implying the lack of
baimy tears tnat are to the cJrnia what
salvc is TO the skin or nourishment TO
the blood.
IRRITATING.
The effect of tears on the skin about
tn eyes. however. is intensely irritating
aul innamlug They keep the epiIcrmis
in dark. puffy condition, and Ia legends
only DO weeping women preserve the
beauty Of their broi white lids. Nl0be,
all tears. may have had clear eyes. bat
she could DO. have been a cOmely sight
when She was INDUCING 81 her iavorite
iastime
The reason some w men weep more
tIrlIE fNil OllFl-s anu tl more lNAlIAJ
than the Steiner saX, has not is differ
cnce in the strength f the tcir-glanl,
Lst I'm the possession CO more delicate.
imple ssionlble nerve system. The nerve
flores abDI. the gland vi0raie more
easily, causing downpour from the
watery sac. Men are not nearly so SEM
st!ve 10 emotion; their sympathetic nj
,rrc-,he term is used ia a medic
sonsc-is les developed. ana the eye
rltnd IS therefore protected from shocks
Consequently. man should ratnE tae
formation Of his nerve nature when he
cnntcmYtu0usly sc0fns tears as wo-
rnln's practice
Why facial distortions should b. tho
usual accompaniment 70 the sobhng f
the g,ntlcr scN. there seems no sltisiac-
tory solution. u may be that tn nerves
which Lead to the muscles as wires 70
narion,ttrs, tWitch and pull them in
this fashion. while they are at work
cmptyirg the tear gland Of It's contents.
Few women can shed tears as eracefully
as the Mater Doloro-1. whose face Is
only pathetic. not ugly. as inc great
crystal drops slowly flow down her fair
checks. This is the graceful way to weep,
Lut IL IS "a difficult pose - assume. re-
curing the mobility OF a statue 10 carry
it ont satisfactorily.
That the c0rious shedding or tears
(which breaks The icc-bouni letters &
e.. heart" f. "a hcalthfl action all ply
siciaus assert. In some cases II Is even
thought to avert insanity. Even here the
reason Is scientific. for it g. a sign OF
lcia>ation of a." brain nerves from a
tcas,ue-s that WIS congestion.
Betwc,n man and monkey there is this
essential difference or tears. An epe can-
not weep. not So much because lis emo
toual powers are uulayeloprl. as the
fact that the lachrymal gland was omitted
in his optical makeup.