of the Irish, for example, among whom good, nourishing food has been wanting for generations, as well as social and educational facilities. This long-continued deprivation has caused physical degeneracy to that extent as to produce a face formed quite different from the normal standards, and nowhere does this degeneracy appear as conspicuous as in the formation of the gums, lips, teeth, and jaw-bones. Emerson, in his "English Traits," remarks

thus:

In Irish districts men deteriorated in size and shape. The nose sunk, the gums were exposed, and brain diminished.*

It does not follow that there has been in all cases great poverty in the ancestors of such scrofulous subjects as expose their gums; on the contrary, many persons who are blessed with plenty of nourishing food habitually make use of the least nourishing diet, either from a depraved taste, or from utter ignorance of sound dietetic principles. The ignorance of many otherwise intelligent mothers on the subject of diet is perfectly amazing. I have observed a mother feeding a young child at evening with a dinner of roast veal, with perfect unconcern, who was quite sure that a dish of blackberries would be very unwholesome for the child. So long as such ignorance prevails in regard to food, we shall find plenty of individuals who expose the ignorance of their parents by their display of gums. Another curious case of dietetic sinning came under my observation; in this instance an entire family subsisted mainly on bread and butter, pie, cake, and tea, rarely eating meat and vegetables; this course had been pursued for several generations, but in this case vanity was the motive which prompted this course. In the first place, they sought to avoid labor and expense by this method of living, and thus saved money with which to buy fine clothing; another motive involved was the idea that such food gave them a thin, delicate, and "aristocratic appearance, according to their mode of thinking; but this "aristocratic" look is, to the eyes of the physiognomist, a sign of degeneracy of impoverished minds and bodies.

I have seen many fairly well endowed subjects who, upon opening the mouth, exposed a certain part of the gums, both upper and lower, but I have never yet seen a genius or person of surpassing talent who exhibited this peculiarity. Those who expose a great portion of the gums, together with a mouth which never quite closes, are wanting in mental power, and are not possessed of great constitutional vigor, for this peculiarity is indicative of physical degeneracy; that is, a reversion to embryonic types.

* Emerson's English Traits, p. 299.

I have met this peculiarity among the poorly-developed of all races. It is quite common among all the undeveloped races of the world, and points in all cases primarily to long-continued deprivation of nourishing food.

Those mouths which entirely conceal the gums while in conversation or in singing belong to the better-bred (I use this term in a physiological and scientific sense), and often to the thorough-bred, the signs of which I will give later.

Those mouths that exhibit very little of the gums in conver sation do not indicate so great a degree of degeneracy of body and mind as where an inch or more is exposed.

The color of the gums is another significator of character. If they are dark red, they denote an unhealthy condition of the blood. If of a beautiful, clear, pinkish hue, they are indicative of pure blood. If they are very pale, or of a whitish hue, they show an anæmic condition, and this is associated with great impoverishment of the entire system.

THE TONGUE.

The tongue is pre-eminently an organ of motion; as such it is adapted to a great variety of uses, all of which require rapidity of movement and delicacy of sensation. The tongue, although not an external feature, is yet of sufficient physiognomic impor tance to justify some description of its structure and signification.

It is a muscular member, free on all sides except at its root, which is connected with the os hyoides (a small bone) by muscles and ligaments. It is an organ of touch and taste, as well as of language. In infants it aids suction, and man uses it sometimes in prehension, as do the lower animals.

Its primitive use is for taste, and this function is best devel oped in the top, sides, and the posterior parts of the upper surface. The central portion possesses less delicacy of taste than the other parts. The following description of the function of the tongue is most complete and instructive:

Placed at the entrance of the alimentary apparatus, the great object of the tongue and of its special endowment is the choice of food—to reject what is nauseous and noxious, and select and retain what is grateful and nutritious, and it may be affirmed as a general law (though with some few striking exceptions) "that what is good to the taste will prove nutritive to the system." The tongue also in most animals is an active agent in suction, prehension of food, mastication, insalivation, and deglutition; and in ma it is the great instrument for speech. In the animal series it presents grest variety in form and structure, which are always in accordance with the functions it is to execute, and with its endowments and limitations. To fulfill its several functions, the tongue must possess a very complex struc

ture; it is accordingly highly organized; six cerebral nerves are distributed to it; it is freely supplied with blood-vessels. It is covered by a sentient and very sensitive papillary surface, and is essentially composed of muscular and very irritable fibre, which form an intricate interlacement, not unlike the wall of the left ventricle of the heart. This muscular structure can change the form and consistence of the organ with wonderful rapidity; can move it in every direction, so as to bring and retain its sentient papillæ in contact with foreign matter; can strike its point with agility against the lips and teeth, to produce the articulate sounds of speech; can press and bruise the food against the palate, gums, and teeth; can with great dexterity collect the particles together, pick them out of every recess, and compress them into one mass, and then force the whole backward through the fauces. The tongue is described as of various forms-triangular, oval, irregu larly square; from the nature of its structure, however, it cannot present any uniform shape.*

The tongue, as well as the teeth, the lips, and mouth, reveal internal states and conditions of the digestive tract. Its form, size, and flexibility vary greatly in different individuals. It is one of the chief indicators of the pathological condition of the stomach, bowels, and liver, and of the general system; and is relied upon by physicians for knowledge of many abnormal conditions of the body.

As the tongue is one of the principal organs of speech, we naturally infer that its peculiarities of structure would reveal moral and mental conditions. The normal structure shows more capacity for truthfulness than where it is abnormal; the latter shows less integrity than the former, as in tongue-tied subjects, while relatively inferior intellect or weak morality is disclosed by lisping, stuttering, etc. Other peculiar methods of speaking, as though the mouth were full of saliva, for example, point to some defect of the mental organization. Those who lisp betray a relatively childish condition of the intellect, and are to be suspected (if the lisp is very pronounced) of want of strict veracity, or, at least, of childish judgment.

In some subjects the tongue is broad, thick, and short. This form is associated with a wide mouth, and usually with a short, stocky, muscular frame.

A long, narrow, thin, flexible tongue is associated with a tall, thin, sinewy body; often lithe, agile, and graceful.

As the tongue is the chief agent in vocal expression, its normal or abnormal structure would point to mental and moral peculiarities, as well as reveal a sound or unsound physical condition of this member. The mind and body being a unity are so closely interwoven that it is impossible to separate function from faculty; hence, whichever part of the organism reveals abnormal

*Practical Anatomy, R. Harrison, M.D., p. 492.

structure reveals at the same time some defect of the mental or moral power, and nowhere is this better proven than in the peculiarities of the organs of speech.

PHYSIOGNOMY OF SMILES AND LAUGHTER.

Smiles and laughter are parts of one act, the one passive, the other active. Smiling expresses a great deal, yet not so much as laughter, for in smiling the muscles of the lips, cheeks, and eyes only are concerned; in laughing the muscles of the lips, mouth, cheeks, eyelids, as well as those of the diaphragm and the respiratory organs, are involved.

Laughter is not always the expression of simple pleasure and amusement, although that is its primitive motive, as in the innocent, mirthful smiles of the infant.

Laughter may be sarcastic, sardonic, malignant, scornful, demoniacal, maniacal, hypocritical, brutal, coarse, idiotic, silly, sensual, amative, sensuous, loving, joyful, affectionate, approbative, or mirthful. In endeavoring to express such a variety of emotions and sentiments, it is to be supposed that all of the features of the face are brought into use, as well as many of the glands, muscles, and organs of the body; hence, smiles and laughter are most potent indices of character, and to the physiognomist reveal much of the character. The intonations alone of each individual carry with them great knowledge of his mental, moral, and physical status, and this aside from the mere expression of the face. Smiles and laughter are as individualized and characteristic as are the eyes, nose, or mouth; how can it be otherwise when we see that each diversely shaped mouth and cheeks produce movements in accordance with their own peculiar form, and each voice produces audible sounds in harmony with its own peculiar pitch and development of internal organs?

Laughter may be exhibited by a snicker, giggle, or chuckle, by musical tones, or by a rude haw-haw-haw, or by a hearty and spontaneous ha-ha-ha, coming right from the depths of the diaphragm, and expressing honest, frank, good-natured fun and mirth. Each of these methods conveys a distinct meaning. So, too, smiling may be shown by a smirk or simper, or by a scornful, sarcastic look; or it may express approval, or quiet, suppressed mirth, or the passive simplicity and innocence of infancy. Each of these announces different meanings and motives. A man smiles quite differently to a female than to one of his own sex; he moves different muscles for this purpose-some, at least-and puts into his eyes quite a different expression than when he is address

ing another man. A woman, too, looks up into the face of a man with quite a different smile from that with which she greets her sister-woman. Says one of Whittier's lovers:

The muscles which surround the mouth and eyes, and which promote laughter, are purely human; no animal has a similar muscular development.

The muscle which surrounds the eye-the orbicularis (see figure at the head of this chapter)—is for the purpose of protecting the eyes in laughing, crying, and in the exercise of other functions; hence its development conveys physiognomical meaning. Its uses are well defined by Sir Charles Bell. He observes thus:

The orbicularis muscle of the eyelids acts powerfully in certain kinds of expression. In laughing and crying, the outer circle of this muscle, as it contracts, gathers up the skin about the eye, and at the same time it compresses the eyeball. A new interest is given to the subject when we inquire into the subject of that compression; it has a distinct relation to the circulation of the blood within the eye. During every violent act of expiration, whether in hearty laughter, weeping, coughing, or sneezing, the eyeball is firmly compressed by the fibres of the orbicularis, and this is a provision for supporting and defending the muscular system of the interior of the eye from a retrograde impulse communicated to the blood in the veins at that time. When we contract the chest and expel the air there is a retardation of the blood in the veins of the neck and head; and in the more powerful acts of expulsion the blood not only distends the vessels, but is even regurgitated into the minute branches. Were the eye not properly compressed at that time irreparable injury might be inflicted on the delicate texture on the interior of the eye. Hence we see a reason for the closed state of the eyelids and wrinkling of the surrounding skin and twinkling of the eye in hearty laughter.*

It is the active and habitual exercise of this muscle which causes the puffy and wrinkled appearance of the sensualist; this appearance tells in language unmistakable that sensuality is one of his dominant vices. It is found in the faces of both young and old, but is most noticeable in the faces of males.

An individual who is observed to have always a smile, simper, or smirk on his face evidences an overweening degree of approbativeness and desire to be approved of others, and this argues a want of independence of character-one who relies more on the opinion of the world than on his own conduct for satisfaction. Such characters are never great and broad, but show small capacity, and, by endeavoring to please every one, divert attention from their real character,-or, rather, want of character,-and so get judgment in their favor. So superficial is the estimate of the world that foam,

* Anatomy of Expression, Sir Charles Bell, p. 89.