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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
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 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
REDFIELD'S 
 
 Comparative Physiognomy; 
 
 OR, 
 
 RESEMBLANCES 
 BETWEEN MEN AND ANIMALS. 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES W. REDFIELD, M.D. 
 
 With his hand thus o'er his brow, 
 / He falls to such perusal of my face, 
 
 As he would draw it. 
 
 Shakspere. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 330 ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 FOWLER & WELLS, PUBLISHERS 
 
 753 Broadway. 
 
<$?%& 
 ■$&- 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1884, BY 
 FOWLER & WELLS, 
 
PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. 
 
 It is impossible for a well-balanced mind to look upon hu- 
 man beings or animals without forming some judgment o" 
 their talent, character and disposition. These are indicatec 
 bv certain signs which the observer recognizes in the form 
 motion and expression. Every part of the man is to b 
 studied, for every part is more or less capable of indicating 
 internal emotion of some sort. The very step of a man will 
 indicate to those acquainted with him the mood of his mind 
 for the time being, whether it. be stern, angry, haughty, se- 
 cretive, cautions or happy. The brain, being the centre of the 
 nervous system, is the master of the entire bodily constitu- 
 tion, and of the peculiar states of the mind which throw the 
 muscles of the face and even the whole body into different 
 attitudes, giving expression to the man's fear, hope, love, 
 trust, hatred, anger, suspicion, pride or vanity ; and thus on 
 the dramatic stage we find men and women who can talk the 
 language and represent the action of many different charac- 
 ters. But these persons must have Destructiveness and 
 Secretiveness enough to put on the expression of face and 
 attitude of body, and express the spirit, which belong to 
 Kichard Third, or Iago ; and he must also have the Benevo- 
 lence, honesty and affection of Othello, or he can not manifest 
 the countenance and tones of voice belonging to that sincere 
 
and 'honest character. While under the influence of certain 
 faculties, the face can be made to frown, or smile, or to look 
 bland and genial, hard or hopeless, according to the state of 
 the mind for the time being. It is well known that if a per- 
 son takes a responsible and difficult position, and is obliged 
 to put on sternness and severity of manner and expression — 
 as, for instance, in being a guardian of a prison — the constant 
 exercise of Firmness, Self-esteem, Combativeness and Secret- 
 iveness will come to be expressed in the face ; so that in his 
 social moods, when he is away from the prison and is trying 
 to enjoy himself and be bland and amiable, that veil of stern- 
 ness will be drawn over the face, or rather the face will be 
 drawn into a stern and dignified and hard expression. It is 
 well known that if a manly person becomes addicted to drunk- 
 enness, and is a sot for years, his manner and bearing become 
 shuffling, depressed and submissive, while his face assumes a 
 brutal, stupid, depraved expression. He looks as he feels; 
 he walks and moves and appears as he is inside. But let him 
 reform, and gradually he will straighten up, stand firmly, look 
 the world squarely in the face, and though there may be some 
 marks of the foe in his countenance, in the main his former 
 expression of face is recovered ; but when the whole man is 
 brutalized and debased, the functions of the brain are per- 
 verted. Nevertheless, to the student of Phrenology, his head 
 represents his original natural character as it was manifested 
 before he had fallen and become debased, and as it comes to 
 be when he gets back to his normal condition. 
 
 We knew a man who could smile on one side of his face 
 and frown with the other at the same time, and have his photo- 
 graph taken in that condition. It is amusing to see how a party 
 of persons can dress themselves to suit different characters, and 
 put on the expression adapted to exhibit the character desired. 
 
PUBLISHERS 7 PREFACE; 
 
 And even little children in their plays will put on the gravity 
 and dignity of the grandmother, or the stern spirit of the 
 mother, or the soft and mellow manners of some old neighbor 
 whom the children know, although every feature of those faces 
 are different from their own. They will look soft or sour, 
 contemptuous or fierce, according to the state of mind they 
 think of when they make up their faces. There is a natural 
 language of the mental faculties, and it is brought into action 
 whenever a particular faculty is called into use. Thus terror 
 and fear are expressed with a staring eye and an anxious ap- 
 pearance ; steadfastness by a compression of the mouth ; cun- 
 ning by a foxy-like smirk of the face and a partial closing of 
 the eyes ; pride by an uplifted carriage of the head and high 
 and stately stepping; and though these feelings are mani- 
 fested in the face and with a peculiar expression and action of 
 the whole body, the root or basis of these feelings, respectively, 
 are in the brain, and they can be ascertained when the patient 
 is entirely passive, and none of the faculties are so active as 
 to show themselves in gesture or facial expression, even if the 
 examiner be blindfolded. 
 
 The eye, which is supposed to be the most expressive fea- 
 ture of the face, is largely influenced by the scenery around it, 
 by the arching or frowning of the brow, by opening wide the 
 eye, or by partially closing it. The mouth, if one will watch, 
 in the animated conversation of children among themselves, 
 he will see how the lip will snap out and pout when some 
 passage in the child's talk is contemptuous respecting some 
 act or person ; and again how gracious the mouth will shape 
 itself when the child, in a moment after, speaks of some person 
 that has done kindly by it ; then there are wonderful combi- 
 nations of the features which make up the faces of joy, hope, 
 hatred or fear, surprise, contempt, jealousy, and are physiognom- 
 
6 
 
 PUBLISHERS PREFACE. 
 
 ical indications of the internal life which, for the time being, 
 may be active. Most people look directly into the eye, then 
 they take in the whole features, and, if possible, they look at the 
 head ; and many people are not aware how much they are in- 
 fluenced by a good or bad head, as connected with the face. 
 
 To illustrate how much the appearance of the head adds to 
 the expression of the face, and how much it really changes the 
 expression of it, and how instantly one's opinions of a stranger 
 are thus modified, we introduce four engravings : 
 
 Fig. 1 is the Emperor 
 Vitellius. See what an 
 animal neck, what a 
 broad head and brutal 
 face, what severity and 
 fierceness seem to be 
 manifest in the whole 
 make-up ! Such a man's 
 talents will work to- 
 wards the animal side of 
 life and aid in working 
 out their base sugges- 
 tions. 
 
 Fig. 2, Thomas Wil- 
 son, D.D.,LL.D., shows 
 gentleness of expression in the face and a splendid head, tow- 
 ering in the region of the moral and intellectual faculties. 
 The general observer will take in the whole head and face : 
 will see refinement, delicacy and tenderness in the face ; and 
 in the large and high moral top-head he will see that which 
 would make a common plowman, anywhere, lift his hat with 
 respect. These two portraits were each engraved on two 
 blocks o£ wood, neatly joined just above the eyes, so that 
 
 Fig. 1. — Vitellius. 
 
PUBLISHERS P'.ir.FACE. 
 
 they could be taken apart, and the head of each man put 
 
 upon the face of the other man. 
 
 Fig. 3 is the face of 
 Vitellius, high enough 
 to take in the eyes, with 
 a different head. Above 
 the eyes it is the head 
 of the Rev. Dr. Wilson. 
 How that great forehead 
 seems to redeem and 
 lighten up the brutal 
 face of Yitellius; how 
 different now is the ex- 
 pression of the face 
 when surmounted by an 
 elevated and noble head, 
 with this tremendous 
 Fig. 2.— Thos. Wilson, D D., LL.D. bodily boiler to generate 
 
 power, and that fine 
 
 head as an engine to 
 
 use the power, working 
 
 upward rather than 
 
 downward, away from 
 
 cruelty, savageness and 
 
 lust toward morality. 
 
 We find the head seems 
 
 to redeem the face in a 
 
 great degree. 
 
 Fig. 4 is Dr. Wilson's 
 
 face, with the head of 
 
 Yitellius ; with that low, 
 
 scowling brow, with that Fig. 3— Wilsons Head, Yitellius 1 Face. 
 
rUULIbHEKS PliEFACE. 
 
 broad and cruel side-bead, bow it makes the amiable face 
 look tierce and cunning and revengeful (thus physiognomy 
 should take in the whole head as well as the face), and shows 
 us tbat brain must be studied as the source of power and ex- 
 pression, and that every feature of the face, every form and 
 motion of the body, are employed to indicate character. 
 
 Tbe following work, as its title indicates, is " Comparative 
 Physiognomy," and shows marked resemblances between ani- 
 mals and human beings. It is well known that men who are 
 
 interested in horses are 
 able to judge of the 
 value and qualities of a 
 horse, as to his disposi- 
 tion, his tractableness, 
 his endurance, speed 
 and strength, while he 
 is quietly standing, and 
 such men are willing to 
 buy a horse and pay a 
 liberal price on their 
 own bare judgment of 
 
 its qualities. If, then, 
 Fig.4.— Vttellius'Head, Wilson's Face. men can j udge of ft 
 
 horse and not be deceived, why should they not be able to 
 judge of each other '( If a man wants a servant, a clerk or 
 an apprentice, a business partner, or a partner for life, why 
 should he not be able to judge as readily and correctly of the 
 human being as men are able to judge of a horse \ Yet a 
 man may work with another for a year in business and not 
 understand him so well as a horse-dealer would understand a 
 horse in five minutes. Let us remember that the human 
 being can be studied and understood, and that the knowledge 
 Oi men is worth much more than a knowledge of animals. 
 
PUBLISHERS PREFACE. \J 
 
 Every observer will remember marking the resemblances 
 between the face and expression of certain animals and hu- 
 man beings ; and though, when the lines are drawn, they are 
 not so much alike as the first impression of them would seem 
 to indicate, yet we can never look a certain dog, horse, cow or 
 sheep in the face without thinking of some person we know 
 who resembles, or reminds us of, the animal in question ; and 
 where men look leonine and impress everybody with the 
 feeling, " There comes a lion," the man has many of the 
 traits which belong to the lion. If a man looks like a fox, he 
 has the foxy spirit; if he has the expression of the noble 
 horse, or of the better class of dogs, he may be trusted and 
 regarded with confidence. It is at least an interesting study, 
 as the following pages will show. 
 
 February, 1884. Fowler & Wells. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The word preface is an indication that a book, like its 
 author, must have & face / and unless it be a misnomer, there 
 is no reason why it should not be illustrated witli faces. That 
 it comes first and foremost it would be useless to observe, 
 had not certain persons been inclined to put it in the back- 
 ground. We will slate frankly, at the outset, that this partic- 
 ular preface is intended to " face down" — not by " barefaced 
 assertions," but by a presentation of faces and arguments — 
 the unjust treatment to which the face has been subjected. 
 
 Why should a periodical, that professes to be a " Journal" 
 of Phrenology and of kindred sciences, look out at the back 
 of its head whenever it takes a peep at Physiognomy ? We 
 know not, but humanity claims that the eyes in such a case 
 should be set right. We address ourselves, therefore, to an- 
 swering the objections contained in two articles on this sub- 
 ject in the " Phrenological Journal," both of them new-year's 
 presents, for which we have reason to be thankful. 
 
 The first formidable obstacle we meet with is this: "The 
 naked skull of poor Yorick, notwithstanding its yawning eye- 
 sockets and ghastly grin, presents the evidences of his former 
 warmth of affection and his racy wit, although the signs of 
 these emotions in the face are obliterated for ever." Is there, 
 then, nothing left of the skull but the cranial portion ? and 
 does not Physiognomy claim that the character is indicated 
 in the features of the lace, as well as in the expressions ? 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The idea conveyed by the objection is, that the " naked 
 skull" is the all of Phrenology, and only a part of Physiog- 
 nomy. The naked skull, says the writer, " is the only organic 
 memento of the character of the dead ;" but Physiognomy 
 claims the advantage of the naked face, while living, and of 
 being able to say, "Blessed be the art that can immortalize !" 
 In portraits, the skull remains in the background, where na- 
 ture placed it; and the power of art is expended upon the 
 face, in making it live, and breathe, and grow warm with 
 life', and almost speak. "Would the " naked skull of poor Yor- 
 ick" have been treated contemptuously in the third person, or 
 gibingly in the second, if it had been as good an index of 
 character as the face? "How abhorred in my imagination it 
 is ! My gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have 
 kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now ? your 
 gambols ? your songs ? your flashes of merriment that were 
 wont to keep the table on a roar?" Contrast this with Cow 
 per's address to his mother's picture : — 
 
 44 That face is thine, thy own sweet smile I see, 
 The same that oft in childhood solaced me !" 
 
 What if somebody should become so phrenology-mad as to 
 hang up " the only organic memento of the character of the 
 dead" on the parlor-wall ! Pity it is that Nature should have 
 made "the only reliable index of character" so inaccessible; 
 and that Art, when Nature fails in her attempt, should sub- 
 stitute a wig, and add such a fashion of head-dress as to be 
 a burlesque upon the reliability, pretensions, and significance, 
 of the cranium ! 
 
 The second formidable objection is this : " The temporary 
 effects of an emotion may be set forth in the face, obscuring 
 f<> me time being the natural traits of character, while the 
 brm of the head remains the same, offering to the phrenolo- 
 
PREFACE. 5 
 
 gist equal facility to read the real elements of the mind, 
 whether it be lashed into fury, and the face distorted with 
 rage, or lulled to a calmness of spirit and placidity of counte- 
 nance by all the soothing appliances of peace and love." We 
 would like particularly to see the author of this thrilling pas- 
 sage examining a head when the mind was "lashed into fury, 
 and the face distorted with rage ;" and we would inquire if, 
 under the "soothing appliances" of his fingers, the bones of 
 the cranium ever discovered themselves to be more osseous 
 than those of the face? 
 
 Not far from this stage of the criticism several faces are 
 introduced from the " favorite delineator of eccentric charac- 
 ter," Dr. Yalentine, showing how a man may " frame his face 
 to all occasions." Let us compare " Monsieur Grenoble," or 
 the representation of " a sympathetic, good-natured, confiding, 
 simple-hearted Frenchman," with a genuine exhibition of the 
 same traits, and see if there is not a difference. Here is a 
 
 Frenchwoman whose habitual character is that described above, 
 and where is the hesitation in deciding which is the genuine 
 and which is the false ? In the first, the feeling which appears 
 npon the face is superficial ; but in the other the feeling is the 
 character itself, and the expression is not put on, but is the 
 very face. 
 
 By the side of a countenance that is said to exhibit " every 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 line, angle, and expression, of moping melancholy," and is 
 called "the embodiment of sadness — a visage fit to freeze 
 the 80111" — let ns place the expression of sullen gloominess 
 and frigidity in a woman who resembles but is seen to be in 
 a very different mood of mind from the other. In this com- 
 
 parison, the pretended " hypochondriac" is easily distinguished 
 from the portrait, which has the expression of genuine senti- 
 ment and stern reality. 
 
 The second criticism is now in turn. First, it says of the 
 brain, that " it is the trunk of the mental tree, and that all 
 outward signs of character and emotion spring from and de- 
 pend upon it, as do the branches and leaves of the natural 
 tree upon its trunk." According to this, " all the outward 
 signs of character and emotion" are in the arms and hands, 
 and the features and expressions of the countenance, which 
 are compared to branches and leaves. This is more than we 
 are willing to accept, for we acknowledge that there are some 
 outward signs of character in the skull. 
 
 The next objection is the more formidable on account of 
 being an assertion, which is this : " "We often find a person, 
 whose father and mother are very unlike in character, who 
 resembles in head one parent and in face the other. Such a 
 person's character is always found to follow the phrenological 
 
 development The face will everywhere be recognised as 
 
 oemg very much like that of the father, for example, while 
 
PREFACE. 7 
 
 the character is precisely that of the mother .... and as un- 
 like that of the father .... as can well be imagined." The 
 premises in this case will not sustain the r conclusions. That 
 from a father and a mother, whose opposite characters are in- 
 dicated by opposite faces, can be produced an offspring whose 
 face and character are opposite to each other, is a contradic- 
 tion in terms. If the face and the character " belie" each 
 other, the one may as well be convicted of falsehood as the 
 other : but the truth is, whatever belies one belies them both ; 
 and the assertion, that one is true and not the other, belies itself. 
 The next assertion which strikes us as leing very singular 
 is this : A person " looks at the face, but the scenery above it 
 gives him, after all, his idea of the man. We say an eye is 
 beautiful, but it is as much the scenery around the eye that 
 gives it beauty and expression as the eye itself, and even 
 more." The first sentence teaches us that we can have no 
 idea of a man till he doffs his hat; but the second descends 
 from that high empyrean, and acknowledges that there is 
 scenery around the eye, which, as the eye is very expressive, 
 must be an important index of character. But the most ridic- 
 ulous thing is, that a " a glass eye keeps pace exactly with the 
 natural one, in all apparent changes of that speaking organ." 
 Of course, then, when a high-spirited horse " darts the fire of 
 passion" from his eyeballs, it is " the change of scenery around 
 the eye, and not the eye itself;" and, of course, Art may do 
 as well as Nature in manufacturing eyes ! Accordingly, our 
 critic has caused a pair of eyes to be executed for the picture 
 of the bust of Yitellius — with what intention we shall pres- 
 ently see. It is quite probable, too, that Art can manufacture 
 a face out of the odds and ends of different characters that 
 shall be quite equal to one of Nature's own productions. On 
 this principle, faces are manufactured that are intended to be, 
 and that are, perfect contradictions to Physiognomy. 
 
8 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 "To illustrate how the appearance of the head changes the 
 expression of the face," the inventor introduces "four engra- 
 vings." — " These," says he, " are made up from two portraits, 
 each of which is engraved on two pieces of wood, divided just^ 
 above the eyes, so that the head of each may be united to the 
 other. These parts are mismatched. Two of the four arc as 
 Nature made them ; the other two are composed of the head 
 of each on the face of the other." In this quotation the man- 
 
 ufacturing process is well described. It would seem as if the 
 writer intended that his own two charming productions should 
 be taken as illustrations of the principle that the head may 
 be derived from one parent and the face from the other. As 
 " the character is always found to follow the phrenological 
 development," Yitellius and Wilson, having changed heads, 
 must be described thus. First, Yitellius : " A man remarka- 
 ble for talent, purity, and elevation of character ; a pattern of 
 benevolence, of enlarged and liberal views, a zealous friend 
 of the poor ; who lived, like Oberlin, for the human race." In 
 his physiognomical judgment of Yitellius, the writer exclaims : 
 M What a beastly face ! how sensual and gluttonous ! what 
 tyranny and severity ! How much of the base robber and 
 murderer are seen in that countenance ! how savage and how 
 repulsive !" But, as the head of this beastly Roman emperor 
 
PREFACE. 9 
 
 id turned over to the Rev. Dr. Wilson, this description of char* 
 acter must go with it. We have presented above the portraits 
 of these two individuals, and surely the thought of a mutual 
 exchange of heads and faces between characters so perfectly 
 >pposite is horrible. 
 
 One other objection remains to be answered. It is the idea 
 :hat in certain cases " the changes of expression are so great, 
 And so mingled in their effects upon the facial muscles, as to 
 nake the reading of character by that means a complete puz- 
 :le." The writer of the following description of Kossuth did 
 lot think so : — 
 
 "A word of the orator's personal appearance. He is a lit- 
 _e under size, perhaps five feet eight; erect, of fine form and 
 igure, quick and elastic in movement, and of admirable and 
 3ommanding gesture. The flexibility of his physical frame 
 is the type of his flexibility of nature, and accurately obedient 
 to its command. When he is roused, the soul speaks through 
 the entire person. Hence comes the electric shock, the mag- 
 netic effusion, that captivates and controls his hearers. His 
 face is suffused with emotional indications, and is eminently 
 susceptible of every expression. It melts in sadness, it lights 
 up with enthusiasm, it grows fierce in passion, it flashes with 
 mirth. Upon no man's face is the sunshine glow of delight 
 more effectively expressed, yet is the prevailing expression 
 sad and subdued. The eye tells of the treasures within. It 
 js full, liquid, and in him the very window of the soul ; it is 
 the ready outlet of a heart filled with emotion, and feminine 
 in a gushing sympathy of expression, that needs not the poor 
 interpreter of language. It mirrors a depth and reveals an 
 inspiration of nature, cognizable to the dullest sense, as rare 
 as it is captivating." 
 
 In refutation of the above objection, we offer also the follow 
 ing:~ 
 
10 PRE* A JE. 
 
 "The artists,'* said Mr. Clay "have not generally succeed- 
 ed well in taking my features but that has been in a great 
 measure my own fault ; for my face never retains long the 
 same expression, and, especially when I am under any excite- 
 ment, it changes every moment. John Randolph once paid 
 me a high compliment, not intentionally — for he seldom com- 
 plimented any man — but, without intending it, he paid me 
 what I esteem one of the highest compliments I ever received. 
 He said, 'Whenever a debate is coming on, if I can get a 
 sight of Mr. Clay's face, I can always tell which side he is 
 going to take.' " 
 
 The practice of affectation, or dissembling, so far from ad- 
 ding lineaments and expressions to the countenance, absolutely 
 obliterates them. It makes the face, on which was originally 
 " the royal stamp of man," like a smooth shilling, which, 
 though very attractive and pleasant to the feel, is liable to be 
 called in question ; to be more closely scrutinized than a coin 
 with an honest face upon it ; to be set down for something less 
 than its original value ; to be branded as claiming to be of 
 more value than it really is ; to receive the curse of Cain, to bear 
 his mark, and thereafter be suffered to wander unmolested. 
 
 Finally, we would observe that generally the brain and face 
 are harmonious, but that always the former is subservient to 
 the latter. The divining of character by the skull is subordi- 
 nate to the practical, every-day reading to which the face is 
 appropriated. Physiognomy is available on all occasions, and 
 it is even a breach of etiquette not to look a man in the coun- 
 tenance : but Phrenology can be employed only professionally, 
 and discovers character " by fumbling up the hair and rub- 
 bing the organs," which in most cases would be regarded as 
 a gross impertinence. 
 
 Nkw York, August, 1852. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter I ] 
 
 
 Chapter III 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 Chapter V 
 
 Chapter VI 
 
 Chapter VII 
 
 Chapter VIII 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 
 Chapter XI 
 
 Chapter XII 
 
 Chapter XIII 
 
 Chapter XIV 
 
 Chapter XV 
 
 Chapter XVI 
 
 Chapter XVII 
 
 Chapter XVIII 
 
 Chapter XIX 
 
 Chapter XX 
 
 Chapter XXI 
 
 Chapter XXII 
 
 Chapter XXIII 
 
 Chapter XXIV 
 
 Chapter XXV 
 
 Chapter XXVI 
 
 Chapter XXVII. . . . 
 
 Chapter XXVIII.. . . 
 
 Chapter XXIX 
 
 Chapter XXX 
 
 Chapter XXXI 
 
 Chapter XXXII.... 
 
 Chaptfh XXXIII. . . 
 
 Chapter XXXIV. . . 
 
 Chapteb XXXV... 
 
 Chaptfr XXXVI. . . 
 
 Ch>^er XXXVII... 
 
 Chapter XXXVIII. . Conclusion 
 
 Heads and Faces pack 8 
 
 Resemblances of Human Beings to Beasts and Birds. . 12 
 
 " of Germans to Lions 21 
 
 " of Prussians to Cats 28 
 
 " of certain Persons to Eagles and Owls. . 35 
 
 " " to the Rhinoceros. . . 41 
 
 " of Negroes to Elephants 49 
 
 " of certain Persons to Ostriches 56 
 
 " " " to Storks 60 
 
 " of the "Aztec Children" to Mice 65 
 
 " of certain Persons to the Rat, Hare, 
 
 Squirrel, and '"Possum" 70 
 
 " of Human Beings to Apes '75 
 
 " of Negroes to Fishes 81 
 
 " in general 86 
 
 " of Laplanders to Reindeers 89 
 
 " of certain Persons to Herons 94 
 
 " of Arabs to Camels 99 
 
 " of certain Persons to Vultures 105 
 
 " of Englishmen to Bulls HI 
 
 " of Italians to Horses 123 
 
 " " " continued 184 
 
 of Turks to Turkeys 145 
 
 " of Persians to Peacocks 152 
 
 " of Chinamen to Hogs .167 
 
 " " " continued 178 
 
 " of Yankees to Bears 192 
 
 " " " continued 206 
 
 ' of Russians to Geese 219 
 
 " of Hindus to Swans 225 
 
 " of Frenchmen to Frogs and Alligators. .232 
 
 " " " continued 243 
 
 " of Irishmen to Dogs 253 
 
 " " " continued 265 
 
 " of certain Persons to Pigeons, and of 
 
 Spaniards to Cocks 280 
 
 " of Jews to Goats 287 
 
 " " " continued 296 
 
 of Greeks to Sheep 309 
 
 of certain Persons to Parrots and Mock- 
 ing Birds 321 
 
 323 
 
LIST OF PORTRAITS 
 
 Vitellius, Emperor of Rome. . page 8 
 
 Thomas Wilson, D. D., LL. D . . 8 
 
 Osceola, the Seminole Chief 15 
 
 Jenny Lind 21 
 
 De Witt Clinton 21 
 
 William VI., Duke of Van Beyeren 
 
 (Flanders) 23 
 
 Lyman Beecher, D. D 24 
 
 John Jacob Astor 25 
 
 Andrew Jackson 2*7 
 
 Madame Trollope 28 
 
 Zumalacarregui, the Carlist Chief. . 29 
 
 Fernando Cortez 32 
 
 Frederick the Great '34 
 
 Maximilian I., Emperor of Germany 35 
 
 A. Court de Gebelin 37 
 
 Eleanora of Austria 40 
 
 La Ronciere . 41 
 
 John Reeves, Esq 49 
 
 Sir William Custis, Bart, and M. P. . . 50 
 Thomas Wood, the abstemious Mil- 
 ler .... . 56 
 
 George Canning, M. P 59 
 
 Adam Walker 61 
 
 Captain Cook 62 
 
 Maximo, the Aztec 66 
 
 Suraj-u-Dowlah, the Hindu Nabob. 71 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton 72 
 
 Anne of Cleves 73 
 
 Joshua Makoniane 74 
 
 Alexander Aubert, Esq., F. R. S. . . 77 
 Dorothy Pentreath, of Mousehole, in 
 Cornwall, the last Person who 
 could converse in the Cornish 
 
 Language 80 
 
 William Charles Henry, Prince of 
 
 Holland 81 
 
 Painter of Flowers 91 
 
 Condorcet 96 
 
 John Howard 97 
 
 Marat 109 
 
 Harriet Martineau 112 
 
 David Hume 112 
 
 Edmund Burke 116 
 
 Earl of Wicklow 118 
 
 Henry VIII of England 119 
 
 Cardinal Wolsey page 120 
 
 Charles Caspar Siebold, Surgeon. . .121 
 
 Ferdinand II., King of Naples 125 
 
 Mea Matuiani 127 
 
 Washington Allston 131 
 
 Swedenborg 132 
 
 L. Maria Bassi 135 
 
 Victoria Colonna 1 36 
 
 Melancthon 138 
 
 Rammohur, Roy 140 
 
 Edward VI 142 
 
 Sir Isaac Newton 144 
 
 Abdul-Medjid, Sultan of Turkey. . .149 
 Patrick Russell, M. D, F. R. A. . . .151 
 
 Abbas-Mirza, Shah of Persia 154 
 
 Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria 182 
 
 Erasmus 1 90 
 
 Joe Smith, the Mormon Prophet. . .194 
 Meta-Koosega, a Chippewa Chief. .209 
 A Captive Female among Indians. .210 
 
 Daniel Webster 212 
 
 General Anthony Wayne 216 
 
 Paul, Emperor of Russia 219 
 
 Emperor Alexander 220 
 
 Grand-Duke Constantine 221 
 
 John Cooke Van Exeter 222 
 
 Louis XVI. of France 237 
 
 Ledru Rollin 247 
 
 Louis Napoleon 248 
 
 Lewis Cass 260 
 
 Laurence Sterne 262 
 
 Fenelon 269 
 
 Ben Jonson 279 
 
 Francisco Goya, Painter 282 
 
 Sforza 287 
 
 Johannus Josephus Guillelmus Bru- 
 te 309 
 
 Kossuth 31? 
 
 Alexander the Great 314 
 
 Plato 315 
 
 Oberhn 316 
 
 Kalergi, the Greek Patriot 319 
 
 Paul Jove 321 
 
 Duke of Devonshire 322 
 
 Lavater 32£ 
 
 Abby Kelly Foster 326 
 
COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 CHAPTEK I 
 
 Aristotle, or some other equally sage philosopher, has said, 
 u Man is an animal." If man was not well aware of this fact 
 long before the saying was 
 littered, he has certainly 
 confirmed it in innumera- 
 ble instances since, not on- 
 ly in words, but in actions. 
 It is a humiliating truth, of 
 which many people seem 
 proud ; but, as humility is 
 a rare and inestimable vir- 
 tue, it is well that we should 
 be reminded of our frailty 
 by a just comparison of our- 
 selves with the brute crea- 
 tion. What does hinder man 
 from speaking like an angel 
 on the topic that most inter- 
 ests him, and upon which 
 he most wishes to interest 
 others? It is the animal 
 nature that oppresses and 
 clouds his mind, alas ! alas ! 
 But there is a divine fire 
 within him that struggles 
 
14 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 against the superincumbent mass, and ever and anon casts it 
 high in air, mingled and confounded with substances of a 
 lighter and more ethereal nature ; and there is a sun of truth 
 and love that clears away the dark mists that obscure his 
 vision. 
 
 If, now, we were going to write a poem, we would com- 
 mence with an invocation, like that with which Milton intro- 
 duces his "Paradise Lost;" but, "gentle reader," we claim 
 for our subject a scientific character, and we intend to treat 
 it accordingly. An invocation, uttered within the chamber 
 of the soul, is none the less appropriate on that account. 
 
 We commence, then, with the admission that " man is an 
 animal." A comparison of himself with the inferior animals 
 
 has led him, in all ages 
 of the world, to apply the 
 names of animals to men, 
 and the names of men to 
 ^^> animals, on the ground 
 of a resemblance between 
 them. There is often great 
 significance in the words 
 calf, goose, dog, monkey, and so on, when applied contemptu- 
 ously. They betray fragments of a true science, perverted to 
 the degradation of human beings. There is equal evidence 
 of the rudiments of this science in the popular mind in the 
 use of the words kitty, lamb, duck, dove, and the names of 
 other gentle and favorite pets, applied to those who have cor- 
 responding traits. In a rude and simple state of society, the 
 designation of an individual by some ruling trait of charac- 
 ter, embodied in the form of some animal, shows what foun- 
 dation this department of Physiognomy has in nature and in 
 the human mind, and how easily and naturally it is learned. 
 It is not probable that the American Indians are indebted to 
 our modern civilization for an observation of those correspond- 
 ences which have led them to apply the terms vnld-cat, black- 
 hawk, alligator, mapping-turtle, and the like, to their chiefs 
 and warriors. 
 
 But, lest the reader should suppose that his estimation of 
 
BEASTS AND BTRDS. 
 
 15 
 
 man is much higher than our own, we will here state that, 
 in our opinion, the essential attributes of a human being 
 elevate him to a point be- 
 yond comparison with the 
 animal creation. The term 
 man, in its highest sense, 
 is synonymous with angel. 
 Men are not born, and per- 
 ad venture we are not men 
 when we " come to man's 
 estate." It may be that we 
 are but " children of an old- 
 er growth." Man is the 
 result of education, of im^ 
 provement. He is " self- 
 made," if he be made at all, and the character which he forms 
 for himself is indicated in his countenance. But if truly a 
 man, he considers himself the workmanship of a higher power, 
 for in his own creation he works from a sense of duty, and in 
 opposition to himself, or to the animal which Nature has made 
 him. "We say emphatically — 
 
 " Man is a name of honor for a king" — 
 
 though, according to the definition, most men who are pro- 
 moted to royalty are worthy of the title of " king of beasts." 
 
 "Man is an animal," but he is more. He has the privilege 
 of naming all the fowls of the air, the beasts of the field, an^ 
 
16 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 the fishes of the sea. The lion is to eat straw like the ox, but 
 he is no less a lion on that account ; and so it is with every 
 other savage beast, or passion in the human beast. If the 
 beast be made human, the comparison is favorable to the 
 man ; but if the man be made animal, the comparison is fa- 
 vorable to the beast. Dear reader, we do not wish to puzzle 
 
 you, but do you not see the 
 difference between compar- 
 ing a beast with a man, and 
 comparing a man with a 
 beast ? Yes, you see there 
 is some difference between 
 calling an ass a faithful ser- 
 vant and calling a faithful 
 servant an ass ! If, there- 
 '/'f 7 < fore, in the following pages, 
 
 we fail to observe this dis- 
 tinction, you will, for humanity's sake, pardon us, knowing 
 that it was not intentional. 
 
 The inferior races are like infants, who, as is well known, 
 go on all-fours. The Ethiopian who opened this chapter is 
 like a brat jnst learning to stand. Observe the posture — the 
 arms, body, legs, and feet — and you will be struck with the 
 similarity. What a reminiscence of infancy is awakened by 
 that physiognomy ! Let it teach thee not to despise one whr 
 is as Nature made him, until thou canst deny that thou was* 
 ever a child. Thou wert misshapen, and some time in com- 
 ing to the condition even of a quadruped, from which thou, 
 mightst have grown a satyr — 
 
 "Thy face itself 
 
 Half mated with the royal stamp of man, 
 And half o'ercome with beast !" 
 
 Plato's definition of man was, " A bird without feathers." 
 This is carrying the comparison rather too far, but it may be 
 said that in many respects man has a striking resemblance 
 to the bird. The bird aspires to a similar standing, though 
 wisely he never takes advantage of his position. The feath- 
 ered gentry are, we believe, biped animals without an excep- 
 
BEASTS AND BIRDS. 
 
 17 
 
 tion, and it is upon nis position upon two legs that man prides 
 himself. Birds show something of the same vanity, without 
 therefore laying any claim to superi- 
 ority. They do, indeed, make use of 
 all-fours in travelling, but it is never 
 with more than two at a time. Birds, 
 however, have a greater likeness to 
 some people than to others. There 
 are certain persons for ever flying 
 about, making a greater flourish with 
 their arms than with their feet : they 
 preserve their hands in gloves, as 
 carefully as a bird does his in feath- 
 ers ; and when they are not swinging 
 their arms, in imitation of rapid trav- 
 elling, they carry their hands tucked 
 under their coat-tails, behind their 
 backs. They are bound at all events 
 not to show their hands, lest people 
 should know that they have any, and 
 should insist upon their making use 
 of them. The man who very much 
 resembles a bird invariably attempts 
 to live by his wits, however little his 
 noddle may contain. But he is not, 
 by any means, the only person who 
 
 adopts this method of gaining a livelihood. Those who re- 
 semble foxes and pussy-cats do the same. 
 
 But as every person has an individuality of his own, which 
 is not to be confounded with that of any other, it is necessary 
 that we should be more particular. Here is a person (see 
 next page) with a sharp, bird-like countenance, who is trying 
 to assure himself that he has a genuine bill, or that it is not a 
 jaw with teeth in it, by which he is in danger of being bitten. 
 The result of the examination will probably be, that he has a 
 long bill, and that he feels like a bird. He is evidently of 
 the kind that was forbidden to the Jews, for the reason prob- 
 ably that he is too much like them to be " taken in ;" and hia 
 
 2 
 
18 
 
 COMP A R ATTVE P HYSIOGNOM Y 
 
 partiality for bills is entirely on account of the havoc they 
 make among the frogs, and young lizards, and ether small-fry, 
 
 that are found in shallow 
 places. His ear is a migh- 
 ty small one, just fitted to 
 be the lodging-place of a 
 quill ; and you might know, 
 without asking his attention 
 for a few moments, that he 
 is a " deaf adder." Think 
 you he makes any great use 
 of the quill upon which he 
 prides himself so amazing- 
 ly? It is an apology for 
 not grasping with his hands 
 something more substantial 
 than a feather, and it is a token that he plumes himself upon 
 his ability. 
 
 Here is a bird on a 
 roost, sharpening his wit 
 
 with a penknife, a migh- i\ 
 
 ty labor of his hands, 
 considering the disposi- 
 tion of his feet to take 
 upon themselves the of- 
 fice of handling. Ex- 
 amine him from top to 
 toe, and you will ex- 
 pect that when anything 
 comes in his way, he 
 will remove it with his 
 foot ; and that when he 
 wishes to draw anything 
 nearer to him, his feet 
 will be found more ac- 
 commodating than his 
 hands. The hand, in his 
 opinion, has a higher of- 
 
BEASTS AND BIRDS. 
 
 19 
 
 iice to perform. It is a quill-holder, and there is no knowing 
 what high nights this gray goose may take into the regions 
 of space, to bring down fancies and imaginations — 
 
 " Such as take lodgings in a head 
 That's to be let unfurnished" — 
 
 into the regions of tangible reality 
 
 What have we here? A bird, 
 saving the feathers, which might 
 b.e supplied with a few tatters, or 
 else with a coat more smooth and 
 glossy. This also is one of the 
 creations of Dailey, who seems 
 ambitious to have his creations 
 classed with those of Nature. 
 Those legs ! — there is something 
 in their position that beggars 
 description. What need we to 
 speak of the body, the arms, the 
 head, the features, the expres- 
 sion ? they speak for themselves, 
 and it is fortunate for a good ex- 
 ample that it teaches its own les- 
 son. 
 
 By dwelling too long on the 
 subject of birds, we are in dan- 
 ger of becoming flighty. We 
 will simply say that the speci- 
 mens of the rara avis are, if the popular opinion be true, very 
 frequently met with. The individual above, no more than 
 those preceding him, can be accused of soiling his hands by 
 very hard labor, and will certainly get his living in some 
 easy way, without any greater tax upon his wit than is natural 
 to him. 
 
 On the following page is a real "fly-away" — and 6he 
 is but one of a multitude of the same variety. Whether 
 it be a robin, a tomtit, or a lady-bird, it is not important 
 to decide But let us, if our subject does not keep us up in 
 
20 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 spite of ourselves, descend from birds in general to birds in 
 particular. "We can not make minute observations upon the 
 
 wing — and are not so 
 skilled in marksmanship 
 as not to require our bird 
 to be at rest in order to 
 hit him. When the art 
 
 ist had made a capital hit, and fixed his quarry to the spot on 
 which it stood, which is generally some old limb of a tree, we 
 are prepared to aim at the mark, and may stand some chance 
 of fitting it too. 
 
THE LION. 
 
 21 
 
 CHAPTEK II. 
 
 In likening human beings to animals, people sometimes 
 blunder. Somebody took it into his head to call Jenny Lind 
 the " Swedish nightingale ;" and, in 
 endeavoring to conform her face to the 
 theory, the most untruthful and insip- 
 id representations have been palmed 
 upon the world as likenesses. The 
 truth is, Jenny Lind, in the expression 
 and contour of the face, and in gait 
 and mien, resembles a lioness. There 
 is something in the unimposing dignity 
 and active strength of the lioness that 
 contents us, while it awakens an al- 
 most unconscious admiration ; we feel 
 that she is fully deserving of her kingly 
 mate. And these same qualities strike us in the character, 
 personal appearance, and manners, of Jenny Lind. It is no 
 
 objection to this resemblance 
 that her voice is powerful, res- 
 onant, and of great compass — 
 for it is the counterpart of the 
 most splendid base that was 
 ever heard. 
 
 A prominent characteristic 
 of those who resemble the lion 
 is boldness of project, and a 
 bringing of distant places and 
 objects into a state of equilib- 
 rium, by a law like that which 
 governs commerce and the sea. 
 " De Witt Clinton and the Grand Canal" is a very natural 
 
22 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY 
 
 association of ideas, and the face of that individual shows a 
 strong resemblance to the lion. That very face, if it ap- 
 proached more literally to the lion, 
 to which it bears a resemblance, 
 would be that of a " regular bruis- 
 er;" for the theatre in which his 
 lion-quality exercises itself is one 
 requiring pickaxe, and crowbar, 
 and " horse-power," literally to the 
 end of time. Where this is the 
 case, horse-power may be consid- 
 ered as synonymous with reason 
 caught in the process of a demon- 
 stration and unable to extricate itself. It is there bound like 
 Ixion to a wheel, to suffer torture, till the power that resides 
 in a complication of wheels comes to its relief. The horse, it 
 should be observed, is horribly afraid of the lion. 
 
 The person represented on the preceding page (De "Witt 
 Clinton) has a German face, and the Germans as a nation re- 
 semble lions. Of the next two figures, the countenance of 
 
THE LION. 
 
 23 
 
 the female is almost literally that of a lion fast asleep, while 
 the face of the man is deprived of this dignified resemblance 
 
 by a paltry pipe. In whatever the German descends i\ 
 proper characteristics, he approaches the hog. Canals 
 Nature has failed to es- 
 tablish intercommunica- 
 tion by rivers, are such 
 works of art as bold minds 
 alone are capable of pro- 
 jecting — and Germany 
 abounds in these. In lit- 
 erature, science, theolo- 
 gy, and in everything, the 
 Germans are distinguish- 
 ed for the vastness of 
 their projects, and for ex- 
 ecution equal to their de- 
 signs. Everything, from 
 the crown of the head to 
 the sole of the foot, and 
 
 •urn ins 
 , where 
 
2t 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 from the treasury to the chest in which the laborer deposites 
 his earnings, is upon an extensive scale. What people in the 
 
 world make cakes of such vast 
 circumference and diameter as 
 they? Whether Reason has 
 enough concern in their nation- 
 al affairs to substitute intellect- 
 ual and moral power for physi- 
 « ^ cal, and labor-saving machine- 
 'j 1 ry for animal force, is a prob- 
 lem in the course of solution. 
 
 A noble lion is that of which 
 we are reminded by a face like 
 the following. Some large proj- 
 ect of usefulness, in his own 
 proper field, is as necessary to this person as the breath he 
 draws. His animal nature is suited to his moral and intel- 
 
 lectual, and is subservient to the higher. Of the lion, it may 
 be said — 
 
 "He has, I know not what, 
 
 Of greatness in his looks, and of high fate. 
 That almost awes me." 
 
THE LION". 
 
 25 
 
 He is a symbol of the mighty passions that slumber in the 
 human breast, waiting to be taken into the service of Benev- 
 olence, which is " mightiest in the mighty," and of Truth, 
 which is " mighty and will prevail." The face of the lion, 
 therefore, has a wonderful resemblance to the human, but to 
 some persons much more than to others. 
 
 The next example which we present of a resemblance to the 
 lion is John Jacob Astor. The history of this individual, ir 
 
 n^p^ 
 
 connection with his face, is a confirmation of the principle 
 stated at the outset. A sordid look, we see, is compatible 
 with the lion, otherwise there would be no pertinence in the 
 allusion to " the lion's share." But there is no littleness in 
 anything that he thinks or does. It is not emulation that 
 makes the lion-like individual do things on a larger scale than 
 others. He has the desire of doing great things, but they are 
 little in his estimation when he has done them. He there- 
 fore takes no pride in what he does ; and to show that what 
 others stare at, is nothing in his eyes, he may give it away. 
 The " Astor House" was given by the father to the son, for a 
 dollar, it is said, directly after it was completed. 
 
 There is a strong infusion of the noble qualities of the lion 
 into the mastiff, and the dogs of St. Bernard ; but the dog 
 that bays the moon is like those who magnify a sixpence to 
 the size of that deceitful luminary, and are slightly lunatic. 
 
26 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 The individual before us bears a perverted resemblance to 
 the lion, but resembles more nearly the variety of dogs just 
 
 referred to, and may be supposed 
 to hold on to a shilling so tightly 
 as to press a hole through it ! 
 
 The resemblance between An- 
 drew Jackson and the lion, in char- 
 acter and physiognomy, may be 
 easily traced in the representations 
 given on the following page. Mag- 
 nanimity, in one of its phases, is sy- 
 nonymous with heroism, with great- 
 ness of soul, and greatness in noble 
 V deeds. It is fitting, therefore, that 
 
 the " old hero" should resemble a 
 lion. The sign of the choleric temperament is characteristic 
 of both, and of those previously mentioned. How could Jack- 
 son brush that hair of his in any other way than Nature dis- 
 poses it % His disposition is to resemble the lion, as well in 
 the external as the internal, or he would resemble him in 
 neither. How obvious it is, therefore, that the character must 
 impress itself upon the countenance, and that they must cor- 
 respond with each other perfectly ! What an interesting face 
 is that of Jackson, when we read his character indelibly im- 
 pressed upon it, and trace the resemblance which we here 
 discover ! 
 
 Let it be borne in mind that the animal passions, when 
 governed by the moral and intellectual faculties, are very 
 different from what they are in animals. This is necessary, 
 if we would form a correct idea of the person who has any of 
 the marks of the lion in his countenance. Such a person is 
 either generous or cruel, peaceable or savage, noble or treach- 
 erous, magnanimous or mean. The most truly magnanimous 
 person is not above performing menial offices for the sake of 
 the happiness of others, and this is from a faculty that in ani- 
 mals and in bad people is the very opposite of magnanimity — ■ 
 it is from a faculty that may be called meanness. This fac- 
 ulty rae a large sign in the lion; but as it aspires to be the 
 
THE LION. 
 
 27 
 
 servant, and to do the bidding of Magnanimity and of all the 
 higher faculties, the lion stands for nobility in the human race, 
 as his physiognomy shows. 
 
 The love of overcoming and 
 the love of triumph are elements 
 of tremendous power in the lion, 
 and are prodigious in those who 
 are to be classed under the head 
 of " lions." The traits which dis- 
 
 tinguish this animal are suitable to royalty. Of the British 
 sovereigns, "William the Conqueror, William II., Henry I., 
 Richard I., King John, Edward I., Richard II., Richard III., 
 James L, William III., and George I., have the lion strongly 
 marked in their countenances ; while nearly all the rest have 
 a wonderful resemblance to oxen. We have examples also of 
 likenesses to the lion in the persons and characters of Mary 
 Queen of Scots, Oliver Cromwell, and Prince George. Rob- 
 ert Boyle is another of the same class. 
 
98 
 
 COMPAEATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY, 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Puss, with her nose in a pan of milk, is called Trollop ; 
 but it is impossible to say that it is on account of her likeness 
 
 to Madame T , whose portrait is here presented. There 
 
 is no doubt but that the " milk 
 of human kindness" is as grate- 
 ful to the one as milk is to the 
 other, and the two appetites gen- 
 erally go together. The cat is 
 remarkably fond of both, though 
 a little at a time satisfies. She 
 relishes petting and fondling ve- 
 ry highly, but is soon satisfied, 
 and then " no more play." — " Too 
 much of a good thing" she stu- 
 diously avoids ; and, if you ob- 
 serve, you will see that she acts upon the principle of " not 
 casting her pearls before swine." She is very nice and \erj 
 particular, and when things do not go to suit her she is a per- 
 fect virago — of which we have a fine sample o' nights, when 
 she may be supposed to be engaged in giving curtain-lectures 
 to her spouse, or having a dispute with her neighbors. You 
 would not think, to see her so quietly sleeping the next morn- 
 ing, that she had been playing the termagant so fiercely. The 
 wonder is, that after such serious difficulties she could get to 
 bed and sleep so sweetly, and look the next day such a per- 
 fect picture of amiability and contentment. Should any one 
 call her a "spit-fire," you would declare it to be slander; but 
 wait, and presently you shall see for yourself. 
 
 But it is very wonderful how the cat can have such a sweet, 
 amiable, loving countenance, when her disposition is the very 
 
THE CAT. 
 
 opposite of that. No — you must not exaggerate her faults: 
 she has affection and forbearance as well as cruelty and slan- 
 der. Besides, it may be said in extenuation, that her quarrel- 
 some disposition is connected with great love of neatness, for 
 the simple reason that she is "put out" when things are in 
 disorder, especially when her choler is ruffled, or any part of 
 her dress is disarranged. The effort to set things to rights 
 disturbs them all the more ; and this is an excuse for still 
 more scolding, pulling hair, scratching, screaming, spitting, 
 chasing, and all that. Very amiable this ! but we shall come 
 at the amiability by-and-by. 
 
 It should be known that those who spend several hours a 
 day in dressing, preparatory to placing themselves on a cush- 
 ion, or some elevation where they may be seen, are generally 
 pleasant in society, but in private life ill-tempered and ill- 
 tongued. The cat and those who resemble her are no excep- 
 tions to this general rule. 
 
 But allowing that the cat has a great deal of softness, quiet, 
 love of repose, contentment, love of children, love of kind 
 treatment, and love of milk, how is it that these are so much 
 more observable in her face than the opposite traits? The 
 reason is this : the cat has a wonderful degree of affectation. 
 She can assume a charac- 
 ter that does not belong to 
 
 her; or, rather, she can 
 wear the semblance of it, 
 and that is often mistaken 
 for the thing itself. Who 
 would doubt, on looking 
 at this individual, of his 
 ability to dissemble ? He 
 looks like a cat, and may 
 be placed in the order of 
 lynxes. The same facul- 
 ty which induces dissem- 
 bling gives the power of 
 ''acting" or of " play-act- 
 ing" (whichever term we may choose to employ). 
 
 The cat is 
 
30 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 remarkably fond of play ; and as play is the opposite of " sober 
 earnest," it takes Affectation into its service, aud changes the 
 deceiver into a comedian. A playful cat is an honest puss, 
 while a demure one is deceitful, treacherous, cruel. Playful- 
 ness is associated with innocence, as it is in children ; and it 
 is not till " sober age comes hastening on," that human beings 
 are tempted strongly to play the hypocrite. When children 
 do so they are not playful, they are not happy ; and examples 
 of " juvenile depravity" are of those that are gloomy, morose, 
 and inclined to disturb rather than to assist in the plays of 
 other children. Here, then, are the moral advantages of 
 play — the advantages of such theatricals as children engage 
 in, and of public theatricals, if they are what Nature designed 
 them to be. When play itself is an affectation, then the 
 players are deceivers, and the acting is deception ; their in- 
 nocence is lost; and, being themselves corrupt, they do all 
 they can to encourage corruption in others, and to corrupt the 
 morals of the good and pure. 
 
 The reader hardly need be told that the cat is sly. It is 
 her nature to take by surprise — she lives by it, and therefore 
 she surprises you in everything. It makes her veiy soft and 
 quiet in her manners, and this, if we would understand her 
 character, must be distinguished from gentleness. If she had 
 gentleness, she would enjoy her nights undisturbed by brick- 
 bats ; and in that case, if all people were like her, " midnight 
 outcries and alarms" would cease for ever. It fa verv hard 
 
THE CAT. 31 
 
 for those who resemble cats to be gentle, and for the same 
 reason it is next to impossible for tr em to be gentlemen. Be- 
 tween them and gentlemen there is as great an antagonism 
 as between cats and dogs. 
 
 But we were speaking of slyness. The cat enters a room so 
 slyly, that you are not aware of it until she is near you ; and 
 she withdraws without your knowledge, so that you are sur- 
 prised at her absence. You feel something rubbing gently 
 against your leg : it is " Miss Puss," come to soothe the whirl- 
 wind of passion that she has excited against herself the night 
 previous, and to say : "There, don't be angry — you see how 
 I can be quiet ; let us now make up, and I will lie in your 
 arms, and purr you to sleep !" Slyness, therefore, in the cat, 
 is a good thing. It goes out entirely when she is angry, and 
 after a while it comes to drive anger away. Without it, how 
 would quarrelsome people get over their difficulties, and look 
 more bright, smiling, and affectionate, than ever? 
 
 People who entertain a large number of cats, and therefore 
 look like them, steal upon you unawares, whether they intend 
 it or not, and they depart as slyly as they came. But they 
 also meditate surprises — sometimes of an agreeable nature, 
 and sometimes of a disagreeable — for the sake either of en- 
 hancing the pleasure of others, or of exciting alarm. As the 
 cat catches a mouse by surprise when it fancies itself enjoying 
 its full of liberty in the bounties and luxuries that surround it, 
 and lets it go that it may be again deceived — so does the in- 
 dividual who resembles a cat delight to disabuse people oi 
 their halcyon enjoyments, and to catch them "just as they 
 are," in the midst of their domestic disorder, or comfort, as 
 the case may be. The people they like to come in upon are 
 those "undisturbed" — at their ease — "not dressed to be 
 seen." Slyness, therefore, plays into the hands of Cruelty, 
 and is exercised along with dissembling; but in this case 
 there is no anger; it is destructiveness in cold blood, and 
 meditated hypocrisy. 
 
 On the following page is a portrait of Cortez, and it is seen 
 to resemble a puma. A formidable cat this to pounce down 
 *xpon the mice whose portraits are sculptured on the monu 
 
32 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 ments of Central America, and represented in the "Aztec 
 children !" Now, gentle reader, do not deprive us of the 
 
 pleasure of describing to you 
 the resemblance between the 
 Aztecs and mice, which ani- 
 mals we reserve for another 
 chapter. Pray, take your 
 mind from that subject, and 
 trace the feline qualities a 
 bit further. Of all animals, 
 cats are the most savage : 
 the faculties that make them 
 so are love of triumph, con- 
 test, hurling, and resistance. 
 Savage and bloody men have the signs of these faculties very 
 large, in consequence of which they have a resemblance to 
 pumas, tigers, leopards, panthers, and wild-cats. "Warriors 
 
 make special use of the faculty of hurling ; and their cheek- 
 bones are wide, like those of cats, indicating the strength of 
 this faculty. Storms and tempests, with lightning and thun- 
 der, are imitated by warriors on the battle-field, and by cats 
 in spitting fire at each other, and uttering all sorts of strange, 
 unearthly, and portentous sounds. They exhibit gusts, whirl 
 winds, and a tempest of passion ; and the place for these ex- 
 hibitions is the top of the house, as near the clouds as possible : 
 and seeing them there, their looks and motions may remind 
 
THE CAT. 33 
 
 you of streaks of lightning. The cat is excited by correspond- 
 ing things in nature, for the worst performances of- this kind 
 we have observed to be when — 
 
 " The speedy gleams the darkness swallowed ; 
 
 Loud, deep, and long, the thunder bellowed ; 
 
 When e'en a child might understand 
 
 The de'il had business on his hand." 
 
 To do justice to our subject, we must mention that the cat 
 and those like her have great parentiveness. Who has not 
 witnessed the tender care of the cat for her kittens, in select- 
 ing a place, in providing food, in comforting them, and in 
 carrying them in her mouth from a place of danger to one of 
 safety ? Who has not witnessed her love for children, her for- 
 bearance toward them — as well as learning her kittens to 
 mouse, and, when they come to years of discretion, teaching 
 them propriety and good behavior by an occasional box on 
 the ear? She is, indeed, very affectionate; and when her 
 tempests of passion are over, she is as warm, and sunny, and 
 6erene, as the atmosphere and sky after a thunder-shower. It 
 is truly so with those who resemble cats : occasional outbursts 
 purify their spirits from the unhealthiness that is engendered 
 by quietude and stagnation, and their enjoyments are en- 
 hanced by contrasts all their lives long. Especially are they 
 so tenderly attached to children, that even half the domestic 
 feuds are controversies respecting the modes of bringing them 
 up and giving them the advantages of education, polish, and 
 refinement. 
 
 Fondness for children, an aptitude to teach, and the other 
 dispositions of the cat, are the component parts of that variety 
 of the genus homo called the " schoolmaster," and his resem- 
 blance to the cat in the external is susceptible of ocular dem- 
 onstration. There is something feline in his appearance as a 
 whole, and in everything he says and does. He requires the 
 pupils to be " still as mice," and watches them slyly, while 
 the pupils of his eyes wander about in every possible corner. 
 He takes the cat for his model in everything. She says to 
 her kittens : " You may be allowed to play with my tail, 
 which is the pleasantest thing you can do ; but, if you do 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 thus and so, I shall punish you I" This is the perfect model 
 of instruction, aimed at, at home and at school, but requiring 
 a knowledge of human nature for its application. The Prus- 
 sians resemble cats — some one kind 
 and some another. They care more 
 for children than other nations do, and 
 have the best system of education in 
 the world. Annexed 
 is the portrait of Fred- 
 erick the Great, and 
 by his side that of the 
 ounce, which he is seen 
 very much to resem- 
 ble. His prominent 
 traits are the same that have been 
 mentioned as constituting a likeness to the cat ; but the ounce 
 is the noblest of the cat-kind, and a worthy representative of 
 so great a man. In our category of cats, the lion is not in- 
 cluded. 
 
THE EAGLT&- 
 
 35 
 
 CHAPTER IY. 
 
 The " king of beasts" and the " king of birds" are charac- 
 ters fitted to represent royalty in the human race. Who can 
 look upon this portrait of Maximilian without admiration, con- 
 nected with the impression of its kingly attributes, and of its 
 
 resemblance to the eagle in those qualities which constitute 
 royalty ? Although this is a kingly countenance, it is very 
 different from that which resembles the lion ; but the differ- 
 ence is merely that which exists between birds and beasts — 
 or, if it will make our idea plainer, the one may be called a 
 lion-bird and the other an eagle-beast. In our estimation the 
 eagle-countenance is more noble — it is more intellectual — 
 it has more of greatness — more of that something godlike 
 which we discover in the " bird of Jove." He looks down, 
 not in humility, nor yet in pride, but because his eyry is on 
 
COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 
 high, and he was born to soar above the clouds, and to look 
 on things below as little and insignificant. There is scorn of 
 meanness in his look, but no arrogance ; that noble counte- 
 nance belies a sneer; he has no ambition to soar higher and 
 to explore more lands than others, for his superiority stands 
 confessed. Envy may rankle in others, but in him it is sub- 
 ordinate ; and those whom he takes in his talons and " drops 
 on Fortune's hill," may feel contempt for and sneer at those 
 below them. 
 
 In this last remark we have hit upon a class of persons who 
 resemble owls. In the formation of certain individuals, Na- 
 ture seems to have had an eye to the 
 preceding, but to have fallen just so 
 far short as she falls short of creating 
 an eagle when she makes an owl! 
 They may be referred directly to 
 " chaos and old night" for their ori- 
 gin. The nocturnal influences over- 
 shadow and rest down upon them, 
 and their souls are filled with howl- 
 ets, gloomy forests, deserted castles, 
 haunted steeples, and graveyards ! 
 They see only by moonlight ; and if 
 love ever enters their hearts, and they 
 essay to express it in sounds of affection, accompanied by a 
 guitar, at that witching time of night to which their nature 
 and sentiment incline them, all nature should be hushed, and 
 there could be nothing more appropriate than the injunction — 
 
 " Silence, ye cats, while Ralph to Cynthia yowls, 
 And makes night hideous — answer him, ye owls!" 
 
 Envy and Jealousy are birds of night, and are associated 
 with love, and with every other faculty, in owls and in those 
 persons of whom this bird is the most suitable representative. 
 Such people have also in their faces very large ostentation and 
 love of eminence, the latter being converted by the former 
 into a perpetual sneer. From envy and jealousy, with sub- 
 terfuge and the love of contest, are begotten detraction, and 
 
THE OWL. 
 
 37 
 
 robbery, and other things, for which the patroness Diana is 
 to be held responsible. Subterfuges are delicate morsels to 
 those who resemble owls, as moles and mice are to owls them- 
 
 selves ; and ofttimes these gnawing, un- 
 dermining, burrowing, mischief-making 
 
 little gnomes are elevated on the wings of paltry ambition 
 in the endeavor to outsoar the eagle. As bats and vampires 
 flit' through the air in the darkness, and impart a spirit-fire to 
 the owl, so these spirits of the shades flit through the minds of 
 the owlish, and are the nectar and ambrosia that make them 
 fancy they are gods. 
 
 Strange things happen sometimes, as when Subterfuge be- 
 comes ambitious. Then the cunning and artifice of the cat 
 are owlish, and are exhibited in sublime humbuggery — in 
 fortune-telling, sorcery, magic, and the like ; in other words, 
 the cat is turned into an owl. The ogling and staring which 
 are so characteristic of the owl, are no less conspicuous in 
 those who resemble him. The trait exhibits itself in a love 
 of raree-shows, and inclines its possessors to the profession of 
 showmen. They take it for granted that what they themselves 
 are most fond of, there must be a demand for ; and thus they 
 "kill two birds with one stone" — stare all the time at won- 
 derful sights, which they are exceedingly fond of doing, and 
 
38 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 make money by exhibiting to others. The men who provide 
 these things they consider the greatest curiosities of all, and 
 are confident of being so regarded by the community. They 
 have no idea of people being so stupid as not to appreciate 
 them. Their self-complacency, therefore, grows to something 
 very decided in the expression of the face. 
 
 The owl has dignity — he has no notion of being put out of 
 countenance. He fancies that all the birds of the forest have 
 come to see him, when in reality they have come to pick at 
 him : therefore he stands stock still, like a wax figure, as 
 highly gratified at being looked at as in looking. He sets the 
 example of " mute astonishment," as that which is most be- 
 coming to the spectators, interrupted now and then by a hoot 
 or a screech, according as the subject is merely wonderful or 
 of the nature of something terrific. He exhibits an indiffer- 
 ence to the honors that are paid him, for the simple reason 
 that Nature compels him to affect the eagle, and has given 
 him a vast deal of ostentation. He sits in judgment on oth- 
 ers — is the severest, and in his own estimation the wisest, of 
 critics. " As wise as an owl" is a proverb that places him on 
 a level with Solomon, whose fondness for collecting all the 
 strange and wonderful sights in nature and art furnished him 
 with knowledge, and made him all the wiser. 
 
 The noble use which is performed by those we are now de 
 
THE OWL. 
 
 39 
 
 6cribing is the imparting of instruction, by means of illustra- 
 tion and example, in whatever is most interesting and impor- 
 tant in the arts and sci- 
 ences. It is the storing 
 up in cabinets and mu- 
 seums, and thereby in 
 the mind, of historical 
 reminiscences, and the 
 wonders of the world, 
 and the exercising of 
 a powerful moral influ- 
 enccby the interest and 
 sympathy awakened foi 
 the inhabitants of other 
 climes, and by the me- 
 morials of generations 
 that are past and gone. 
 But what need has any- 
 body to be told of this ? This mode of instruction, it is per- 
 ceived, is especially juvenile. In those who resemble owls 
 there is very great love of children, as there is also in those 
 who resemble cats ; and this love is connected with the desire 
 and the ability to teach. 
 
 The most easy and impressive manner comes, as a matter 
 of course, from that juvenile love of exhibition and wonder- 
 ment that has been already described. The love of surprise 
 in this case is not gratified by falsehood, but by knowledge — ■ 
 not by the hallucinations of the mind, but by the evidence of 
 the senses ; and thus the love of truth is cultivated, and with 
 it the love of nature and the love of man, and every good 
 and noble sentiment in the human breast. In our view, there 
 is no picture of tender, earnest, devoted parental affection 
 equal to that of an owl caring for her young, if the represen- 
 tations we have seen be true, as we doubt not that they are. 
 5Tet the notion which most people have of the owl would 
 cause them to pass these pictures by without appreciation or 
 sympathy. They suffer the worse features of the bird to 
 eclipse this shining quality (maternal love), and they conceive 
 
40 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 that the appearance of it is either a burlesque on something 
 touching or sentimental (all the more ridiculous for its at- 
 tempting to elicit a 
 feeling in the beholder 
 which has no existence 
 in the object), or else 
 that there is no truth 
 in physiognomy. But 
 however the cat and 
 the owl may deceive 
 in other things, they 
 do not deceive in this 
 — and just that beau- 
 tiful love of children 
 which is by them ex- 
 pressed is exhibited by 
 those who resemble 
 them, more especially 
 if their peculiarities are turned into the highest channel, and 
 aubserve the noble ends which Nature designed. 
 
THE RHINOCEROS. 
 
 41 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 Insensibility is Sensibility in the lowest degree. Knock 
 him on the head, pinch his tail, beat him about the body, and 
 he will show no signs of being hurt. But take care that you 
 do not serve Sensibility 
 in this way, which is the 
 way to reduce it to the 
 condition of its negative 
 and to make the shell 
 of Insensibility thicker 
 than at first. There is 
 such a thing as treating 
 a rhinoceros tenderly : 
 but truth demands that 
 we should show what 
 stuff he is made of. If 
 it seems to thee, gentle 
 reader, that we treat 
 some of our subjects too 
 plainly, remember that 
 sensation is pleasant to 
 all animals ; and that 
 the degree that is awa- 
 kened by a touch in 
 
 some, is only awakened by a blow in those that are protected 
 by a shell. 
 
 In the rhinoceros, feeling is kept under. As hardness is the 
 summum bonum of a mere animal existence, he has a happy 
 life of it. He may be considered to have attained, very nearly, 
 to the full stature of a perfect beast ! But before we can come 
 to a conclusion in regard to him, we must comprehend his 
 two essential qualities, insensibility and appetite. 
 
& 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 Insensibility, it should be observed, has a partiality lor the 
 tail. In fact, Nature has provided this posterior appendage 
 expressly for its accommodation. This is fully illustrated in 
 the alligator, not to mention the similar animals that are now 
 extinct. Insensibility is nearly synonymous with stupidity, 
 and oblivion is the bliss which it longs for, and to which it 
 finally attains. People who believe in annihilation resemble 
 
THE RHINOCEROS. 
 
 43 
 
 animals with very long tails, with the exception of this latter 
 appurtenance. Tails are peculiar to animals — are worn as 
 badges of honor in the order of beasthood. They are in many 
 instances more or less scaly when the body is not at all so, as 
 we see in the mouse, the opossum, and the beaver ; and the 
 habit of the lemur, of gnawing off the end of his tail, shows 
 that very little sensibility resides there. It shows also that 
 there is an antagonism between Appetite and Insensibility. 
 But the latter in beasts is superior to the former. Insensibility 
 lords it over a wide domain. When he would show his power, 
 he makes an extensive sweep, as may be observed in the use 
 which animals make of their tails when they are enraged. 
 He holds the supremacy over every passion, and " blind rage" 
 is no more blind than he. 
 
 But, like all other sovereigns, he is dependent on his vas- 
 sals. Appetite is his principal servant. He is supplied with 
 the grossness that is essential to his existence through the de- 
 mands of Appetite, which himself is obliged to supply. Thus 
 the alligator sweeps his prey into his mouth with his tail ; and 
 the brandishing of the tails of lions, tigers, &c, is from the 
 same cause. It is the mighty lord Insensibility that sways 
 
4A COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 this sceptre of power— turning living bodies into dead carcas- 
 ses, flourishing it about the body to keep his vassals in fear, 
 and extending it over the head to keep his principal servant 
 in subjection. 
 
 Thus much of Insensibility. We come now to speak of Ap- 
 petite. It resides as far as possible from its lord and master^ 
 for it is the very opposite. Of course, then, it occupies the 
 head, and has the same relation to the anterior extremities 
 
 that the other has to the posterior. Appetite is essential at- 
 tractiveness, drawing everything into relation and conjunction 
 with Sensibility. It refines and softens the skin as much as 
 Insensibility hardens it, and does always the very reverse of 
 what its master does. It begets Sensibility, which feels in- 
 tensely, suffers pain, and is carried to the degree of torment. 
 Who, if he has not felt it, has not heard, of the feeling of 
 hunger and of tormenting thirst ? Appetite, therefore, is the 
 very opposite of Insensibility, and, to indicate this, is assigned 
 to an opposite position in the body. 
 
 When Appetite grows strong, it dispenses with Insensibility 
 altogether. It makes use of teeth, tongue, claws, &c, to sur- 
 prise its food, and tosses up its head in perfect contempt of 
 the pretensions of its former lord. It grows bold, saucy, and 
 
THE RHINOCEROS. 
 
 45 
 
 independent, and says of the tail, that it is " no great shakes, 
 after all !" The consequence of this is, that it turns out as 
 Appetite says : Insensibility is obliged to withdraw from the 
 tail into the body, that he may receive a portion of the nour- 
 ishment that Appetite would otherwise appropriate entirely to 
 its own use. He reasons, with regard to the state of the case, 
 by the method called a posteriori. He considers himself the 
 rightful sovereign; and though he does what he can to con- 
 ciliate Appetite, he has no notion of consenting to a rebellion. 
 
 He makes a virtue of necessity, and becomes on familiar terms 
 with the servants that he was formerly in the habit of chas- 
 tising. He lets down his dignity wonderfully — deserts the 
 tail, which, " like a pile without inhabitant, to ruin runs," and 
 takes up his residence in the back. 
 
 But the less of a gentleman he becomes, the more selfish is 
 
4<i COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 he. lie converts the body into a fortification ; he builds on 
 a larger scale, and in a style of greater magnificence, than 
 before — a sure index of his waning fortunes. He is swayed 
 by fear, and what he does is an indication of it ; he substitutes 
 grasping cupidity for the title of sovereign in just the degree 
 that his sceptre is in danger of being wrested from him ; he 
 parts with his courage and magnanimity as a prince with his 
 sceptre and his crown. Fear draws him into close commu- 
 nion with Appetite, and enlarges headquarters for his recep- 
 tion. Finally, he becomes the very slave of Appetite, and 
 takes up his residence in the head, which is gradually enlarged 
 for his accommodation. When this is the case, we may as- 
 certain it by the fact that there is no tail left. He may be 
 called, first and last, Endurance, because, as he suffers noth- 
 ing, he suffers anything you please. He is the common 
 ground for all sorts of impressions : he is at first the pave- 
 ment, then the stepping-stone, then the marble hall to the 
 palace of the soul ; and finally he is the luxurious carpet, upon 
 which, though there is less danger, men tread more softly 
 than on stones. What we have described is Endurance, indi- 
 cated by the brain and nerves of sensation, upon some of 
 which impressions are made more lightly than on others. 
 
 We are now prepared to speak more particularly of the 
 rhinoceros. Insensibility has lost all dignity in him. You 
 see by his looks that he is supremely selfish, and that Insen- 
 sibility in him would sacrifice pride rather than the services 
 of Appetite. By remaining in the tail when the servant was 
 likely to become independent of his master, the latter would 
 vacate entirely, and the whole animal economy would be de- 
 stroyed. Here master and servant dwell peaceably together, 
 in the back and head, surrounded by the tokens of unbounded 
 prosperity ; while the tail hangs idly, having been resigned 
 for things more substantial and enduring. 
 
 The condition of the rhinoceros, for a beast, is truly a happy 
 one. The means of subsistence are before him, but never a 
 great way off. Not so with those animals that have a pre- 
 dominance of insensibility in the tail, as the alligator, or that 
 have a predominance of laziness, like the bear. " Proud and 
 
THE RHINOCEROS. 47 
 
 lazy" is an epithet that can not be applied to the rhinoceros. 
 Insensibility keeps such good pace with Appetite, that his 
 food is always under his nose. He is ever reaching forth for 
 the supreme good — the gratification of Appetite, and the clo- 
 sing up of the avenues of Sensation. His belly is therefore 
 of the largest dimensions, and is fortified around with shields 
 and bucklers, so that the vulnerable part is long in being dis- 
 covered. He keeps his servant busily at work in closing the 
 avenues outside and in. As he has so much selfishness, it is 
 appropriate that he should be formed specially for self-defence. 
 The sign of this is the most prominent feature in his counte- 
 nance. As S elf-Defence follows Attack, he must invariably, 
 in every controversy, have the last word. It is impossible to 
 find anything new about him, for he is fortified against en- 
 croachment, and is encased in the old. He has but one logic 
 for all who dare to assault him, and his last word is always 
 the same. He assures you that " facts are stubborn things," 
 and the toughness of his hide inclines him to deal in these, 
 and makes it impossible that any other should have an im- 
 pression upon him. He puts effects for causes, and in going 
 forward supposes that he is going backward ; and this he 
 dignifies with the name of reasoning ! But this is more the 
 case with those who resemble alligators — where Insensibility 
 attaches greater dignity to the tail — than in him. What you 
 attack in the rhinoceros is " cut and dried." It has stood the 
 test of time and of innumerable assaults, and why should he 
 change it? He knows how to give you mathematical demon- 
 strations, for it is his business to fortify himself. This is his 
 fort, and he applies it to the erection of defences against all 
 who war with him, whether the weapons be spiritual or car- 
 nal. It is against the possibility of an attack that he fortifies 
 himself, and he is therefore impregnable. He is prejudiced : 
 what can you do with him ? His motto is, " In peace prepare 
 for war, that no enemy may be tempted by your weakness to 
 pounce upon you !" This is the dictate of fear, and also of 
 Insensibility, when there is no danger to be apprehended. 
 But when it shows no fear of reason, and takes reason for its 
 counsellor, it serves a noble use. 
 
48 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 The man who resembles the rhinoceros is either one of the 
 wisest or the most senseless of individuals. Look at that counte- 
 nance, and say if it is not destitute of Sen- 
 sibility. Was there ever anything so stu- 
 pid ? You may anticipate the time when, 
 like the hog, he will testify his content- 
 
 ment with a grunt. But let us turn from this example of the 
 brute creation to another that is very like him, and yet in a 
 certain sense the very opposite. 
 
TBB ELEPHANT 
 
 49 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 "What executioner is this, come to wield his monstrous lash, 
 more effective than the club of Hercules ? He is inclined to 
 
 try the stability of those 
 mathematical certainties 
 which the rhinoceros 
 puts his trust in — to feel 
 the ground upon which 
 he treads, and to make 
 impressions on defences 
 that bid defiance to at- 
 tack. Everything about 
 him is formed to be the 
 counterpart of that which 
 is discovered in the rhi- 
 noceros. That trunk of his, which is the only thing of the 
 kind in existence, is curiously and wonderfully made. It is 
 a maul unparalleled, 
 and has at its end an 
 instrument for pinch- 
 ing, so that it is suita- 
 ble to the execution of 
 every sentence. 'He 
 punishes both great 
 and minor offences, 
 with an exactness of 
 justice that is truly 
 admirable. As he is 
 physically suited to 
 carry it into execu- 
 tion, so his belief is — 
 
Ml 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY 
 
 11 That when a man is past his sense, 
 The method to reduce him thence 
 Is twinging by the ears and nose, 
 Or laying on of heavy blows." 
 
 He has the feeling that he is formed to be an executioner. 
 When the sentence has gone forth, it is never revoked. The 
 punishment must come if ever the opportunity offers ; his 
 duty must be discharged. In the East, he is chosen to exe- 
 cute the laws. There is no variety of execution short of in- 
 fernal that he is not prepared to inflict. The man who is so 
 
 wanting in Sensibili- 
 ty as to play a hoax 
 upon the elephant, 
 will have it dinged 
 into him by the ele- 
 phant's trunk if ever 
 he comes within the 
 reach of that flexible 
 instrument. By "the 
 elephant," be it un- 
 derstood, we mean 
 the man who resem- 
 bles the elephant,and 
 by " the rhinoceros" the man who resembles the rhinoceros. 
 
 The animal we are now speaking of may be styled the " Ex- 
 ecutive." He is the very 
 embodiment of "physical 
 force." As the rhinoceros 
 represents Endurance, so 
 does the elephant represent 
 Effectiveness. Like an im- 
 mense water-wheel, he rolls, 
 and tumbles, and pours the 
 water over him ; and the an- 
 imus which he applies, or 
 the motive-power, is like wa- 
 ter tumbling over a precipice, to which his forehead and de- 
 scending trunk bear a close resemblance. His countenance 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 51 
 
 is all dripping, and seems to invite a torrent of water to be 
 poured over it. His whole body is like a sea, with its ebb 
 and flow, and moving forward with a slow current to its out- 
 let, where the mighty force of descent invites to the demon- 
 stration of the principle that " knowledge is power." He is 
 the wisest of the brute creation, for physical force should be 
 governed by intellectual, to which it corresponds. He rep- 
 resents all things mighty — the water-power, the ponderous 
 wheel, and the whole machinery through which power over- 
 comes a resistance equal to itself in the production of the 
 most wonderful results. 
 
 As there is in the rhinoceros that which involves the prin- 
 ciples of mathematics, so there is in the elephant that which 
 involves the principles of mechanics ; and as Nature illus- 
 trates these principles in the animal economy of both, so Art, 
 in those who resemble the rhinoceros and the elephant, ap- 
 plies them to the demonstration of the laws which govern the 
 material creation, and to the production of machinery. As- 
 tronomy is the result of the one, and wheels and their compli- 
 cated revolutions are the result of the other. The Effective- 
 ness that resides in the human frame is still greater in the 
 instrument that man produces. There is a resemblance to 
 the elephant, not only in those who make an extensive appli- 
 cation of machinery, but in those who invent it. 
 The inferior class who 
 bear this resemblance, 
 are suited physically to 
 perform the function of 
 executioners, and to be 
 the instruments of pow- 
 er. The stoutest labor- 
 ers — in size, form, mo- 
 tions, and expressions 
 of the countenance — 
 resemble the elephant. 
 This is so with hercule- 
 an negroes particularly, 
 and they have been re- 
 
 ^^^>v 
 
 
52 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 garied as the executors and as the labor-saving machinery 
 of the world from time immemorial. This is doubtless in 
 some degree a perversion of the grand principle which they 
 illustrate, but it shows an instinctive recognition of this resem- 
 blance, not only in those who make a slave of the negro, but 
 in the negro himself. There is something peculiarly noble, 
 dutiful, and trustworthy, in the features of the " black fellow" 
 who bears this resemblance — rude when caught, and yet 
 beautiful from his adaptation to his various uses. 
 
 The elephant exhibits this beauty of adaptation the very 
 day that he is captured ; he takes to service almost imme 
 diately, which can be said of no other animal. His suscepti- 
 bility of improvement is uncommonly great. This is true of 
 the African, and hence he is capable of attaining to the high- 
 est condition morally and intellectually, the correspondent of 
 which is the lowest physical condition when the former and 
 the latter are not united. But his development is exceed- 
 ingly slow, as is also that of the elephant. 
 
 The negro presented in the first of these chapters is a mere 
 babe. Precocity in the human family, although highly flat- 
 tered, is less to be desired than the tardy development of the 
 negro. Every one may judge what the difference will be in 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 53 
 
 the final result. Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe has some fine 
 remarks on this subject, in her popular work entitled " Uncle 
 Tom's Cabin, or Life among the Lowly," which it would be 
 superfluous to quote, since it must 
 be taken for granted that every- 
 body has read them. The features 
 which resemble the elephant are 
 characteristic of childhood, as in 
 this and the preceding examples. 
 
 There is also characteristic child- 
 hood in a child like this, who is 
 exceedingly fond of a ride on the 
 elephant's back, and whose fea- 
 tures are seen to bear a striking 
 resemblance to the profile of that 
 animal. It must be confessed, too, 
 
 that he has reason to be grateful for affection on the part of 
 his bearer, for they are congenial spirits. In the negro-looking 
 female who stands above, we can hardly fail to see that the 
 features are elephantine, and to ascribe to her all the docility, 
 faithfulness, caution, substitution, and love of children, that 
 are characteristic of the elephant. 
 
 The African may be called deformed and monstrous, like 
 the elephant • but there is an old proverb which says, " Home- 
 
54: COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 ly in the cradle, handsome in the saddle." Besides this, the 
 highest beauty is the result of the highest use, and is founded 
 on the lowest. In his adaptation to the lowest, which is that 
 of a dutiful child, the African is still handsome : — 
 
 " his mother's eye, 
 
 That looks upon him from his parent sky, 
 Sees in his flexile limbs untutored grace, 
 Power in his forehead, beauty in his face." 
 
 This beauty is latent in him, and will be developed. It should 
 be observed, however, that certain negro races do not resem- 
 ble elephants, and these in market value are good for nothing 
 except to play the banjo, and exhibit white collars and pocket 
 handkerchiefs : but we shall speak of these in another chap- 
 ter. 
 
THE OSTRICH. 65 
 
 CHAPTER YII. 
 
 "What a man loves, he generally is : hence he is gerx»ally 
 himself, for it is himself that he loves. Self-love is the most 
 natural solution of the fact that the animal a man most likes 
 he most resembles. The man who resembles the ostrich has 
 more of the spirit which says, "I'm myself," than the gener- 
 ality of mankind. It is the staring, wondering owl that says, 
 "Who? who?" and provokes the response just alluded to. 
 In children, who are more spontaneous than grown people, 
 question and answer of this sort are expressed literally. The 
 one that says, "I'm myself," is a young ostrich, and prom- 
 ises to resemble that bird more and more. There is pro- 
 gressively developed in him a spirit of independence that is 
 truly noble. He throws off infantile weakness rapidly, and 
 relieves his parents of the responsibility of taking care of him. 
 This is one of the characteristic things in which he resembles 
 the ostrich. His appetite for knowledge, his power of mas- 
 tering stubborn truths and of appropriating the results to the 
 development of his own mind, and the possession thereby of 
 an uncommon degree of strength and maturity, correspond to 
 the appetite, powerful digestion, and wonderful hardiness and 
 strength of the desert-bird. He has an abundance of self- 
 love ; but his love of liberty, in raising him above dependence, 
 elevates him above the lower gratifications of selfishness, and 
 he exhibits a high-mindedness that is truly admirable. 
 
 Be it observed, however, that the resemblance to the ostrich 
 may be too literal. In that case the individual is weak-minded, 
 foolish, self-conceited, light-headed, and likes to be odd, at 
 the same time that he " asks no odds" of any one, prides him- 
 self upon his originality (which is mere oddity), and reasons 
 in a circle from one end of a single idea to the other, as the 
 
56 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 ostrich runs when pursued by a horse. He is a sort of math- 
 ematical reasoner, considering that if by any means he can 
 
 return " to the place of beginning," 
 the thing is "proved." In other 
 words, he is a sort of transcendental 
 rhinoceros, for whoever resembles 
 
 the one animal has a certain resemblance to the other. It 
 may be mentioned at the same time that the relationship be- 
 tween the lion and the eagle, and the cat and the owl, causes 
 that the person who resembles the beast should resemble also 
 the bird, and vice versa. 
 
 But the ostrich, and the man who resembles him too liter- 
 ally? — A horse, unaided by the cunning and prudence of the 
 rider, can no more overtake the one, than reason can overtake 
 the other. The sandy desert which you will have to traverse, 
 if you follow in his footsteps, will not furnish you with a single 
 
THE OSTRICH. 
 
 57 
 
 oasis to gladden the eye or to refresh the exhausted spirits. 
 Water there is none, but only a vast sea of sand ; and instead 
 of genial warmth, there is burning heat, that withers every 
 verdant thing, and destroys the life. If this strange bird can 
 live there, others can not, and it is because he is adapted to a 
 situation that to others would be a " place of torment." 
 
 Most persons can tell you without much hesitation what 
 animal they are most fond of, but this is not so with the person 
 who resembles the ostrich. He never saw the animal that 
 
 he had any particular liking foi 
 and the truth is, he has no par- 
 ticular liking for any. The rea- 
 son is, he has never had the opportunity of making a pet of 
 the animal he most resembles. He is minus also the love of 
 children to the degree that he has no disposition to pet and 
 fondle them. As he has no idea of leaning upon parents and 
 being a burden to them, so he expects that children will take 
 care of themselves, and relieves himself of responsibility con- 
 cerning his own. As he has no opportunity to love the ani- 
 mal he is like, he loves it in himself, and the definition of 
 this is — 
 
 "he loves himself so much, 
 
 He owes all others else a grutch !" 
 
 On the contrary, the person who is like a horse, a cow, a cat, 
 or a dog, or any familiar animal, is fond of creatures of all 
 sorts. The gratification of a predominant affection opens a 
 channel for the exercise of other affections of the same nature. 
 Thus it is necessary that conjugal love should be awakened, 
 in order that the domestic and social affections should be fully 
 
58 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 developed ; and that a man should love the animal he most 
 resembles, in order that he may exercise love and compassion 
 toward animals in general. The fondness for animals, like 
 that for human beings, is founded upon a partiality for one. 
 As the love of God is the love of one, the love of mankind is 
 founded upon that. 
 
 The animal nature of which the ostrich is an embodiment 
 forms the groundwork of a character as exalted as the founda- 
 tion is low, and as chaste and beautiful as the basis is coarse 
 and strong. In nature and art the barren rudeness and ugli- 
 ness of the foundation are in proportion to the perfection of the 
 design. The most beautiful temple is reared upon the un- 
 sightliest and most rugged rock. The hardest material is 
 formed for the most exquisite finish. Its roughness and de- 
 formity give place to symmetry and proportion ; its rigidity 
 is changed to the appearance of softness. The most solid 
 substance becomes spiritual, and thereby yielding ; the shape- 
 less mass acquires the highest degree of individuality; it be- 
 comes ethereal by the flow of life and beauty that surrounds 
 it; it is an embodiment of the sublimest conception — an im- 
 age of the Divine. 
 
 The stubborn hardness of the substances which the ostrich 
 takes into his stomach, and the more obstinate stomach that 
 resists and overcomes them, correspond to facts the most diffi- 
 cult of solution, and to a mind capable of grasping and resolv- 
 ing them. The barren sand traversed by the ostrich, and the 
 vain effort at progress (the running around and returning to 
 the same place, which makes it impossible ever to escape, 
 either from the desert or the enemy that pursues him), corre- 
 spond to universal truths which in the process of reason are 
 never to be lost sight of, and to the true order of reasoning, 
 which, as it follows Nature, is in a circle — but in a circle 
 that is progressive, being that of "end, cause, and effect." 
 We see, therefore, what connection there is between folly and 
 wisdom, silliness and simplicity, and consequently what con- 
 nection there is between pride and selfishness on the one hand 
 and respectability and usefulness on the other. The indepen- 
 dence of care and protection, and the consequent deficiency 
 
THE OSTRICH. 
 
 5tf 
 
 of these in the ostrich, correspond to the independence which 
 seeks to increase itself by establishing a commerce of freedom, 
 and to the consequent kind- 
 ness and protection which 
 relieve the dependence of 
 others, and enable them to 
 confer independence in their 
 
 turn. The self-sufficiency or proud independence of the bird 
 corresponds to the humble Sufficiency which acknowledges 
 Mutual Dependence for its father. From this action of Inde- 
 pendence proceed the most admirable relations of parents and 
 children, and of society at large. The most perfect order and 
 harmony are the result of the rudimentary traits which con- 
 stitute a resemblance to the ostrich, or of the highest degree 
 of improvement which these qualities are capable of. The 
 Swedes, as a nation, bear a resemblance to the ostrich, as a 
 comparison of faces and of the characteristics mentioned above 
 will show. 
 
$0 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 CHAPTEK VIII. 
 
 The distinction between matter and space will explain the 
 difference between beasts and birds. It would seem at firft 
 glance as if the elephant and the stork were altogether dis- 
 similar, but the difference between them is 
 as the difference between size and distance. 
 In everything relating to measurement, the 
 stork is a model of perfection. There is no 
 part of his body in which length is disre- 
 garded ; consequently his proportions are 
 faultless. His appearance may remind us 
 of something awkward and ungainly, but it 
 is not in him. His gait is easy and graceful, and it is asso- 
 ciation of ideas that reminds us of the opposite. In our dis- 
 position to find in him something to laugh at, is illustrated 
 the saying that " there is but one step from the sublime to 
 the ridiculous.' , His height is contrasted with the low, and 
 instantly we think of littleness and insignificance being ele- 
 vated upon stilts, for contrast is the very essence of the ab- 
 surd. If we observe the length of his bill, the contemptible 
 idea of a noddle which is suggested by the height to which 
 his extremities elevate him will pass over to the flamingo, the 
 crane, the ostrich, and birds of that ilk, whose heads are little 
 in proportion to their height. A head whose lightness elevates 
 it among the clouds is ridiculous in the extreme. 
 
 The class of persons who, on account of the length of their 
 limbs, are compared to cranes, are many of them exceedingly 
 graceful, and these resemble storks ; while the remainder have 
 greater length in particular portions of their limbs than they 
 can well dispose of. Their not knowing what to do with their 
 hands and feet is connected with a shortness of nose, chin, or 
 
THE STOKE. 
 
 61 
 
 other features of the countenance. Proportions being depen- 
 dent upon length are looked for in connection with it, and by- 
 length want of proportion is rendered conspicuous. The man 
 who resembles the stork is suspected of being awkward and 
 
 ungainly when he is not so ; and if the suspicion prove true, 
 even in the least degree, he is poked fun at. For the reason 
 that there is but one step from the sublime to the ridiculous, 
 it is a dangerous step for a man to grow tall, particularly if it 
 be a hasty one, as is frequently the case between the ages of 
 fifteen and twenty. For the same reason it is dangerous to 
 aspire to an elevation in rank. A high position is one which 
 commands criticism quite as much as respect ; and perfect 
 consistency, or truth, is looked for in this case as perfect pro- 
 portion is looked for in the other. The man whom Nature 
 makes tall, and at the same time harmonious, has nothing to 
 fear. Like the stork, he will outlive ridicule. He is not born 
 to be idle — he must vindicate himself — and should be reck- 
 oned among those things that are " comely in going." His 
 talent is discovery, not invention — observation, not theory. 
 In this consists the principal difference between him and the 
 
62 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 person who resembles tbe ostrich : the one is prone to be odd 
 and ridiculous, the other the reverse : — 
 
 «* That lifts a mortal to the skies, 
 This calls an angel down." 
 
 Invention proceeds in its development from the earth to the 
 heavens ; Discovery from the heavens to the earth. The for- 
 mer, with its head among the clouds, is silly and self-conceited, 
 or is liable to become so, like the ostrich ; the latter, with its 
 high thoughts directed to the earth, is distrustful of appear- 
 ances, like the stork : — 
 
 " Who bade the stork, Columbus-like, explore, 
 Realms not his own, and seas unknown before ?" 
 
 If he traversed in a circle the little spot where he was born, 
 he would find out nothing. As he is a discoverer, it is suita- 
 
 ble that he should be high, where he can look down upon 
 those whom he enlightens, and enlighten every object that he 
 sees. It is suitable that he should be high, for his matchless 
 proportions defy criticism ; and however much we may be 
 disposed to ridicule him in his standing position, he inspires 
 a sense of sublimity when we see him stretched out in his 
 aerial voyage. 
 
THE STOEK. 
 
 63 
 
 As length is a predominant thing in the stork, he walks 
 with measured tread. So does the person who resembles 
 him. His life is portioned out to various pursuits, each in its 
 season, and he keeps pace and 
 time with others, and sets them 
 an example of regularity. The 
 adjutant is well named, so far as 
 marching, or measuring time and 
 distance by paces, can make a 
 
 soldier of him. But it should be remarked that tall persons, 
 who resemble storks, adjutants, herons, and the like, are defi- 
 cient in courage. This essential of a soldier generally falls to 
 the lot of short people, and to short, thick-set animals, like the 
 bull-dog. The combination of caution, which is characteristic 
 of the long, with courage, which is characteristic of the short, 
 is exhibited in the military character. The courage of the 
 lion, as the lion should be, is mated with the military instinct 
 and genius of the stork, and the animal which embodies these 
 two in perfect proportion is the horse. 
 
 "Want of courage, in man or animal, induces consumption ; 
 and caution, being changed to fear, increases it. The adju- 
 tant is a giant-bird, with a formidable jaw, but he is a shame- 
 ful coward. If the increase of flesh and fat is not in propor- 
 tion to the food taken into the stomach, the food is consumed: 
 
64 COMPAKATIYE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 it is wasted, and this waste indicates one degree of cowardice, 
 and the wasting of the body another. It is the destiny of the 
 stork, the flamingo, and the like, and of those who resemble 
 them, to grow long and spindling, and consumption is a means 
 to that end, whether it be a perversion or not. Stout-hearted 
 people are stout built, and hearty appetite and hearty food 
 promote their stoutness. But the person who depends upon 
 his food and drink to give him courage, or upon any kind of 
 narcotic or stimulant to supply his mental deficiencies, be- 
 comes intemperate, and wastes in body and mind as he does 
 in money and provisions. As there is something natural in 
 this (the herons and cranes setting them the example), they 
 spin out quite a life of it, after all ! 
 
THE motjse. 65 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Whoever has seen the " Aztec children," whatever may 
 have been his speculations respecting them, will jump at the 
 idea of their resemblance to mice. The feeling they awaken 
 is a compound of repugnance, playfulness, curiosity, and fond- 
 ness. But however much, gentle reader, you may feel a dis- 
 inclination to touch them, you will be ready to spring upon 
 them as the embodiments of a truth, and clasp them to your 
 hearts. Besides, if you are capable of seeing beauty in a 
 mouse, with his peculiar habits, his confidence, his distrust, 
 his audacity, his silken hair, his delicate structure, his active 
 temperament, his tiny limbs, his round chest, his little big 
 head, his sparkling black eyes, his disproportioned chops, in 
 which mischief is concealed under gravity — if you are capa- 
 ble of sympathizing in his misfortunes, of desiring to protect 
 him, or of a temptation to enlarge him when he has unluckily 
 fallen into a trap — then you are capable of seeing beauty in 
 the Aztec children, and of feeling an affection for them. You 
 will have no disposition to call them fools : they are noodles. 
 
 Their resemblance to mice is in everything they do, and in 
 every part from top to toe, but most in the countenance, and 
 in those things which it is impossible for the artist to portray. 
 The only correct impression that can be made upon them is 
 upon the retina : a second-hand solar impression, like the da- 
 guerreotype, will never do. In the proportions of the jaws, 
 in the peculiar form and expression of the mouth, in that nose, 
 so full of fire, energy, and comicality, and in a certain some- 
 thing diffused over all so like what we discover in the mouse, 
 we can not fail to see a wonderful relation between the two. 
 From such lips as those you argue a pair of incisors similar to 
 those of a mouse ; and the truth is, the boy, who has his second 
 
 5 
 
f*6 
 
 COMPARATIVE Pm'STOGNOMY. 
 
 set, has but one pair of cutting teeth in each jaw. To the 
 exercise of gnawing we should imagine that nothing could be 
 
 better suited than the cracker which 
 constitutes their principal food. They 
 are wonderfully mischievous but not 
 
 wilfully or maliciously so. The boy 
 is fond of teasing his sister, of inter- 
 meddling, of having " a finger in the 
 pie," but it is all for the sake of fun 
 and frolic, the gratification of curi- 
 osity, the largest liberty, and the in- 
 dulgence of the senses. 
 
 You must not look in their coun- 
 ir-^^iLfflSi^^ 5 " tenancesfor the expression of delight 
 8u»a^ ~ c^ SSP ^ so much as in their feet : their nether 
 
 extremities are curiosities equal to 
 those of the mouse, and the appearance and feeling of their 
 hands confirm the resemblance. There is no warmth in them 
 — they are like dead things; and though there is a certain 
 glow in the countenance of the girl, it is too literally ruby to 
 answer the expectation arising from the association of " ruby 
 lips." If you would understand the strange sensation that is 
 produced by contact, you can experience it by kissing the lips 
 of a marble statue. Of this we are assured on good authority, 
 for it is no unusual thing for matronly ladies to manifest the 
 common fondness for children toward the girl Bartola. But 
 the> countenance of Maximo is absolutely dead, except a faint 
 attempt at roguishness which may be occasionally discovered 
 in the corners of his mouth. The greater amount of love 
 which falls naturally to the female, gives a lifelike appearance 
 
THE MOUSE. 67 
 
 to the face of his sister, and thus an interest, which his has 
 not. 
 
 There is no accounting for tastes except on principles of 
 Physiognomy. People who resemble owls are attracted to 
 the Aztecs, and find in them a gratification of their tastes and 
 an ample field for the exercise of affection and fondness. The 
 same is true of those who resemble cats. In the cat the qual- 
 ities of the mouse are assimilated, and she can but love that 
 which gratifies her, and which corresponds to the playfulness, 
 the refinement, the cunning, and so many other things, in her 
 own nature. The part of her nature that is not mouse is made 
 up of bird and fish, both of which she is exceedingly fond of. 
 That a cat is fond of mice in a 'higher sense than is usually 
 understood is manifest from the delighted expression of her 
 eyes when she sees one, and from her playing with it before 
 she appropriates its little flesh and bones to the gratification 
 of appetite. You can see that the mouse " fills her eye," as 
 something both good for food and fair to look upon. Thus it 
 is that the eye expresses taste and appetite in relation to 
 beauty and quality, which are in most cases inseparable. The 
 little mouse appeals to the cat through her love of infants, 
 which is wonderful ; and it is affection, not hatred, in connec- 
 tion with her appetite, that makes her devour it. Females 
 who resemble cats threaten to devour their little ones, play 
 with them as a cat with a mouse, bite harder than they in- 
 tend, and really feel as if it would be a pleasure to swallow 
 them alive if there were not a higher law of nature, the " sov- 
 ereignty of the individual," to oppose it. We saw one man in 
 whom the Aztec children excited extraordinary affection and 
 delight. He kissed the girl, was enthusiastic in his admiration 
 of their beauty, and went into an ecstasy at the grace and 
 liveliness of their manners. He had a very parental expres- 
 sion of countenance, and resembled a cat almost as much as 
 the children resembled mice. 
 
 These children never walk; they always run. Explaining 
 the constant flexure of their legs by the idea that they may 
 have had the rheumatism some time or other, is ridiculous. 
 Except when they jump, they run with a gliding motion, which 
 
68 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 requires a peculiar step, like that of the mouse. There is no 
 elevation upon the toes, or from straightening of the limb, so 
 that (as in the absence of locomotion, or of steps and paces) 
 the attention is directed principally to the head, that glides 
 mysteriously along, like a mouse, or like a ball that is kicked 
 from one end of a room to the other : the force seems to be 
 not in itself, but behind it, or out and around. The whole ex- 
 pression of the countenance is external, as if in the gratifica- 
 tion of the senses it would spend its existence. In this, too, 
 the Aztec children resemble mice. The first time we saw the 
 boy Maximo, there was so little expression of internal con- 
 sciousness, that we questioned whether he was alive. In our 
 imagination he was a first man, made of red clay, with life 
 breathed into his nostrils, where it seemed to reside, but that 
 he had not yet become a living soul. As for Bartola, she 
 should be called "Undine," but how she crept into the soul 
 of the author of that delightful story it is impossible to con- 
 ceive. "We should not be more surprised to see her in a little 
 chariot drawn by mice, than we were at the first sight of her. 
 Poets may cease dreaming of fairies, for their dreams are re- 
 alized. If spirits should claim that these were the first fruits 
 of their endeavor to clothe themselves with material forms, we 
 should be inclined to believe them. 
 
 But, seriously, these children do not seem like beings of 
 flesh and blood. They may be taken for souls without bodies, 
 or bodies without souls, whichever we please : — 
 
 "All eye, all ear, the disembodied soul" — 
 
 and that is what these Aztec children are, though it is pretty 
 evident that their spirits are upon the outside, and that their 
 senses are external. Their spirits may be said to have 
 "stepped out," and this gives the impression that they are 
 dead. This, and the instant association of their features with 
 the Aztec images, and with the sculptured heads on the Cen- 
 tral-American ruins, to which they bear so striking a resem- 
 blance, impressed our minds with the idea that they were the 
 work of some modern Prometheus who had discovered the 
 art of creating human beings artificially. That grave coun- 
 
THE MOUSE. 69 
 
 tenance, like that of a graven image ; those lively extremities, 
 which might owe their activity to galvanism rather than to a 
 head so motionless as theirs ; those animated dead eyes ; that 
 stifled voice, extorted as it were by screws and pinching ; that 
 unearthly attempt to speak ; those threads and hinges on 
 which the motive power, whatever it is, is intended to oper- 
 ate — these, and other things too numerous to mention, con- 
 stitute a resemblance to the mouse. On the whole, they are 
 pretty little contrivances for the diversion of ladies and gen- 
 tlemen, old and young. 
 
TO COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Foe all that ethnologists can discover to the contrary, the 
 origin of the "Aztec children" is hidden in impenetrable ob- 
 scurity. They are mysterious little beings certainly. If they 
 are not the productions of witchcraft, they have at least a 
 something about them that will cure " the blues." JSTo ghost 
 can haunt a castle that is not deserted of mice. One sprite, 
 or fairy, or eld rich thing, will drive out another, and so it is 
 with the little elves we are speaking of. From hall or cottage 
 they will keep away annoyances of a more serious nature. 
 Like mice, they are weak and helpless. They are born to 
 frisk and frolic, and to live on preserves and confectionery, in 
 a lordly mansion, where they are permitted to make free use 
 of whatever they can find. They are wholly incapable of 
 providing for themselves ; and should the mansion be de- 
 serted, they would starve to death. Yet they are useful in 
 their way, and pay for the immunities that are afforded them. 
 Think not, gentle reader, that they are the only persons who 
 resemble mice ! 
 
 But the spirit personated in the rat — oh, horrible ! Sordid, 
 sensual, its energies bent on plunder ; carnivorous, insatiable ; 
 hiding his plunder in subterranean holes, where he expects to 
 find it ; torturing the earth to uncover and conceal his cher- 
 ished gold ; extorting confessions and disclosures from the 
 miserable victims of his cupidity and lust ; incarcerating men 
 and women in excavations of his own, where his ratty soul 
 takes refuge in times of danger — these are the characteristics 
 of the worst of tyrants, or of those who resemble rats. On the 
 following page is presented a full-length portrait of the Hindu 
 nabob, Suraj-a-Dowlah, the incorrigible wretch who thrust a 
 hundred and forty-six Englishmen into a dungeon not twenty 
 
THE RAT — THE HARE. 
 
 71 
 
 feet square, known to fame as the " Black Hole of Calcutta." 
 It was about eight o'clock in the evening when they were 
 forced in, and " at eight o'clock 
 in the morning the narrow space 
 
 was so completely blocked up 
 with the dead lying one upon an- 
 other, and those who yet lived 
 were so weak and faint, that it 
 was with the greatest difficulty 
 that the door was opened. At 
 length twenty- three ghastly fig- 
 ures were brought out — figures 
 that would not have been recog- 
 nised by the mothers that bore 
 them." What better could be 
 expected from a man who resem- 
 bled a horrible black rat? If 
 there be such a thing as transmi- 
 gration of souls, it might be some 
 gratification to the English to 
 imagine that he was among the 
 
 number of infernal rats that the city of Paris made war upon, 
 killing thousands in " black holes" — and that among the skins 
 they purchased of the victors, to manufacture into gloves, his 
 was one ! 
 
 Those whose faces resemble hares or rabbits are much pret- 
 tier. They are attractive, simple, lively, ready to act at a 
 moment's warning, but somewhat selfish and quarrelsome 
 withal. As with the mouse, there is very little fraternal affec- 
 tion in them, though filial love is strong. They are remarked 
 for wonderful aptitude and desire to learn, and for extraordi- 
 
72 COMPAEATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 nary suscep/ibility of improvement. The portrait of Sir Henry 
 Clinton, w) ich follows, may be taken for a model of a school- 
 ooy countenance. It is that also of a " hewer of wood and a 
 drawer of water." It is the representative of a useful class, 
 but of one that learns to do mischief and good with equal facil- 
 ity. You can see impudence in that countenance, requiring 
 only to be let go in order to exhibit it- 
 self in words, and to act hand-in-hand 
 with mischief, to which it is near akin. 
 If that were the case, filial love would 
 be selfish, like the fondness of a cat for 
 a mouse — requiring to be fed and 
 clothed, and making insolent demands, 
 and thereby retaining the character 
 of weakness and infancy. The person 
 who resembles a rabbit is either saucy, 
 impudent, idle, disobedient, or the very 
 reverse ; for the animal faculties acting 
 in subserviency to those that are peculiarly human are re- 
 versed, and manifest themselves in the very opposite direc- 
 tion. Thus there is no harm in resembling a savage beast, 
 for the traits of character in such an animal tend to innocence, 
 peace, comfort, contentment, and felicity, as is manifested in 
 the faces, expressions, postures, motions, and air, of the feline 
 animals, when their passions are withdrawn from the external, 
 which is the region of disturbance, to the internal, which is 
 the region of tranquillity. It is as the difference between the 
 surface of the ocean and the depths beneath. 
 
 The person who resembles the mouse has tendencies toward 
 refinement and elevation, while the one who resembles the 
 rat has none. The one aspires, ransacks drawers and closets, 
 buries himself in books and papers in garrets, gleans knowl- 
 edge from every source, finds profit in being alone, and " all 
 the bread and cheese he has he lays upon a shelf" The 
 other sinks in the mire of corruption, delves for filthy lucre, 
 and has no disposition to rise except upon the heaps that he 
 can accumulate. 
 
 The person who resembles the squirrel has nobler tenden- 
 
THE SQUIRREL. 
 
 73 
 
 cjies than the one who resembles the mouse. The squirrel 
 countenance which we 
 see here is interesting, 
 charming, good, and 
 improves on acquaint- 
 ance. It indicates in- 
 terest,simplicity truth- 
 fulness, cheerful and 
 lively emotions, do- 
 mestic virtues, provi- 
 dence, industry, aspi- 
 ration, liking for chil- 
 dren, tenderness, and 
 the love of being well 
 housed and made com- 
 fortable. It resembles 
 the squirrel in every- 
 thing, as a higher may 
 correspond to a lower ; and who is there that, from the coun- 
 tenance alone, would not confirm our judgment of the charac- 
 ter? It is the face of Anne of Cleves, the fourth wife of 
 Henry Till. 
 
 Of the traits mentioned in the last character, maternal love is 
 the centre, around which the others cluster. This is still more 
 
74 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 remarkably the case with the individual who resembles the 
 opossum. But the latter is as homely as the former is beau- 
 tiful ; and this word " homely" is the very one to express the 
 
 looks and dispositions of the per- 
 son referred to : the parental feel- 
 ing is so strong, that even in the 
 male it seems maternal, and in the female it seems more than 
 that. This is a rude sketch of a South African, an old Bossouto 
 warrior, a convert to Christianity. For a resemblance to the 
 opossum, that carries its young ones in a pouch, and loves to 
 do so, we may well look to the African mothers, who carry 
 their children continually about them, so that the office of 
 child-bearing never ceases. The Ethiops are children, as be- 
 fore described, and parental love in children exhibits itself 
 chiefly in carrying babies in their arms, which is the more 
 servile employment, but easy, because it is a child's affection, 
 the exercise of which is play. Whatever animal the Africans 
 resemble is fond of carrying young things ; and this is the 
 principal secret of the elephant's wonderful docility, for men 
 are playthings to him, and he serves his master as a negro 
 does a child, or as a heathen does his idol. He rides him on 
 his tusks, tosses him on his back, takes him down again, teters 
 him up and down, as if he would say, " This is my doll-baby V 
 
THE MONKEY. T5 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 It would be a strange thing indeed if, in tracing the resem- 
 blance between men and animals, we should overlook the 
 monkey. The class of animals called simia similate man so 
 perfectly ^as often to create the suspicion that there is some- 
 thing human in them. The orang-outang is justly entitled to 
 the appellation of " wild man of the woods," though some 
 consider it too high an honor to bestow upon him for his mock- 
 ery of the human species. But man was born to be created, 
 to labor as an artist in the production of an image and like- 
 ness of the Divine ; and, until he has macle himself a man, he 
 is a mere child, a mere production of Nature, a wild man of 
 the woods. The orang-outang has not one particle of the 
 artist about him, and therefore he is not and never can be a 
 man. 
 
 The ape, as a representative of the class to which he be- 
 longs, is a parody on the human race. He represents the 
 perversions of human nature in the extreme, and operates as 
 a check, without which man would set no bounds to his folly 
 and madness, his vanity and pride, and would degenerate 
 into the ape he now despises. 
 
 Of the perversions to which man is liable, and which con- 
 stitute his resemblance to the monkey, let us speak in order. 
 First, his assumption of appearances and manners not belong- 
 ing to him ; his affectation of qualities superior to his own ; 
 his ambition to pass for a being of superior mould — to palm 
 himself off for a god. It is Dr. Adam Clarke (is it not?) who 
 supposes that the temptation of our first parents (that by eat- 
 ing the forbidden fruit they should be as gods, knowing good 
 and evil) was suggested by an orang-outang ; but now-a-days 
 the creature operates as a preventive to such a vain ambition. 
 
76 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 The rock on which they split is a warning to their posterity ; 
 and those who disregard it must appear very much to the 
 angels as monkeys do to us : — 
 
 " Man, proud man, 
 
 Dressed in a little brief authority, 
 Plays such fantastic tricks before high Heaven, 
 As make the angels weep — who with our spleens 
 Would all themselves laugh mortal." 
 
 Human beings are pleased with a reflection of themselves 
 in a glass, in the minds of others (particularly when they can 
 
 have their characters described to 
 them), in every object thtit they re- 
 semble, even in a monkey. Hence 
 they are more amused with these an- 
 imals than any other, laugh heartily 
 at their grimaces and mannerly ways, 
 and in doing so resemble them still 
 more. 
 
 Be it observed that apes are not 
 ambitious to be men, but as men, 
 and the ambition of men is not to be 
 angels, but as such. It is a great mistake to suppose that men 
 should nof aspire to be angels. The error is in wishing to ap- 
 pear such when they are not. They rob heaven of its sacred 
 things, that they may appear divine, and receive the homage 
 that is due to the Supreme Being, not considering that these 
 things are forbidden fruit. They rob humanity, which is rob- 
 bery of Him who created man in his own image, and with 
 the things they steal from their fellow-beings they invest them- 
 selves, and thereby claim for themselves divinity, and com- 
 mand that those whom they have robbed should fall down 
 and worship them — worship the garments, the equipage, the 
 gold, the power, which they have filched from the hands 
 of the poor and needy. There is not a thing they wear but 
 that is a token of something heavenly, and is therefore too 
 good for them. It is the proper clothing of beings that are 
 good and pure, humble, and moved by charity in everything 
 they do. It is not one man, but the majority, that " steal the 
 
THE MONKEY. 
 
 77 
 
 liver j of heaven to serve the devil in." Hence the ape is a 
 representative of mankind in general, and combines in his 
 physiognomy and character all sorts of animals — some men 
 resembling one species of monkey, and some another ! 
 
 The disposition to take what does not belong to him is con- 
 spicuous in man's social relations, especially in the commer- 
 cial department, and this also is strikingly exhibited in the 
 monkey. In a community of apes it is the practice to look, 
 every man, on the things of his neighbor, with an eye to their 
 appropriation to his own use ; 
 and we can well imagine what 
 sort of order and harmony must 
 prevail in a community that is 
 regulated by such a principle as 
 this. Monkeys are actuated by 
 the feeling that what another has 
 
 is theirs ; that " stolen waters are ^V^^T^ 
 
 sweet ;" that what is stolen is bet- 
 ter than what is given to them — 
 are always reaching their arms 
 
 into their neighbors' provinces, grabbing at each other's food, 
 pulling tails, kicking up a row, causing hubbub and confusion, 
 
 abusing and insulting each 
 other to the face, and " rob- 
 bing Peter to pay Paul" in 
 every possible way they can 
 think of. This is all in the 
 disposition to similate man ; 
 and if they will rob man of 
 his distinctive attributes (for 
 this is humanity perverted), 
 of course they will rob each 
 other. 
 
 The second liability to per- 
 version which constitutes a 
 resemblance to the monkey 
 is that of the domestic affec- 
 tions. The ambition to seem, rather than to be, withdraws 
 
78 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 everything from within and expends it upon the surface in a 
 deceptive appearance, which is worse than nothing at all. 
 
 " How little do they know what is, who frame 
 Their hasty judgment upon that which seems P* 
 
 The mere shell-of-an-individual is hollow-hearted. Like a 
 balloon he exalts himself on account of his greatness, and 
 proves rather how vapid is his intellect, and how little there 
 is in him. Of sensibility and shame he has so small an 
 amount, that they are hardly appreciable. To make room for 
 pride and vanity, he deprives the domestic affections of their 
 home, where alone they are capable of existing; he turns 
 them out upon the surface, where they grow cold, die, and are 
 petrified into an appearance of reality. It is worse than 
 naught, for love without tenderness is inhuman. Its feeling, 
 its consciousness, its susceptibility to pleasure and pain, which 
 is internal, is lost in brutality, or mere instinctiveness, which 
 is upon the outside. 
 
 The instinctiveness of a faculty exhibits itself in gesture. 
 Parental love in a child is chiefly this, and expends itself on 
 dolls. In parents it is developed interiorly, and relates to 
 conscious infants that can laugh and cry. The first and low- 
 est action is instinctive ; the last and highest is a conscious 
 one. In the monkey there is the same action of parental love 
 that there is in a child. The creature handles its young one 
 as if it were a rag-baby, and this appears like an imitation of 
 a human mother, though it is far more like the actions of a 
 little girl. Anything that can be made a baby of, like a mar- 
 mozet, attracts the attention of an orang-outang instantly ; and 
 his actions when he sees it — his desire to have it, his manner 
 of holding it, and every sign and movement that he makes 
 under the excitement of this superficial impulse — is strikingly 
 similar to that of a little girl under the excitement of the pas- 
 sion for dolls. The simplicity, gravity, earnestness, and eager- 
 ness, of this mockery of a mother's love, is exceedingly ludi- 
 crous, when we reflect that it is merely instinctive ; that there 
 is no emotion of tenderness in it, no feeling of responsibility, 
 no exercise of consciousness, prompted by susceptibility to 
 
THE MONKEI. 79 
 
 pleasure or pain, in the object of attention. In assuming the 
 dress and manner of superiors, in taking what does not belong 
 to them, in the affectation that accompanies parental love, 
 and in parental love itself, mankind are " children of an older 
 growth ;" and in so far as they are children they are natural, 
 and in so far as they are natural they resemble monkeys. 
 
 That monkeys act as men naturally do, is too plainly at- 
 tested by the senses to admit of a contradiction. In superfi- 
 cial people, especially, parental love is upon the outside ; their 
 children are dolls, and they dress them accordingly, as if they 
 were insensible to pain and invulnerable to disease. That 
 comfort and health are not the first considerations is quite 
 certain, and hence the conscious action of parental love is less 
 than the instinctive. The latter is a blind idolatry, that de- 
 fends its young with one hand, while with the other it presses 
 it to death. Where mankind are most like monkeys, children 
 are most like dolls — the objects of idle ceremony and parade, 
 of passionate attention alternating with cruel neglect. At one 
 time they are addressed as if they were fools, and of no ac- 
 count ; at another they have powers imputed to them equal to 
 those of Shakspere: and, in keeping with this idea, they are 
 at times considered helpless, and at other times have tasks 
 imposed upon them that are suited to giants. 
 
 This blind, instinctive action of parental love is the origin 
 of idolatry. It is like the devotion of an ant to the egg that 
 he is going to place in his temple. Idols are the dolls of fool- 
 ish, wicked people, who retain the characters of children when 
 they ought to be men. As dolls are exalted into objects of 
 importance, so are these ; though, as they are " children of an 
 idle brain," they are at times treated with contempt by those 
 who made them. They are the objects of a thousand childish 
 conceits, of ridiculous ceremonies, of pantomimic show, of un- 
 meaning jibber and nonsense. The places in which they are 
 kept are such as children choose for baby-houses. The atten- 
 tion that is shown them passes for filial reverence, though, as 
 they are objects of parental affection, the appearance of re- 
 spect is mere mockery. Of a mother who shows this blind- 
 ness of parental love, it is often said, "She worships that 
 
80 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 child ," and the reverence of an idolator is this, and nothing 
 more. 
 
 The first of the domestic af- 
 fections in a proper and order- 
 ly state is the conjugal, but in 
 
 a state of perversion the first is the parental ; and the charac- 
 ter of the primary affection is the character of all the rest. 
 But we forbear to speak further of the resemblance between 
 mankind and the monkey. It may be observed, however, 
 that the more angles there are in the countenance, and the 
 greater angularity in the corners of the mouth and eyes, and 
 in the dimples, the greater is the resemblance to the monkey, 
 in both character and physiognomy. In those who resemble 
 the mouse, there is the opposite, viz., roundness. The most 
 perfect contour is a medium between the two, and this is the 
 symmetrical. 
 
THE FISH. 
 
 81 
 
 CHAPTEK XII, 
 
 From time immemorial human beings have exhibited a 
 fondness for clothing themselves in scales and armor, and 
 have chosen circumstances which would afford occasion for 
 doing so. This is very appropriate in one who is like a tish 
 in physiognomy, as in the individual before us, or in one who 
 resembles a serpent. The strongest 
 element in military ambition is the 
 love of contest, the object of which 
 is the palm of victory, or a prize ; 
 and this it is which governs the ac- 
 tions of a fish, and fills up the meas- 
 ure of existence in the life of a snake. 
 In the pursuit of food there is a con- 
 test for the greatest mouthfuls, and 
 for the greatest number of prizes ; 
 and hence the serpent lays in a 
 month's provisions at a single swal- 
 low, and the fish rushes forward in the pursuit of food, eager 
 to get it first, and dashes it down without stopping to enjoy 
 his meals. It is always a race with others for the prize, which 
 he who is the swiftest wins. 
 
 By the union of contest with the love of food, Appetite is ren- 
 dered rapacious ; and, never satisfied, it rushes onward for more. 
 The laurel won in battle is lost by the ambition for another 
 still. It is neither tasted nor enjoyed, and is therefore noth- 
 ing gained. The love of contest is not limited by appetite: 
 ; t wants the whole, so long as one atom of it is in danger of 
 being seized by another. It gives the poor fish no rest — it 
 urges him on continually, as it does those who are actuated 
 by a like ambition, of whom it is said, "There is no peace to 
 
 6 
 
82 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 the wicked." The finny tribes not only race, but do battle 
 with each other ; they have swords and bayonets, as well as 
 shields and bucklers, and engines-of-war for beating down 
 barriers, as well as barriers for resisting assault. They bela- 
 bor each other with their tails, as if they had boasted to " beat 
 each other all hollow," and the trial had commenced. 
 
 The African tribes 
 whose contentions fur- 
 nish victims for the 
 slave-trade are of the 
 variety of negroes that 
 are like fishes rather 
 than elephants. The 
 negro fisheries along 
 the coast of Africa de- 
 pend on the same ex- 
 igencies, the fisher- 
 men cruise about with 
 f [s _^r the same uncertain- 
 
 ties and hopes of suc- 
 cess, are prompted by the same tastes and associations, are 
 stimulated by the same desire of gain (only far more intense- 
 ly), as the fisheries on the coast of Newfoundland and else- 
 where. But there is a piratical 
 bloodthirstiness in the one case 
 which there is not in the other. 
 
 Catching negroes is akin to fish- >^^ ' JmO 
 
 ing, and the caught are stowed iljf - '"! , " M )\ 
 
 away on board vessels like cod- 
 fish and whale-oil ; and were it 
 not that they resemble fishes, 
 and that there is a feeling of 
 this, and a dim perception of 
 it, the business would be per- 
 fectly infernal. There is always 
 
 something to relieve men from the charge of being devils in- 
 carnate, and to place them in a position in which their refor- 
 mation is not to be despa^ed ot. 
 
THE FISH. 
 
 83 
 
 Allowing that the class of negroes we are speaking of re- 
 semble fishes, as we see by the foregoing figure and the one 
 following, what could we expect from them in slavery, and in 
 any other country than their own, but that they should act 
 like " fishes out of water" ? They are not in their element, 
 but the talents natural to them are put forth in a new direc- 
 tion. The last time we 
 had the pleasure of hear- 
 ing a negro play the ban- 
 jo, we were delighted to 
 see how strikingly the 
 music corresponded to 
 the twitches and vibra- 
 tions of a fish that is try- 
 ing to live on air, and to 
 make it a substitute for 
 water. Whoever will pay 
 attention to it, will be 
 equally struck with the 
 similarity. Then, again, 
 the dancing that accom- 
 panies the banjo, and in which fifty negroes may be engaged, 
 is like the flopping of so many fishes up and down, and from 
 side to side, on their fins 
 and tails. You might fan- 
 cy that you had fallen down 
 into some charmed region 
 beneath the ocean, into a 
 company of mermaids. 
 
 "We have heard it said 
 that the West India negroes 
 are extravagantly fond of 
 fish, all the more if it has 
 swum in brine since it was 
 alive. Negroes of the kind 
 that may be compared to 
 
 weeds on a plantation are excessively prolific, as they should 
 be to resemble fishes. In slavery the' ' % no field for the 
 
84 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 exercise of the love of contest, which in a state of cultivation 
 would make them pant to excel and to outstrip others in tne 
 pursuit of noble objects. The ambition which is the princi- 
 pal ingredient in their natures is turned into a strife for supe- 
 riority in laziness, in eating and drinking, in lying and steal 
 ing, and in various kinds of profligacy. But they are in the 
 first stages of training. There are many degrees between tho 
 lowest action of the love of contest and the highest ; let them 
 be elevated to the latter, and they will aspire to " glory, honor, 
 and immortality," as individuals of them have done already. 
 There are no people who are naturally more ambitious than 
 they. In dancing, music, and religious exercises, so far as 
 exertion is concerned, they excel all others ; and exertion, 
 other things being equal, is the measure of ambition. 
 
 Of the class of negroes who resemble fishes, some are simi- 
 lar to whales, and these are akin to those who resemble ele- 
 phants. Both are fond of spouting, as are the animals them- 
 selves, and this opens a channel for their ambition to flow in. 
 It is in proportion to their feeling of greatness ; and it may 
 be the same feeling in the elephant and the w T hale that causes 
 them to engage in the corresponding exercise. The negro 
 distinguishes himself for his laugh as well as for his speechi 
 lying, and the stress which he lays upon the former shows 
 that he attaches importance to it. There is very great char- 
 acter in the sudden explosion of sounds called " laughter," for 
 it proceeds from the bottom of the heart, and shows the depths 
 of a man's soundings (which are in some cases exceedingly 
 shallow), together with the quality of the ground — whether it 
 be rock, sand, clay, or gravel. The negro's " Y-e-w-a-h ! — 
 yah ! yah ! yah !" is wonderfully like the sound which we 
 have often heard in a menagerie, proceeding from the ele- 
 phant — especially the first, " Y-e-w-a-h!" — of which "yah! 
 yah ! yah !" is the echo. It seems as if the negro struck upon 
 the resemblance in his nature to the elephant, and sent it 
 forth in a sound expressive of his consciousness of it; and 
 then, to show his pleasure, and at the same time a little of 
 shame at the foolishness of what he has discovered, laughed 
 at the sound, or echoed it — for echo is laughter. 
 
TITE FISH. 85 
 
 This is our opinion of echo, and of the philosophy of laugh- 
 ing, and we think that others will be inclined to agree with 
 us. The reason why animals do not laugh is, that there is no 
 echo in them ; they have nothing but themselves — they are 
 the oriffina-j sound, and the echo is in man. Laughter is a 
 reflection of nature ; it shows man to be an artist. Echo is 
 in exact proportion to the perfection of art. A landscape or 
 a temple, to be beautiful, must be full of echoes ; this will 
 prove that it is in harmony with nature, or that it is a reflec- 
 tion of beauty of which nature is the original. Artists resemble 
 horses, and the horse utters a sound that is exceedingly like 
 laughter : this is so faithfully imitated by a large number of 
 people, that the " horse-laugh" has become proverbial. 
 
 A volume might be written on the varieties of laughter, 
 showing that those who laugh like horses resemble horses ; 
 that those whose laughter is an echo of the voice of the lion 
 resemble lions ; that those whose laughter the parrot is fond 
 of imitating, resemble parrots ; that those who echo the voice 
 of the crow resemble crows ; and so on. 
 
86 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 Man is reared upon the animal, as a temple is reared upon 
 its base. The mineral kingdom is the substratum of the vege- 
 table, the vegetable of the animal, and the animal of man. 
 The human temple, as a whole, is based upon the entire ani- 
 mal kingdom ; and one stone of that temple is raised upon 
 the back of a turtle, another on an eagle, another on a horse, 
 another on a lion, and so on to the end of the catalogue. The 
 basis and the superstructure, of course, resemble each other; 
 but the former is created for the latter, the lower for the 
 higher, the animal for the human : and hence it should be 
 said that animals resemble men, and not the reverse, except 
 by implication. In a city where no two houses were of the 
 same appearance and dimensions, each foundation would cor- 
 respond to its own house better than to any other ; and as 
 persons differ from each other, it is evident that one animal 
 will resemble one, and another another. 
 
 There are 
 
 More things in heaven and earth, Horatio, 
 Than are dreamed of in your philosophy." 
 
 There is a science of poetry as well as of physics. All gen- 
 eral truths are made up of particulars ; and no one will deny 
 that the kingdoms of Nature rise one above another, and that 
 each kingdom is composed of parts, and that the parts above 
 must have an orderly relation to those beneath. For each 
 vegetable there is a mineral, for each animal there is a vege- 
 table, and for each man there is an animal ; and the vege- 
 table that is the animal's, and the mineral that is the vege- 
 table's, are man's also. Why not, if the second kingdom of 
 Nature rests upon the first, the third upon the second, and if 
 man is supported by them all ? 
 
MEN AND ANIMALS. 87 
 
 This relation does not imply that a particular man subsists 
 upon a particular animal ; for the truth is, each man is a rep- 
 resentative of his race, and comprehends in himself all sorts 
 of animals, so that he somewhat resembles them all. He is 
 an individual, and not to be confounded with things in gen- 
 eral. It is true that he " eats everything," selecting at will 
 from the three kingdoms of Nature, and balancing himself 
 into a likeness of all things ; but his resemblance to some one 
 particular specimen of natural history is still retained. If his 
 foundation be a lion, self-love will cause him to love and ad- 
 mire that animal, and he will cherish in himself the attributes 
 that he admires and loves. But the superstructure which he 
 rears may be so beautiful, so perfect, that the basis will not 
 be observed. He may, indeed, love the foundation so greatly 
 as to care for nothing higher ; but when he has reared a beau- 
 tiful temple upon it, which is himself, he values it all the 
 more for the sake of the use. His first affection is self-love, 
 and looks to nothing beyond the animal ; his second is benev- 
 olence, and looks to humanity, and to elevating himself into 
 a representative of his race, and this is his true and noble self, 
 in the love of which the love of the neighbor is included. It 
 is a beautiful conception which places a hero upon the back 
 of a lion, another of a different character upon a leopard, an- 
 other upon a horse ; but what would we think of the artist 
 who should place his hero upon a cow, a hog, or a deer? 
 The impropriety of such a thing arises from the fact that man 
 is reared upon the animal kingdom once, and not twice; 
 upon the horse in one way, and upon the cow in another. 
 
 The animals which men in general have the greatest resen? 
 blance to are those that they are most inclined to rear them- 
 selves upon, by either eating their flesh or riding upon their 
 backs. Thus the resemblance is increased. This is desira- 
 ble, for in this world at least man must have a foundation to 
 stand upon. He derives a stamina from the animal kingdom 
 which the vegetable does not afford, and from the vegetable 
 a substance which is supplied in a very scanty degree by the 
 mineral. But for a foundation to his feet the mineral king- 
 dom is the best. Man has a feeling that, whatever animal it 
 
88 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY-. 
 
 is proper for him to bestride, it is not proper for him to eat, 
 and vice versa. Hence the ass, the horse, the elephant, the 
 camel, and the llama, are not associated in the mind with 
 the ideas of slaughter, nor with the desire for flesh : and Na- 
 ture, to suit this law, has made the flesh of the animals that 
 are most suitable for burden distasteful. But the ox, the deer, 
 the sheep, the goat, suggest the propriety of sacrificing their 
 lives for our own ; and in proportion as they do so, the idea 
 of sitting upon them, or of using them as beasts of burden, 
 strikes us as absurd. 
 
THE DEEE. 89 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 People who feel and think alike, and love the same things, 
 are drawn together by their sympathies and by their attrac- 
 tion to the same objects. Associating with each other, their 
 points of difference are reconciled, and they learn to agree 
 more and more. This principle is applicable to the associa- 
 tions between men and animals, which are in many cases 
 exceedingly intimate, and also to the intercourse of animals 
 with each other. " Birds of a feather flock together ;" and 
 the bringing together of animals that are antagonistic may 
 harmonize them in such a degree, that the cage in which they 
 are confined may be compared to u Noah's ark." 
 
 We will take a special instance for the illustration of our 
 principle. It must have been an agreement in the first place 
 between the Laplander and the reindeer that brought them 
 together. The former must have seen the adaptation of the 
 latter to his own necessities and pursuits ; and the latter, 
 when brought into the service of his superior, acknowledged, 
 by his submission and acceptance of favors in return, that no 
 violence was done to his nature, but that there was afforded 
 a wider field for the exercise of his predominant faculties. 
 The Laplander, on the other hand, seeing what the reindeer 
 could do, expanded his thoughts, inspired the spirit of the 
 animal, and adapted himself to the instincts and habits which 
 were to be called into his own service, and which required 
 to be ministered to in order that they might be a benefit to 
 himself; and it is very likely that powers that would have 
 remained dormant in the deer, for want of exercise, were 
 awakened by the duties imposed upon him. 
 
 This is the relation in which the Laplander and reindeer 
 stand to each other at present, for they are as primitive as 
 
90 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 ever, and the deer is ready at any time to go wild, and his 
 master is in a state of exertion to reclaim him. And that they 
 have a strong resemblance to each other is certain. What- 
 ever produces similarity in character, produces similarity in 
 countenance, in body, manners, and appearance. The rein- 
 deer is like the Laplander as a whole ; and in the manner of 
 standing, and in the features of the face, there is a striking 
 similarity. The causes of this similarity are numerous and 
 powerful. The reindeer is the animal that belongs to the 
 Laplander especially ; and the country to which the former is 
 adapted the latter will inhabit, though he be threatened never 
 so hard with being " imprisoned in chilling regions of thick- 
 ribbed ice." — " That dreary region," says a writer, " owes to 
 this animal whatever it possesses of civilization, and whatever 
 comforts tend to make it supportable to the inhabitants." The 
 Laplander's foundation-stone, the lap of earth on which he is 
 reared, is the reindeer; and add to the causes mentioned 
 above, the fact that he is principally reared upon the flesh 
 and milk of this animal, and converts every part of the car- 
 cass into something of his own, and it is no wonder that the 
 resemblance between them is so great. 
 
 It was remarked in the former chapter that for every ani- 
 
THE DEER. 
 
 91 
 
 mal there is a plant. Sometimes the animal lives upon its 
 plant and sometimes it does not, bat there is a resemblance 
 between the one and the other, as there is between man and 
 animals. The plant proper to the reindeer is his food, the 
 reindeer-moss, and this he resembles, particularly in the horns, 
 which are the more vegetable portion of his organization. 
 Whoever admires deer's-horns admires trees, and branching 
 shrubs, and flowers, of which lichens appear to be the types 
 and originals. This portrait of an eminent painter of flowers 
 
 resembles a deer, and 
 looks as if flowers and 
 snow-flakes should be 
 showered about his head in honor of his talent, as well as for 
 the gratification of his taste. 
 
 The person on the following page is one who has more of 
 the literal deer in him than is becoming, or rather he has too 
 little of the higher attributes that are proper to man. His 
 resemblance to the deer is more striking from the deficiency 
 of that which conceals the animal by converting it into the 
 higher use which it is intended to subserve. We should as- 
 cribe to him insensibility, wildness, impetuosity, love of lib- 
 erty, determination to have his own way, a measuring of 
 obstacles at a single glance, but never removing them, an 
 aversion to others on account of scruples of conscience, which 
 he is pleased to call trifles, and finally a disposition to elope 
 
92 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 with some fair one who may be taken with his dashing ap 
 pearance. 
 
 To resemble an animal 
 that has horns upon his 
 head for ornament rather 
 than for use, is to be sub- 
 ject more than others to 
 depression of spirits — to 
 "the blues" — to feelings 
 like those which follow in- 
 toxication — and to that 
 complication of nervous 
 sensations called " the hor- 
 rors." Ornaments prove 
 the heaviest burdens, but 
 where Nature grants them 
 she give? also the strength 
 to support them. Persons 
 who resemble deers have 
 their " ups and downs ;" and whatever it is in the mind that 
 corresponds to the horns on the head of a deer, is like two 
 trees, barren in win- 
 ter, but covered with 
 foliage and flowers in 
 summer. In the mind, 
 summer should be per- 
 petual : the trees and 
 shrubs should be ever- 
 greens, like moss, and 
 the flowers perennial ; 
 snowflakes in one sea- 
 son, and blossoms in 
 another. Thus the per- 
 son who resembles the 
 deer may be happy al- 
 ways. In his " up and 
 down" he should be 
 elastic and bounding. Cowper's is a head that resembles a 
 
THE DEER. 93 
 
 deer very strongly. That spontaneous effusion, " John Gil- 
 pin," is the deer that, in his feeling of abandonment, he rested 
 back upon — the deer that ran away with. him. 
 
 "Away went hat and wig" — 
 
 and away went the heavy deers'-horns — the barren, leafless, 
 winter trees — from the mind, and juvenile ones budded and 
 blossomed in their places. 
 
 It may be said of those who resemble deers, that they are 
 inclined to 
 
 «* Look from Nature up to Nature's God." 
 
 They reason from effects to causes, and it would be a perver- 
 sion of their natures to reason otherwise. They are delighted 
 with those things that are full of spirit and animation, in which 
 the life and soul, the desire and thought, and the Povver supe- 
 rior to either, are easily discerned in the effect. Hence they 
 are fond of birds and flowers, and everything beautiful, which 
 are so full of the spiritual, that the grossness is scarcely per- 
 ceptible. For the same reason these people are shocked at 
 deformity, which, as it is the absence of the spiritual, is the 
 characteristic of grossness. Beauty, they perceive, is the cause, 
 and not the effect : it moulds its opposite (the effect) into a 
 likeness of itself, and changes grossness and deformity into 
 refinement and beauty. Their course is forward and upward, 
 from the lower to the higher, "leaving the things that are 
 behind and piessing forward to the things that are before." 
 They set their eyes on beauty, and, progressing toward per- 
 fection, they come nearer and nearer to it, and nearer to the 
 Final Cause tj which tbev tend. 
 
94 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 "What distance have you made?" is equivalent to "What 
 progress?" Length is synonymous with advancement — as 
 when we say that a goose's head is six inches in advance of 
 his body. In the neck of the goose there is something absurd, 
 for the simple reason that there is advancement without pro- 
 gression. The organs of locomotion are unequal to the head- 
 way indicated in the neck. The man who resembles a heron 
 
 comprehends distance ; if it were not so, he could not make a 
 successful coup tfetat upon the frog — a creature that in meas- 
 uring distances demonstrates perfectly that measurement, 
 while it is synonymous with distance, is synonymous also with 
 progression. A " strip" of something, a " stripling," and " out- 
 stripping" a deer, are ideas naturally connected. When a 
 person goes very swiftly, he is said to go " like a streak," and 
 a streak is nothing but a straight line. In the form of the 
 iieron the faculty of distance is indicated by chains and links. 
 Fou might fancy that you could take him to measure a piece 
 of ground with, by both links and paces. His length is the 
 physiognomical sign of progression. There is the same con- 
 
THE HERON. 95 
 
 nection between travelling and distance that there is between 
 a faculty of the mind and the feature which indicates it. The 
 face is synonymous with the person himself, and it is as ridic- 
 ulous to deny the truth of Physiognomy as it is to separate 
 distance from travelling. 
 
 It is true that, if we suppose a man's face always to be ani- 
 mated, we shall be in danger of ascribing to him what he 
 does not possess. There are certain persons, as well as cer- 
 tain beasts and birds, that are the embodiments of absurdity 
 and contradiction. They oppose the plainest physiognomical 
 truths, and deny the principle that the face is an index of the 
 mind. But we must understand that they are contradictions ; 
 we must take them for what they are. Who is so wanting in 
 a sense of the ludicrous as not to see that the goose, in respect 
 to the neck, and in respect to the organ of intelliger.ee, which 
 is supposed to have rule over the body, and to control the 
 motion of the feet, is decidedly droll, queer, singular — so 
 much so, that people are inclined to laugh at the absurdity 
 of the thing ? We must not look for confirmations of Physi- 
 ognomy in such an animal until we have observed that the 
 body, legs, and feet, belie the swiftness that is indicated in 
 the neck. He is a bundle of contradictions, and this makes 
 it necessary that we should put him into our intellectual cru- 
 cible, and subject him to analysis and combination, and the 
 test of reason, until we have compelled him to speak the truth. 
 
 A neck of unusual length is ridiculous, for the simple reason 
 that it makes no progress unless the body does. It must be 
 confessed, therefore, that in a bird that is all length, and at 
 the same time destitute of animation, there is something in- 
 trinsically absurd and supremely ridiculous. Supposing him 
 to be dead, even, we can hardly resist saying, " Get a-long 
 with you!" It is only a less degree of ridiculousness which 
 we discover in him supposing him to be standing stock still, 
 indulging in laziness, or walking very slowly. Long legs that 
 do not travel are of a piece with the goose's neck, which looks 
 as if it were formed to leave the body an incalculable distance 
 behind it. As the person who resembles the stork is sensitive 
 to ridicule, and would avoid it, it be omes him to engage in 
 
96 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 high and noble pursuits. The heron in the sky stretches him- 
 self to the utmost. He is like a wisp of something whirled 
 
 up from the ocean, and projected through the air like an ar- 
 row. He appears to outstrip the hurricane, and is an object 
 of sublimity ; but inertia makes him more ridiculous than the 
 goose. In his proper character he is bold, daring, heroic, sub- 
 lime, delighting in the terrific, sporting with the elements in 
 their wildest mirth. Letting himself down from his true dig- 
 nity, and becoming aristocratic, lazy, luxurious, intemperate, 
 he is a perfect coward, and in this and every other respect 
 perfectly ridiculous. 
 
 The heron has an instinct of what is proper to him, and an 
 instinct of the absurd. Hence his long neck, which indicates 
 progression, and has no locomotion of its own, he doubles up 
 and winds around like an ear-trumpet, which he is ashamed 
 of having exhibited ; but when he flies, he holds it out like a 
 spear which he is going to thrust into the heart of the wind. 
 He flies through the midst of heaven, his long legs extended 
 behind him; and there is nothing ridiculous in this — for he 
 is a swift messenger, like those divinely commissioned to con- 
 vey tidings, and to minister rebuke and happiness to man. 
 
 The ministration of those who resemble the heron, and are 
 not perverted, is akin to the service of those who bear a noble 
 
THE HERON. 
 
 97 
 
 resemblance to the deer. The one has an analogy to the mag- 
 netic telegraph, and the other to the railroad. The one is 
 from causes to effects, and is hence a ministration of spiritual 
 and heavenly things ; the other is from effects to causes, and 
 is hence a ministration of earthly and corporeal things, such 
 as are essential to the body. If the former be subservient to 
 the latter, it substitutes cordials, teas, and narcotics, for spir- 
 itual healing and comfort ; it perverts appetite and taste, and 
 is the cause of the intemperance in eating and drinking spo- 
 ken of in the chapter concerning the stork. This is charac- 
 teristic of those who resemble the heron literally. But if they 
 (like Howard the philan- 
 thropist, whose portrait is 
 annexed) minister to oth- 
 ers instead of themselves, 
 they relieve the distresses 
 of the mind, remove the 
 causes of its sickness, dis- 
 sipate falsehood, and nour- 
 ish the soul with truth ; 
 and so far as is necessary 
 they minister to the body 
 also. They can not do the 
 one without doing the oth- 
 er. As body and soul are 
 united and correspond, it 
 is absurd to divide the office of physician into two. 
 
 We have observed that those who resemble the heron have 
 a sense of what is proper to them, and consequently a sense 
 of the improper or absurd. Short, duck-legged people, too, 
 have a sense of the ludicrous when they are as Nature de- 
 signed them to be. The wild goose and duck double up their 
 necks while standing, and thrust them out when they are anx- 
 ious to go ahead. The people who resemble them are fond 
 of ridiculing those who resemble the heron, and then they 
 forget that they are themselves ridiculous, and most so when 
 they hiss at those who are above them, with the idea of " his- 
 sing them downy They " run out their necks" at people, 
 
 7 
 
98 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 but their short legs have never the office of running ascribed 
 to them. It is as absurd for short things to travel, as for long 
 ones to stand still. This renders the goose and the duck 
 doubly ridiculous. It is the short and long together that 
 makes a person awkward and ungainly ; and the well-propor- 
 tioned and graceful, like the heron and the stork, if they are 
 employed in useful undertakings, can well afford to be laughed 
 at, seeing they have nothing to do but to attend to their own 
 proper business, and allow jokes and laughter to fall back 
 upon the heads of geese and ganders ! 
 
THE CAMEL. 99 
 
 CHAPTEK XYI. 
 
 As between the camel and the Arab there is a likeness in 
 habits and pursuits, in tastes and dispositions, so also there is 
 in physognomy. They live in the desert because they are 
 adapted to it, and they are adapted to it because they live 
 there. Adaptation or accommodation is one of the essentials 
 of hospitality. The camel accommodates himself to all sorts 
 of inconveniences for the convenience of others, and the power 
 of adaptation in the Arab is equally wonderful. His highest 
 expectation is to render his own condition tolerable ; and as 
 this is the consequence and means of promoting the comfort 
 of others, the Arab is an example of genuine hospitality. The 
 conveniences of the camel depend entirely on accommodating 
 himself to ^conveniences. Look at his feet and legs : what 
 accommodating members ! Was there ever such a commo- 
 dious hump, or such an accommodating stomach ? Yet is his 
 temperament choleric, or hot and dry, like the burning desert 
 he inhabits, and to which he is so wonderfully adapted. The 
 temperament of the Arab is the same. The kneeling of the 
 camel, to receive his burden and to set it down again, is, fig- 
 uratively speaking, for the sake of an oasis in the desert, and 
 the hospitality of the Arab is for the sake of another and more 
 beautiful one. 
 
 The camel and the Arab carry their heads erect and high. 
 Their sight and hearing are wonderfully acute. Their faces 
 are thin, and their bodies are always lean. Their eyes are 
 sunken, and the brows projecting. They have high cheek- 
 bones, Roman noses, straight hair, and countenances of un- 
 common gravity. But there are shades of expression and fea- 
 ture that constitute the more particular resemblance between 
 them, as is evident on comparing their likenesses. 
 
100 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 Looking at the face ot a camel, one would suppose that the 
 
 person who resembled him would never smile ; and the Arab, 
 
 instead of smiling when he greets a 
 
 friend, looks grave and solemn. There 
 
 is something in the attitude and appearance of the camel that 
 reminds us of the Arab salutation — placing the right hand 
 on the breast and then on the forehead, and saying, " Peace 
 be with you !" As the camel's foot is formed to press the 
 sand, we should suppose that those who resembled him might 
 find it more natural to press each other's palms (the right of 
 one being adapted to the left of the other), than to clasp and 
 shake hands in the ordinary way ; and it is true that the Arabs 
 do so. In the manner of the camel's eating, and chewing the 
 cud, there is something exceedingly slovenly and disagreea- 
 ble, and the Arab's cooking and eating are of the same char- 
 acter. The mutton which he serves up is sure to have a 
 plenty of wool in it ; and his butter, being churned in goat- 
 skin bags, the hair of which is inside, contains a profusion of 
 hairs. These extraneous substances the Arab does not object 
 to, for if a person resembles the camel, and finds his subsist- 
 ence in the desert, it will not do for him to be particular. 
 Whatever provision is offered to him, the Desert says, "This 
 or none !" He eats but two meals a day, though much at a 
 time, and, like the camel, is capable of going several days 
 without food or drink. He is dexterous though rather un- 
 graceful in his movements, and trains his children to hard- 
 ships as he does his camels. 
 
 It is adaptation to the worst of situations, or to Nature in 
 her most hideous forms, that renders the camel ugly and un- 
 
THE CAMEL. 
 
 101 
 
 comfortable. Who has not observed the ugliness in his dis- 
 position as well as in his looks? and in what animal is there 
 such an air of discom- 
 fort as in him ? Yet, 
 as a compensation for 
 this, there is in this 
 ugliness something 
 good ; in human be- 
 ings there is kindness 
 and an obliging turn, 
 willingness, self-deni- 
 al, and whatever is 
 included in that no- 
 ble virtue, hospitali- 
 ty. Homely people 
 have a home for all, 
 and none for them- 
 selves ; but it is well to remember that this goodness holds in 
 check a vast amount of ugliness, which may at some time 
 
 gain the advantage. Socra- 
 tes acknowledged this fact 
 with regard to himself, and 
 the magnanimity of the con- 
 fession was a part of that self- 
 denial and accommodation to 
 hardship which was a cause 
 of his ugliness. The man to 
 whom Nature is a harsh and 
 capricious mother, grows up 
 ugly and deformed ; but if 
 he have learned to love her, it is a sign that she has instilled 
 good into him, and he resembles her more and more. There 
 is grandeur and sublimity in the rugged virtues that he is 
 compelled to practise, but vastly more in the rugged morality 
 that is based on those, and that is as free and independent as 
 those are compulsory. But the man to whom Nature is provi- 
 dent and tender, grows up handsome, and the more he sym- 
 pathizes with charming objects the more beautiful he becomes. 
 
102 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 Yet beauty without sublimity has " a worm i' the bud ;" it is 
 fading and ephemeral ; it relapses into effeminacy, and de- 
 generates finally into ugliness, like that of swamps, in which 
 the animals are not homely, but monstrous. The Arab who 
 inhabits the delta of the Nile is the very opposite of hospita- 
 ble, for he requires a certain amount of accommodation, and 
 he imposes it upon Nature, since Nature does not impose it 
 upon him. 
 
 The ugliness of the camel and the Arab in the deserts has 
 a tendency to be of the very noblest kind. It contains the 
 element of self-denial, or of virtue, as before observed, and 
 this encloses an image of the most exquisite beauty — an ob- 
 ject of reverence, of devotion, of self-sacrifice. Homely hos- 
 pitality entertains a heavenly visitant, an embodied perfection, 
 
 in every stranger, regarding 
 him with the same defer- 
 ence, and administering tc 
 his comfort and happiness, 
 as if it would make up for 
 the heavenly felicities which 
 he is supposed to have been 
 accustomed to. Thus the 
 homeliest people have the 
 most intense admiration and 
 devotion to the beautiful, as 
 was the case with' Socrates ; 
 and the beautiful in return 
 have grateful love and exalted reverence for the homely. 
 Thus, too, the homeliest animal and the most beautiful (the 
 camel and the horse), the most perfect specimens in their way, 
 live together in Arabia. The horse is the embodiment of the 
 choleric temperament (which makes him high-spirited and 
 noble), without the habit of accommodation to deform him. 
 The camel and the Arab are accommodated to him, and the 
 desert air is the most congenial to his temperament : hence 
 in Arabia are produced the finest horses in the world. The 
 barb is the Arab's guest, his especial favorite, and a better 
 entertainment than is afforded by his honest keeper he could 
 
THE CAMEL. 103 
 
 not have. People who resemble horses find homely persons 
 to be their most indulgent, faithful, enthusiastic, and devoted 
 friends. 
 
 The countenance of a stranger is to the Arab what an oasis 
 is to the desert. That countenance will smile if hospitality 
 can make it, but the Arab's never, till the desert shall bud 
 and blossom as the rose. The green spot owes the perfection 
 of its beauty to the desolation that surrounds it, but from this 
 the desert is to be clothed ; and in like manner the beautiful 
 have a mission to the ugly, and there is given to the latter the 
 disposition to entertain them, and to emulate their graces by 
 preserving and heightening their charms. The stranger is 
 indebted to the Arab, not for hospitality merely, but for the 
 blessings that are intended for all, and of which he is made 
 the dispenser. This the Arab feels, and by feeling knows. 
 When the Bedouins have committed a robbery, they say of 
 the plunder, that they " have gained it ;" and when reproved 
 for the depredation, they reply that they " are Arabs." They 
 do not take the life of the stranger when they rob him, but 
 claim relationship, saying, " Undress thyself — thine aunt is 
 without a garment." This is what the Desert would say to 
 the Oasis, if it had a tongue, and it is the language of the 
 ugly to the beautiful. 
 
 The plundering disposition of the Arab is compatible with 
 the excess of their hospitality. When they have pitched their 
 tents, the individual is fortunate who first discovers a stranger 
 approaching the encampment, for he is allowed to claim him 
 as his guest ; and to tell an Arab that he does not treat his 
 guests well, is deemed one of the greatest of insults. 
 
 If the Arab resembles the desert, he resembles the camel 
 still more. He enters into the feelings of his companion, and 
 enlivens him with a chant, that is said to make him travel 
 more easily. There is something in the appearance of a camel 
 that reminds one of an old astrologer : he looks as if he were 
 eying the stars. The Arabs consult the stars on all occasions 
 of importance, particularly in reference to their undertakings 
 and hold astrology in high honor. The camel looks as if he 
 were born to do penance, and as if the sum of the penalties 
 
104: COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 wh.jli he had to endure was to press the burning sands with 
 his naked feet, which are thereby rendered insensible to the 
 inlliction. The penalty which the Arab suffers is that of blows 
 upon the soles of his feet; he is bastinadoed to expiate his 
 crimes. A traveller says of a case which he witnessed in 
 Cairo, that the Arab, after receiving the punishment by the 
 order of the governor, was unable to stand, and groaning with 
 pain was borne out by his friends ; and that " the governor, 
 in the meantime, stood as though hardened to such transac- 
 tions, munching his jaws like a sheep chewing the cud." We 
 imagine that it was like a sheep, only excessively so — that 
 is, like a camel. 
 
THE VULTURE. 105 
 
 CHAPTER XYII. 
 
 We have been thinking of the cowardice of a certain va- 
 riety of the carnivorous appetite — that which waits till assured 
 of the death of an animal, by the putridity of its carcass. Say, 
 if you will, that the crow, the raven, the Vulture, and the turkey- 
 buzzard, live on carrion because they prefer it to fresh meat 
 — still we maintain that the appetite for substances in a state 
 of decomposition is promoted by cowardice ; and it is equally 
 true, we believe, that cowardice is increased by these sub- 
 stances. The proof of this is in the fact that all animals that 
 live on carrion are cowardly, and that all cowardly animals 
 have something to do with carrion. This statement will, of 
 course, need considerable explanation. There is no coward 
 who is not cruel. The benevolent individual, who would not 
 harm a fly, does not prove himself a coward by refusing to 
 accept a challenge ; but the ruffianly fellow, who pleads that 
 it is against his principles to fight, does not inspire us with 
 such full confidence in his bravery. You can never say of 
 the person who " would not hurt a hair of your head," that he 
 is a coward. The harmless, inoffensive, vegetable-eating ani- 
 mals, are not cowards, for the simple reason that they are not 
 cruel ; but the carnivorous are so, in the degree that they 
 ought to he courageous and are not. A timid hare will scare 
 away a class of birds that have a scurrilous resemblance to 
 hawks and owls ; but as soon as he is poor, or sick, or lame, 
 he will have the crows after him, with the whole posse of 
 cowardly gluttons that spend their lives " waiting for dead 
 men's shoes." 
 
 The caravans in the desert, it is said, are followed by vul- 
 tures — signs in the heavens of the cruelty of human beings 
 to the animals that serve them ! The vulture resembles the 
 
106 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 camel, as may be seen by a comparison of their forms ; and 
 the Arab who is not merciful to his beast resembles the former 
 
 more than the latter. He wishes his 
 overburdened camel to fly like the 
 wind (as certain persons do their 
 horses when they drive them), and 
 the consequence is, the poor animal 
 is soon an object of expectation to 
 the greedy vultures. The cowardly 
 wretch who treats his horse or his 
 camel thus can not bear to be looked 
 at by the animal he abuses ; the eye 
 that he deprives of brightness he car 
 
 not meet ; he never saw any beauty in it, that he should ad- 
 mire it; and when it appeals imploringly to heaven, with an 
 eloquence that touches the hearts of the tender, and makes 
 them almost curse the cruel master, he walks by it at a dis- 
 tance, or hastily pulls the blind over it, lest he should discover 
 a feeling of pity and remorse in the heart of even so base a 
 wretch as himself. 
 
 From a similar prompting, the dastardly vultures, when the 
 eyes of the camel are turned upward (as they always are, to 
 see what they are about), shrink away into the depths of air. 
 They can not endure to be looked at by the innocent ones to 
 whom they meditate injury. Like the ruffian, the vulture 
 seeks to extinguish himself: he shrinks into nothingness, and 
 
THE VULTURE. 107 
 
 is neither seen nor heard of till those eyes that he dreads have 
 lost their fire — when suddenly he descends and plucks them 
 out, and riots upon the carcass. 
 
 Constant apprehension of the motives of others — how cow- 
 ardly! evil surmises against characters — how cruel! This is 
 the action of Suspicion, and is nourished by fermented food 
 and drink. The very minds of persons who have these tastes 
 and dispositions are in a constant ferment. If they were not 
 afraid of people, they would not whisper suspicions about 
 them, and would not tear out the eyes of the dead. It is not 
 one of these who can say — 
 
 "I've not a vulture's bill, 
 
 To pick at all the faults I see, 
 And make them wider still !" 
 
 The person who confides in others trusts in God, and is not 
 afraid. He can not be cruel to those he confides in, nor sus- 
 picious of those he loves ; and that he chooses to trust man- 
 kind, is proof that he loves them. 
 
 All animals, be it observed, that are fond of carrion, are 
 remarkable for suspicion : they are apprehensive of danger 
 constantly. When a creature is dead, the crows pounce upon 
 him ; they tear him to pieces with savage ferocity, exulting in 
 the triumph over an animal greater than themselves, as if the 
 " King of Terrors" had nothing to do with it ! But they are 
 cowards : engrossed as they are in their riotous feast, you can 
 not get within gun-shot of them ; and there is not one of them 
 that has courage enough to defend himself against the king- 
 fisher, or the other small birds that give him chase. He is 
 put to flight by a scarecrow : what could be more contempti- 
 bly cowardly than that ! 
 
 People who ascribe wrath to the Almighty, and endeavor 
 to escape it by denouncing it against others, are both cow- 
 ardly and cruel. They are in constant terror of others, for 
 they judge others by themselves; and as they suffer from 
 fear, they try to make others afraid of them,. It is well that 
 they should be governed by an appearance of anger, in storms 
 and tempests, in famines and earthquakes, in diseases and 
 
108 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 deaths, for they can be governed in this way and in no other. 
 They make a virtue of their dread, confounding it with rever- 
 ence, and offering it as a claim to favor. They revenge on 
 man their fear of the Deity, in tortures innumerable, and of 
 every conceivable variety. They wish to be feared, to be 
 worshipped with awe and trembling. They claim the blood 
 of a thousand victims to gratify their cruelty, and to increase 
 the terror of the multitude, which is to them the most accept- 
 able worship. They wish to impress upon others that they 
 have power supreme, and that life and death are at their dis- 
 posal. 
 
 "We have said that there is a connection between the appe- 
 tite for fermented food and drinks and the faculty of suspi- 
 cion. The latter is excited to an intense and morbid degree 
 by drunkenness ; for all spirituous liquors are the result of fer- 
 mentation. The appetite for intoxicating drink is provoked 
 by cowardly apprehension. Some people take it before mount- 
 ing the rostrum, to give them courage — not because they are 
 modest, but because they are cowardly. Some take it to 
 strengthen " faint heart," which " never won fair lady," and 
 to grow mad, that they may be admired for their bravery. 
 Some take it to make them soldiers, when it is safer to go for- 
 ward than to run. Some take it to enable them to go through 
 with their labors — not because they are industrious, but be- 
 cause they are lazy, and Necessity tells them that it " must 
 be done." Some take it to drive away " the blues," to drown 
 care, and to stupify sensibility, because they have not the 
 courage to face adversity, and do not dare to suffer. But 
 never does this yielding to fear give preponderance to cour- 
 age : it excites madness, which is another name for cruelty, 
 and the mere mockery of the courage that is wanting ; and 
 always does the appetite for fermented things increase the 
 power of that very passion of which it is the slave. 
 
 The inebriate lives in the very atmosphere that engenders 
 suspicion — the putridity of his own breath — in which the 
 blow-fly, the crow, and the hog, with all their cowardly ap- 
 prehensions, might be deluded into the idea of safety, as in 
 the presence of something dead. In such a charnel-house, 
 
THE VULTURE. 
 
 109 
 
 how could it be otherwise than that he should have " the hor- 
 rors" ? Suspicion, Cowardice, and the appetite for fermented 
 food and drink, excite each other more and more. The con- 
 summation is a tragic scene, in which each plays a conspicu- 
 ous part, with Cruelty at their head : the title of the tragedy 
 is, "Delirium Tremens." 
 
 All madness is cowardice and cruelty combined, as exhib- 
 ited in the insane, and in the history of the drunkard from 
 beginning to end. Who does not know of the cruelties in- 
 flicted upon wives and children, and the destruction of every 
 tender and merciful feeling in the human heart, by an indul- 
 gence of the appetite of which we are speaking ? 
 
 There is something natu- 
 ral in the fondness of .the 
 analytical Frenchman for 
 substances in a state of de- 
 composition. As he is al- 
 ways in the process of fer- 
 mentation and ebullition, 
 it is appropriate that he 
 should make external mat- 
 ters and things correspond, 
 and that he should have an 
 appetite for tainted meat, 
 and a taste for wine : and 
 if we have a correct ver- 
 sion of his history, he has 
 proved himself suspicious, cowardly, and cruel. We see a 
 strong resemblance to the vulture in the preceding portrait, 
 
 Marat, who, on suspicion 
 only, and because he was 
 excessively cowardly and 
 cruel, caused multitudes 
 of his countrymen to be 
 arrested, imprisoned, and 
 guillotined. His ambi- 
 tion was to become a ter- 
 ror, and to inspire cowards with awe — the only reverence 
 
110 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 they are capable of — and to be thought powerful and brave 
 in proportion as he was faint-hearted and cowardly. The 
 countenance of Robespierre is that of a scavenger, full of ap- 
 prehension, meanness, and cruelty ; it resembles that of the 
 young gentleman accompanied by the vulture, at the begin- 
 ning of this chapter. The dog that loves carrion, and smells 
 of it, is always wanting in pluck ; and, to make up for the de- 
 ficiency, he lives on garbage, and seizes the things that he 
 will be thanked for devouring. A resemblance to such an 
 animal, as well as to the vulture, is seen in Robespierre ; and 
 a resemblance to this or any other of the variety of scavengers, 
 fits a man to be a rag-picker, rather than a president or a king. 
 There is such impudence in human nature, or rather in the 
 want of it, that people of the character we have been descri- 
 bing pride themselves upon their suspicion, as if this were the 
 evidence of superior penetration and wisdom. The want of 
 confidence in others which arises from fear, is self-confidence, 
 and this is pride. It is cowardly to have no faith in the future 
 and in things unseen, and to shrink back into the past as the 
 only reality, and thus to remain infants. It was the " reign 
 of teri-or" when France was a nation of infidels ; but what 
 they are now, and what governs them, we do not say, except 
 that they are as fond of baubles as children are : — 
 
 " Fantastic, frolicsome, and wild, 
 With all the trinkets of a child." 
 
 It is as cruel as it is cowardly to doubt a future existence, to 
 rely only upon the past, and to believe only in reason and the 
 evidence of the senses ; for it seeks to destroy — it aims at an- 
 nihilation. The French are like the frog in the well, that 
 jumped three feet forward every day, and fell back two every 
 night ; for when they have been stimulated to take a step for- 
 ward, they wish instantly to return to the past. The reason 
 is this : the stimulus that urges them forward is that which 
 excites cruelty and madness — the remedy which is sought by 
 Fear to soothe its sufferings, and by Skepticism to exalt its 
 pride. 
 
THE OX. lit 
 
 CHAPTER XYIII. 
 
 There are vulgar people who are fond of tracing in the hu- 
 man face a likeness to the " calf," as we should infer from 
 their frequent application of this epithet to juveniles of their 
 own species. We would inquire of them if this individual 
 looks as if he had been reared 
 on milk, and were now going 
 in search of some ? If this be 
 bo, it is proper that the heir 
 should be after him, though 
 following like an humble pe- 
 titioner who despairs of establishing his lawful claim. The 
 preceding is a handsome young man, and evidently English ; 
 and the English, without distinction of age or sex, are known 
 by the general appellation of " John Bull." But in this young 
 gentleman, whose chin indicates a greater degree of precocity 
 than his mouth and eyes, no person who has sat at the domes- 
 tic board, where " calves' brains" are served up, can fail to be 
 interested. There is delicacy in the expression of his face, 
 along with an obtrusive bluntness. The degree of obtuseness 
 in the features indicates just that degree of obtuseness in the 
 intellect that entitles the possessor to the allegorical title that 
 is applied to him. He owes nothing to instinct, and knows 
 nothing at all until experience has taught him. He is like a 
 calf in the blindness of the little instinct that Nature has given 
 him ; or in being subjected to the spontaneous action of his 
 feelings and desires in a manner that causes him to act ridic- 
 ulously. He is loud in his demands : when he wants any- 
 thing, he shows that he can not be denied ; and as to denying 
 himself, that is entirely out of the question. He can not even 
 wait; he will knock his brains out if what he calls for does 
 
11-2 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY-. 
 
 not come speedily. The reason is, he is deficient in instinct 
 and in the faculty of self-control ; and his large submissioi 
 yields to the sway of his intense desires, instead of yielding 
 to the government of others. His wants are of the nature of 
 necessities, and therefore it is that they govern him, and gov- 
 ern his parents also. He is called self-willed, when the truth 
 is his passions rule him, and he is perfectly submissive. But 
 there is a sterner necessity than desire, and to this he must 
 come at last. It is punishment ! — oh, horrible ! — yes, pun- 
 ishment will make him submissive to the yoke. Better late 
 than never. Reader, if you doubt of this being an exact de- 
 scription of young Englishmen, observe for yourself, and you 
 will be satisfied that we are right. 
 
 Let us now take a glance at the parents — the John Bulls. 
 Here is the face of an Englishwoman, and it is seen how 
 
 much she resembles the cow ; annexed is a portrait of Hume, 
 and we see how much he resembles the male animal. "Who 
 can not discover by this countenance that the mind ruminates ? 
 You can almost see the regurgitation, and the process of pre- 
 paring the food for more thorough digestion. Whoever sits 
 down to the perusal of his pages will rise up edified and pre* 
 pared to labor. To the traits first mentioned, which exist m 
 the mature Englishman as well as in the youngster, may bo 
 
THE OX. 
 
 113 
 
 added these : large economy (you see it in the double chin, 
 and it is large in historians) ; great strength. (you see it in the 
 obtuseness of the fea- 
 tures, and of all the' 
 members of the body) ; 
 and large love of en- 
 joyment (you see it in 
 the lateral projection 
 of the outer corner of 
 the ridge of the eye- 
 brow). The English 
 are remarkably econo- 
 mical in domestic af- 
 fairs ; they are content 
 with small profits, for 
 they husband every- 
 thing; and in political economy, circumstances considered, 
 they are superior to all others. They can show larger double 
 chins, more resemblance to the cow and the ox, better hus- 
 bandly, and more economy in every respect, than any other 
 nation. They are also strong and powerful, like the ox. This 
 is indicated by a certain obtuseness of features that is a me- 
 dium between grossness and effeminacy. They are the very 
 opposite in this respect of those who resemble the horse. Re- 
 finement takes away from that unity which is the foundation of 
 strength. All the refinement which the Englishman can receive 
 will not make him effeminate. Such is not the case with the 
 Italians, who, as will be shown in the next chapter, resemble 
 horses ; they have never yet recovered from the effeminacy 
 which was induced by the civilization and refinement of their 
 ancestors. The vigor and grasp of intellect which characterize 
 the English are like the strength of the ox when he exercises 
 it in draught, or in pushing with the horn. 
 
 But though the obtuseness in the features of the English, 
 and the refinement in those of the Italians, indicate opposition 
 in character, this opposition is like that which prevails in mu- 
 sic — it is the opposition necessary to harmony : and there is, 
 in reality, a remarkable affinity between the English and the 
 
 8 
 
114 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 Italians. There is also an intimate relation between the horse 
 and the cow : the latter steals from the former, and values 
 and saves what the former throws away. The interests of the 
 one harmonize with the interests of the other, but they do not 
 therefore like each other over and above well, and it would 
 be a perfect absurdity to harness them together ! 
 
 The love of enjoyment is another thing in which the Eng- 
 lish prove their right to the appellation of John Bull. It is 
 this which gives them the air of quietude so like the cow. 
 They are indebted to this for the principal share of the gentle- 
 ness and gentility that they are possessed of. It is this which 
 is so pleasing in the Englishwomen, and which constitutes 
 their principal charm ; they are pictures of serenity and do- 
 mestic comfort. In the love of enjoyment there is the taste 
 for whatever is exquisite — as the flavor of fruit, the fragrance 
 of flowers, the softest tones of music, like those of the iEolian 
 harp, the most delicate tints, like those of the rainbow, &c. 
 Everything beautiful in the English character is connected 
 with this ; and everything delightful in their works of art, in 
 their literature, in their institutions, and in their homes, may 
 be referred to it. It places them in a beautiful relation to 
 the Italians, as it places the cow in a beautiful relation to the 
 horse. 
 
 If the young Englishman presented at the beginning of this 
 chapter was reared on milk, on the opposite page is certainly 
 a specimen that is fed on beef. You have only to deprive 
 the Englishman of the exquisite love of enjoyment above re- 
 ferred to, and the roughness, obtuseness, vast strength, and 
 want of refinement of both the moral and intellectual percep- 
 tions, stand forth bold and prominent. The " mad bulls" of 
 England are famous the world over, and they are the personi- 
 fications of a certain class of Englishmen; but the one we 
 have here is not mad. He may be an Italian converted into 
 a Briton — a horse into an ox : he is simply gross, sensual, im- 
 perious, domineering, heavy and strong, stolid and obtuse, 
 ungracious and wanting in sense of propriety ! He answers 
 very well to one of the varieties of Englishmen as given by 
 Spenser : — 
 
THE OX. 
 
 115 
 
 " The miller was a stout carl, deep of tones, 
 Right large he was of brawn, and eke of bones ; 
 With shoulders broad and short — a knob or gnarr — 
 There was no door but he'd heave up the bar, 
 Or break, by running at it with his head ; 
 His beard, as any sow or fox, was red !" 
 
 The ox is the very personification of repulsiveness, indl 
 cated in the size and strength of the spinal marrow, and by 
 the extraordinary strength imparted to the muscles of the 
 back. Emerson says of the Englishman, that " the axis of 
 his eyes is united to his back-bone." We understand by this 
 that he is quick to see whatever he does not like, that his eyes 
 are the sentinels of his repulsiveness, and that with repulsive- 
 ness he guards his eyes. The same shrewd observer says : 
 "The Englishman is remarkable for his pluck. He shows 
 you that he means to have his rights respected. He knows 
 just what he wants, and he means to have it. He is sure to let 
 it be known if he is not served to his mind. Still he is not 
 quarrelsome. Among the twelve hundred young men at Ox- 
 ford a duel was never known to take place. His self-posses- 
 sion is not pugnacity; he does not wish to injure others — 
 he is thinking only of himself!" This is a description to the 
 very life. Even the mad bull »;as no animosity, or desire to 
 injure anybody : he only wishes to gratify his headlong dis- 
 position, the instinct of which is in his horns. 
 
116 
 
 COMPARATIVE IHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 It is the Englishman's title to 
 makes him so fond of beef, and 
 
 skin and wrinkles of the neck and 
 dignity and old age ; the length 
 of the back-bone ; the long 
 tail, with the tuft at the end 
 of it ; the brawny extremities 
 and the matchless strength ; 
 the extraordinary size and 
 thickness of the neck; and, 
 in the bison, which is a kind 
 of ox, the shaggy mane which 
 covers it — all proclaim the 
 right of the English to ideal- 
 ize their national symbol into 
 a lion — especially as John 
 Bull himself, who is the person 
 carnivorous. 
 
 The liking of the English for 
 the flesh of these animals, and 
 themselves, may be illustrated 
 
 the epithet of John Bull that 
 the influence of this kind of 
 food upon him increases 
 the resemblance. He 
 wishes his national char- 
 acter to be that of a Car- 
 nivorous ox ; and hence 
 the badge of his nation- 
 ality, which he chooses 
 above all others, is a lion.' 
 And the resemblance be- 
 tween the bull and the 
 lion is very striking. The 
 broad, deep, and power- 
 ful chest ; the deep, re- 
 verberating sounds that 
 swell from it ; the grave 
 and noble aspect of the 
 countenance ; the loose 
 face, giving the appearance of 
 of the body, and the strength 
 
 intended to be represented, is 
 
 horned cattle, their liking for 
 their likeness to the animals 
 by the following description, 
 
THE OX. 117 
 
 drawn by Dickens : " The blessings of Smithiield are too well 
 understood to need recapitulation ; all who run (away from mad 
 bulls and pursuing oxen) may read. Any market-day they 
 may be beheld in glorious action. Possibly the merits of our 
 slaughter-houses are not yet quite so generally appreciated. 
 
 " Slaughter-houses, in the large towns of England, are al- 
 ways (with the exception of one or two enterprising towns) 
 most numerous in the most densely-crowded places, where 
 there is the least circulation of air. They are often under- 
 ground, in cellars ; they are sometimes in close back-yards ; 
 sometimes (as in Spitalfields) in the very shops where the meat 
 is sold. Occasionally, under good private management, they 
 are ventilated and clean. For the most part, they are unven- 
 tilated and dirty ; and, to the reeking walls, putrid fat and 
 other offensive animal matter clings with a tenacious hold. . . . 
 In half a quarter of a mile's length of Whitechapel, at one 
 time, there shall be six hundred newly-slaughtered oxen hang- 
 ing up, and seven hundred sheep — but the more the merrier 
 — proof of prosperity and it's — 
 
 'Oh, the roast beef of England, my boy, 
 The jolly old English roast beef!' 
 
 " Mrs. Quickly says that prunes are ill for a green wound ; 
 but whosoever says that putrid animal substances are ill for a 
 green wound, or for robust vigor, or for anything or for any- 
 body, is a humanity-monger and a humbug. 'Britons never, 
 never, never,' &c, therefore ! And prosperity to cattle-dri- 
 ving, cattle-slaughtering, bone-crushing, blood-boiling, trotter- 
 scraping, tripe-dressing, paunch-cleaning, gut-spinning, hide- 
 preparing, tallow-melting, and other salubrious proceedings, 
 in the midst of hospitals, churchyards, workhouses, schools, 
 infirmaries, refuges, dwellings, provision-shops, nurseries, sick- 
 beds — every stage and baiting-place in the journey from birth 
 to death !" 
 
 There is a trait in the Englishman and the ox so extraordi- 
 nary, that it deserves to be taken particular notice of: it is 
 submission. The sign of this faculty is the loose fold under 
 the throat, and in the ox it is the dewlap. This name reminds 
 
118 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 us of the ricli pastures of John Bull, in which the sign of sub- 
 mission laps the dew while the bull grazes. The submission 
 of the Englishman is graceful in the extreme, for it is perfectly 
 
 natural to him. The dew of his 
 youth is upon it — and he is re- 
 markable for the memory of his 
 childhood. His submission to his 
 sovereign is of a piece with his 
 submission to parental authority; 
 and as he was taught the one by 
 punishment, he needs not that the 
 other should be enforced. Mon- 
 archy rests more securely in Eng- 
 land than in any other country, for 
 it confides in the submission that 
 is universally felt and recognised. 
 It is no usurpation, and has therefore nothing to fear. They 
 are as free as the people of a republic, and even more so — 
 for, as Authority and Submission 
 are on the best possible terms with 
 each other, the duty to obey and 
 the right to command are united in 
 the same character, and it is easy 
 for the people to be one. John Bull 
 is a single individual, or the entire 
 people, whichever you please : the 
 description that is applicable to the 
 one is applicable to the other. In 
 their relations with other nations, 
 they are like the youngster first described 
 governed by their own desires, submissive to their own wants, 
 yielding to nothing but necessity. When they set their heart 
 upon anything, diplomacy to prevent their getting it is mere 
 mockery. If they are convinced at all, it is against their will ; 
 
 and — 
 
 44 A man convinced against bis will, 
 Is of the same Dpinion still." 
 
 The only argument that can avail with them is force, but of 
 this they have naturally more than others, and it has been 
 
 selfish, imperious, 
 
THE OX. 
 
 119 
 
 strengthened with them by exercise. Still it is necessaiy to 
 give them " change in their own coin," or to " answer them 
 according to their folly, lest they be wise in their own con 
 ceit." However, it is a good rule, "Answer not a fool ac 
 cording to his folly, lest thou be like him." 
 
 According to Physiognomy, the faculties of will lay in the 
 cerebellum, along with the passion which Gall assigned to 
 that portion of the brain. These, in a sovereign like Henry 
 
 YIIL, and in the animal to which 
 lie bears a resemblance, are im- 
 
 perative beyond measure, and. their external indications are 
 so large as to attract attention. A "bull-neck" suggests the 
 idea of a tyrannical disposition, or of irresistible desire, and is 
 never spoken of in the way of compliment. To the faculties 
 of love and will in the cerebellum the neck is bowed by Sub- 
 mission, and they are made more tyrannical than they other- 
 wise would be ; they cause that the individual should act upon 
 the principle that " might is right." John Bull shows a re- 
 markable obtuseness of the moral and intellectual perceptions 
 when the rules of morality are applied to himself; but when 
 he takes the position of an umpire — in which case his percep- 
 tions are less under the influence of the faculties in the basi- 
 lar region of the cranium, and more associated with exquisite 
 discrimination or love of enjoyment — his perceptions are more 
 refined. This is true of the person whose portrait is presented 
 on the following page, and who, from his resemblance to the 
 above, was well suited to cater to the selfishness, licentious- 
 ness, and cruelty, of that beastly monarch. Cardinal Wolsey 
 
120 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 and the king whose baseness he excelled should go together, 
 as they did in sensual indulgence, and in the love of power, 
 and in too literal re- 
 semblance to the ani- ~^^m^^^^^S 
 mals they belong to. 'IiM , -M 
 
 When oxen draw : ' >M ' '/ilps 
 
 together in a yoke, '^ImSIr ^^ 
 
 they lean away from WPl 
 
 each other, so as to * / 
 
 be under the necessity of holding each 
 
 other up. This is on account of their great repulsiveness — a 
 trait which was mentioned as being a prominent element of 
 the English character. It is an exhibition, also, of a sort of 
 ox-justice — a pulling in opposite directions, in order to know 
 whicli is the right way. Oxen never know the road ; they are 
 kept in it by pulling against each other ; and they act precisely 
 as if they were in a perfect state of dubiousness as to where 
 they were going to, and as to what step they should take next. 
 They see the two horns of a dilemma most distinctly, and pru- 
 dently consider which they shall choose ; and (a yoke of oxen 
 being naturally repulsive to each other) the one inclines to 
 the right horn and the other to the left. Between the two, if 
 the yoke were not a strong one, it would be pulled asunder; 
 and if a thong were not applied to them, they would not go 
 forward at all. Precisely so it is with the English in all ques- 
 tions of law and equity, especially in a court of justice where 
 the right of a question is a difficult point to be decided. The 
 result is, that the parties upon the opposite sides are as antag- 
 onistic as possible; and the trial, with all the "gee-hawing," 
 and yelling, and thrashing, makes excessively slow progress. 
 If the patient in this case is not in respect to fortune as strong 
 as a yoke, he is drawn and quartered, and the lumbering suit 
 is stopped for the want of means to go on with it. With this 
 peculiarity of the English we are so familiar, that we take no 
 particular notice of it, and do not reflect but that it is as com- 
 mon to other people as to them. Of course, this spirit of liti- 
 gation, growing out of antagonism, is a prominent trait in their 
 descendants in this country ; but it grows weaker, and is ex- 
 
THE OX. 
 
 121 
 
 hibited here much less than in England, and now much less 
 than formerly. 
 
 It is the trait of character here described that makes the 
 Englishman " as honest as a cooper's cow." He must know 
 
 " the right of the case" before he can pronounce judgment ; 
 he is particularly anxious to " take the right bull by the 
 horns ;" he endeavors to hold the scales of justice in impartial 
 balance ; his fellow-laborer is the man who opposes him, who 
 counterpoises him by a weight of argument equal to his own. 
 He loves to acknowledge a mutual dependence. If the love 
 of truth did not bind him to his opponent, he would fall : 
 hence he acknowledges a higher dependence upon truth than 
 on man, as oxen acknowledge a dependence upon the yoke 
 more than upon each other. He submits to truth as the ox 
 submits to the yoke ; his faculties of love and will are partic- 
 ularly submissive and obedient. Thus are those stern, rude, 
 barbarian qualities mentioned in the last paragraph, turned to 
 harmony with that delightful trait in the English character, 
 the love of enjoyment. 
 
 Let us turn to this, and say a few words upon it before we 
 part with the English. The quietness before spoken of as con- 
 stituting a resemblance between the Englishwoman and the 
 cow, conceals very often the viciousness referred to in Byron's 
 couplet : — 
 
 " If she will she will, you may depend on't ; 
 If she won't she won't, and there's an end on't!" 
 
122 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOM1 
 
 You are not to conclude that it is absent from the character 
 because it is concealed, any more than you are to conclude 
 that a cow will give down her milk, or will not kick over the 
 pail, because she is seen chewing the cud so quietly. But 
 there is a gentleness and serenity imparted by the love of en- 
 joyment that may even do away with the objectionable fea- 
 ture that is expressed by the term " viciousness." In domes 
 tic life, in rural economy, and in everything connected with 
 the love of enjoyment, the English are admirable ; and they 
 show a particular aptitude for everything Italian, or for those 
 artistic things that are represented in the horse : and not 
 merely do they appreciate these things, but they imitate and 
 improve. As the horse has some super-excellent qualities im- 
 parted to him by the English, and is a great favorite of theirs, 
 so art is fostered and improved, and has a certain quietude, 
 softness, serenity, and exquisiteness, imparted to it in Eng- 
 land ; and in this respect it is happy there, though it lives a 
 more charmed life in Italy. 
 
THE HORSE. 
 
 123 
 
 CHAPTER XIX, 
 
 We have observed that artists resemble horses. They are 
 like them in the lines that compose the features, in the bear- 
 ing of the body, in their 
 gait and carriage, in the 
 spirit which they manifest 
 in their motions and thence 
 infuse into their work, and 
 with which also they in- 
 spire the beholder. The 
 Andalusian horse, which 
 we see represented below, 
 is like an artist painting a 
 battle-field, or a storm at 
 sea. With his flashing eye 
 he dashes the colors upon 
 the canvass ; starts at the 
 
124 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 creation of his own imagination ; holds, contemplates the 
 scene with caution and pride, and then dashes on again! 
 Courage and fear are equally mingled in him : his success 
 depends as much upon one as upon the other, and both are 
 indispensable. Like the artist, he takes in the whole at a 
 glance, and carefully observes the details. And the artist — 
 how boldly he dashes about the lines, like a horse in the 
 battle-field ; and yet how cautiously, lest the labor in details 
 should not contribute to the harmony of the whole, and the 
 project should be crowned with defeat ! When all is right in 
 the surroundings, how confidently he dashes into the midst — 
 how full of fire ; and yet how cautious, in the midst of confu- 
 sion and smoke, to keep his place, to be governed by the rein, 
 and to preserve the equilibrium between courage and fear ! 
 As he approaches the hour of his triumph or defeat, what 
 great need has he of this union of opposites ! What sadder 
 spectacle of fallen pride than a horse tumbled on his back 
 upon the field of battle? The failure of an artist is quite 
 equal to it, to say the least. 
 
 With the horse, courage is inspired by caution, and caution 
 by courage : for in the midst of danger from which it is im- 
 possible to escape, caution finds no safety but in courage ; 
 and as courage would rush into danger that might be avoid- 
 ed, it excites caution. With the artist, this mutual influ- 
 ence of caution and courage is exhibited in a super-eminent 
 degree. 
 
 If you would see a strong resemblance to the horse, look at 
 those who represent Nature on the stage, as well as at those 
 who represent her on canvass. The sculptor is one who comes 
 between the painter and the actor, and he, too, bears a strong 
 resemblance to the horse. The Italians are a nation of artists 
 and amateurs. The dilletanti are all Italy, and they may be 
 classed according to the varieties of horses. We fancy that 
 the reader will see a resemblance between the king of Naples 
 (Ferdinand II., whose portrait is presented on the following 
 page) and the variety which is there also given, in reference 
 to which we should be warned not to put our trust in horses. 
 He makes a fair show, and is wedge-shaped in front, but he 
 
THE HORSE. 
 
 125 
 
 takes a wide sweep when he brings up the rear. Time was 
 when the horse had a Roman nose, and was exceedingly 
 
 warlike ; and he represented the 
 Romans then, as he represents 
 them now. Instead of the old 
 Roman nose, which ruled "lord 
 of the ascendant," we see now-a- 
 days the "saddle-backed nose" 
 
 among the Italians as often as among other people, and at- 
 tached to a horse as often as to any other animal. The Ro- 
 man war-horse, that might well remind you of the slumbering 
 lion, you can scarcely distinguish from the miserable cart- 
 horse, with the ardor, the spirit, and the fire, driven out of 
 him, instead of slumbering like the thunderbolt in the heavy 
 cloud. This same horse becomes in after-times the clumpy 
 beast of burden, and so it is with the Italian who is overbur- 
 dened and poorly fed. 
 
 On the succeeding page, however, is the picture of an Ital- 
 ian female who loves to be useful — who does the much that 
 her heart and strength prompt her to do, and no more. She 
 is more noble than the Roman matron who reared her sons 
 for war, for she applies the same elements of strength to the 
 promotion of peace ; and we may say that the animal that 
 stands adjoining is more noble than the war-horse, and quite 
 as independent. The aspect assures us of the good disposi- 
 tion, the willingness to labor, the confidence of good treatment, 
 and the constant readiness for service. 
 
 The horse is a form of art. Symmetry is one of his peculi- 
 arities : and his motions, like the outlines of his body, undu- 
 
126 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 late between straight lines and circles. Action is character- 
 istic alike of the artist and of the horse. ]STo judge pro- 
 . . nounces upon the merits of a horse 
 
 until he sees him in motion, or, to 
 use his own phrase, observes " how 
 
 he handles himself." It may be said also that no amateur 
 pronounces upon the merits of an artist until he sees how he 
 handles his instruments, or sees his motions described on can- 
 vass or marble. The line of beauty insensibly perceived in 
 the gait of a spirited, proud, dashing, but easy, graceful, and 
 obedient horse, is the result of that perfect union of boldness 
 and timidity before spoken of, together with an even balance 
 between weight and lightness, and the symmetry which char- 
 acterizes him. The affinity of the artist for the horse is there- 
 fore very great. Among other evidences is his habit of wear- 
 ing the hair long, thus increasing his resemblance to the ani- 
 mal he so much admires. It is true also that woman, who is 
 privileged to wear the hair long, is more symmetrical, more 
 graceful, and in every way more artistic, except in boldness 
 and originality, than man. She is also a passionate admirer 
 of the horse, and skilful in managing him ; and is herself the 
 model of that beauty (see next page) which by the Italians, 
 and by all who make pilgrimages to Rome, is sought for in 
 the works of the old masters, and in the atmosphere of that 
 delightful country. 
 
 The artist owes his artistic talent to an original genius in- 
 fused into him from his earliest existence. How often do we 
 hear it said that the man who is not born an artist can never 
 
THE HORSE. 
 
 127 
 
 become one ! This shows that there can be no true art that 
 has not its original in Nature, that does not agree with Na- 
 ture, and that does not cite Nature 
 as its authority. The child that is 
 destined to be an artist is more a 
 " child of Nature" than any other. 
 In every movement of that wild 
 one you see an inspiration of art ; 
 and the graceful, curveting, high- 
 spirited horse seems moved also by 
 inspiration. In Italian children, 
 more than in any other, do you see 
 
 those forms and those motions that f "\ \X 
 
 waken in you the appreciation of 
 art, and which cause you to start 
 with pleasure and surprise, like an artist when he beholds a 
 beautiful landscape, or like a horse, with a look of animation, 
 
 when he comes to the 
 brow of a hill, and 
 sees a h'ne, beautiful 
 country spread out 
 before him. Laugh, 
 if you will — but ob- 
 serve, and you will 
 find that those sights 
 which startle and an- 
 imate the spirit of a 
 horse are those which 
 are the most interest- 
 ing in the eye of an 
 artist. Just such a curve in the road, just such a clump of 
 trees, and just such a house, as excites the attention of a horse, 
 attracts the artist, and he looks upon it as the result of an 
 inspiration in the mind of somebody. 
 
 Inspiration is, indeed, the origin of art. Nature is a reve- 
 lation, but it is only the higher faculties in man that are capa- 
 ble of regarding it as such ; and art, which is inspired by this, 
 is a revelation in a far higher sense than Nature is. The art- 
 
128 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 fill in Nature, as in the fox and the cat, is detestable in human 
 beings. It is the province of the higher art to render subser- 
 vient whatever is artful in the natural character. The facul- 
 ties of imposture, intrigue, dissembling, and cunning, are con- 
 verted by it into the love of responsibility, the love of concert, 
 the love of ceremony (affectation), and the love of surprise. 
 The horse manifests all these faculties in subserviency to art : 
 the love of responsibility in carrying his master safely and 
 proudly ; his love of concert in galloping in rank and file, and 
 in prancing to the sound of music ; his love of ceremonj^ in 
 his graceful carriage, which is particularly manifested on cer- 
 emonial occasions ; and his love of surprise in being startled 
 at everything extraordinary— -more from surprise than fear, 
 though caution has much to do with it, and is one of the things 
 necessary to an artist, as before observed. These faculties 
 have a higher action in the horse than in other animals, sim- 
 ply because it is a form of art, and is subject to a kind of 
 inspiration, corresponding to that of the artist. The dog 
 shares in the pleasure of his master, and the cock is proud of 
 himself; but it can be said only of the horse, that he 
 
 " Shares with his lord the pleasure and the pride." 
 
 He is not free, however, as man is, to change the character 
 that Nature gave him, except to a very limited extent. In 
 so far as Nature has failed in making ' him a perfect form of 
 art, he is capable of degeneracy. Horses sometimes " make 
 believe." We have known them to feign lameness (though 
 it is only the most miserable kind of horses that do this), and 
 if their skittishness is not sometimes an affectation of fear, it 
 is exceedingly like it. In circuses, horses are trained to this, 
 and there it is certainly theatrical, artistic, and intended for 
 effect. No other animal, not even the dog or the monkey, 
 can play his part so well. The biting, the kicking, and the 
 various equina! passions, are represented upon the stage to 
 the very life ; and here he is more admired as an actor than 
 the clown himself, who, if he were so disposed, is too perverted 
 to represent Nature perfectly. 
 
 Man is capable of making the higher faculties of art sub- 
 
THE HORSE. 
 
 129 
 
 servient to the lower, and by so doing he renders himselt 
 ignoble in the extreme. He is base, hypocritical, crafty, in- 
 triguing — everything that is 
 included in the term " artful." 
 Of this class are highly-accom- 
 plished rogues and villains. 
 Such men evince extraordina- 
 ry talents for art, and suscep- 
 tibility of refinement ; and it 
 is by means of art thus per- 
 verted and profaned that they 
 
 succeed in their wicked designs — for art is pleasing to all. 
 The indications of this evil disposition in them are the signs 
 of the several faculties enumerated above, together with their 
 resemblance to the horse. Not unfrequently they have clas- 
 sic features, of exceeding delicacy, like those of an Italian 
 beauty ; but in such cases the signs of the moral and religious 
 faculties are wanting, and the signs of deception are larger 
 than they should be. 
 
 To be possessed of superior talents for art is therefore dan- 
 gerous. The talent for acting is perhaps more liable to per- 
 version than any other. The danger in this case is from the 
 faculty of affectation, which in its higher action is love of 
 ceremony, or politeness. External politeness is made to ex- 
 ceed the internal ; the rites of religion are more than the 
 spirit and the power; the profession is better than the life; 
 an appearance of sanctity is made the cloak of wickedness, 
 
 9 
 
130 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 and religion is made finally to consist of nothing but forms 
 and ceremonies. In connection with this, the lowest class 
 make an exhibition of themselves for the sake of gain. They 
 feign deformities, infirmities, and calamities that have no real 
 existence. They make " model artists" of themselves, and 
 extend their hands for charity with such good success, that 
 they are encouraged to continue their profession. To give a 
 picture of the Italians, in illustration of the artful in contra- 
 distinction from true art, would require more time than it 
 would be profitable to spend on such a subject. 
 
 One trait of the Italians, growing out of the thousand arti- 
 fices they practise upon each other, is jealousy and distrust. 
 Suspicion is said to be a characteristic of the Italians. It is 
 so more from the prevalence of the artificial than from the 
 strength of the faculty of suspicion. True art inspires confi 
 dence, for it changes the deceitful faculties into the very op- 
 posites. Who more than the sculptor and the painter love to 
 give agreeable surprises ? who more than Italian opera-singers 
 illustrate the faculties of affectation and love of concert ? By- 
 the-by, there are sounds uttered by these Italian artists that 
 remind us of the neighing of a horse. 
 
 Art raises man to the highest pinnacle of perfection. It 
 includes education, improvement, regeneration, accountability 
 — all that belongs to man as created in the image and like- 
 ness of his Maker. There is not a wider difference between 
 
THE HORSE. 
 
 131 
 
 the horse and the leopard, than there is between the artist in 
 the highest sense of the term, and one who is artful and de- 
 signing. 
 
 If we were to define art, we 
 could not do better than to say 
 that it is a reflection of Nature. 
 The mind of an artist is like a 
 mirror : he throws back an im- 
 age of the object that pleases 
 him, that others may see it ; for 
 an artist sees more than others. 
 He contemplates the scene, and 
 the result is a reflection like the 
 Daguerreotype — in which the 
 Sun, not content with furnish- 
 ing subjects for Art, affects the 
 
 rival. Nor is this all. What -the artist reflects is creation, 
 and he therefore becomes a creator, taking Nature for his ex- 
 ample. This is a higher kind of reflection ; it is thought, 
 reason, poetry, fancy, and imagination. It is the mission of 
 the artist to see what others do not see, and then to reflect it, 
 that others may share the pleasure and the inspiration. But 
 art, by the exercise of reflection, is not rendered independent 
 of Nature. The dependence is even greater than before, at 
 the same time that the artist is rendered original, and is free 
 to depart from the exact form of the objects of the senses. 
 Fancy and imagination alone endow him with the largest lib- 
 erty, and make him a very Proteus in the creation of works 
 of art, surrounding him with 
 
 " Gorgons and chimeras dire ;" 
 
 but poetry and reason, which are also creative, are bound by 
 truth, and governed by the laws of order and harmony which 
 Nature teaches. To depart from Nature, would be proof of 
 a deficiency of the higher kind of reflection, and would con- 
 demn a man to the society of his own creations, which would 
 be monsters, and not worth seeing. 
 
 As reflection includes reason, and is the essential of art, 
 
132 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 the philosopher as well as the poet must be an artist. As the 
 horse, too, is a form of art, he may represent the philosopher 
 as well as the sculptor and the painter. The man who excels 
 ;n either of the departments of art is deficient in neither of 
 the talents referred to. In this portrait of a sage who com- 
 bined them all in a super- 
 eminent degree, and who 
 says also that the horse cor- 
 responds to reason or reflec- 
 tion, we observe a resem- 
 blance to that animal. We 
 see it in the look, the air, 
 the spirit that animates the 
 countenance, as well as in 
 the position and cast of the 
 features. He reminds us of 
 a horse that gallops long 
 and free, with a distant ob- 
 ject in view — ambitious, 
 hopeful, confident, perseve- 
 ring — with his eye in the face of the sun, which is the object 
 in the horizon toward which he is tending. The bold and suc- 
 cessful discoverer in the unexplored regions of science and 
 philosophy is well represented by a horse racing steadily over 
 
 ^ M^T^^j 
 
THE HORSE. 133 
 
 a trackless desert, in which nevertheless his animation never 
 fails for the lack of objects of interest. The noblest horse — 
 the Arab or the barb — will best represent and most resemble 
 the man of noblest reason; and if you add the wings of the 
 eagle, you have a Pegasus that is the fitting emblem of the 
 highest style of art, the result of the highest inspiration. 
 
 The philosophic mind, like the artistic, comprehends that 
 "generals include particulars," and draws the outlines of his 
 work before he enters into the details. As he progresses in 
 the unfolding of Nature, or in transferring Nature to canvass, 
 he "fills up the picture ;" and his course is as much like that 
 of the war-horse under the guidance of the warrior as it is like 
 that of the artist. It is described figuratively at the com- 
 mencement of this chapter. His bounds being fixed, the 
 waves of thought are free ; they have no power to burst into 
 disorder and confusion ; they are governed by Order and 
 Harmony, which say to Reason, " Thus far and no farther, 
 and here shall thy proud waves be stayed !" 
 
134 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 One of the essential things in an artist, and in a work of 
 art, is unity of design. In this consists the idea of beauty, 
 which the artist perceives, and labors to produce. Without 
 it there is confusion and discord, and consequently deformity 
 and distortion. Harmony is essential to unity of design; 
 and the crowning beauty is symmetry, because symmetry ex- 
 presses unity and perfection, and hence purity — the very 
 opposite of adulteration and mixture. The essentials of beauty 
 are exhibited in the greatest degree in the human form, and 
 in every department of art the highest perfection to which an 
 artist can attain is the nearest approach to a perfect man 
 which his subject will allow. We ascribe perfect symmetry 
 to angelic beings, and wish that we were like them, which 
 shows that unity of design is the principle in all things. What 
 this symmetry indicates is what we should strive to be. It is 
 the dictate of cowardice to suppose that — ■ 
 
 " Angel forms do often hide 
 Spirits to the fiends allied." 
 
 The counterfeit of purity and intelligence is very like the ori- 
 ginal, but there are " counterfeit-detectors" in the science of 
 Physiognomy as well as in other things. The "prince of 
 darkness" may throw over his hideous shape some thin dis- 
 guises, but he knows that they only who desire external beauty, 
 without the internal, will be deceived thereby. But this, un- 
 fortunately, includes all, for we are so selfish as to wish to 
 appear better than we are. 
 
 As the female is in form more symmetrical than the male, 
 it is taken for granted that she is the last, best work of the 
 Creator ; and the qualities which we have ascribed to symme- 
 
THE HORSE. 
 
 135 
 
 try are attributed to her in a greater degree than to man. 
 The artist derives from her his ideas of what is pure, perfect, 
 and celestial. She is more 
 fond of beauty than man — 
 she is more congenial with 
 it, and hence she is more 
 beautiful. In our illustration 
 of this we must not descend 
 into everything — we must 
 confine ourselves to our sub- 
 ject, which is the horse. In 
 point of symmetry, woman 
 has more resemblance to the 
 horse than to any other ani- 
 mal — and her sympathies 
 show that there is an inter- 
 nal resemblance as well as an external. She is particularly 
 fond of equestrian exercises, and manages a horse admirably, 
 
 better than man does, 
 where she has equal 
 advantages, as is seen 
 in Persia and in other 
 countries where it is 
 customary for women 
 to spend much time on 
 horseback. She loves 
 the arching neck, and 
 bending head, and fin- 
 ished outline,in a great- 
 er degree than man 
 does, for her appreciation of the line of beauty in the horse 
 is the necessary result of a higher degree of the same quality 
 in herself than belongs to man. Are not the lady and horse 
 above in admirable keeping with each other ? do they not 
 seem to breathe the same atmosphere, and to inspire the same 
 spirit? "Would you not place such a lady as that upon such 
 a horse? is there not something kindly and responsive in their 
 relations to each other? would not the horse feel the wishes 
 
136 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 of his rider, as of an animating principle, without spur or 
 
 rein? and would not the lady sympathize in every movement 
 
 of the horse ? 
 
 The lady here has the air of an equestrian more than the 
 
 former, for she prefers a horse that requires " management," 
 
 as she herself does, and one that 
 moves as this animal does. Cor- 
 responding with the external re- 
 semblance, you can see that she 
 
 is intellectual, high-minded, independent, and goes straight 
 forward ; full of perseverance and determination ; reaching 
 forth to the future, not presumptuously, but clinging to the 
 past ; not jealous, but still ambitious that nothing should pass 
 her on the road to fame. 
 
 If there is a form in Nature that may symbolize art, and 
 furnish the artist with an ideal from which to trace the lines 
 of beauty in creations of his own, that form is the horse. "We 
 discover the outlines of this animal most in implements of 
 labor, particularly of agriculture. In chairs and sofas, or 
 whatever is made to recline upon, we see the same form of 
 beauty and of use. But in things made to correspond with 
 the body in which the soul is lodged — as in vases that con- 
 tain the substances that inspirit it, and as in architecture that 
 is to the body what the body is to the soul, and as in dress 
 that is the clothing of the external man as the form is of the 
 internal — we see that the model of beauty and perfection in 
 the mind of the artist is the human form. ' The arts which 
 distinguish man from the lower animals are of the two kinds 
 we have spoken of — resemblances to the form of the horse 
 
THE HOKSE. 
 
 137 
 
 and imitations of the masterpiece of creation. And as the 
 works of art first mentioned are the appurtenances of a man, 
 along with the vessel that contains his food and with the house 
 and clothing that contain his body, we see why the horse and 
 the artist should resemble each other. 
 
 The horse is the standard of beauty by which to compare 
 all forms of the animal creation. This is an honor, truly. It 
 is rendered on account of the symmetry which he possesses 
 in common with man. As things symmetrical are harmoni- 
 ous (on which account mankind are inclined to become one), 
 the horse and his rider are remarkably fitted to each other, 
 and present an example of " unity of 
 design." Where the two had a spe- 
 cial resemblance to each other, they 
 would seem blended into one ; and 
 hence the centaurs, as represented in 
 ancient works of art, had 
 a more natural origin 
 than the mere habit of 
 the inhabitants of Mount 
 Pelion spending a great 
 portion of their time on 
 horseback ; for no one 
 would think of uniting 
 a man and a donkey, 
 though the former should ride the latter for ever. Mount 
 Pelion was fn Thessaly, and the Thessalians were celebrated 
 riders ; hence men and horses were particularly fitted to each 
 other, and might be represented as one by those who under- 
 stood the principle of symmetry; and that they were called 
 " Centaurs," or " Bull-killers," is further proof of this, for the 
 Thessalians were accustomed to hunt the bull on horseback. 
 When the Indians first saw the Spaniards on horseback, they 
 saw them as centaurs ; they beheld in the man and the horse 
 a single creature, and experience was necessary to enable 
 them to distinguish between them. 
 
 Parts that are symmetrical can not be separated without 
 violence. Even when the spirit has departed, it is sacrilege 
 
138 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 to divide the body — much more when the soul, whose unity 
 is indicated by that of the body, is present in it. It could 
 not be permitted to man to commit so horrible a sacrilege as 
 to break a bone of the body of our Savior. One feels that it 
 would be a kind of profanation to break the statue of a perfect 
 human form, and hence the immortality of a work of art : — 
 
 "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever." 
 
 Unity is something to rejoice in ; it 
 is the attribute of God : and man is 
 created in his image, to be an artist, 
 and to finish the Creator's most per- 
 fect work. 
 
 Let it be understood that art is no 
 more "strained" than the "quality 
 of mercy." There is room for its ex- 
 ercise when there is no skill in the 
 chisel or the brush. Hence a per- 
 son who is not called an artist may have more resemblance to 
 a horse than one who is. The highest expression of art is the 
 highest beauty to which he is capable of attaining. In this 
 animal, which we compare with Melancthon, what an admi- 
 
THE HORSE. 139 
 
 rable illustration of symmetry do we behold ! and bow this 
 effect is increased by the appreciation of the line of beauty 
 in the action of the animal — in his curveting, his flexure of 
 the joints, his motion of the legs, his holding of the tail, his 
 curvature of the neck, and last and most beautiful of all, his 
 looking at himself to see the elegance of his form and the 
 gracefulness of his movements ! This corresponds to that 
 which in man may be called self-examination — the highest 
 action of the reasoning and moral faculties combined — from 
 which proceeds humility instead of pride, true dignity instead 
 of arrogance — so nearly do opposite faculties and their signs 
 approach each other! 
 
 The horse, by his resemblance to the artist, is related to 
 the sun (which pencils and paints), to every halo, to the rain- 
 bow, the morning dawn, and the thousand reflections from 
 the face of Nature that charm the eye with the beauty of 
 form and color ! The sun's horses are fiery and fleet, and 
 could never be driven without reins ; and it has never entered 
 
 the mind of man to substitute asses in their stead. Oxen ma} 
 be yoked to the moon, which ascends the horizon like a loaded 
 wain, but the chariot of the sun must be drawn by horses. 
 As the difference between the beauty of objects in moonlight 
 and of objects in sunlight, so is the difference between Eng- 
 lish art and Italian. The former is soft and subdued, and has 
 the air of stillness and repose ; but the latter presents the 
 strongest contrast of light and shade, and has all the charac- 
 teristics of the garish day. It is one of the peculiarities of 
 the horse, which we have often observed, that a shade in a* 
 broad sunlight is especially pleasing to him, and it is equally 
 
140 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 true that the cow enjoys herself in the moonlight much more 
 
 than the horse. 
 
 The fire of genius, the glance that penetrates creation, the 
 
 intellect that searches through all things and beholds high 
 
 and low, correspond to the 
 rays of the sun, and also to 
 the horse, in the flash of his 
 eye, and the bearing of his 
 head, as he flies over the plain 
 inspired by the love of free- 
 dom and by the will of a mas- 
 
 ter who breathes a noble spirit like his own. Is not this horse, 
 that resembles Rammohun Roy, and that might pass for one 
 of the horses of the sun, a fine example? 
 
 This splendid intellect, this noble soul, born and educated 
 to the religion of Brahma, dispelled by its radiance the dark- 
 ness of superstition. He laid noble plans for reforming the 
 religion of his countrymen, and published a work "Against 
 the Idolatry of all Religions." In one of his works occurs 
 the following sentence : " The consequence of my long and 
 uninterrupted researches into religious truth has been, that I 
 have found the doctrines of Christ more conducive to moral 
 principles, and better adapted to the use of rational beings, 
 than any other which have come to my knowledge." He ac- 
 quired a knowledge of Sanscrit and other languages, that he 
 might acquaint himself with ancient and different religions ; 
 and having studied the Scriptures in Greek and Hebrew, he 
 published a work entitled "The Precepts of Jesus the Guide 
 to Peace and Happiness." 
 
 " In April, 1831, the rajah, accompanied by his youngest 
 
THE HORSE. 
 
 141 
 
 eon, arrived in England, where he was received with every 
 mark of distinction and respect. In every kind of assem- 
 blage, religious, political, literary, and social, the amenity of 
 his manners, his distinguished attainments, and his universal 
 philanthropy, rendered him a welcome guest ; and his advice 
 was sought by the English ministers on topics connected with 
 the future government of India. He did not, however, live 
 to carry into effect the various plans for improving the condi- 
 tion of his countrymen, whose welfare he had so much at 
 heart, having been taken ill while on a visit at Bristol, where 
 he expired in October, 1833." 
 
 A very different ambition from that presented opposite is 
 exhibited by these animals, scrabbling to get ahead of each 
 
 other. They are like their masters, or rather like what their 
 masters were when they set out in the race — or rather (beg- 
 ging their pardon) they are themselves the masters, and their 
 riders resemble them. It is always so with those who 
 
 throw loose rein 
 
 Upon the neck of headlong Appetite" — 
 
 the animal gains the mastery. It is a low ambition that is 
 indicated by such postures as these : it implies a doubt in the 
 actors whether they will be behind or before, which can never 
 be said of an artist, or of a man of noble ambition. The am 
 
U2 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 bition of the man having nothing manly in it fails, while 
 that of the horse keeps on. The horse and his rider on the 
 right side resemble each other before, and they on the left 
 side resemble each other behind. A jockey picks out such 
 an animal to go to the race as suits him best, and that animal 
 he resembles. People who run their horses for sport, and 
 drive them poor and lame, and break them down, and work 
 them till they fall down dead, are, like those two fellows on 
 horseback, as cowardly as they are cruel ; and the horses that 
 are marked to be the victims of such have their tails cropped, 
 that their torment may be enhanced by the stings of insects. 
 The connection between cowardice and cruelty was explained 
 in the chapter on the vulture ; and the persons we are speak- 
 ing of resemble carrion-birds, and their perverted horses have 
 something of the same features. It is customary with such 
 persons to cultivate crossness and cowardice in their horses 
 by special training. They are fond of an impure atmosphere, 
 and of fermented drink; and sweating race-riders in a dung- 
 hill, to reduce their weight, is an invention worthy of those 
 who resemble vultures. They clip the tail of a horse to show 
 that he has the talent for "clipping it down" — the chief 
 value in their eyes. Out on such artists ! 
 
 We have here presented a quiet little pony, that has a good 
 
 master — children of Mature both. 
 What a suitable horse for this per- 
 son to ride ! The symmetry of the 
 
 pony is diminished by roundness, but in this it comports with 
 the beauty of youth, as in the features of young Edward VI, 
 
THE HOKSE. 
 
 143 
 
 who must have inherited this classic style of countenance (in 
 which there is so much of purity and refinement) from his 
 mother, Jane Seymour, rather than from his father, Henry 
 VIII. Features like those just given have the promise of per- 
 fect symmetry when the individual has arrived at maturity: 
 hence they perfectly satisfy the artist, as do also the outlines 
 of a pony which indicate his fitness to be the pet and servant 
 of a child. 
 
 The resemblance of certain people to asses is too frequently 
 spoken of to allow us to pass this animal in silence. He has 
 
 a trumpet of his own, which he will blow if we neglect to 
 speak of him. Shakspere has hit at a characteristic trait of 
 the person who resembles an ass, in making the stupid fellow 
 whom he disguised wn'th an ass's head say : — 
 
 " Scratch my head , Peas-blossom. Where 's Mustard-seed ?" 
 And to the question of Mustard-seed, " What's your will ?" — 
 "Nothing, monsieur, but to help cavaliero Peas-blossom to 
 scratch." For, to tell the truth, the person who resembles an ass 
 looks always as if he were sitting up to have his head exam- 
 ined, which, of course, implies the necessity of somebody " sit- 
 ting up" to examine heads. He has as strong an inclination to 
 one as to the other, for he wishes to " do as he would be done 
 by." He is as much like the artist and the reasoner as the 
 ass is like the horse, or as the brain is like the face, which 
 means simply that they are near to each other — an illustra- 
 tion of the principle that " extremes meet." He is for making 
 
lte 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 himself " thorough in the rudiments ;" requiring eternally to 
 settle the question whether there be such a thing as a founda- 
 tion, before he will consent to look at the superstructure. His 
 attention is occupied with the premises as the objects of chief 
 importance, and hence he never gets beyond them. Jle will 
 not look at reason, though you thrust it before his eyes ; and 
 though a fact as plain as the nose on a man's face be presented 
 to him, he will deny it ! 
 
 In contrast with this, we here present a man of lofty reason, 
 who resembles a horse. And is not a horse like this, that 
 
 looks like one of Aurora's, fit to 
 resemble an astronomer, a bold 
 and original genius, like Sir 
 Isaac Newton, one who stands 
 as it were in the centre of the 
 solar system, and darts his rays 
 thence,and comprehends all the 
 relationsand dependencies with 
 the facility and perfection of a 
 master ? Would you not place 
 such a horse as tliat on vantage 
 ground ? He looks as if he were standing on a hill, overlook- 
 ing " the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them." 
 
THE TURKEY. 
 
 145 
 
 CHAPTER XXI, 
 
 It is funny that a certain fowl should receive the good- 
 natured diminutive which we apply to a small, pocket edition 
 of the Turk, and to the country he inhabits. It is not always 
 that a name is significant, but in the present instance it is pe- 
 culiarly so, for " Turk" and " turkey" are as much alike as 
 the characters to which they are applied ; and we attach a 
 dignity to the former, derived from a feeling of reverence, 
 while to the latter we connect the idea of ridiculous familiar- 
 ity. The turkey is too much like the Turk (who seems to be 
 entirely unconscious of the position 
 in which we have placed him) to 
 be teased by an allusion to the in- 
 dividual to whom he bears so strong 
 a resemblance. He has already be- 
 
 gun to strut, young as he is, and to exercise authority, but 
 when he meets with a stronger than himself he is equally a 
 pattern of submission. The sign of his extraordinary love of 
 command is the muscular appendage at the top of the bill, 
 where the sign of command is in the human face ; and when 
 
 10 
 
116 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 the faculty is in exercise, this muscle is contracted, and when 
 it is quiescent the muscle hangs loosely over the end of the 
 bill. The activity of the faculty is accompanied with an ex- 
 ercise of attack- — a command and a blow — the dicta, " Hum- 
 ble yourself, and be my slave !" This is the trait of character 
 most remarkable in the Turk. He makes a slave of every 
 person whom he can force to acknowledge the right of the 
 strongest, and to all others he is submissive to the last degree. 
 To gratify his authority, more than to satisfy his lust, he pur- 
 chases a large number of wives, for wives in all countries are 
 bound to " obey." 
 
 The sign of submission in the turkey is that fold of skin 
 which everybody has seen hanging down under the throat, 
 and which answers to the dewlap in the cow. The Turks are 
 like the English in reference to both authority and submission, 
 only that in the former these two traits are still more extraor- 
 dinary. The government of a sultan and a religion propa- 
 gated by the sword are natural to them, and they feel no 
 jealousy toward republicanism, for the simple reason that 
 their country is not the soil upon which it can grow. Tolera- 
 tion, therefore, may take root there, and Liberty may find a 
 home. 
 
 If the eye be the " window of the soul," the spirit of the 
 Turk must be fond of shadow, for not much light can enter 
 its habitation through such windows as those. There is a 
 certain drowsy dullness expressed in them, like what we see 
 in the turkey, especially while young. It reminds one of 
 windows smeared with dirt, through which midday is con- 
 verted into twilight ; and the young turkey has an air about 
 him well suited to confirm the impression that it is night 
 within, and that the inhabitants are sleeping. There is some- 
 thing in the nature of the Turk that draws the curtains over 
 bis eyes ; perhaps it is bigotry : at all events he is very indif- 
 ferent to light. Houses in Turkey, that make a grand show 
 of windows at a distance, are found on approach to be bricked 
 up in the places where light was supposed to be admitted. 
 It is from this disposition in the Turk to make a show of glass 
 without the reality, that makes his eye itself a sort of blind 
 
THE TURKEY. 
 
 147 
 
 window. Certainly he is inclined to receive implicitly what 
 
 Mohammed has told him, and to be as thoroughly hoodwinked 
 
 as this hawk is that he holds 
 
 on his arm, and about which 
 
 he seems to be pronouncing a 
 
 discourse. 
 
 But his eyes are held a while 
 in order that he may see more 
 clearly, and may use them to 
 better advantage : external light 
 and external objects are shut 
 out, that he may have the light 
 of truth, and may exercise his 
 reason. "When this shall be, he 
 will bear a resemblance to birds 
 of powerful wing, as the hawk 
 and the eagle. The gradations 
 from the turkey to the eagle are 
 miserable, hard, and difficult. 
 First, he will resemble the tur- 
 key-buzzard — then the stork — 
 then the vulture — then the ea- 
 gle. But the philosophy of this 
 transition we can not stop now 
 to describe. Suffice it to say 
 that the quality of strength in the turkey is tough, grasping, 
 and firm, and altogether like that of the eagle ; and that 
 strength and vigor of the same nature are characteristic of 
 the Turk. 
 
 The poppy is to the vegetable kingdom what the turkey is 
 to the animal, and the Turk resembles them both. The tur- 
 ban resembles poppy-leaves, and the head containing the seed 
 is like that of the Turk. There is a connection between 
 "Turkey opium" and the drowsiness of those eyes. As sleep 
 is more appropriate to children than to grown people, the 
 eyes of young turkeys are particularly sleepy; they have not 
 waked up yet ; and the same expression in the eyes of the 
 Turk indicates that there is vast promise of something worth 
 
148 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 seeing for which the eyesight is being reserved. Opium is 
 suited to the idiosyncracy of the Turk, and hence he can 
 smoke it with comparative impunity ; and children can bear 
 this drug better than adults, for the simple reason that much 
 sleep is natural to them. If there is a strong tendency to 
 sleep, and the person is kept awake by pain, an opiate in ex- 
 act proportion to the sleepiness does not act as poison ; but if 
 it is taken to produce sleepiness, or simply to subdue pain, it 
 is deadly. If physicians and other people did but know this, 
 how much suffering and death would be avoided ! 
 
 The Turk and the turkey resemble the Arab and the Camel. 
 The Turk inclines partly to inhabit Arabia, and of course to 
 rule there, for his love of command is as unbounded as that 
 of the turkey. Yet he receives his religion from the Arab, 
 thus acknowledging his inferiority — as the turkey, if he w r ere 
 endowed with reason, must needs acknowledge his inferiority 
 to the camel, and at the same time desire to rule him. The 
 turkey is slovenly in his eating, as the camel is ; he " gobbles 
 down" his food, and this manner of eating is to be observed 
 in connection with the voice in the person who resembles the 
 gobbler. The young bird peeps with his voice as well as with 
 his eyes ; and the same principle is true of the old bird in 
 respect to gobbling, for the eyes are connected with the appe- 
 tite for food, and they gobble also. The characteristic of the 
 eye, the voice, and the appetite, is want of discrimination, 
 and this is connected with the love of eommand. In respect 
 to his voice, it is — " Hussle 'em out!" and his actions at the 
 moment respond heartily to this sentiment ; in respect to the 
 eyes, it is — "Hussle 'em about!" a sentiment to which his 
 movements, his display of feathers, and his whole body, re- 
 spond ; in respect to his appetite, it is — "Hussle 'em in!" 
 and it is no sooner said than done. 
 
 This is the manner in which the Turk receives and delivers 
 his sentiments. In respect to faith, he " eats what is set be- 
 fore him, asking no questions, for conscience' sake ;" and 
 what he eats he thinks is good enough for others, and he is 
 sure to offer it to them ; it is not the love of proselyting, or 
 the love of command merely, but it it is partly hospitality, 
 
THE TURKEY. 
 
 149 
 
 that prompts him to do so. In the young Turk faith is more 
 blind than in the old ; and the eyes, like the faculties of the 
 mind, are peeping. In this 
 portrait of the present sultan 
 of Turkey, Abdul-Medjid, 
 the eyes are of this descrip- 
 tion, resembling those of a 
 young turkey. From such 
 features we might expect a 
 great deal if the eyes were 
 open, and were not continu- 
 ally peeping after their own 
 interests. The young tur- 
 key's voice peeps incessant- 
 ly, and so do his eyes. Louis 
 Napoleon's eyes are of the 
 same character, except that 
 they are carnivorous, and re- 
 semble more the eyes of a turkey-buzzard or a stork. Such 
 eyes can have faith in the dreams of the alchemists, and can 
 engage in a search for the philosopher's stone, confident of 
 filling coffers with gold and of creating an inexhaustible treas- 
 ury, as was the case with the individual last mentioned. 
 But let us glance at some of the more obvious, external re- 
 semblances between the 
 turkey and the Turk. 
 There is a great abun- 
 
150 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 dance and looseness of dress, and freedom of all parts of the 
 "body, and thus a remarkably dowdy appearance, in the one 
 biped as well as in the other. The sort of tippet that hangs 
 from the breast of the turkey reminds us of something pecu- 
 liar in the dress of the Turk, and the Turkish cloak and trow- 
 sers are amazingly in keeping with the feathers of the turkey 
 when he displays them to the best advantage. We may call 
 him a foolish bird, and say that there is no use to call him so, 
 for that — 
 
 " Pride steps in to his defence, 
 
 And fills up all the mighty void of sense" — 
 
 and this is true of the Turk. But he is also too proud to be 
 mean ; he is honorable and sincere ; he eschews cunning and 
 hypocrisy ; you see no cunning in either the turkey or the 
 Turk. If he is in power, he bids defiance to all the world. 
 It is only when his challenge is accepted that he acknowl- 
 edges a superior. But he does not fight. The moment he is 
 not the master, he is the slave. He has the highest possible 
 respect for " the powers that be ;" so that he has a certain 
 "sublime port" about him whether he be the sultan or not. 
 
 Among the many excellent traits of the turkey we will 
 mention only this, the instinct to cure disease. He is a doc- 
 tor, and all the young turkeys that are born in a state of 
 nature have to be dosed and drugged before they can 
 
 " Wheel about, and turn about, and do just so, 
 And every time they wheel about jump Jim Crow"— 
 
 for this kind of exercise 
 makes people sick, and 
 the turkey practises up- 
 on the principle that an 
 ounce of prevention is 
 w r orth a pound of cure. 
 The doctor we have on 
 the opposite page is not 
 a juvenile turkey : the 
 " windows of his soul" 
 are open ; he is not a Turk, but he is like one, and wears a 
 
THE TURKEY. 
 
 151 
 
 turban from a sense of what is becoming to him, or from nat- 
 ural choice, and he looks enough like the turkey to be said 
 to have a strong family like- 
 ness to that bird. You ma} 7 
 be sure that he is a good 
 physician, that he has very 
 great desire to be honored 
 and to " render honor to 
 whom honor is due," and 
 that he is exceedingly hon- 
 orable. That he is proud, 
 and would make the cow- 
 ardly slaves tremble, and 
 that he is so ambitious of 
 esteem that he is the first to 
 set the example, or to do him- 
 self reverence, and that he 
 is not afraid to solicit the honor he is entitled to, can not be 
 denied ; but he endeavors to merit the grand object of his 
 desires, and that gives him an unusual degree of merit, so 
 that those who see his good qualities overlook his egotism, 
 and consider his pride and vanity as spots on the sun, that 
 diminish nothing from the splendor of his beams. Who could 
 expect anything contrary to this in the man who resembles 
 the turkey, or, what is very nearly the same thing, the Turk ? 
 By wishing to resemble the great and honorable, he pays 
 them a compliment, and himself too. 
 
152 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 The turkey has a rival. The peacock can outvie him in 
 splendor, but not in pride ; in vain-glory, but not in ambition 
 to excel. That the dispositions which are prominent in the 
 peacock have their seat in the human breast, has been too 
 often observed to require a formal argument in proof of the 
 assertion. We shall therefore proceed to the comparison of 
 certain persons with the peacock sans ceremonie. Whoever 
 resembles this bird ought to possess qualities worthy of admi- 
 ration, and also an extraordinary degree of the love of admi- 
 ring and of being admired. No one need be told that in the 
 ;,ournure and entire air and manner of this lady there is an 
 
 imitation of the peacock 
 — the skirt flows behind 
 in an ethereal beauty 
 that is better imagined 
 than represented in ink, 
 and that will admit of 
 no comparison but to 
 the tail of the peacock ; 
 the neck and chest seem 
 glistening with varied 
 hues, as they turn to 
 catch the rays of the 
 sun in different direc- 
 tions ; the head is wor- 
 thy of a queen, and the 
 eye is heavenly. This, 
 at least, is the idea intended to be conveyed. In every part 
 of the peacock there is something delectable ; his flesh was 
 as highly pleasing to the epicurean tastes of the Romans as 
 
THE PEACOCK. 153 
 
 his external appearance is pleasing to the artistic taste of the 
 most polished and refined. 
 
 Those who cultivate the appearance and manners of the 
 peacock, possess the same traits of character — the same im- 
 pulses, motives, and promptings — modified, of course, by the 
 faculties that are peculiarly human. The beauty which sur- 
 rounds them is an outbirth of an innate appreciation of the 
 beautiful, together with the love of self; and hence they ad- 
 mire it with the fervency of self-love. In other words, they 
 admire nothing so much as themselves : they are filled with 
 vanity, and they believe that they are equally admired by 
 others; or, if not, they desire to be, and they do all in their 
 power to eclipse the beauty of every other object. They vie 
 with each other- for the reason that there would be no glory 
 without conquest ; but they are too conscious of their power, 
 and admire themselves too much, to feel any great degree of 
 jealousy for a rival beauty. Peacocks vie with each other, 
 and there is a sort of self-love in this, for together they form 
 a galaxy of stars, the glory of which is the property of each, 
 so that each one may boast of the splendor of the whole as if 
 it were his own. This is a degree of refinement of self-love, 
 however, to which the literal peacock is incapable of arriving, 
 and for this simple reason : in this degree of selfishness there 
 is the opportunity and the demand that man should love his 
 neighbor as himself. What a beautiful superstructure, then, 
 may be reared upon a resemblance to the peacock ! what a 
 magnificent temple of humanity ! But we shall see more of 
 this by-and-by. 
 
 It is evident enough that there are very many people who 
 resemble peacocks ; but the resemblance in physiognomy 
 which indicates the resemblance in character is not easily 
 described. The most expressive things are the most inex- 
 pressible. Besides, it very frequently happens that the per- 
 son who resembles the peacock loses himself in dress and 
 equipage, like the peacock in the splendor and magnificence 
 of his plumage. Nevertheless, there is to be discovered a 
 similarity in countenance, particularly in the eye. In the 
 following portrait of a Persian the resemblance is expressed, 
 
154 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 Dot only in the features, but in a look that is inexpressible, 
 except by the idea that is conveyed of this magnificent fowl. 
 
 ^.^r 
 
 The fashion of that beard more, even, than the quantity, re- 
 minds us of the words, "Thou hast more hair on thy chin, 
 than Dobbin, my fill-horse, has on his tail." What could be 
 more peacock-like than the nose, the eyes, the softly-feathered 
 head and even the beard spreading all around, like rays, and 
 dyed according to the taste of the owner ? And if so much 
 can be conveyed in an engraving, how much more might be 
 done with colors ! The Persians, be it observed, are in the 
 habit of staining their beards, and in one stage of the process 
 it is a brilliant red, in which stage the vulgar class prefer to 
 leave it. The Persians are, in fact, wonderfully like the pea- 
 cock in character and externals. Whatever comes to us from 
 Persia conveys this impression. Their fabrics, in the quality 
 
THE PEACOCK. 155 
 
 of their construction, and in the form and color of their fig- 
 ures, are like the head, neck, body, and tail, of the peacock, 
 and outvie those of every other country : all things together, 
 they are magnificent in the extreme. The Persians are de- 
 lighted with positive colors, and with the bold, glaring, daz- 
 zling, glittering effects that are produced by them, in contra- 
 distinction from the neutral tints, which they have no taste 
 for. They rival the peacock in the wide field which they 
 demand for the display of their persons, in the splendor of 
 their attire, and in everything that surrounds them. 
 
 In every country, those who resemble the peacock rival 
 their beau-ideal in the circumference of their skirts, and in 
 the train they carry behind them. The peacock elevates his 
 tail, or depresses it, according to his caprice; and sometimes, 
 when he lives in town, where he is a miserable bird, he trails 
 it in the dirt : and so it is with those who resemble him. As 
 to sweeping the ground with beauty that is fit to be elevated 
 among the stars, it is indispensable to those daws that borrow 
 the tail of the peacock in order to be fashionable, and have 
 no power to elevate it. But the person who resembles the 
 peacock should not defile his garments. He is worse than 
 the pretender if he does, because he is capable of higher 
 things. It is worse to profane heavenly things than to act 
 the hypocrite ; and the person who resembles the peacock, 
 and understands the correspondence of its plumage, is capa- 
 ble of a lower degree of degradation, venality, and crime, 
 than the person who does not. 
 
 The distinguishing features of the Persians are all included 
 in their resemblance to the peacock. The fondness for ex- 
 travagant display implies a love of riches, for the reason that 
 these extravagances require wealth, and are termed rich and 
 costly. Diamonds, gold, and gems, the property of the 
 wealthy, form an essential part of this splendor and magnifi- 
 cence. The Persians have a passion for these things. The 
 means for gratifying it can come by no natural process, but 
 must be obtained by some diabolical incantation, or by the 
 help of some " good genius that turns everything into gold/' 
 They are properly limited to a few ; and when vast numbers 
 
156 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 have the desire for princely wealth and splendor, as is the 
 case in Persia, they resort to dishonest, artful, magical con- 
 trivances, to gain their end. As a matter of course, all of 
 them have the ambition to be courtiers, and to get as near to 
 royalty as possible. Courtiers in Persia are very numerous, 
 and of this class Mr. Fraser says : " Dissimulation and flat- 
 tery are their chief study ; their minds are occupied with in- 
 trigue, and their time in amassing, by the most flagitious 
 methods, that wealth which their extravagance requires." 
 
 Poverty must necessarily accompany this extravagance and 
 this unnatural production of the means of gratifying it. The 
 Persians spend everything upon their backs, and therefore 
 their wealth is superficial, and its influence is of short dura- 
 tion. Their income is never equal to their fondness for admi- 
 ration, and falls as far below their love of splendor and parade 
 as their heads fall below the rainbow in the sky, or as much 
 as the noddle of the peacock is beneath its tail when the lat- 
 ter is elevated to an imitation of the rainbow. They run in 
 debt, they borrow, they substitute tinsel for gold, they cheat, 
 and they steal, all for the sake of " keeping up appearances." 
 They prey upon each other; a display of wealth is a tempta- 
 tion to a stronger to come and seize it : hence they are divided 
 between a desire of displaying whatever wealth they may be 
 possessed of and a fear of losing it. They complain of pov- 
 erty, at the same time that they make a show of the opposite, 
 wishing to keep their neighbors in a state of dubiousness as 
 to the real state of their finances. But their love of dazzling 
 the eyes of beholders is so great, that the poverty they com- 
 plain of is as sure to come as the glories which the peacock 
 displays are sure to fall. It is only when " riches take to 
 themselves wings and fly away" that they shine in all the 
 lustre and beauty which the Persian so greatly admires. 
 
 "As birds 
 
 When mounted on the wing, their glossy plumes 
 Expanded, shine with azure, green, and gold, 
 So blessings brighten as they take their flight." 
 
 And the Persians would do nothing to lessen the brightness 
 of those blessings which they so ardently crave. Says Char- 
 
THE FEACOCK. 157 
 
 din : "They are the greatest spendthrifts in the world ; they 
 can not keep their money; let them receive ever so much, it 
 is immediately spent. ' Let the shah, for example, give one 
 of them fifty thousand or one hundred thousand livres, in fif 
 teen days it will all be disposed of. He buys slaves of either 
 sex ; seeks out for mistresses ; sets up a grand establishment ; 
 dresses and furnishes sumptuously; and expends at a rate 
 which, unless other means present themselves, renders him 
 speedily penniless. In less than two months we see our gen- 
 tleman commencing to get quit of all his finery : his horses 
 go first ; then his supernumerary servants ; then his mistres- 
 ses : then, one by one, his slaves ; and, finally, piece by piece, 
 his clothes." 
 
 Thus suddenly rises the tail of the peacock, like a halo of 
 glory, and thus fades the glory from the sky when the pride 
 that caused it has expended itself in the accomplishment of 
 the grand design ! And this is not regarded by the Persian 
 as a misfortune, for it is natural to him. The rising and falling 
 are in proportion to each other : — 
 
 "As well expect eternal suns and cloudless skies" 
 
 as that such a tail as the peacock possesses should be con- 
 stantly elevated, or that such a fortune as the Persian delights 
 in should be for ever in the ascendant. The base interpreta- 
 tion of the doctrine that " he that exalteth himself shall be 
 abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted," is 
 exhibited in the Persian. Alternations of humility and pride 
 are natural to him ; but as his humility is the result of his 
 pride, and as his pride is not based upon humility, he is too 
 literal in his resemblance to the peacock, and is no illustra- 
 tion of the heavenly things which the beauties of the peacock 
 correspond to. The splendor that surrounds him is born of 
 prosperity and adversity, as the rainbow is born of sunshine 
 and shower; and its height is in the brief interval between 
 the extremes of each, as the hues of Iris are most beautiful 
 when the mists are thin and the sun is descending. His de- 
 lights are the product of the union of opposites ; and as pros- 
 perity and misfortune are the mutual causes of his happiness, 
 
158 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 he has a sort of filial affection for them both. This is one of 
 the reasons why he represents himself on the one hand to be 
 poor and miserable, and on the other to be "rich, and in- 
 creased in goods, and in need of nothing." He has no sensi- 
 bility to disgrace : he can plead poverty as a recommendation 
 to favor as easily as he can present beanty as a claim to it. 
 He is as mean in his humility as he is arrogant in his pride. 
 He is demoralized by the government more than by his own 
 degree of the peacock propensity, for those who are in power 
 have this propensity in greater excess than the governed. 
 Says Mr. Fraser : — 
 
 " A minister or governor offends the shah, or is made the 
 object of accusation, justly or unjustly. He is condemned, 
 perhaps unheard ; his property is confiscated ; his slaves are 
 given to others ; his family and wives are insulted, perhaps 
 given over to the brutality of grooms and feroshes ; and his 
 person is maltreated with blows, or mutilated by the execu- 
 tioner's knife. Nothing can be imagined more complete than 
 such a degradation; nothing, one would imagine, could be 
 more poignant than his anguish, or more deep and deadly 
 than his hatred and thirst for revenge. Yet these reverses 
 are considered merely as among the casualties of service, as 
 clouds obscuring for a while the splendor of courtly fortune, 
 but which will soon pass away, and permit the sun of pros- 
 perity to shine again in its fullest lustre ; and experience 
 proves that these calculations are correct, for the storm often 
 blows by as rapidly as it comes on. Royal caprice receives 
 the sufferer again into favor; his family is sent back to him, 
 with such of his slaves as can be recovered ; and his property, 
 pruned of all dangerous exuberance, is returned. A bath 
 mollifies his bruised feet ; a cap conceals his cropped ears ; 
 a Jchelut covers the multitude of sins and stains, and proves 
 a sovereign remedy for all misfortunes ; and the whitewashed 
 culprit is often reinstated in the very government he had lost, 
 perhaps carrying with him a sentence of disgrace to his sue 
 cessor, to whose intrigues he owed his temporary fall." 
 
 Could such things exist in any other country than Persia, 
 or be said of any other people than of those who resemble 
 
THE PEACOCK. 159 
 
 peacocks? The Persians are so insensible to disgrace, that 
 " to give the lie directly is not deemed an insult. l JB!en du- 
 rough ustf (' It is a lie') is as common an expression, used 
 without offence from one Persian to another, as ' Gou Jchourd'* 
 (' He has eaten filth,' equivalent to ' He has lied') is in speak- 
 ing of another, even in the highest ranks." It is impossible 
 that insensibility to disgrace alone could account for this : it 
 is to be accounted for partly by the fact that lying is natural 
 to them by virtue of their resemblance to the peacock, which 
 implies a love for " false and deceptive appearances." — " Be- 
 lieve me, for, though a Persian, I am speaking truth," is a 
 common exclamation to those who doubt their veracity. What 
 is this but a profession that a Persian has a right to speak 
 falsehood ? And so he has, if he is to resemble the peacock 
 literally. Who does not see in the heavenly hues and deli- 
 cate fringes of that sweeping train something supernal, and 
 does not transfer them in his imagination to a being far more 
 worthy of them than this foolish, good-for-nothing fowl? The 
 man who imagines that he is that person, and attempts to 
 rival the peacock, deceives himself, and blazons a falsehood 
 before the eyes of all who see him. He deceives himself and 
 others with the idea that he is a superior being : thus he adds 
 profanation to falsehood. If he can be guilty of the former, 
 it is not strange that he will as readily admit that he is a liar 
 as anything else. 
 
 Where everything is outside show, what can there be of 
 worth within ? How hollow-hearted, vain, fickle, and capri- 
 cious, the people must be who resemble the peacock, and who 
 do not convert this resemblance into a correspendence of the 
 graces which the most exquisite beauty consists in ! Lavish- 
 ing everything upon external accomplishments, intent upon 
 enlarging his dimensions, cutting a wide -swell, and requiring 
 room for his dress as the peacock does for his tail, the Persian 
 must of necessity be heartless, coarse, and vulgar. He ex- 
 erts his utmost to convert himself into the form of a bubble 
 that is transparent, beautifully colored, and is sure to burst. 
 Vastness and splendor are the thoughts that occupy him, and 
 they vastate him of everything pure, refined, and noble. You 
 
160 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 can see the peacock strut in his legs, solar effulgence in bis 
 body, and unbounded self-admiration in his eye. Such a 
 
 body is formed to cre- 
 ate a vacuum, and to 
 draw everything after 
 it, as with his tail the 
 great red dragon drew 
 down the third part of 
 heaven, and the stars, 
 in imitation, it may be, 
 of the peacock ! 
 
 The resemblance of 
 the Persian ladies to 
 their embodied divinity 
 is as literal as that of 
 the men. They are un- 
 scrupulous in painting 
 their faces — using va- 
 rious colors for that pur- 
 pose — and stajn their 
 nails with henna, and 
 print fanciful figures on 
 their persons by tattoo- 
 ing, besides setting the 
 example of that kind of 
 dress that is appropriated chiefly by females w T ho are destitute 
 of modesty and virtue. If the men are coarse and vulgar, 
 the women are more so, for the perversion is greater. "They 
 are utterly wanting," says the last-mentioned authority, " in 
 all that delicacy of sentiment and language w T hich is the 
 charm of females in more refined countries; and, ignorant of 
 what we consider propriety, they express themselves on all 
 subjects with disgusting grossness." Their passion for exter- 
 nal beauty is like that of the peacock : it is no proof of a love 
 of that which this beauty conceals, and which it is intended 
 to express. The peacock, with his beautiful plumage, is a 
 vulgar bird, and is regarded with disrespect. The reason 
 why the pheasant and the bird of paradise are not so regarded 
 
THE PEACOCK. 161 
 
 is that they make no display of their attractions, but wear 
 them modestly, and thus gracefully, like one who is made 
 more conspicuous by her beauty than she desires. In a bird 
 that shows his feathers as if he were admiring himself in a 
 glass, and were practising manners before it, the glancing 
 and varying hues remind us of fickleness and insincerity. 
 They indicate something unworthy of confidence, and which 
 therefore it is not possible to feel an affection for. The pea- 
 cock race are admired, but not loved. They are arrogant and 
 overbearing when they have the ability to be so ; and when 
 they have not, they are as polished in manners, as lively and 
 acute, as mild and courteous, as they are deceitful and treach- 
 erous. Such is described to be the character of the Persian 
 court; and when we see the peacock displaying himself, we 
 receive an impression of corresponding dispositions and quali- 
 ties in the bird. 
 
 The peacock is beautiful in the extreme, and is regarded 
 with extreme admiration. But the extreme of beauty k 
 most external ; it is the least substantial, and the farthest re- 
 moved from love, which is the centre ; it has no sensitiveness, 
 no tenderness ; it is destitute of heart and soul ; it is fading 
 and transitory; it is driven forth to the outskirts ; it is just 
 upon the borders of Cimmerian darkness; and its "passing 
 away" is represented in the extreme beauty of the extremity 
 of the long tail of the peacock. What, then, must be the 
 character of those who spend their lives in admiration of the 
 extreme of beauty? Their souls are spent, wasted, in the 
 object of their lives ; and their lives are wasted ; and they 
 expire in darkness. Vying with others in dress and in mere 
 brilliancy of eyes and complexion, admiring themselves su- 
 premely and seeking the extreme admiration of others, court- 
 ing flatteries and delighted with adulation, they are the vic- 
 tims of those whose tastes are as superficial and whose pro- 
 fessions are as hollow as their own ; and in the specious ap- 
 pearance of love, purity, sincerity, devotion, and honor, they 
 Buffer an entire loss of them all. 
 
 If this be so, what becomes of the principle that external 
 beauty corresponds to internal ? If internal beauty shows 
 
 11 
 
l62 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 itself in beauty of the outside, how is it that the Persians, 
 the Circassians, the Georgians, and others that might be men- 
 tioned, are not better? Why was the beautiful marchioness 
 de Brinvillier such a fiend incarnate ? Byron has said, some- 
 what spitefully and somewhat truly: — 
 
 "Your thief looks in the crowd 
 
 Exactly like the rest, or rather better; 
 
 'T is only at the bar, or in the dungeon, 
 
 That wise men know your felon by his features." 
 
 It should be observed, however, that in all these cases men 
 are not guided by a knowledge of the signs of character in 
 the face, but are captivated by the extreme of beauty, which 
 consists of " false and deceptive appearances," and are such 
 as are discovered in the peacock. Besides that, those who 
 resemble this bird have great power of art, as those have 
 who resemble the horse; and as the highest art is perfection, 
 or the extreme of beauty, its perversion is the extreme of 
 falsehood and deception. In all nature, the beauty we are 
 speaking of is unsubstantial and idle — as in the rainbow, the 
 flower, and the butterfly. A sunbeam glancing on water, or 
 darting through crystal, is not the index of a soul ; the greater 
 the distance of an object, or the more extreme, the more de- 
 ceptive is its appearance. We are sure to be taken by peo- 
 ple at a distant view of them, or when they make their first 
 impression upon us through the medium of some disguise ; 
 but we find afterward that — 
 
 " 'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view, 
 And robes the mountain in its azure hue !" 
 
 or, as to the disguises, and to be more particular as to the 
 traits of character we discover — 
 
 " So the blue summit of some mountain height, 
 Wrapped in gay clouds, deludes the distant sight; 
 But as with gazing eyes we draw more near, 
 Fades the false scene, and the rough rocks appear.'* 
 
 But we are very likely to ascribe the deception from this 
 cause to the object itself, when in fact the object makes no 
 pretensions to be anything but what it really is, and the de- 
 
THE PEACOCK. 163 
 
 ception lies in ourselves and in the circumstances. Besides, 
 the object at hand may be far better than the "false scene" 
 which we admired at first; but disappointment or pride may 
 prevent us from acknowledging this, and thus many a worthy 
 person is injured and abused to his face by those who admired 
 him at a distance. 
 
 The exterior beauty which corresponds to the interior, and 
 by which we can read the character, is something intrinsic, 
 at the same time that it is exterior; whereas, the extreme of 
 beauty that we are speaking of is extrinsic, superficial, or less 
 than that, a mere gilding of the surface. By the interior we 
 mean the soul, and by the exterior the body (including the 
 signs of all the faculties), which is an index of the former : by 
 the external we mean the hue and complexion, the garments, 
 the manners, and the external accomplishments ; and by the 
 internal we mean something more excellent than the soul — 
 something central, the index of which is the highest and most 
 transcendent beauty. Thus heaven is within, and heaven is 
 above. The sky, where the azure, the gold, and everything in 
 the plumage of the peacock, are most displayed, is heaven, and 
 heaven is within the soul : it is there that man may hold com- 
 munion with God and with angels, and yet the dwelling-place 
 of these is above, in the region of that extreme beauty which 
 is paradise, in like manner as the soul is in the body. How 
 sweet and wonderful ! how intensely we realize it, and yet 
 how incomprehensible it is ! 
 
 The resemblance of the Persians to the peacock fits them 
 for the highest perfection to which human beings can aspire. 
 But they attain to the very opposite. " Pomp and ceremony 
 are the delight of all Persians. They form, in fact, a part of 
 the system of government, which is considered indispensable 
 to the maintenance of authority. They term the gorgeous 
 magnificence that surrounds their kings and rulers the 'cloth- 
 ing of the state.' — c Yon may speak to the ears of others,' 
 was the reply of an intelligent native to an Englishman's re- 
 mark on this subject, ' but if yon would be understood by my 
 countrymen you must address their eyes.'" So says a de- 
 scriber of the history and manners of the Persians ; and we 
 
164 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 suppose that there is some connection between the substitu- 
 tion of eyes for ears, just alluded to, and the eyes which 
 appear in the extremity of the tail of the peacock. 
 
 When the peacock displays his charms to the admiring 
 spectator, it is easy to see in his stiff, formal, stately, and ma- 
 jestic aspect, the intention to astonish and overpower, and 
 the assumption of a superiority that commands everything to 
 bow before it. The perfect parallel of this is in the Persian 
 court, as will appear from the following description: "The 
 importance of individuals and of kingdoms is measured among 
 them by the degree of show which is displayed, and of the 
 attention which is exacted by their envoys. If an embassa- 
 dor assume great dignity, the nation he represents is believed 
 to be wealthy and powerful. If he enforce deference, and 
 resent the slightest neglect, his sovereign is considered a 
 mighty potentate, and worthy of friendship and respect. 
 Hence the diplomatic abilities of a royal representative are 
 measured by the obstinacy with which he resists any medi- 
 tated encroachments, or contests a point of form at his recep- 
 tion, rather than by the firmness with which he conducts a 
 difficult negotiation, or the wisdom he exercises in establish- 
 ing a treaty. 
 
 " The ceremonies of the court of Persia are, in fact, a sub- 
 ject of the most minute study and attention. When the 
 shah is seated in public, his sons, ministers, and courtiers, 
 stand erect in their appointed places, their hands crossed 
 upon their girdles, watching the looks of their sovereign, 
 whose glance is a mandate. If he addresses an order or a 
 question, a voice is heard in reply, and the lips of the speaker 
 move, but not a gesture betrays animation in his frame. 
 Should the monarch command him to approach, the awe he 
 affects to feel permits him not to advance until the order has 
 been several times repeated ; and these behests are always 
 enunciated in a deep, sonorous voice, and in the third person 
 — the shah saying of himself, 'The king commands' — 'The 
 king is pleased,' while his attendants usually address him as 
 i Kibleh Allurn? (the object of the world's regard !) and preface 
 their reply by the words ' May I be your sacrifice !' 
 
THE PEACOCK. 105 
 
 "When a foreign embassador arrives, the court assumes 
 its most solemn aspect, and its resources are taxed to dazzle 
 the stranger as well by magnificence as the exhibition of un- 
 controlled power. As he approaches the royal residence a 
 deep silence prevails : the men stand like statues ; the horses 
 themselves, as if trained to such scenes, scarcely move their 
 heads. 
 
 " The envoy is received in a small apartment by one 
 of the principal officers of government, who, after a delay 
 more or less protracted according to the honor intended to 
 be paid, leads him to the hall of audience, where the sover- 
 eign, clothed in glittering apparel, sits on a throne covered 
 with jewels. A garden, divided into parterres by walks, and 
 adorned with flowers and fountains, spreads its beauties be- 
 fore the ample windows. Twice is the stranger called upon 
 to bow before the king of kings ere he approach the presence, 
 to which he is marshalled by two officers of state with gold- 
 enamelled wands. His name and country are announced, 
 and he is commanded to ascend. Arrived near the throne, 
 the deep and solemn voice of the sovereign utters the gracious 
 i Koosh Amedeed P after which, retiring to his appointed 
 place, he receives permission to be seated." 
 
 Before closing this subject let us look at it in its more 
 favorable aspect. The beauty we are speaking of is paradisi- 
 acal. It is not for mortals to clothe themselves in the livery 
 of heaven, except as the wedding-garment that is indispensa- 
 ble to their admission to angelic society. Like the bride, 
 they must have made themselves ready before they can enter 
 the heavenly mansion ; there must be none suffering for the 
 necessaries of life, much less must they obtain heavenly robes 
 at the expense of bread and of comfortable garments for the 
 poor. Admiration must be gratified in the beauties of the 
 sky and earth, in golden sunsets, flowers, insects, birds, all 
 things that Nature has provided for all, and every object 
 that Art has created for humanity. The peacock and the 
 humming-bird are fond of flowers, but the difference between 
 them is as the difference between an animal characteristic 
 and a human : — 
 
166 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 14 Self-love and Reason to one end aspire, 
 Pain their aversion, pleasure their desire ; 
 But eager that its object would devour, 
 This taste the honey, and not wound the flower.'' 
 
 The peacock devours the object, and is therefore a danger- 
 ous ornament in a flower-garden. Not so a human being, 
 unless he be totally depraved. The Persians are fond of 
 flowers, not merely as ornaments, but as the signs of spiritual 
 beauty, and as associated with feelings of humanity and re- 
 finement. They have a festival, of which the following is a 
 brief description : — 
 
 " The feast of the vernal equinox, the new-year of the an- 
 cient Persians, retains its importance in the reformed calen- 
 dar, in spite of religious changes. On the birthday of the 
 young Spring, when all Nature rejoices (and in no country is 
 the transition from the gloom of winter more rapid and de- 
 lightful than in Persia), the shah, by ancient custom, proceeds 
 from his capital, attended by the ministers and nobles of his 
 court, and a large body of troops, to an appointed place, 
 where a magnificent tent is prepared, having in it the throne 
 of state. The ceremonies commence with a grand review ; 
 tribute as well as presents from the governors of provinces, 
 from the officers of state, and from all who are entitled to 
 stand in the presence, are laid at the feet of his majesty. A 
 week is thus spent in feasting and joy." Where else in the 
 wide world is " May-day" kept in such a style as this ? There 
 is a sacrilegious element in it in the form of royal selfishness, 
 but we see in it a bow of promise for the Persians. 
 
THE HOG. 
 
 167 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIII. 
 
 These two heads, the one of a celestial and the other of a 
 
 terrestrial genius, convey to us the idea of congenial spirits. 
 
 Judging from the expression and contour 
 
 of the face, and from the similarity in 
 
 disposition, heaven 
 
 and earth are no't 
 
 so far apart as ma- 
 ny suppose. China 
 
 is favorable to the 
 
 production of just 
 
 such a character 
 and physiognomy as we see here. The hog of that country, 
 in the estimation of those who know how to distinguish a hog 
 from a shark, is the perfection of beauty and excellence. The 
 best point in the character of a hog is not a ravenous disposi- 
 tion, but simply a taste for anything and everything — an un- 
 bounded appetite, perfect digestion, and great tendency to 
 grow fat. The hog-fancier is one who perceives the uses of 
 the hog, and from these derives his knowledge of what the 
 beauty and excellence of this animal consist in. We need 
 not go far to find out the origin of our ideas concerning the 
 beautiful : it is simply utility. When a person studies the 
 points of beauty in a horse, an ox, a hog, a camel, a negro, 
 an Irishman, a dancing-master, or any other living being, he 
 will see that his ideas of beauty vary with the several uses to 
 which they are severally adapted. The highest beauty is the 
 highest use. 
 
 Now the comeliness of the Chinese is in remarkable agree- 
 ment with that of the hog. Are not those half-closed, drowsy 
 eyes, as seen in the portrait on the following page, a striking 
 
168 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 element of Chinese beauty ? Can you not easily imagine 
 that, exhibited in their perfection as they are in the softer 
 sex, you might be smit- 
 ten by them ? The story 
 of Narcissus becoming 
 enamored of his own face 
 on seeing it reflected in 
 a brook, is not so absurd 
 after all, for it is of eyes / j) 
 and features like their 
 own that the Chinese, or any other race of 
 human beings, are most likely to be enamored. The reason 
 is, that there is one kind of beauty suited to one, and another 
 to another, according to the country to which they adapt 
 themselves, and to the uses they are intended to perform. 
 
 Let us do justice to the swine, and we shall see that he has 
 points to be admired. If he has a taste adapted to everything,- 
 and an appetite that is not easily satisfied, he furnishes the 
 most perfect correspondence to the intellectual taste and ap- 
 petite of the Chinese, and their ability to digest and appro- 
 priate what they read, to become great with superfluity of 
 learning, and of intellectual dimensions altogether unwieldy. 
 We have heard of " learned pigs," and this term might be 
 figuratively applied to the Chinese. The learning for which 
 the pig has been distinguished is that of distinguishing one 
 character or letter from another, and of picking out the blocks 
 on which these are written, so as to spell words, under the 
 direction, of course, of his master. This is precisely the kind 
 of talent which is most remarkable in the Chinese. The 
 eighty thousand characters in their language are nothing 
 strange to them, but present an almost insurmountable obsta- 
 cle to foreigners w T ho would become acquainted with their 
 literature. They regard literary acquirements as the sum to- 
 tal of intellectual greatness, and the man of letters is allowed 
 a wide berth, not from dislike, but from his supposed capaci- 
 ties, and the great respect which is paid him. They desig- 
 nate the implements of writing (the brush, ink, paper, and 
 marble) by a word which signifies the " four precious things." 
 
THE HOG. 169 
 
 But it would seem that this extraordinary literary appetite 
 in the Chinese has its foundation in something more substan- 
 tial. The celestials are the greatest epicures in the world, 
 and, like the terrestrials, are rather indiscriminate in their 
 choice of food — accepting as dainties rats, mice, cats, dogs, 
 hogs, and a variety of unclean animals. Those great curiosi- 
 ties, the chopsticks, enable them to eat as hogs do ; that is, 
 by throwing the food into the mouth, a manner of eating that 
 is to be observed in no other animal than the hog. If the 
 hog had not the privilege of " pitching in" his food, he would 
 not be a hog ; neither would a Chinaman be a Chinaman if 
 he did not use his chopsticks in eating. On this subject we 
 quote the following from the French traveller La Place : — 
 
 " It seemed very doubtful whether I should be able to eat 
 my rice grain by grain, according to the belief of Europeans 
 regarding the Chinese custom. I therefore waited until my 
 host should begin, to follow his example, foreseeing that, on 
 this new occasion, some fresh discovery would serve to relieve 
 us from the truly ridiculous embarrassment which we all dis- 
 played : in a word, our two Chinese, cleverly joining the ends 
 of their chopsticks, plunged them into the bowls of rice, held 
 up to the mouth, which was opened to its full extent, and 
 thus easily shovelled in the rice, not by grains, but by hand- 
 fuls." 
 
 Not merely as to the manner of eating, but as to the arti- 
 cles of food and the forms in which they are administered, do 
 the Chinese resemble hogs. In illustration of this, we quote 
 the following description from the same writer : "The first 
 course was laid out in a great number of saucers of painted 
 porcelain, and consisted of various relishes in a cold state, as 
 salted earthworms, prepared and dried, but so cut up that 
 I fortunately did not know what they were until I had swal- 
 lowed them ; salted or smoked fish, and ham, both of them 
 cut into extremely small slices ; besides which there was what 
 they called Japan leather, a sort of darkish skin, hard and 
 tough, with a strong and far from agreeable taste, which 
 seemed to have been macerated for some time in water. All 
 these et ceteras, including among the number a liquor which 
 
170 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 I recognised to be soy — made from a Japan bean, and long 
 since adopted by the wine-drinkers of Europe to revive their 
 faded appetites or tastes — were used as seasoning to a great 
 number of stews which were contained in bowls, and suc- 
 ceeded each other uninterruptedly. All the dishes, without 
 exception, swam in soup. On one side figured pigeons' eggs, 
 cooked in gravy, together with ducks and fowls cut very 
 small, and immersed in dark-colored sauce ; on the other, 
 little balls made of sharks' fins, eggs prepared by heat, of 
 which both the smell and taste seemed to us equally repul- 
 sive, immense grubs, a peculiar kind of sea-fish, crabs, and 
 pounded shrimps. I had great difficulty in seizing my prey 
 in the midst of these several bowls filled with gravy ; in vain 
 I tried to hold, in imitation of my host, this substitute for a 
 fork between the thumb and the first two fingers of the right 
 hand; for the cursed chopsticks slipped aside every moment, 
 leaving behind them the unhappy little morsel which I cov- 
 eted. It is true that the master of the house came to the 
 relief of my inexperience (by which he was much entertained) 
 with his two instruments, the extremities of which, a few mo- 
 ments before, had touched a mouth whence age and the use 
 of snuff and tobacco had cruelly chased its good looks. I 
 could very well have dispensed with such an auxiliary, for 
 my stomach had already much ado to support the various 
 ragouts, each one more surprising than another, which I had 
 been obliged, nolens volens, to taste of." 
 
 We can not finish the description of the sumptuous habits 
 of the Chinese, but enough has been said to show their re- 
 semblance in this respect to the hog. They may be also 
 regarded as "hoggish" in that peculiarity of theirs, the dis- 
 position to have everything to themselves. This exclnsive- 
 ness is assisted by large secretiveness\ which is indicated in 
 the expansion of the wing of the nostril, which sign is large 
 ia the hog, together with the sign of inquisitiveness, or the 
 upward tendency of the end of the snout, constituting that 
 peculiar form of nose called the " celestial." In the hog this 
 particular form of the nasal protuberance is useful as well as 
 ornamental. It answers the purpose of a prying curiosity, a 
 
THE HOG. 
 
 171 
 
 trait for which the Chinese are as remarkable as for their 
 secretiveness. No doubt the Chinaman, judging from him- 
 self, attributes inquisitiveness to others, and this keeps his 
 secretiveness in a constant state of excitement ; and it is with 
 great reluctance that he opens the gates of the celestial em- 
 pire to earth-born foreigners. 
 
 The two faculties just spoken of give the hog and the Chi- 
 nese a mining and delving disposition the very opposite of 
 that which is implied in the appellation of the latter. They 
 are for ever busy in obtaining the necessaries of life, except 
 when supplied by others, and then they show extraordinary 
 faculties of rest and sleep, as well as laziness. Earth is their 
 mother, and they claim the indulgence of her lap and hex 
 fruitful rows of corn more than others of her children. They 
 are wonderfully crowd- 
 ed together, and roll 
 and tumble over each 
 other in the struggle 
 for a subsistence ; for 
 though their mother is 
 planted on every hill- 
 side and valley, there 
 are not rows enough for 
 them all. The Chinaman has indeed many of the character- 
 istics of the infant, and the infant is a " little pig." It would 
 
172 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 be easy to illustrate this, but we pass on to the signs of the 
 Chinese and the hog loving the earth so well. One is, that 
 they are both dirty. Says a work on China : " The great sin 
 of the Chinese costume is the paucity of white linen, and con 
 eequently of washing. Even their body-garment is sometimes 
 a species of light silk, but capable of putrefaction. All the 
 rest of their dress being of silks or furs, there is less demand 
 for white calico or linen, in proportion to the numbers, than 
 in any other country. They spread neither sheets upon their 
 beds nor cloths on their tables, and the want of personal 
 cleanliness has, of course, a tendency to promote cutaneous 
 and leprous complaints." It should be observed, however, 
 that scorbutic affections are natural to the hog, and it may 
 be that in this respect the Chinese resemble him, though we 
 can hardly suppose that his rolling himself in the dirt would 
 tend to prevent it, as in the inferior animal. 
 
 The Chinese compare very well with the hog in respect to 
 cruelty, tearing and rending, or whatever grows out of de- 
 structiveness and revenge, and the eating of garbage. The 
 government of China is a wild boar : u The mandarin is pre- 
 ceded by a hundred executioners, who, with a sort of yell, 
 announce his approach. Should any one forget to retire to 
 the wall, he is severely whipped. On entering a city he can 
 urder any person, whom he chooses to have arrested, to be 
 put to death, and no one can venture to defend him." As to 
 the emperor, " when he goes abroad, all the people are obliged 
 to shut themselves up in their houses. Whoever is found in 
 his way is exposed to instant death, unless he turns his back, 
 or lies flat with his face on the ground. All the shops by 
 which he passes must be shut, and he never goes out without 
 being preceded by two thousand officers, carrying chains, 
 axes, and various other instruments of cruelty." 
 
 "Parents have the right to destroy or mutilate their chil- 
 dren, thousands of whom are yearly exposed to perish in the 
 rivers." They plead, in excuse for this, that they have not 
 food for so many mouths, and the necessity of a living for 
 themselves ; and doubtless the sow, when she devours two or 
 three of her numerous litter, may claim the benefit of tho 
 
THE HOG. 
 
 1T3 
 
 same apology. The Chinese " have one species of refinement 
 on the 6core of skins. The young lamb in utero, after a cer- 
 tain period of gestation, is taken out, and its skin prepared, 
 with its fine, silky wool upon it, for dresses, which of course 
 require, on account of the small size of the skins, a great 
 number of lambs to be thus 'untimely ripped.'" Who but 
 people resembling the hog too literally would ever think of 
 such a thing? 
 
 The Chinese and the hog are remarkable for subterfuge. 
 They are excellent scavengers, as before illustrated. If one 
 kind of food will not answer, another will : birds' nests, silk- 
 worm chrysalides, the tender shoots of the bamboo, things 
 that nobody else would think of, are converted by the Chi- 
 nese into food. They are willing, like beggars, to accept of 
 anything. They are fond of disguises, and this fondness in 
 the hog is gratified, together with his secretiveness, subter- 
 fuge, and inquisitiveness, when he rolls himself in a slough, 
 and renders himself undistinguishable, or passes for a part 
 of the plastic clay from which he was formed. The Chinese 
 mustache has a filthy look, like something running out at the 
 corner of the mouth, where the tusk of the hog makes its ap- 
 pearance, and is indicative of the same savage disposition. 
 The Chinese and the hog are both characterized by very 
 small feet; but whether the hog would render this peculiar- 
 ity still more conspicuous, if he had reason, by compressing 
 his feet, we can not say. He has certainly no disposition to 
 
 contract his waist, and the 
 
 Chinese discard all ligatures 
 
 and confinements of every kind from the neighborhood of the 
 
 stomach and bowels ; and therein, certainly, the Chinese 
 
 ladies have the advantage of our own. 
 
174 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY- 
 
 The liog loves a plastic bed, adapts it to his own mo: Id, 
 daubs the black pigment wherever his nose can carry it, 
 paints in a very workmanlike manner the inside of his trough 
 up to the very edge, an operation to which the softness and 
 pliability of his snout are admirably adapted. In this re- 
 spect he is not unworthy of being compared with the Chinese, 
 whose fondness for working in clay, for moulding, glazing, 
 painting, and leaving a stain, is well known. Both the hog 
 and the Chinese exercise the faculty of moulding along with 
 the faculty of protection, which makes them fond of trenches 
 and strong walls, within which to ensconce themselves, and 
 in this they show that degree of prudence which may with 
 the greatest propriety be called "sconce." The hog treads 
 the mortar, mixes the straw, digs the trench, from which he 
 heaves up the wall ; and the order which he observes, and 
 the straightness of the line, show that he has an eye to a for 
 tification — that he is capable, like an engineer, of laying out 
 his plan, and of intimating what he wishes to have done. He 
 is warned of the approach of a storm, and begins to look out 
 for a squall, carrying straw in his mouth as his share of the 
 materials for a primitive fortification, to make good his pro- 
 tection from the elements. Walking aboukwith that peculiar 
 air of self-importance that is ascribed to the hog, and which 
 belongs to those who maintain a supreme right to the soil, he 
 would yet prefer his sty or a mud-hovel to a palace, as a place 
 to live in. In this they resemble the Chinese, who " endeavor 
 to make a pompous appearance when they go abroad ; and 
 yet their houses are mean and low, consisting only of a ground 
 floor." China abounds in canals and ditches, and the hog 
 engages in such works of art as these, and loves to plough in 
 the bottom of pools and stagnant waters for the means of sub- 
 s'stence, in imitation of which the Chinese "cultivate the 
 bottom of their waters, the beds of their lakes, ponds, and 
 rivulets," and obtain from the mud such a variety of animal 
 and vegetable food as entitle them to be ranked with hogs 
 in the class omnivora. 
 
 As the hog and the Chinese agree so well in taste and ap- 
 petite, and in the form, quality, and quantity of their food, 
 
THE HOG. 175 
 
 it is to be expected that they would agree in corporosity. 
 The added dimensions that come from a deposition of fat in 
 the Chinese empire, might be illustrated by very numerous 
 examples. "Those are thought to be most handsome who 
 are most bulky," and it is worthy of observation and reflec- 
 tion that their gods, which embody their ideas of beauty and 
 perfection, or of what is worthy of being admired, worshipped, 
 and aimed at, have enormous stomachs, little feet, large ears, 
 and small eyes, like the hog, and like themselves, only very 
 much exaggerated. The hollow cheeks and meager aspect 
 of many of the Chinese have hardly their parallel in the worst- 
 conditioned and most perverted of hogs ; but who does not 
 know, if he will reflect upon it, that the Chinaman, like any 
 other tea-drinker, tobacco-snuffer, opium-smoker, and what 
 not, must be lean and shadowy — so much so, that you might 
 almost rattle his bones? It is by virtue of his tea, which he 
 keeps constantly over the fire and makes almost constant use 
 of; and by virtue of his snuff, which he carries in a bottle 
 that is seldom absent from his side, and ladles out with a 
 spoon, to be snuffed up the nose; and by virtue of his opium, 
 which, lying upon a couch, he spends hours in smoking — it 
 is by virtue of these that he gives countenance to the idea 
 with which he wishes to impress himself and others, viz., that 
 he is celestial. It is remarkable that this claim is put forth 
 by fat people, and by those who are epicurean in their dispo- 
 sition, rather more frequently than by others ; but — 
 
 " Were I as fat as stalled theology, 
 Wishing would waste me to his shade again" — 
 
 and wishing to become celestial may have led the Chinese to 
 the discovery of the use of tea; and in this they are more 
 fortunate than certain of their emperors, who, in attempting 
 to make themselves immortal, proved that the elixir vito3 was 
 a misnomer. As to their opium-smoking, it is said that " a 
 few days of this fearful luxury, when taken to excess, will 
 give a pale and haggard look to the face ; and a few months, 
 or even weeks, will change the strong and healthy man into 
 little better than an idiof: skeleton." 
 
170 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 Were we to mention all the points of congeniality between 
 the Chinaman and the hog, it would swell this chapter to the 
 dimensions they so much admire. We will notice in con- 
 clusion only this — a wonderful adaptation in respect to prow- 
 ess, and disposition to the cultivation of the soil. Pope never 
 made a greater mistake than when he said — 
 
 " The hog that ploughs not," 
 
 for Nature has furnished this animal with a plough, and given 
 him the ability and the disposition to use it. But we will be- 
 stow our compliments upon the Chinese rather than the hog. 
 The annual festival in honor of agriculture speaks more for 
 the honor of the Chinese than anything we have said of them 
 yet. We quote the following: — 
 
 " Throughout the Chinese empire, agricultural improve- 
 ment has in all ages been encouraged and honored. Rank- 
 ing next to men of letters and officers of state, the cultivator 
 of the soil is considered an honorable and useful member of 
 society. It may be remarked here that, among the several 
 grades of society, the cultivators of mind rank first; those of 
 land are placed next; and the third station is assigned to 
 manufacturers ; while the exchangers of commodities or mer- 
 chants rank lowest of all. A deep veneration for agriculture 
 is inscribed on all the institutions in China. A homage to 
 this primary art is still seen in the annual celebration by 
 which the emperor makes a show of performing its operations. 
 This anniversary takes places on the twenty-fourth day of the 
 second moon, corresponding with our month of February. 
 The monarch prepares himself for it by fasting three days ; 
 he then repairs to the appointed spot with three princes, nine 
 presidents of the high tribunals, forty old and forty youn^ 
 husbandmen. Having offered a sacrifice of the fruits of the 
 earth to the Supreme Deity, he takes in his hand the plough, 
 and makes a furrow of some length, in which he is followed 
 by the prinoes and other grandees. A similar course is ob- 
 served in sowing the field ; and the operations are completed 
 by the husbandmen. 
 
 "An annual festival is also celebrated in the capital of 
 
THE HOG- 177 
 
 each province. The governor marches forth crowned with 
 flowers, and accompanied by a numerous train bearing flags, 
 adorned with agricultural emblems and portraits of eminent 
 husbandmen ; while the streets are decorated with lanterns 
 and triumphal arches. Among other figures is a porcelain 
 cow of enormous magnitude, carried by forty men, and at- 
 tended by a boy who represents the genius of industry. At 
 the close of the procession the image is opened, and found to 
 contain numerous smaller cows of the same material, which 
 are distributed among the people." 
 
 12 
 
178 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 It is generally felt and acknowledged that the love for ani- 
 mals is closely allied to the love for children. When a man 
 is convicted of a fondness for "pets," it is supposed that pet- 
 ting is one of the phases of his parental affection, and that he 
 would pet his children in the dame manner that he would his 
 animals. It is taken for granted that an old lady who keeps 
 parrots, or cats, or a lapdog, and shows them great attention, 
 is simply exercising her faculty of " philoprogenitiveness," as 
 the phrenologists would say, and that the degree of her fond- 
 ness shows the degree of attachment she would have had for 
 children if fortune had directed her affection in that channel. 
 
 It was before hinted that children are more nearly allied 
 to animals than grown people; that Nature is the first parent 
 of all, and that man has a foster-parent, by the name of Art, 
 that instructs, refines, and purifies him, and thus distinguishes 
 him from animals. This is reason enough why the love for 
 children and the love for animals should be included in one. 
 
 But there is also in the mind of man a discrimination with 
 regard to the several objects of parental affection. In child- 
 hood the resemblance to some particular animal is strongest, 
 and wears off gradually, as the process of education advances ; 
 and as the fondness for pets implies that some animals are 
 special favorites, and that others are not, of course there are 
 a great number of hinds of children, and one person loves 
 one kind and another another. Most persons, when asked if 
 they are fond of children, can not honestly say "yes" without 
 a qualification. They do not know exactly how to express 
 their difficulty, not being aware of what the distinctions con- 
 sist in; and hence one person says he is fond of children 
 when they get large enough to play ; another says he is fond 
 
THE HOG. 
 
 179 
 
 of infants ; another says he is fond of children that have the 
 air of a noble mother about them ; another says that he is 
 fond of them when Nature has given them features and ex- 
 pressions according to his own notions. It is on this princi- 
 ple that people are particularly fond of their own children, or 
 that " every crow thinks her own young the whitest." Pa- 
 rental love seems often not to be developed until persons 
 become parents ; but the individual who is fond of all sorts 
 of animals is fond of all sorts of children. This is true of 
 those who have a sympathy for Nature in general. 
 
 As but few infants and young children resemble parrots, 
 those who show a special fondness for these birds do so to 
 the exclusion of an affection for children ; they lavish all 
 their love upon their pets, expend sums of money upon them, 
 and if possible would cause them to inherit their fortunes. 
 But those who see a great deal of beauty in little pigs, as 
 thousands do, as is evident from their gazing upon them with 
 admiration whenever they have an opportunity, and from 
 their express declarations, find a multitude of children that 
 they are fond of. When they look into the little pig eyes of 
 a child, their own eyes twinkle 
 with delight and with a reflection 
 from those ; and when they look 
 at its little porky cheeks, and at 
 its little snouty face between, they 
 wish to press those cheeks with 
 their own, and to " measure noses*' 
 with that little turn-up nose, and 
 to measure mouths with that little 
 turn-up mouth, and it is ten to one 
 if they do not gratify their desire. 
 
 But the parental love of others refuses to descend to this 
 seeming grossness: they could not caress a child like that 
 represented above. Some little thing that resembled a puppy 
 or a kitten would please them more, for they resemble dogs 
 or cats, and from self-love they beget children in their own 
 likeness, and from this principle they love them. They con- 
 ceive children in their brains ; these are their beau-ideals, 
 
ISO 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 and all others are the objects of invidious comparison and 
 contrast. 
 
 There is in reality not much parental affection in the pa- 
 rents of children who are of the kind just represented. They 
 are too selfish to extend their affection to anything that bears 
 a likeness to themselves, for the more others are like them- 
 selves the more they regard them as rivals. They love only 
 that which they receive, or have before received, or have the 
 hope of receiving ; and when they perceive that they have 
 children (which was a thing they did not wish), they look 
 upon it as a misfortune, and as something they must submit 
 to because it can not be helped. The cultivation of family 
 pride will go far toward making them content with their sit- 
 uation. Whatever is important in their estimation must come 
 from themselves, must be derived from their own portliness, 
 and must still be considered as a part of it, and there are no 
 children in the world of the least consequence but their own. 
 Their pride is enormously increased by an addition to their 
 
 bulk, and they walk with 
 an air of greater impor- 
 tance than before, and as 
 if they were at particular 
 pains to show themselves 
 — The consideration that 
 what they receive inter- 
 nally will add to their 
 portliness adds also very 
 greatly to their estimate 
 of the high value and im- 
 portance of eating. They 
 are sensual in reference 
 to everything which they 
 
 receive, but 
 
 m 
 
 reference to everything 
 which they are doomed 
 to part with ; and if they 
 
 give away anything, it is included in the debt which they 
 
 pay to Nature, or is something useless. 
 
THE HOG. 
 
 181 
 
 The hog is an aristocratic individual, as is seen in the 
 description of the person who bears a resemblance to him, 
 and in various other hoggish dispositions that have not been 
 mentioned. It is easy to 
 see that the " Hermit of 
 Belly-full" is hospitable 
 to himself, and has no 
 kindness to waste on chil- 
 dren or on anybody else. 
 He is partial to his own 
 society, and dreads the 
 
 approach of a guest, for he has nothing to spare — he has no 
 more than he wants himself. He looks as if he were saying, 
 " What have you come here for?" — as if he would say this 
 to his first-begotten ; and as if to the second he would say, 
 "I've more mouths than I can feed already;" and as if to a 
 beggar he would say, "I've nothing for you: get you gone, 
 you clog you !" It may be that after dinner he will be good- 
 natured, for the hog is good-natured when he is full, but this 
 does not make him benevolent. Eating is his principal em- 
 ployment, and he spends a share of his time in measuring his 
 dimensions by the quantity of air or water he is capable of 
 displacing, for he blows like a porpoise, and rolls himself 
 around, and views himself askance, and regards complacently 
 the reflection which he sees in his broad mirror, which he 
 keeps always in the dining-room and opposite his place at the 
 table. The hog exhibits the same trait of character in his 
 disposition to wallow out into a green pool, the surface of 
 which shines like a metallic mirror, and there, with half- 
 opened eyes, which show that he is not sleeping, to consider 
 and enjoy himself. The man who resembles him does not 
 stand before his mirror, but sits down, and congratulates 
 himself on the results of his hearty appetite and his good 
 digestion. 
 
 The hog receives attentions like a lord : they sit well upon 
 him; and that high life is his natural element is evident from 
 the fact that his eye has the expression of happiness and good 
 cheer, when his wants are supplied without any trouble of his 
 
182 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 own. You may see, from the knowing expression of his eye, 
 that he is " a pig in clover," for the knowledge of this fact 
 gives his eye a wonderful deal of intelligence: he seems to 
 
 see that his numerous re- 
 tainers are bent upon ma- 
 king him iiappy, and his 
 eye dances when he sees 
 them dancing attendance 
 upon him. 
 
 But who does not see 
 that there is still more 
 
 meaning in that eye, if he can only get at it? To be well fed 
 gives a man the appearance of benevolence. He can not 
 find it in his heart to wish evil to those who wish him good ; 
 nay, he wishes them well for his own sake. This it is that is 
 likely to be mistaken for benevolence in the eye of one who 
 resembles the lucky hog we are speaking of. This happiness 
 and good-nature, along with a determination to have what is 
 wanted, expressed in the other parts of the countenance, fa- 
 vors roguishness, which is seen in those eyes more plainly, 
 we might almost say, than the eye itself. You might fancy 
 Francis Joseph, the emperor of Austria, with such eyes as 
 those, taking the child first presented by the toes, one by one, 
 and saying: "This pig says, 'I go get corn ;' this pig says, 
 'I go too;' this pig says, 'I'll tell master;' this pig says, 'I 
 don't care if you do;' this pig says, 'Queek! queek! can't 
 get open gran'fer's barn-door!'" And the pig we see above 
 answers to all these characters perfectly, with the addition 
 that when he comes to the last he looks around for somebody 
 to help him, expressing his desire to be admitted, and point- 
 
THE HOG. 183 
 
 mg with Ins nose to the place that he wishes to go to. He 
 wants unlimited range, and has been so long pampered and 
 indulged, that he has no thought of denying himself anything. 
 "We may say, speaking allegorically, that he is looking with 
 his nose toward Hungary, which he associates in his mind 
 with the hunger of that part of his countenance ; and with 
 his eyes toward Russia, asking assistance from that quartei 
 for the gratification of his imperious desires. If there is any 
 meaning to the word " piggish," as applied to human beingSj 
 surely it is applicable to the pig. 
 
 The animal we are speaking of has the appearance of being 
 well dressed, which naturally accompanies good living : this 
 takes place in anticipation of the dressing that will be given 
 him preparatory to his receiving the title of " Pork." Nature 
 demands this for her protege, otherwise he would not be so 
 smooth and sleek; and the doctors who do their share in the 
 labor of " giving him a dressing," take shelter under the favor- 
 ite motto that it is their business to help Nature in the accom- 
 plishment of her good intentions. It is vain for a pig to ask 
 favor of a turkey, alias the Turk, for — 
 
 41 Good mussulmen abstain from pork ;" 
 
 but it is the most natural thing in the world for a pig to look 
 to a goose for assistance, for the two are fitted to be compan- 
 ions ; they have tastes in the same direction ; they are in ev- 
 ery way congenial, and can sympathize with each other heart- 
 ily. Look at those eyes again : do they not look doatingly 
 upon the fair, round form of the goose, alias the Russian \ 
 do they not say, "If you'll scratch my back, I'll scratch 
 yours"? Are they not courting her for a helpmate, and tel- 
 ling her that she will make a good one? Ah ! who has not 
 felt what a world of expression there is in the eye of a pig? 
 what winning confidence! what unity in all the infinite va- 
 riety and phrases of feeling ! all being included in one con- 
 suming, absorbing emotion, self-love ! 
 
 Too great a degree of this affection eats a man up. It 
 makes a beggar of him ; it takes the starch out of his ears, 
 robs him of his cleanliness, together with his dressy appear- 
 
18*1 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 anee, and clothes him with rags and tatters. The more 
 clothing he has on the more poor and miserable he looks ; 
 and as it is the same with the hog, the dressing of this animal 
 consists in scraping away the clothing he has on, as a gar- 
 dener scrapes away dirt. For the illustration of these obser- 
 vations, compare the preceding hog with the one following. 
 " What a fall is that, my couutrymen !" — and this in conse- 
 quence of supreme selfishness, when the means for gratifying 
 it, and for being made happy and good-natured, are taken 
 away ! He calls for help still ; he is dependent on others. 
 It is so with the person who resembles him. As the means 
 of subsistence are gone from his head, he holds out his hat 
 
 to receive them at second hand ; and he holds a staff in his 
 hand to pick his way with, showing what dry picking the 
 gutters afford him, and to signify how little supper he has to 
 lean upon. His staff is an emblem of the "staff of life," 
 which is the special object of his pursuit, and it impresses 
 the mind with the idea that he is a pilgrim and a stranger. 
 
THE HOG. 
 
 185 
 
 and is looking for something that he can't find. A well-dis- 
 posed, benevolent individual would suppose that it was a 
 u city out of sight," but it is merely what the coming hog is 
 looking for and can't see till he has hit it with his nose, when 
 instantly he seizes upon it with all the interest of a new dis- 
 covery. 
 
 It may not be amiss to inquire why a person who is su- 
 premely selfish should be in so destitute and miserable a 
 condition. It is simply this: his desire for everything, his 
 greediness to eat all the world up, deprives him of taste and 
 discrimination. This accounts for the want of taste in the 
 hog: he would rob the very plants of their nourishment — 
 
 filch from the soil the decaying vegetables and the offal that 
 had been placed there for the production of verdure. He 
 seizes first upon that which is thrown away, as being that 
 which is most likely to be lost if he does not get it; by this 
 means he expects to acquire the world, for he knows that the 
 soil is the origin of capital, as many a politician will tell you, 
 and that the pennies make the pounds. The miser and the 
 beggar are of this description : the two are often united in 
 one. It is not in the sign of economy that their beggarly dis- 
 position is indicated, but in their resemblance to swine. The 
 hog-formation is very commonly met with in the politician 
 
186 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 also. The beggar, with his hat in his band, is electioneering 
 for votes, and may not be aware that there is a hole in the 
 bottom of his hat (we do not say top, for, like himself, his hat 
 is inverted), for the votes to fall out of. His subserviency, 
 submission, independence, and firmness, which belong to the 
 top of his head, are turned downward, and that portion of his 
 head leaks. 
 
 What an ashy hue, covering a fire of life that can scarcely 
 glimmer through it, is seen in the eye of that hog ! You can 
 judge from the rest of the countenance that the eye of that 
 beggar is the same. They are such eyes as glare upon you 
 in nightmare, and are expressed by the term spectral. They 
 indicate that there is appetite without taste; that the spectre 
 is of the kind whose god is their belly, and who haunt those 
 who pay reverence to the same deity. Soft, rich, luxuriant 
 eyes indicate a great deal of taste, and less appetite : they 
 are full of life and beauty, and in every respect the very 
 reverse of those of the two beggars before represented. 
 
 The pig is never negligent of appearances, as we see in the 
 last example, as well as in the preceding; and there is one 
 thing that he has a particular regard for, and that is, the looks 
 of his tail. In the chapter concerning the rhinoceros it was 
 seen how Appetite, which resides in the head, gains the mas- 
 tery of Insensibility, which resides in the tail ; and it was 
 seen that in the hog the former takes pride in showing that 
 the latter is its servant, while in the rhinoceros the two are on 
 terms of friendship with each other. The hog has the same 
 sort of pride in his tail that the aristocrat has in his footman 
 who rides modestly and proudly at the tail end of his coach ; 
 and the pride comes from the same source and in the same 
 manner in the latter instance as in the former. The hog looks 
 askance at his tail, and twists and flourishes it about, before 
 he touches the morsel that is under his nose, as if he would 
 ask permission to eat it (the tail being the older), and would 
 at the same time twit the tail of his ability and determination 
 to do as he pleased, and would also congratulate that member 
 on its share of the bounty, and on having so lordly a master. 
 The head, be it observed, is synonymous with appetite, and 
 
THE HOG. 187 
 
 the tail with insensibility, as was explained in the chapter re- 
 ferred to. 
 
 However much an aristocratic pig may acquire smoothness 
 by the shortening of his hair, and by giving erectness to his 
 ears instead of to his bristles, he never loses the least scrap 
 of his tail, unless by the hand of violence. In fact, the more 
 he has the appearance of being dressed for the market, the 
 more he figures with his tail, running through all the Arabic 
 characters, from 1 to 9. Such a close calculator is he, that 
 he never misses his figure, and it would never do for him to 
 part with the member with which he does his reckoning, inas- 
 much as he reckons upon it so highly : as well might a noble 
 lady part with her footman as he part with the evidence of 
 his nobility ; there is no keeping up appearances without it! 
 
 In the Chinese, who were proved in the last chapter to re- 
 semble hogs, this trait of character is exhibited to perfection. 
 No Chinaman, who lays any claim to respectability, would 
 part with his " pig-tail." It is natural to him, and he im- 
 proves it by cultivation. His dressing his head in the man- 
 ner of dressing a pig is a sign of consequence, and a conse- 
 quence of high living or of high life ; and in the degree that 
 he does this he improves his pig-tail ; he reckons upon it, he 
 sets store by it, and would not part with it for love, though 
 he might possibly for money. Love with the Chinese is not 
 very strong, but it is made fleshly by the exceeding grossness 
 which they share in common with the swine. This is proved 
 by the disgusting fact that in Canton and its suburbs there 
 are sixteen hundred brothels, each of which pays, for a monthly 
 license to the police, two hundred dollars! Thus love and 
 money are proved to be synonymous with those who resem- 
 ble swine — a rule as applicable to one country as to another. 
 The hog-fonnation is common to the authorities ; and it is 
 sometimes said figuratively of the hog that his proportion? 
 are aldermanic, but this does not prove that there are not 
 moral qualities in the alderman to render the animal nature 
 entirely subservient. 
 
 Speaking of the Chinese in respect to love, they are jealous 
 of their wives, and pen them up as they do pigs, thus ac- 
 
188 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 knowledging that there is a relationship between them. Saya 
 S[r. Davis : " It is the fate of the emperor's wives and women 
 
 o reside for ever within the walls of the palace ; and, after 
 >is death, they are confined for life in a prison called the 
 
 Palace of Chastity.' " As much as they wish to enlarge 
 themselves, and to have "room and verge enough," they wisli 
 to cramp and confine their women, and show that above all 
 others on the face of the earth they deserve the title of " lords 
 ot* creation." Hence a woman is esteemed beautiful in thqir 
 eyes in proportion as she is little, and a man is esteemed 
 beautiful in proportion as he is fat and large. Hence, too, 
 they cramp the feet of their women, which are the organs 
 most likely to run abroad, and make them a great deal littler 
 than Nature made them. As soon as a female is born, if she 
 be of the higher class, her toes are doubled down under her 
 feet, and tightly bandaged, so that at the period of maturity 
 the entire fore part of the foot looks as if it had been ampu- 
 tated, while the sides and ankle are swelled to an enormous 
 extent; and these feet, manufactured according to their sci- 
 ence of pedology as applied to women, they call the "golden 
 lilies," in allusion doubtless to the modesty of which the lily 
 is the emblem, and which this lesson is intended to inculcate. 
 If this is not hoggish, what other of the traits that we have 
 enumerated may be called so? 
 
 As we progress with our subject we must iefer occasionally 
 to our text, "Man is an animal." That all men are not 
 the same hind of animals is a clear deduction from the facts 
 that have been presented, and it is fortunate that they are 
 not. If the Chinaman resembles the hog, he must have a 
 particular admiration and fondness for that animal: he must 
 rest back upon it when he acknowledges his dependence up- 
 on Nature, and feels his relationship to his mother earth ; 
 and inasmuch as the hog is not a fit animal to be rode upon, 
 he must rear himself upon its flesh. What the ox is to the 
 English, the hog is to the Chinese. This appears from the 
 fact that twenty-four thousand pigs are slaughtered daily in the 
 city of Canton. According to our notions, a pig would be a 
 strange animal to offer in sacrifice to a hero or to the gods ; 
 
THE HOG. 189 
 
 but in the fifteen hundred temples dedicated to Confucius 
 there are, among the animals sacrificed annually, twenty- 
 seven thousand pigs ! So high an honor as to be offered in 
 sacrifice in company with sheep and lambs, or even alone, 
 was never conferred upon the hog in any other country than 
 China. So absurd a thought never entered the head of any- 
 body less ridiculous than the Chinaman — but "no dispute 
 about taste." 
 
 It has been already observed that the Chinaman has a taste 
 of his own. It behooves him to make use of whatever exter- 
 nal attractions are in accordance with it, and to make the 
 most of these while young, for when he gets old he is exces- 
 sively ugly, and his wife is no better looking than he. "Pretty 
 little pigs — ugly old sow !" is especially applicable to China ; 
 but the pig-tail is so supremely beautiful, that the loss of mi- 
 nor beauties of complexion, freshness, and expression, are not 
 missed. There is, however, a significance in the shaving 
 of the head. It indicates that the individual is formed to re- 
 ceive impressions on the brain, and that the mind is cleared 
 from brushwood, and prepared to receive seed into a virgin 
 soil ; or that it is like a sheet of fair paper, to be written upon ; 
 that it is, in short, an infant mind, plastic, faithful to the im- 
 pression that is made upon it, suited to the study of letters 
 and words, learning its lessons by rote, and following copy, 
 or imitating, to perfection. Hence the Chinese should be 
 scholars, and they who resemble them should be men of let- 
 ters, and the hog himself should be literary. We should see 
 the former surrounded with books and papers in orderly con- 
 fusion, in the midst of his wealth and in the centre of his 
 empire, having an eye to the whole, and ready to dispose of 
 each particular object in its proper order, and according to 
 the rule — 
 
 " Discord is harmony not understood, 
 All partial evil universal good" — 
 
 and the hog we should see surrounded with straw, in a cell 
 that is thoroughly littered, where he can feel perfectly at 
 home, and improve and grow fat, and enjoy himself, instead 
 of living in dampness and wallowing in the mire. 
 
X90 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 It is a fact well worthy of observation that the men of most 
 extensive learning have a resemblance to the hog. We could 
 give numerous examples of this, but one will be sufficient — 
 
 that of Erasmus, who is seen to have the air and manner of 
 the wild-boar. Appetite for intellectual food, which shall 
 
 cause the mind, by growing, 
 to become enlarged, corre- 
 sponds to appetite for the 
 food of the body ; and as 
 the hog has an appetite and 
 relish for everything, and 
 can digest everything that 
 he has the least inclination 
 to swallow, and never be- 
 comes disgusted or sick at 
 anything that can be appro- 
 priated to the formation of 
 
THE HOG-. ^1 
 
 n animal, so it is in respect to the individual who resembles 
 hog, and to the food that is capable of being appropriated 
 X) the formation of a human mind. The portrait on the pre- 
 ceding page is of Erasmus reading; and the boar looks as if 
 he were in a brown study — as if he were consuming the 
 midnight oil, or lard, or fatness, which is very likely to be 
 wasted away by too great attention to books. Looking at 
 the eye of that animal, you can hardly help imagining that 
 he is reading by candle-light, and that supreme silence reigns 
 around him — that he is reading the great book of Nature 
 while she is asleep. He resembles the bear very strongly, 
 and there is an important relation between the hog and the 
 bear, as will be seen by-and-by. 
 
J&2 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXY. 
 
 It is not so easy to idealize the bear into an eagle as to 
 change the bull into a lion ; but the polar bear (see page 203) 
 is sufficiently powerful of himself, and would have the advan- 
 tage over the lion of being a truthful emblem of a great and 
 powerful nation. When the lion shall eat straw like an ox. 
 the polar bear may be our national ensign. The United States 
 should stand confessed the " Ursus Major," the object of uni- 
 versal interest, the " polar star" of Freedom throughout the 
 world. 
 
 With the exception of man, the polar bear is the brightest 
 example of conjugal attachment which the world affords, and 
 parental love is here more beautifully and wonderfully exem- 
 plified than in the eagle. What nobler emblem, therefore, 
 of the character of his government, or what more appropriate 
 badge of his nationality, could "Brother Jonathan" require? 
 Next to this, or perhaps we should say before it, we would 
 choose the Indian, with his bow and arrows. 
 
 There is a relation of harmony 
 between the hog and the bear, 
 and this implies opposition as 
 well as similarity, and this oppo- 
 sition must be maintained. The 
 king of Naples resembles that 
 kind of horse that has most re- 
 semblance to the bull ; and here 
 we have a specimen of a Yankee 
 who resembles most that kind of 
 bear which bears the strongest 
 resemblance to the hog. Tlv 
 Syrian bear (which this is) approximates very closely to tl 
 
THE BEAK- 1 f>3 
 
 wild-boar, and is as ugly in disposition as lie is in looks. 
 You recognise m him the child-hating savage that Indian 
 
 mothers hold up as objects of terror to their little ones. Yan- 
 kee mothers do so too ; and if you should look in their faces 
 you would see that mixture of cunning and cruelty, that un- 
 feeling mockery, that thoughtless insensibility, which you see 
 here. 
 
 The polar bear is the very contrary of all this. He has 
 both the ability and the will to maintain his rights, and there- 
 in he is worthy to be honored. As male and female, in their 
 mutual fondness for their offspring, which is based on their 
 mutual affection for each other, they present the most perfect 
 emblem of a true government that the world affords. They 
 are governed by their young, for parental love rules them, 
 and it is this which influences their cubs : and so a republic 
 is governed by the weak and dependent more than by the 
 great and strong. The " Russian bear" (by which we mean 
 the Russian government) is the very reverse of republican, for ft 
 resembles a hog, and a hog resembles a goose. Russia takes 
 its cue from China, and in connection with the fact that the 
 Chinese wear queues, or pig-tails, it should be observed that 
 the emperor Paul adopted the pig-tail, and introduced it into 
 the army. His courage and military display were peculiarly 
 Chinese, except that they partook more of the nature of the 
 goose than of the hog. 
 
 There are three personages of whom the distich is true — 
 
 13 
 
94 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 44 Great is thy power, and great thy fame. 
 Far kenned and noted is thy name" — 
 
 two of them called "Nicholas," and the other the bear that 
 is now pretty well understood to be a bug-bear. Whether the 
 son of Paul, who represents the Enssian bear at present, in- 
 herits the formidable qualities of his father, is not yet fully 
 decided. The bug-bear rushes suddenly from under cover, 
 and cries, "Boo!" which is a very common practice with the 
 hog. 
 
 We must, however, keep to our text, which is the resem- 
 blance between the bear and the Yankee. This resemblance, 
 as before observed, is particularly strong. As truth perverted 
 is worse falsehood than any other, and as hypocrisy is more 
 infernal than any other kind of wickedness, so that kind of 
 bear that is perverted into a near resemblance to the hog re- 
 sembles the meanest sort of a Yankee, than whom there can 
 
 be no greater impostor on 
 the face of the earth. Than 
 such a one there can also 
 be no more unprincipled 
 tyrant, or, in other words, 
 inconsistent republican, to 
 be found. A sneaking, un- 
 der-ground miner, descend- 
 ing lower than the hog — 
 delving for sordid gain — 
 pandering to the strongest 
 — is such a resemblance to 
 a bears, that disgrace the 
 name of their species, to 
 be found on the western continent? 
 
 As the resemblance to the hog often shows itself in an ex- 
 traordinary literary appetite, we are not surprised to find that 
 the ursine sloth (which, according to natural history, would 
 be more properly called the susine bear) has a decided re- 
 semblance to the literary loafer. The specimen on the page 
 following is a rare character among the native Indians, and 
 
THE BEAR. 
 
 195 
 
 yet he lias an existence even there. You may recognise him 
 in that peculiar lip, which bespeaks the ambition for distinc- 
 
 tion ; in that peculiarly-shaped nose, which indicates the abil- 
 ity to run itself into the ground ; and in that general resem- 
 blance to the long-lipped bear which indicates extraordinary 
 laziness, and the disposition, and thence the necessity, of 
 
 Wff^im^ 
 
 sharing in the prey that is taken by the more courageous and 
 noble of the species. The same dispositions, if they did not 
 follow so closely upon the hog as to produce a literary turn, 
 and were not so ursine as to produce an indisposition to physi- 
 cal exertion, would make the petty despot, lording it on his 
 own domains, like the autocrat of Russia on his, supported 
 and kept in power by the labor and indulgence of others. 
 
 One of the marks of degeneracy in the bear and in the 
 Yankee is a peculiar flat-head edness, the result of too near an 
 approximation to the hog. This indicates " a flat," in the 
 
196 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 ordinary acceptation of the term, when applied to character. 
 Here is a Yankee loafer that is allowed to belong to the class 
 
 to which this particular designation is applicable. Bearish- 
 ness is conspicuous in every limb'and feature, and in the very 
 
 look, but it is like the old-fashioned bearishness which is in* 
 digenous to the Old World mingled with that which is in- 
 
THE BEAR. 
 
 197 
 
 digenous to the New. His appetite, you may be sure, is enor- 
 mous, and makes a particular demand for pancakes. His 
 resemblance is to an old-country bear, one that carries him a 
 good way off from our immediate sympathy : yes, the Thibet 
 bear is like him ; they two look enough alike to be brothers. 
 Which is the greater loafer it would be difficult to tell. 
 
 The Flat-head Indians, by-the-by, are an example of what 
 is indicated by this peculiar form of the physiognomy. By 
 increasing the flatness, they illustrate the self-satisfaction 
 which is characteristic of folly. Their resemblance to the 
 bear is quite remarkable, and so is that of every other tribe 
 of American Indians. The Yankee resembles the Indian in 
 whatever constitutes are- 
 semblance to the bear, and 
 too often in those things 
 which constitute a resem- 
 blance to the hog. The 
 Indian lias small hands 
 and feet, and therein he 
 differs from the bear, but 
 between him and the Chi- 
 naman a striking similar- 
 ity of features and expres- 
 sions has been often ob- 
 served. This is invariably 
 the case with the meaner 
 sort of Indians and the same class in China. The principle 
 of degeneracy in this case is a loss of distinction between the 
 
 hog and the bear — a 
 sort of fusion and amal- 
 gamation of the two — 
 and this takes place, 
 although the Indians 
 and the Chinese never 
 see each other. 
 
 Above is a charac- 
 teristic Indian face — 
 and it is seen to have 
 
1P3 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY, 
 
 a great deal of Yankee expression in it. The grizzly bear is 
 the variety that claims the honor of this comparison. There 
 is nothing of that leering, sneaking, dishonest expression which 
 there is in the foreign bears and in the countenances that re- 
 semble them, but a straight-forward, hungry, mind-his-own- 
 business expression which it is gratifying to meet with in a 
 savage of such extraordinary prowess. In California there is 
 a tribe of Indians, called Root-diggers, whose track is so like 
 that of the grizzly bear, that it can only be distinguished by 
 the size. The ball of the foot is more deeply indented in the 
 ground in consequence of their treading more heavily on that 
 part of the foot, like an animal. They are thought by some 
 to be a link between man and brute, as if it were possible for 
 such a link to exist. And why is this? It is because their 
 resemblance to the bear has degenerated into that of the hog. 
 They subsist entirely on roots and acorns, refusing flesh, and 
 having no knowledge of agriculture. The only article they 
 are capable of manufacturing is a basket, so tightly woven as 
 to hold water; and this is invariably conical, so that when 
 they set it down they must make a hole in the ground to re- 
 ceive it. This reminds us of the Chinese cap, and of the form 
 that is characteristic of the Chinese architecture. They make 
 themselves holes to crawl into by sticking bushes into the 
 ground, bending them over, and placing dirt upon the top; 
 and there they live like hogs. They propagate their species 
 at the season proper to animals, and have the smallest degree 
 of parental love, as they have not the least of the conjugal. 
 They converse more by the motions of their bodies than by 
 words, and seem to know scarcely anything. They spend 
 most of their time upon their haunches. They are naked 
 and exceedingly filthy. Their arms are short and stubby, the 
 bone from the shoulder to the elbow being long in proportion 
 to the forearm, the hand bearing no small resemblance to a 
 paw, and the whole arm bent and inclined inward, like the 
 hind feet of the bear. Their faces are ugly, and vacant of 
 anything human except in so small a degree that it is scarcely 
 to be perceived. In short, they illustrate perfectly the prin- 
 ciple that confounding the resemblance of the bear with that 
 
THE BEAR. 
 
 199 
 
 of the hog is the lowest degradation to which it is possible to 
 attain. 
 
 If we were going to have a sermon on that subject, it could 
 
 not be more appropriately given than by one who resembles 
 a bear, as it must be supposed that such a one would have a 
 better appreciation of 
 the subject than any 
 other. The person who 
 resembles such a bear 
 as this must have a 
 tongue, and be able to 
 use it. He will paw 
 about his ideas over 
 the heads of his audi- 
 ence, until he has mag- 
 netized them into a 
 sound sleep! He is 
 no " flat," as you can 
 see at a glance, but to 
 be at the opposite extreme is almost as bad :- 
 
200 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 "His speech is a fine sample, on the whole, 
 Of rhetoric which the learned call rigmarole." 
 
 You can not doubt of his ability to do justice to pork and 
 beans, and that he would prefer dumplings to pancakes : — 
 
 " The large, round dumpling, rolling from the pot," 
 
 is the signal for extraordinary preparations. The reason for 
 his head being so round is, its perfect sympathy with his 
 stomach. The bear that resembles him in this and other re- 
 spects is a Bornean, and one that killed himself with kindness, 
 in the benevolent labor of endeavoring to satisfy appetite. 
 
 An Indian is capable of compensating in a single meal for 
 a fast of several days, and of voluntarily abstaining for a week 
 in anticipation of a bear-hunt ; for hunger stimulates destruc- 
 tiveness, and goads him to desperation. He needs a basti- 
 nado like this to compel him to kill the bear, for the bear is 
 his divinity in form, his beau-ideal, the very perfection of that 
 savage nature which he delights in. 
 
 " The pursuit of these animals," says a writer on natural 
 history, "is a matter of the first importance to some of the 
 Indian tribes, and is never undertaken without much cere 
 mony. A principal warrior gives a general invitation to all 
 the hunters. This is followed by a strict fast of eight days, 
 in which they totally abstain from food, but during which the 
 day is passed in continual song. This is done to invoke the 
 spirits of the woods to direct the hunters to the places where 
 there are abundance of bears. They even cut the flesh in 
 divers parts of their bodies, to render the spirits more propi- 
 tious. They also address themselves to the spirits of the beasts 
 slain in preceding chases, and implore these to direct them 
 to an abundance of game. The chief of the hunt now gives a 
 great feast, at which no one dares to appear without first 
 bathing. At this entertainment, contrary to their usual cus- 
 tom, they eat with great moderation. The master of the feast 
 touches nothing, but is employed in relating to the guests an- 
 cient tales of feats in former chases; and fresh invocations to 
 the spirits of the deceased bears conclude the whole 
 
 "As soon as a bear is killed, a hunter puts into his moutb 
 
THE BEAR. 
 
 201 
 
 a lighted pipe of tobacco, and, blowing into it, fills the throat 
 with smoke, conjuring the spirit of the animal not to resent 
 what they are about to do to its body, or to render their future 
 chases unsuccessful. As the beast makes no reply, they cut 
 out the string of the tongue, and throw it into the fire. If 
 it crackle and shrivel up (which it is almost sure to do), they 
 accept this as a good omen ; if not, they consider that the 
 spirit of the beast is not appeased, and that the chase of the 
 next year will be unfortunate." 
 
 But the Indian must give way. We call the English 
 " John Bull ;" in return for the compliment, we think thev 
 
 should call us "Neighbor Bruin." The largest rivers, lakes, 
 bears, and Yankees, are to be found here. The American 
 
202 compatcattve physiognomy. 
 
 who looks across the water for his ideas and other commodi 
 ties will resemble the European bear, which has more of a 
 swinish look and disposition than our own ; or he will resem- 
 ble the grizzly bear in the " Zoological Gardens." The Amer- 
 ican black bear, in the degree that he approaches the pig, is 
 less noble than some of the other varieties, but his look is dm 
 of a genuine Yankee notwithstanding. The foregoing is a 
 regular " Down-Easter," and the animal that looks like his 
 shadow is an old-fashioned New England bear. Dress " Broth- 
 er Jonathan" (of whom this is an accurate representation) in 
 Indian costume, and you could almost swear that he was an 
 Indian, and that intercourse with the pale faces had turned 
 him white. 
 
 There is a style of American face superior to this : it is 
 that which is most commonly met with in the capitol of the 
 nation ; and there is a variety of Indian face that corresponds 
 with it. The Americans with this cast of countenance are of 
 the grizzly variety; they are hard to kill, and, under severe 
 provocation, when their revenge is roused, they are fearful 
 enemies to grapple with. The temperament is melancholic, 
 and therewith mild and gentle, but exceedingly powerful. 
 The Indian, like the bear, spends his life in the woods, is taci- 
 turn, dark, gloomy, and retired, and by nature a perfect sav- 
 age; but by distinguishing these traits from those which are 
 similar in the hog, we have them represented on a higher 
 plane, as in the variety of American character just referred 
 to. This resemblance is seen in the gait and posture as well 
 as in the face. 
 
 But the polar bear, represented on the following page, with 
 his fine Indian counterpart, resembles a nobler race of Ameri- 
 cans still. These are they who represent greatness, the pillars 
 of the constitution, with clear, cold intellects, touched only 
 by moonbeams, that have no power to dissolve them. They 
 represent truth, uninfluenced by fear or favor. With less of 
 clemency, tenderness, and forbearance, than the last men- 
 tioned, they are nevertheless the guardians of these, and as 
 such they loom up in the distance, cloud capped and dismal, 
 and — 
 
THE BEAR. 
 
 203 
 
 like giants stand 
 
 To sentinel enchanted land."' 
 
 And yet under that cold exterior there 
 is the lava of love ; under that snow- 
 white mantle there is a warm heart that 
 can not endure a nearer approach to the 
 6un ; beneath that countenance, " emo- 
 tionless as the sphinx," there is the well- 
 spring of sympathy and good feeling: — 
 
 — '• "The gloomy outside 
 
 Contains the shining treasure of a soul, 
 Resolved and brave.*' 
 
 The cavern, overhung with ice-crags, 
 which he makes his home, is the guard 
 of domestic virtue ; obtained with diffi- 
 culty, it is secure from danger, and the 
 love which conquers all things preserves 
 the treasure which it obtained by toil and 
 suffering. 
 
 The strength, bravery, faithfulness, 
 and parental affection of the polar bear, 
 are so interesting as to be familiar to ev- 
 ery reader ; but for that very reason we 
 
204 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 may venture to quote the following in illustration of the nobie 
 virtues that may be set forth, or at least symbolized, by a sav- 
 age monster, being those very traits in the animal nature upon 
 which should be reared the superstructure of American char- 
 acter, and hence of American institutions. We would remark 
 here that the courage of the white bear is essential to his other 
 good qualities : — 
 
 " Of the ferocity of the polar bear, Barentz gives a striking 
 proof. In Nova Zembla they attacked his sailors, carried 
 them off in their mouths with the utmost facility, and de- 
 voured them in sight of their comrades. A few years ago, 
 some sailors in a boat fired at and wounded one. In spite of 
 his receiving another shot, he swam after the boat, and en- 
 deavored to climb into it. One of his feet was cut off with a 
 hatchet, but he still pursued the aggressors to the ship. Nu- 
 merous additional wounds did not check his fury : mutilated 
 as he was, he ascended the ship's side, drove the sailors into 
 the shrouds, and was following them thither, when a mortal 
 shot stretched him dead on the deck. 
 
 " But even this formidable animal is not without its good 
 qualities. It is a faithful mate and an affectionate parent. 
 Hearne tells us that, at certain seasons of the year, the males 
 are so much attached to their mates, that he has often seen 
 one of them, on a female being killed, come and put his paws 
 over her, and rather suffer himself to be shot than abandon 
 her. 
 
 " While the Carcase frigate, which went out some years 
 ago to make discoveries toward the North pole, was locked 
 in the ice, early one morning the man at the mast-head gave 
 notice that three bears were making their way very fast over 
 the frozen ocean, and were directing their course toward the 
 ship. They had, no doubt, been invited by the scent of some 
 blubber of a walrus that the crew had killed a few days he- 
 fore, which had been set on fire, and was burning on the ice 
 at the time of their approach. They proved to be a she-bear 
 and her two cubs, but the cubs were nearly as large as the 
 dam. They ran eagerly to the fire, and drew out of the flames 
 part of the flesh of the walrus that remained unconsumed, and 
 
THE BEAR. 205 
 
 ate it voraciously. The crew from the ship threw upon the 
 ice great lumps of the flesh of the sea-horse which they had 
 still remaining. These the old bear fetched away singly, laid 
 every lump before her cubs as she brought it, and dividing 
 it, gave to each a share, reserving but a small portion to her- 
 self. As she was fetching away the last piece, the sailors lev- 
 elled their muskets at the cubs, and shot them both dead ; 
 and in her retreat they wounded the dam, but not mortally. 
 It would have drawn tears of pity from any but unfeeling 
 minds to have marked the affectionate concern expressed by 
 this poor beast in the last moments of her expiring young 
 ones. Though she was herself dreadfully wounded, and could 
 but jnst crawl to the place where they lay, she carried the 
 lump of flesh she had fetched away, as she had done others 
 before, tore it in pieces, and laid it before them ; and when 
 she saw that they refused to eat, she laid her paws first upon 
 one and then upon the other, and endeavored to raise them 
 up. When she found she could not stir them, she went off, 
 and when she had got to some distance she looked back and 
 moaned. Finding this to no purpose, she returned, and, smel- 
 ling round, began to lick their wounds. She went off a sec- 
 ond time as before ; and, having crawled a few paces, looked 
 again behind her, and for some time stood moaning. But 
 still her cubs not rising to follow her, she returned to them 
 again, and, with signs of inexpressible fondness, went round 
 pawing them and moaning. Finding at last that they were 
 cold and lifeless, she raised her head toward the ship, and 
 uttered a growl of despair, which the murderers returned with 
 a volley of musket-balls. She fell between her cubs, and died 
 licking their wounds." 
 
206 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXYI. 
 
 This man resembles an Indian (foreigner though he be), 
 and it is plain that he resembles both the Yankee and the 
 bear. There is something in the look of the eye (a kind of 
 Indian sqnint), and something in the cast of the nose and lip, 
 and the angle of the mouth, and in the hair, that shows a re- 
 markable agreement with the accompanying bear, which is 
 
 one of the grizzly bears in the Zoological Gardens. Watch 
 those eyes narrowly (the bear's eyes), and you will see some- 
 thing roguish in them : that is Yankee roguishness. It is 
 coupled, you see, with a wonderfully honest expression in the 
 other parts of the countenance, and with a tout ensemble that 
 excites your sympathy, and prepares you to be taken in. 
 Your first impression is that he is in a deplorable situation, 
 and that he would not deceive you for all the world, and you 
 are ready to give him as good a bargain as he asks. You 
 feel assured that he is sufficiently self-sacrificing to take up 
 with "a living profit," and to live on porridge in order that 
 you may be supplied with all the articles of luxury and refine- 
 
THE BEAK. 207 
 
 ment that you desire. He makes you think that, being in 
 want of the necessaries, he parts with his things at a sacrifice ; 
 that you would very greatly oblige him if you would consult 
 your own interest; or that you are a very benevolent individ- 
 ual, without any eye to selfish advantage — whichever you 
 please : and the result may be, that you will exchange neces- 
 saries for luxuries, and be in want of the former while he 
 enjoys them both. There is a great disposition in people to 
 put confidence in the bear, but he is generally known to be 
 more treacherous than he looks. Again we say, study those 
 eyes, for they are a study : do you not see that they " reckon" 
 and "kind o' calculate"? They are full of study — there are 
 volumes in them. 
 
 The Yankee says frankly that he " guesses/' for like other 
 people he attaches merit to his peculiarities. It is "specula- 
 tion" that you see in those eyes, both the bear's and the man's. 
 i r ou can discover in that man's countenance that his head is 
 full of plans and projects. He would make a good represen- 
 tative in Congress, for it is such like people that are sent 
 there. The bear represents the American people, and it is 
 very proper that their representatives in Congress should be 
 bears in various ways, as they are proved to be. They look 
 like the preceding animal when they are thinking of the 
 " loaves and fishes," but they are " ravenous as bears" when 
 it comes to a demonstration of the principle that "to the vic- 
 tors belong the spoils." But this too literal resemblance to 
 the bear is illustrated chiefly in personal and sectional inter- 
 ests, while the " affairs of the nation" call for a resemblance 
 upon a higher plane, where the moral and intellectual facul 
 ties predominate over the animal. 
 
 The older the Americans grow, the more they look and act 
 Jike bears, provided the animal nature is not kept under by 
 cultivation and refinement. Observe how much the foregoing 
 bear resembles, in posture and in everything, the remnant of 
 old people who come under the denomination of " revolution- 
 ary soldiers." In the manner of standing there is something 
 original ; it looks like standing to make a speech of four hours' 
 length ; it is Websterian, is it not ? The walk is equally 
 
COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 singular ; it is a kind of " Indian trot," a gait which the green 
 Yankee has fallen into as if it were natural to him. The 
 
 Indian female here presented 
 is an example of it; and the 
 following, which is the grizzly 
 bear in motion, exhibits the gait 
 in its original perfection. It 
 is evident, too, that the " In- 
 dian dance" and the " bear- 
 dance" are very similar; and 
 Yankee dancing differs very 
 little from either, as illustrated 
 by Darley in the portrait of 
 Ichabod Crane taking part in 
 a dance, in which the position 
 of the arms and the motion of 
 the nether extremities are wor- 
 thy of Bruin. 
 
 The Indian is seen generally 
 
 looking down ; he walks with 
 
 a limberness of the knees ; he 
 
 sets down the whole foot at 
 
 once, but rises upon the toe when the foot leaves the ground : 
 
 he f urns his toes inward, and his fingers outward when h& 
 
THE BEAK. 
 
 209 
 
 rests his hands; and in these and other ursine resemblances 
 the modern native American is his interior. But as noble a 
 superstructure may be built upon this basis as upon any other, 
 and before we get through we may say " a nobler." Here is 
 the face of an Indian, a Cliippeway warrior, that resembles 
 the grizzly bear, while it exhib- 
 its the signs of benevolence, 
 probity, and justice, with pru- 
 dence and discretion. His 
 name, Meta-Koosega, or Pure 
 Tobacco, compared with the 
 names of other Indian warriors, 
 is expressive of rare virtue and 
 excellence; — and should you 
 meet him in the forest, you 
 would not doubt for a moment, 
 on looking at his face, of his 
 willingness to smoke witli you 
 the pipe of peace. There is something in the temperament 
 and contour, the gait and carriage, and in the general expres- 
 sion, that constitutes a striking resemblance between the In- 
 dian and the bear. 
 
 It is well known that the parent-bear and the cub are very 
 much attached to each other. The passion of parental love 
 in the former is indicated by the length and elevation of the 
 loins, of which the polar variety is the strongest example. 
 "We have read that a bear, having lost her cubs, has carried 
 off pigs from a sty, and adopted them as her own — which 
 was most natural, considering that there is so much affinity 
 between the hog and the bear, and that parental love in the 
 latter is so very strong. The length and vigor of the loins 
 in the squaw, indicating the same quality of parental love as 
 in the bear, is very great, and it is known that the Indians 
 have many times stolen children from the whites and brought 
 them up in their own way. On the following page is the por- 
 trait of a female who was reared by Indians, having been 
 captured by them in infancy ; and we see how completely 
 she is metamorphosed into a resemblance of her foster-parents. 
 
 14 
 
210 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 The change appears to have been inimical to beauty, perhaps 
 because it was too sudden, or because the materials were not 
 of the right kind. 
 
 Parental love in the 
 bear is reciprocated by 
 an almost equal de- 
 gree of filial affection 
 on the part of the cub. 
 In the young Indian 
 the affection for pa- 
 rents is very strong. 
 The whole race of ab- 
 original Americans — 
 that are worthy of the 
 name — are celebrated 
 for their love and rev- 
 erence for their forefathers and the graves of their ancestors. 
 Filial affection, which reciprocates parental, causes the cub 
 and the Indian child to be more fully formed than others at 
 the same age, and to be early developed but not precocious, 
 in order that they niay do as much for their parents as their 
 parents have done for them. This mutual strength of paren- 
 tal and filial affection has the mutual love of the parents for 
 its foundation and no other; and this foundation is strongei 
 in the Indian than in any other savage in the world, and 
 stronger in the bear than in any other beast. The poignant 
 grief and suffering of the Indian when his wife and children 
 are taken from him by the malice of an enemy, show the 
 strength and nobleness of his nature, and how excellent a 
 foundation for a superstructure of civilization and refinement 
 is a resemblance to the bear. As the conjugal relation is the 
 origin of all others, so conjugal love is the basis of all the do- 
 mestic and social affections, and all the relations of life are 
 dependent upon these. Brother Jonathan, therefore, in his 
 resemblance to the Indian and the bear, has a more glorious 
 destiny than any nation in the world, and it is only a degen- 
 eracy like that of some of the Indian tribes into a resemblance 
 to the hog (which is the very opposite of the bear in respect 
 
THE BEAR. 211 
 
 to conjugal, parental, and filial affection) that will destroy 
 him. 
 
 Be it observed that filial love is appropriate to the child, 
 though it reciprocates parental affection and is like parental 
 love in relation to second childhood, and that it preserves 
 childhood and develops manhood at the same time. The 
 bear, the Indian, and the Yankee, agree in this: they exhibit 
 a remarkable degree of forwardness at the outset, and at the 
 same time an uncouthness of figure and gesture that is in lu- 
 dicrous contrast with the shrewdness of the intellect. The 
 early development of manhood, and of the bodily and mental 
 strength appropriate to it, together with the preservation of 
 childhood, and the consequent backwardness and immaturity, 
 are illustrated in Daniel Webster (a portrait of whom is pre- 
 sented on the following page), Henry Clay, and very many 
 of our public men, as well as in the Indian. How often do 
 we see the " overgrown boy" in the person of some distin- 
 guished individual, a powerful orator, a wise counsellor, a 
 great statesman ! A person not experienced would call him 
 a "country bumpkin," a "greenhorn," and various other 
 names, expressing the infantile side of the character, without 
 taking a view of the manly one. 
 
 The genuine Yankee, who presents the true type of the 
 American character, has no local habitation, but, like the In- 
 dian, is diffused everywhere over this North American conti- 
 nent. It is a mistake to suppose that he originated in New 
 England : the national peculiarities were first developed there, 
 but the Yankee is a production of every state in the Union, 
 and his characteristics increase in intensity in proportion to 
 his wandering habits and to his occupation of the territories 
 of the red man. In Oregon, Texas, California, and New 
 Mexico, he is more a Yankee than ever, and his new provin- 
 cialisms show his love of being separate and distinct from all 
 others. He is as intent upon creating a nationality of his 
 own as we should suppose it possible to be if the Indian were 
 not a stronger example of the same disposition. But in a 
 mining country those who resemble bears are more liable to 
 run into a resemblance to the hog than in any other, as ia 
 
212 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOftNOMY. 
 
 evident from the greater resemblance of the Indian tribes in 
 those regions to the latter animal than to the former. Where 
 the bear is noblest, there the American may be so, and there 
 also he is most liable to perversion. Where Indian civiliza- 
 tion was greatest, there Indian degradation is lowest, and so 
 it must be with the white men who occupy their places. 
 
 Of all simpletons and fools, the Yankee charlatan and im- 
 postor is the shallowest and most disgusting. In the pos- 
 session of slyness, affectation, and imposture, he resembles 
 the Indian ; and these, combined with a roaming disposition, 
 acquisitiveness, and the love of traffic, make the "Yankee 
 pedlar," famed for taking everything in exchange, and thus 
 for the variety of his goods. Now the Indians whom we 
 have known from our childhood are those who wander about 
 peddling moccasins, besides brooms and baskets made of 
 wood, split, and splintered, and stained, and who receive in 
 exchange provisions, clothes, and money ; and though they 
 
THE BEAR. 
 
 213 
 
 appear so very demure, they are very fond of practical jokes, 
 which they perpetrate with great gravity — a peculiarity in 
 which the Yankee partakes as if it were natural to him. The 
 latter resorts to " tricks in trade" with as much sobriety as 
 the Indian — with the seriousness of one who is engaged in a 
 lawful calling. If this is proof of any relationship between 
 the Indian and the Jew, the white American will also, in the 
 course of time, prove himself to be the same lost tribe that 
 the Indians are supposed to be. 
 
 Why is it that " Brother Jonathan," when he is " driving a 
 bargain," whittles a stick? and why is it that he drives the 
 stick into the ground when he comes to the conclusion that 
 he has "a Yankee to deal with"? This is a question that a 
 philosopher might be puzzled to answer. Be it observed, 
 however, that the extemporaneous mechanic is engaged in 
 whittling out an arrow; that he points it, and is prepared to 
 shoot it, like an Indian — when suddenly he discovers that, 
 for the lack of coolness, or in consequence of the shrewdness 
 of the person he has to deal with, he has "run the thing into 
 the ground" — a misfortune which lie commemorates by dri- 
 ving down the stick, and marking the spot where it happened 
 
214 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 The Indian is a hunter: at all times and under all circum- 
 stances he is found in some search or research, either pro- 
 found or superficial, and this gives him that thoughtful, medi- 
 tative look, which it is so difficult to penetrate. In this he 
 is like the Yankee on the one hand and the bear on the other. 
 The look we are speaking'of is often mistaken for a proof of 
 something extraordinary — as if the person could search foi 
 nothing of less importance than the philosopher's stone, when 
 the truth is he can not search for anything, not even for a flea, 
 without the same expression of mysterious learning. To most 
 people such faces are impenetrable, for the simple reason that 
 they indicate the ignorance of the mind in regard to the mys- 
 teries that it is engaged in penetrating ; but this, we perceive, 
 is a proof of the want of knowledge, and it may relate to 
 trifles as well as to matters of consequence. The Indian 
 receives much greater credit for wisdom than he deserves ; 
 and one of the peculiarities of the Yankee is his uncommon 
 sapience in matters that he knows nothing about. It is his 
 business to hunt, and nothing is found that he himself has not 
 discovered. If you tell him anything new, he expresses no 
 surprise, but professes to have known it all before, and still 
 wears that sage expression which indicates that he is penetra- 
 ting still deeper into the same subject. Be he never so igno- 
 rant, his hunting disposition makes him wise in politics and 
 in the affairs of the country generally, and you can hint at 
 nothing in divinity or law, or in ancient or modern history, 
 that he is not familiar with. As this is from a propensity of 
 his that must needs be gratified, it requires only the removal 
 of hypocrisy by honesty, and self-love by benevolence, to make 
 him in reality what he claims to be. 
 
 We have been struck with the excess of the Yankee pecu- 
 liarity described above in the character of the Indian — in 
 one w T ho is penetrated with a literary ambition. He wishes 
 to fire everybody with the idea that he is a wit, a poet, and 
 a scholar. Nothing disturbs his equanimity, nothing surprises 
 him. He listens to everything you say as if he did not hear, 
 and looks as if be might enlighten your ignorance beyond 
 measure, if it were not for the vulgar astonishment that would 
 
THE BEAR 215 
 
 be excited, and the attention that he wishes to avoid. But 
 he is one of those whom prudence forsakes in consequence of 
 
 " Vaulting ambition that o'erleaps itself." 
 fie " attempts to live by his wits, and fails for want of stock," 
 and then is discovered his true genius, which is his ability 
 to "run his face" for whatever literary capital may be neces- 
 sary to acquire him fame — till he runs himself out! 
 
 The bear looks always as if he were intent upon the object 
 of pursuit. In his solitary wandering he is not tempted to 
 turn aside except to revenge himself. His instinct demands 
 to be let alone, and he concedes the same privilege to others. 
 In these respects the Indian and the Yankee agree with him 
 perfectly. The sense of individual rights is very strong in 
 them as well as in him. They will not be trampled upon; 
 they will not pa} r tribute, nor render involuntary service ; the 
 country they live in must be their own ; they must be able to 
 wander far upon their own lands ; they must possess a right 
 in the soil, a home, so that each one may say — 
 " This is my own, my native land !" 
 
 The Indian is ennobled in the estimation of the white 
 American for the possession of those qualities which the lat- 
 ter discovers in himself; and the bear is honored by the un- 
 conscious imitation of his peculiarities. When you meet him, 
 if he is not pressed with hunger, he turns aside and allows 
 you to pass on your way, for he recognises his own individual 
 right and yours, and he expects you to recognise your own 
 and his: but if you are so cowardly as to fire a ball into him 
 from a distance, he turns upon you with the most tremendous 
 rage and fury ; and as this can be of no service to him unless 
 he can come in contact with you, it is proof of his courage, 
 and that his disposition to mind his own business is not caused 
 by fear. In this the Yankee is his imitator as well as in other 
 things, and it was well expressed, at a time when it was being 
 illustrated, in the words — 
 
 <4 Yankee Doodle is a lad, 
 
 He's honest, kind, and civil; 
 But if, again, you make him mad, 
 He'll flog you like the d evil !" 
 
216 
 
 COMPAEATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 The last person referred to may simply mean the bear ; for, 
 like the bear, the Yankee is courageous ; he gives the enemy 
 
 a cordial welcome ; he is 
 Tf^, bound to fold him in his 
 embrace; he advances in 
 the face of danger ; the 
 more he is wounded, the 
 more he rushes upon the deadly weapons; the stronghold he 
 takes by storm; he assails with the desperation of a "forlorn 
 nope ;" he struggles in the very embrace of death — 
 
 *• Foiled, bleeding, breathless, furious to the last," 
 
 he meets death joyously, whichever may be crushed in the 
 embrace. It is such anger as only he who resembles the bear 
 is capable of, that says — 
 
 " O that my tongue were in the thunder's mouth ! 
 Then with a passion would I shake the world !" 
 
 The war-whoop of the Indian is something peculiar, and the 
 loud shouts of the white Americans when they storm a battery 
 is probably from the same cause. 
 
 The bear has the highest appreciation of luxuries and deli- 
 cacies, and is at the same time in desperate hurry to devour 
 his food. He searches the woods and plains for vegetables 
 of a fine flavor, such as berries and fruits, and climbs trees 
 and exposes himself to" the stings of a thousand bees for the 
 pleasure which the taste of honey affords him. As rough and 
 »*ude as he is, he is contented with nothing short of nectar and 
 ambrosia ; and there are no people in the world so fond of 
 sweets as the Americans, both the red men and the whites. 
 
THE BEAR. 217 
 
 The index of this exquisite taste is the richness and lustre of 
 the eye, all those qualities which are included in a pearly 
 appearance, whatever be the color of the iris. This sign is per- 
 fect in the bear, though on account of the smallness of his eye 
 it is not generally observed ; and as to the eye of the Indian, 
 it is sufficient to say that there is none so beautiful as his. 
 As of everything beautiful, the more you look at it the more 
 you admire it. The power of fascination is chiefly in the eye, 
 and when beauty exerts this influence it commands a tribute 
 that is not always deserved. 
 
 The charmers called "psychologists," " mesmerizers," and 
 other names of the same import, have the quality of eye re- 
 ferred to, and a strong resemblance to the Indian. The por- 
 trait at the beginning of this chapter is very like that of the 
 chief of psychologists, whose face appears at the commence- 
 ment of his works on that subject. Such eyes contribute 
 very much to the magic power that is ascribed to eloquence 
 — that of "persuading people to believe in the existence of 
 something that never was and never will be." The Yankee 
 has such persuasion in his eyes when his object is to " bar- 
 gain, lease, and convey." The eyes called " eloquent" are 
 truly dangerous, because, like eloquence, they monopolize 
 belief, and prevent the intrusion of a doubt. 
 
 But it is not the intention of Nature to deceive. A pearly 
 richness and lustre of the eye indicate exquisite taste in ref- 
 erence to food ; and in proportion as the mind is elevated it 
 indicates refinement of taste in dress, buildings, furniture, 
 manners, literature, eloquence, and in everything of which 
 taste may be predicated. It indicates refinement, but it may 
 be "refined cruelty," "refined roguery," and "refined deceit," 
 as well as " refined sensibility," " refined manners," and " re- 
 fined intellect." As in reference to food, taste is related to 
 what is good, or fit to be eaten ; and so in individuals and in 
 art it is related to excellence, to virtue, purity, and goodness, 
 or to whatever is deserving of love; but there is sweetness 
 in poison, and the like quality is not unfrequently discovered 
 in men and women of base passions, of whom it is said, " The 
 poison of asps is under their lips." 
 
218 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 If there is anything in the eye of the American to disiin 
 guish it from others, it is the quality we are speaking of. Let 
 the eyes of the New-Englanders speak for themselves. The 
 Boston ladies deserve to be celebrated for the beauty of their 
 eyes, which are like those of the Indian. As their ancestors 
 were the earliest inhabitants of the country, their eyes are 
 more beautiful than those of Americans in general. They 
 are equally remarkable for the richness and delicacy of ev- 
 erything in which they have an opportunity to display their 
 taste. Their clothing is silk, and vies in lustre with the eye. 
 The Americans are not slow to acknowledge the exquisite taste 
 of the Indian costume, and of everything ornamental which 
 the rude art of the Indian is capable of producing. In steam- 
 boats, and whatever else is new, the Americans show more 
 taste than the Europeans. 
 
THE GOOSE. 
 
 219 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 If our idea be correct, the "Russian bear" will turn out to 
 be a goose. We make no reflection on the mental capacity 
 of that distinguished personage, but shall not cry his favor so 
 much as if we had not discovered the resemblance just al- 
 luded to. Here is a person, the emperor Paul, who has been 
 
 introduced to the reader twice be- 
 fore, and each time as one of the 
 
 "greatest geese" that was ever hatched from a golden egg. 
 It appears that his mother, Catharine II., was ashamed of 
 him, and wished to pass him over "in favor of his son Alex- 
 ander, whom, in her will, she appointed to succeed to the 
 throne." The latter individual (see next page) seems to us to 
 have no small resemblance to a duck (a bird that in its essen- 
 tial points differs very little from the goose) ; and that he was 
 looked upon by his grandmother as a duck, while his father 
 was regarded as a " goosey," is quite an argument in favor of 
 our science. 
 
 But all geese are not deficient in intellect. A gander saved 
 an ancient city from storm, for geese were great at prognosti- 
 cating storms, and they are the same now that they were 
 
220 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 then. The Russians are equally " up to snuff," and it waa 
 very gooselike to set*Moscow on fire to save it from the French 
 — gooselike in two senses, for it required a foolish noddle to 
 
 suggest the idea, and it 
 turned out to be a capi- 
 tal expedient. Many a 
 bright idea has its origin 
 in a goose's brain — for 
 truth is simple, and is 
 better suited to the sim- 
 ple-minded than to the 
 sophistical. As there is 
 "but one step from the 
 sublime to the ridicu- 
 lous," so there is but one 
 step from reason to com- 
 mon sense, and it is ex- 
 pressed in the word expediency. The Russians are full of 
 expedients, for, like the goose, they have large subterfuge. 
 The hair growing down in 
 a point in the centre of the 
 forehead indicates the fiery 
 action of subterfuge, as the 
 pitching downward of the 
 forehead itself over the top 
 of the nose and the inner 
 angle of the eye indicates 
 the watery action of the 
 same faculty. The one is 
 the choleric and the other 
 the phlegmatic mode in 
 which this faculty exhibits 
 itself. Though the burning 
 of Moscow was disastrous to the French, it showed the char- 
 acter of the Russians, and illustrated the principle that "it is 
 a foul bird that litters its own nest." This is true of the goose, 
 and it is the result of expediency. This same faculty leads 
 to backbiting, to the undermining of character, to tattling and 
 
THE GOOSE. 
 
 221 
 
 slander, to burning out men's eyes, and to whatever else Sub- 
 terfuge might be supposed to engage in. The goose salutes 
 you with the only means that is left her to vent the slander 
 
 of her serpent-tongue, a hiss, and she runs at you from be- 
 hind with a serpentine movement; and the least objectiona- 
 ble of all the manifestations of this faculty is her fondness for 
 gabbling. This was the charac- 
 ter of the female progenitor of 
 the three princes whose portraits 
 are given on this and the prece- 
 ding pages, the last of whom is 
 the grand-duke Constantine, a 
 younger son of Paul, whose ty- 
 rannical government of Poland 
 is well known. Though we have 
 treated them as subjects for char- 
 coal sketches, they should, to 
 have justice done them, be treat- 
 ed in a more elaborate way. But 
 as there is a law of antagonism 
 between fire and water, so also 
 
 there are two actions of subterfuge, the one intended to extin- 
 guish the other. When one is in excess, the other is neces 
 sary to counteract it ; for as of those two elements so of these, 
 " they are good servants but hard masters." 
 
 The goose is a sort of leathered swine, as much like the 
 Russian as the hog is like the Chinese, who are therefore sim- 
 
222 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 ilar. She forbids you to trespass upon her territories ; en- 
 croaching on others, she discovers that encroachments are 
 being made on her rightful dominions, and is slow to back 
 out from those which she herself has made. When she has 
 once taken possession of a field it is almost impossible to 
 drive her from it, and the more you try the harder it is, for 
 she has a propensity to go against obstacles, as is illustrated 
 in her flying against the wind. Of course, then, she has a 
 wide range, which implies a wide territory, but she is also 
 attached to home. She is not to be disfranchized, and she 
 snugs herself up by the side of other geese so closely, that there 
 is no danger of their not keeping together, or at least within 
 hailing distance; and each one interdicts the other from vio- 
 lating any of the rules of mu- 
 tual help and protection. He 
 (or rather she, for there is not 
 much manhood in the char- 
 acter of the goose) is always 
 troubling herself about the af- 
 fairs of her neighbors, and 
 therefore the flock is kept 
 within bounds and they keep 
 each other in order, of which 
 we have the most perfect il- 
 lustration in the flight of wild 
 geese, for each one has to be 
 at his post to attend to his 
 neighbor, and in giving or- 
 ders they all pipe at a time. 
 They are fond of ordering 
 each other to hush and mind 
 their own business, but this 
 is done with an eye to the 
 general good ; or, rather, this 
 is the result of each one's at- 
 tending to his own personal 
 safety by shielding himself under the wing of the rest, and or- 
 dering them to take care of themselves, to mind their eyes, and 
 
THE GOOSE. 
 
 223 
 
 to follow his example. Of course, then, the goose is no fool : 
 the only fool in the nock is the one that, like the emperor 
 Paul,minds other peo- 
 ple's business without 
 knowing sufficient to 
 take care of himself, 
 and who accordingly 
 goes ahead, takes the 
 responsibility, and is 
 thrust forward by the 
 wiser ones who know 
 the danger, and who 
 treat him as the odd 
 one, and exclude him 
 from the honor of be- 
 ing included in the 
 general estimate of 
 
 geese. The goose proper, in all the traits enumerated above, 
 is the precise counterpart of the Russians 
 
 To descend from the body politic to the body corporate, 
 the goose is very warm-blooded ; he is fond of ice and snow, 
 and of a vigorous climate, which remind him of his feathers, 
 and make him gather his clothing more snugly and warmly 
 around him. The Russian is fond of his ice-hills, which he 
 manufactures especially for his convenience and for the pleas- 
 ure of curling his legs under him and lying low; and he is 
 fond of plunging into snow, as into a bed of down, and of 
 muffling himself in furs, and of travelling in a cottage. This 
 is his method of sojourning. The goose is so well provided 
 with comfortable clothing, that by others she is supposed to 
 have " enough and to spare" — and when she is " tamed," as 
 it is called, or brought under the influence of their wills, she 
 thinks as they do. Plucked of his feathers, the gander loses 
 his noble instincts ; he feels oddly ; he is not even a weather 
 guide ; he wanders about, with " his nose turned up to the 
 wind," but he is not able to prognosticate a storm, he is lost, 
 he acts as oddly as he feels, and has the appearance of a 
 " perfect goosey." The Russian who resemble* this specimen 
 
224 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY . 
 
 of a goose goes thinly clad, is destitute of foresight; and saga- 
 city, and, with the power in his hands, would insist on every 
 other peiaon wearing thin clothes and being as great a fool as 
 himself. This, again, was the emperor Paul, whom, the reader 
 perceives, we are strongly tempted to " pick at" and to reduce 
 to the condition of " a bird without feathers." This would be 
 " making a man of him," according to Plato's definition ; but 
 as we are r\o§ Platonists, we will turn him over to the disciples 
 of the philosopher to finish. 
 
 The fox lives on the sagacity and foresight of the goose, 
 and therefore he has an abundance of both; but there are 
 foolish geese that have lost their feathers, and are strayed 
 away, and have not the spirit even to hiss or spit fire at their 
 oppressors ; and it was probably some cowardly fox in the 
 habit of making mutton of such geese as these that lost his 
 tail in a trap, and then proposed to his neighbors to adopt the 
 same fashion. We have no doubt but that the nose of that 
 animal was a snub and " turned up to the wind," and that he 
 had a look similar to that of the goose, as the wolf has a like- 
 ness to the sheep, and that therefore he was perfectly sincere 
 in the proposition ; and that for that matter he might be re- 
 garded as a cockatrice hatched from the egg of a goose. Such 
 is the character of a certain one among the Russians who will 
 figure "positively for the last time" — we can not say when. 
 
THE SWAN. 
 
 225 
 
 CHAPTER XXYII1. 
 
 Here is a person who, if he be not very much mistaken, 
 has the air of a swan. In him it looks like an affectation of 
 grace and dignity, but 
 in the swan we admire 
 it exceedingly. With- 
 out it the bird is both 
 ugly and uncouth. It 
 must consequently be 
 something admirable, 
 and for this reason it 
 is the object of hypo- 
 critical imitation. It 
 is the character of a 
 devotee that gives this 
 expression of counte- 
 nance, accompanied 
 with this position of 
 the head. A devotee 
 may be a votary to 
 himself or a votary to 
 some religion. "What 
 a perfect air of self- 
 complacency !" — you 
 are ready to exclaim, 
 on looking at a person 
 with an expression of 
 countenance like the above. It is even more than that : it 
 is an adoration of something of which himself is both the 
 centre and the circumference. He is, in his own estimation, 
 a saint, and he expects, when he has given sufficient proof 
 
 15 
 
COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 of his sanctity by mortifications of the flesh, to be canonized 
 by the vulgar. He is the victim of blind superstition, and of 
 violence inflicted by his own hands. Silliness is the charac- 
 teristic of the man who goes to an extreme in his resemblance 
 to the goose, but insanity characterizes the man who bears a 
 like resemblance to the swan. By this we mean a literal re- 
 semblance, and not that of which the goose and the swan are 
 the representatives. In those who are inclined to insanity 
 more than to idiocy, there is an affectation of grace and dig- 
 nity, and a hypocritical sanctity, which says, " I am holier 
 than thou" — accompanied with a condescending modesty, 
 that seems to say : " You could not expect me to let down 
 my dignity, but I will nevertheless condescend to speak to 
 you; but I am a person of high rank and noble blood, and it 
 becomes you to take care how you make too familiar with 
 me ; and presently I shall expect you to kneel down and do 
 me reverence, for higher beings than you pay their obeisance 
 to me. Should you displease me, you might feel my ven- 
 geance !" They suspect themselves to be endowed with cer- 
 tain Divine attributes that others are not aware of, and that 
 it is necessary they should present these glaringly before the 
 world, that they may no longer have an excuse for their igno- 
 rance and neglect. 
 
 " But what has all this to do with the swan ?" Why, to 
 tell the truth, the swan is, in his own estimation, a grandee 
 of the highest order. You see it in that dignified bearing, 
 by the side of which the pomp and pride of the peacock sink 
 into insignificance. He is the very personification of compla- 
 cency ; he is perfectly at his ease; all things are as he would 
 have them. He looks into his pure, white breast, reflected in 
 the placid bosom of the water, and finding there nothing to 
 displease him, he is " settled upon his lees," and floats in 
 downy voluptuousness like a spirit in a snow-white cloud, not 
 doubting but that he is as much an object of devotion to oth- 
 ers as he is to himself. He carries his head in such a posi- 
 tion that he may not lose sight of "his humble self." He is 
 constantly the servant of himself so long as he lives, and with 
 audi assiduous care and attention he lives long. The vestal 
 
THE SWAN. 227 
 
 flame is kept constantly burning, and the stars their vigils 
 keep in devotion to the swan, who, floating all night upon the 
 water, fancies he is floating among them. He places his 
 hand upon his heart (figuratively speaking all the while), and 
 asks the world to witness 
 its purity, the sincerity of 
 his intentions, and the heav- 
 en within his own bosom. 
 And indeed he is the sym- 
 bol of heavenly felicity in 
 the human breast, and of 
 that purity and devotion 
 that are made for each oth- 
 er, and that constitute heav- 
 en, wherever they may be. 
 
 But he is the symbol also of the very opposite, for the qual- 
 ities which he represents are commonly perverted. From his 
 stainless breast, and from that realm of purity which his form 
 describes, extends something like a serpent with a serpent's 
 head, and this, unless it be turned to look at the shadow re- 
 flected in the wave, and to explore the depths of that celes- 
 tial love which makes its home with the innocent and pure, 
 is the serpent full of cunning and malignity, of sensuality 
 and pride. Then it is, as when we see him on land, that the 
 swan loses all his grace and dignity, and is no loiiger beauti- 
 ful, but snakelike and repulsive. Thus it is with the man who 
 was formed to be a votary, and forsakes truth ; who abandons 
 the purity that is the object of devotion, and that is also the 
 native element of the devotee. And he who can turn his 
 eyes away from the innocence of his childhood and the prin- 
 ciples that were planted in him by the Creator, and then look 
 upon the malignant passions that have taken their places, and 
 can call these good, is one who has deceived others until he 
 has deceived himself, and is in a fair way to become insane. 
 
 One of the symptoms of this malady of the mind, from its 
 incipient stages to the degree of confirmation, is "using vain 
 repetitions as the heathen do." The devotee who is a self- 
 worshipper acquires for himself the name of sanctity, not only 
 
228 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 by his sanctimonious bearing in the performance of various 
 rites and ceremonies, but by " taking the name of God in 
 vain ;" and when his delusion has gone so far as to cause him 
 to forget himself, there flow from his mouth volleys of oaths. 
 An individual like the one figured at the commencement of 
 this chapter has an air that may pass for reverence during 
 the devotions of a congregation, as when the people rise for 
 prayer, or that shall indicate his ability to swear like a pirate. 
 The transition from a devotee to a "high buck" is an easy 
 one. But in whatever stage of transformation he may be, 
 "vain repetitions" will characterize him. You shall see this 
 sanctimonious air tinged with a smirk in the person whose 
 calling is the repetition of a cry several times a minute during 
 the day from one year to another. He is the very person to 
 act a conspicuous part in the display of sudden and miracu- 
 lous piety. You can hardly repress the spontaneous ebulli- 
 tion of "Old hypocrite!" the moment you set eyes on him. 
 But words are human, and what you condemn in him is the 
 vain repetition of them, by which they are converted into 
 "by- words," and you would not be profane because he is. 
 The mendicant devotees of India make a sacrilegious use of 
 language all their lives, for a "by-word" is that which is often 
 repeated. Mockery, too, is characteristic of profanity. In 
 persons whose business is the repetition of the same words 
 from morning till night, as in beggars and those whose mode 
 of selling partakes of the character of begging, you see mock- 
 ery written in every part of the countenance. Repetition is 
 a mockery of reason and humanity, for reason needs only 
 to hear once in order to understand, and humanity needs only 
 to hear the cry of pain in order to relieve it, and to fill the 
 needy with bread. The repetition that is vain and hypocriti- 
 cal deafens the ears to the voice of real necessity, and to the 
 voice of humanity, which commands respect like the voice ot 
 God. Words are precious pearls that are not to be cast be- 
 fore swine; but they who cast them out as dust of the street, 
 and, most of all, those who make sacred words thus common, 
 mock those whom they deceive, and they mock at the weak- 
 ness and the sufferings of poor humanity. Mockery, and a 
 
THE SWAN. 
 
 229 
 
 caricature of benevolence and honesty, are legible in the faces 
 of those who accost the passers-by with an invitation to pur- 
 chase ; and even the newsboys, young as they are, have 
 enough of this expression of countenance to distinguish them. 
 The extreme of this degradation and abuse of words is bab- 
 bling insanity. 
 
 All this is the result of a perversion of those qualities which 
 constitute a resemblance to the swan. It is therefore the very 
 opposite of what we discover in true devotion. The swan is 
 grace and dignity " to the very life." As there is no parade 
 in that graceful carriage (for we must look to the turkey and 
 the peacock for parade), so 
 there is no organ of preten- 
 sion — no medium of profes- 
 sions — or, in other words, no 
 voice. His course through 
 life is quiet and noiseless, 
 save the slight sound of the 
 ripples that break upon his 
 breast. The devotee who is 
 truly devout makes no profes- 
 sions : his life is pure, and it 
 speaks for itself; it shows also 
 the quality of truth, as the 
 w T hiteness of the swan shows 
 the purity of the element that 
 bathes him. He teaches by 
 example ; he observes the 
 precept, " Use not vain repe- 
 titions as the heathen do," but 
 whispers, " Our Father who 
 art in heaven." 
 
 It may have occurred to 
 the reader that in India,where 
 the characteristics we have 
 described as belonging to the 
 
 devotee are carried to an extreme, is to be found the greatest 
 national resemblance to the swan. This is a fact that may be 
 
230 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY 
 
 easily confirmed by observation. But the Indians resemble 
 serpents as well as swans, and for the reason already stated. 
 They exhibit the swan in his more disagreeable aspect. In- 
 fernal rites and ceremonies, hypocrisy, incoherency, violence 
 
 inflicted on themselves or others, are the characteristics of 
 them all. 
 
 That sacred stillness which betokens reverence for truth, a 
 disposition to listen to it, to obey it, and thereby to teacli it 
 in the most effective manner, or to exhibit it u to the very 
 life," is perverted in the enjoining of stillness in the presence 
 of those who consider themselves privile'ged to make a noise, 
 and of reverence toward those who arrogate to themselves 
 peculiar sanctity. You shall see the vestal virgin, whose soul 
 is the heaven of tranquillity, and whose life is one of unob- 
 trusive benevolence ; and by her side the self-worshipping 
 devotee, who is full of professions and hypocritical cant, and 
 whose life is devoted to offering up sacrifices on the shrine of 
 his selfishness. He wins bribes from the rich, but the poor 
 who have nothing to give must appease his vengeance with 
 their blood. 
 
 " What smooth emollients in theology 
 Recumbent Virtue's downy doctors teach '" 
 
TTTR SWAN. 231 
 
 but these are for the rich only, who are willing to pay for 
 flattery with the blood of the poor. Devoted humanity is 
 silent under wrong, silent even to the false devotion that con- 
 demns it " as a sheep dumb before her shearers" — not be- 
 cause it has no redress, but because it is willing to be sacri- 
 ficed in testimony for the truth, which is the greater good. 
 But like the dying swan, that is fabled to breathe forth its 
 life in enchanting melody, is the martyr in the hour of death. 
 When he can no longer teach by example, he can teach as 
 one inspired ; and the swan, if the ancient fable be founded 
 in nature, is his appropriate symbol even to the last. The 
 phoenix, that was consumed in flames and rose again from its 
 ashes, was this very bird, or one, according to the represen- 
 tations, exceedingly like it. 
 
232 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 " What ! a man look like a frog?" It is even so : you see 
 the resemblance, or yon would not ask the question. In the 
 
 one figure the Frenchman 
 is recognised, and in the 
 other the frog. You say, 
 perhaps, that " the first is 
 an exaggeration, and that 
 therefore it can not be ta- 
 ken as a proof of any spe- 
 cial resemblance." Your 
 premises we admit, but the 
 
 inference we draw is the very reverse of yours. If the exag- 
 geration were not one of the characteristics of the Frenchman, 
 you would not recognise the likeness. Yes, monsieur, you 
 display astonishment at our boldness; but if you were not 
 considerably like the frog, the exaggeration of your peculiari- 
 ties would destroy the resemblance altogether. 
 
THE FROG. 233 
 
 We see, then, a reason for the Frenchman's penchant for 
 frogs : it is like that of the Arab fur the camel, the English- 
 man for the ox, the Chinese for the hog, and the Indian for 
 the bear; and, as it is a poor rule that will not work both 
 ways, his fondness for the frog as an article of diet is a rea- 
 son for the resemblance. The organs which were the result 
 of the life of the animal, and through which the life manifest- 
 ed itself, enter the stomach of the Frenchman, and thence 
 into the circulation, to nourish and build up the body ; and 
 hence it is evident that the reptile we are speaking of becomes 
 part and parcel of the Frenchman himself. This is as it 
 should be, if, as we imagine, the race of Titans who were 
 changed by Latona into frogs, are the race now called French- 
 men ! It was in revenge for their refusing water to her and 
 her children ; and so they are metamorphosed into the like- 
 ness of an animal that lives in water, and has a plenty of it. 
 
 The French should be judged by their own philosophy : 
 they say that the mind is a function of the body, or a secre- 
 tion, or in some way a production of the brain and other ma- 
 terial organs. Therefore, if they build up their bodies with 
 those of frogs, they must strengthen and nourish their souls 
 from the same elements! We believe that there is a corre- 
 spondence between the soul and body throughout, and that 
 the former responds instantly to whatever enters into the com- 
 position of the latter. The influence which the qualities of 
 the frog, so highly esteemed by the Frenchman, must have 
 upon the disposition and manners of the consumer, and even 
 upon the higher faculties of his mind, is easily inferred, and 
 is confirmed by even a hasty glance at his physiognomy. 
 Which is the more sociable and noisy ; which the more con- 
 stantly engaged in tete-a-tete ; which is the most lithe in all 
 his members, and fond of versatility, and of hopping about, 
 the Frenchman or the frog, we leave to natural history to 
 decide. 
 
 There is as great a variety of Frenchmen as of frogs, and 
 love of variety is the characteristic of them both. The won- 
 derful disposition of the frog to change his shape, and his 
 astonishing capacity to do so, are scarcely *o be distinguished 
 
234 
 
 COMPAQ A TIVR PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 from the same disposition and ability in the Frenchman. 
 This is effected by various inflations and puffings out in this 
 direction and in that, especially in the region of the neck and 
 shoulders. Fashion changes man into as many shapes as 
 those of Proteus — without, however (at least in the case of 
 the Frenchman), destroying the proper and legitimate indica- 
 tions of the character, and the resemblance to the frog. The 
 Frenchman displayed here is an unmanly character; he re- 
 sembles a female ; and it 
 must be confessed that the 
 French follies we are now 
 speaking of are exhibited 
 more in women than in 
 men. The French are like 
 women in their looks, their 
 actions, their judgment, 
 their unwillingness to be 
 governed, and their ina- 
 bility to govern themselves 
 — their love of change, 
 their love of order, and of 
 turning things topsy-turvy 
 — their disposition to go to extremes, their ability to become 
 more cruel and more infernally wicked in every respect in 
 the degree that they are capable of being better, than those 
 who are bona fide and unequivocally men. 
 
 There is the fable of the frog that endeavored to swell him- 
 self to the dimensions of an ox that stood cooling himself in 
 the water. The ox, for aught we know, may have been a 
 huge island, and the frog may have considered that the 
 water was all his own, and that the ox had no business there. 
 There is certainly a great degree of similarity and contradic- 
 tion between John Bull and his fashionable neighbor the Bull- 
 Frog! 
 
 " M. Thiers asserts that there can be no dispute as to the 
 high position France holds, especially in her silk manufac- 
 tures (at the 'World's Fair,' in London). He was struck 
 with the fact that France is pre eminent in all the articles of 
 
THE FROG. 235 
 
 luxury, which none but the wealthiest can buy ; whereas, Eng 
 land excels in the productions usually consumed by the mid 
 die and poorer classes. Thus democratic France works for 
 the rich, and aristocratic England works for the poor." 
 
 "We see, therefore, that in the case of the frog and the ox 
 there was no occasion for any jealousy on the part of the for- 
 mer, nor for any contempt on the part of the latter, but that 
 they were well suited to each other, and that it was fortunate 
 they were near neighbors. The ambition of the frog to swell 
 to the dimensions of the ox was no vain ambition, for the 
 works of art that contribute to the gratification of taste and to 
 spiritual elevation are equal to those more substantial produc- 
 tions that contribute to the necessities of the body. It is 
 beautiful that aristocracy and democracy should be friends; 
 that they should help each other; that the frog should not 
 swell himself so much for his own gratification as for that of 
 the ox; and that the ox should not draw so much for his own 
 benefit as for that of the frog. 
 
 As the Frenchman is lacking in manliness, it is right and 
 proper that the French-woman should possess it, and that the 
 feminine quality that she is deprived of to make room for the 
 manliness, should belong to him. It is as easily seen that the 
 Frenchwomen are uncommonly masculine as that the men 
 are feminine. There is more true heroism in the characters 
 of Joan of Arc and Charlotte Corday than in all the men of 
 France that have ever lived. Madame Roland would have 
 governed France more wisely and more nobly than that coun- 
 try was ever governed : but it so happens that in countries 
 where women have none of the qualities of statesmen they 
 are made queens, and where they are possessed of these quali- 
 ties they are made to stand aside and give place to tyrants. 
 The Frenchwoman presented on the following page should 
 be contrasted with the Frenchman preceding: in dress and 
 everything she is less feminine than he; she has very much 
 the appearance of the cow, because of the relation between 
 the English and the French, and yet she is thoroughly French, 
 and has a strong resemblance to the frog. 
 
 The outer integument of the Frenchman has a wonderful 
 
236 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 tendency to be puffed out : pads, bustles, balloons, and airv 
 nothings, show the nature of the aspirations by which he 
 
 expects to make his greatness 
 equal to his desires. What it 
 is that his soul lives on, aside 
 from the breath of popular ap- 
 plause, it would be difficult to 
 tell : it is as great a mystery 
 as the life of a frog, that seems 
 to live on air. Ambition is the 
 ruling passion of the French- 
 man ; he spreads his sails, and 
 fills them with his own breath, 
 for he can rarify small praise 
 into an immense volume, and 
 it is his business to rarify and 
 refine. Like the frogs in a pond, each one endeavors to be 
 heard above the rest, though the bull-frog orator is loudest of 
 them all. Yet it is remarkable that when one strikes a note 
 the others join him, to the end that they may be heard to sing 
 in concert by the outside listeners. 
 
 But as everything which is not loved for its own sake soon 
 begets weariness and disgust, change is earnestly demanded : 
 revolution must come, though it overthrow what is worthy of 
 being loved and cherished ; and ere long the new fashion will 
 become old, and the old will become new again; and thus 
 one change will follow another interminably, as whim or ca- 
 price may dictate, showing that stability is not the thing 
 desired or sought after. The Frenchman says, as an excuse 
 for plunging into a revolution, that he wishes disturbances to 
 be over, that he may " attend to his business ;" and there is 
 truth in this, for he wishes one commotion to pass, that he 
 may enjoy another : his very life is commotion. 
 
 But frogs are a happy people, and so are the French when 
 the men they choose for rulers resemble frogs, and not alliga- 
 tors. Marat and Robespierre resembled vultures ; but others, 
 more common and less cruel and cowardly than they, resem- 
 ble lizards, animals that rule by the power of the tail, as was 
 
THE FROG. 
 
 237 
 
 described in the chapter concerning the rhinoceros. In the 
 face of Louis XYI., here represented on the right, there is a 
 very strong resemblance to 
 the frog, and everything that 
 is moral and much that is 
 
 noble to confide in, with nothing to distrust; but in the like- 
 ness to the left, that carries an impression of a relationship 
 to the crocodile, there is something forbidding and formida- 
 ble, which a man should give heed to. Look at the eye and 
 jaws of that crocodile, counterpoised by a tail that may at 
 
 any moment take upon itself the functions of the other ex- 
 tremity ; and look at those feet that are formed to go back- 
 ward or forward, according as the supreme power shall be 
 
23S COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 transferred to one extremity or the other — and say if there is 
 anything in the physiognomy of that animal that you could 
 confide in? 
 
 The intellect of the Frenchman is in keeping with his dis- 
 position and with the activity of his bodily organs, and is a 
 further proof of his resemblance to the frog. He "jumps at 
 conclusions," and this requires that he should have a wonder- 
 ful degree of instinctiveness, or an intuitive perception of 
 things. He does not reason, for reason requires prudence, 
 deliberation, and proceeds step by step; whereas, instinct 
 never delays, or makes a false step, or puzzles its brain about 
 anything. The Frenchman is most truly himself, most pros- 
 perous, most happy, when he trusts entirely to Nature; but 
 when he attempts to reason, he is sure to go wrong. In giv- 
 ing the frog an instinct to "jump at conclusions," Nature has 
 provided a yielding element for him to fall into, lest he should 
 break his bones ; and this provision is all the more important, 
 inasmuch as the frog has but a very general idea of where 
 he is going to leap to, and when he makes a plunge it is a 
 " leap in the dark." There is the same beneficent provision 
 for the Frenchman in all that concerns his interests. When 
 he jumps at conclusions it is at the practical, and the practi- 
 cal is always susceptible of modification and change ; like 
 water, into which the frog plunges himself, it accommodates 
 itself to the individual; and it is in this that the French- 
 man's passion for alteration and variety is intended to receive 
 its full gratification. But when the conclusion that the 
 Frenchman jumps at is theory — when he aims at first prin 
 ciples — when he endeavors to trace effects to causes — it ij 
 a leap in the dark still, but it is not into the water, but against 
 a rock, and he knocks his brains out! It is the nature of his 
 mind to go from mind to matter, from causes to effects, from 
 God to the material universe ; and therefore if he takes upon 
 himself to go contrary to this, he says that Nature is God, 
 that effects are causes, that the soul is from the body, and that 
 principles are the results of experiments, and have no exist- 
 ence, no eternity, no authority, except as men may choose to 
 establish them for their own convenience. Thus the French- 
 
THE FROG. 239 
 
 man's siirple faith, which is the practice of truth, or a life ot 
 charity and good works (the very strongest expression of con- 
 fidence in the principles by which these are prompted), ia 
 wrecked, and he resembles a toad with a tail, an alligator, or 
 an animal in which the distinction between before and behind, 
 forward and backward, is not easily determined. When the 
 Frenchman reasons a priori, it is instinctive, and he reaches 
 the conclusion, though he jumps at it ; but when he reasons 
 a posteriori, he reasons a priori still, and mistakes this for 
 that: the rock on which he splits is Nature in place of God. 
 
 The instinctiveness which is so remarkable in the French- 
 man implies exceeding confidence in the intuitions of his own 
 mind, and in the dictates of Nature. This is more beautifully 
 illustrated in Montaigne than in any other writer that we 
 know of. But the French philosophers in general have suf- 
 fered a serious perversion by following with the rest of the 
 world in the path of Bacon ; or rather, in thinking that they 
 are doing so, when they are in reality going in the very op- 
 posite direction. They have too little independence to be 
 faithful to their own instincts and to the principle of Descartes 
 — too little not to adopt the inductive method of investigation, 
 when it is the fashion of the age to do so. The Baconian 
 Frenchman, when he thinks of reasoning, starts (as everybody 
 else does) from the basis of his own mind, and thus acknowl- 
 edges its superiority over the mere facts of science ; but, what 
 is strange, after acknowledging this, he goes to matter for the 
 cause of the mental phenomena which he exhibits in the in- 
 vestigation. He is no more required to investigate causes 
 than a frog is required to go backward ; and he no more 
 needs a knowledge of them, further than flows into him by 
 intuition, than a toad needs a tail ! 
 
 It is a law that an animal should correspond to the element 
 he lives in. Land is stationary : animals that live upon it 
 can maintain a permanent position, and it is nothing strange 
 for them to go backward. Water and air are progressive; 
 animals that live in them are in constant motion ; and for the 
 locomotive powers of a fish or a bird to carry him in any 
 other direction than forward is a very strange thing indeed. 
 
24:0 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMT. 
 
 The animal that lives in water or air, and seldom touches 
 land, must u go ahead," and it is his instinct to do so; there 
 fore if in any case he turns tail foremost and goes backward, 
 he is guilty of the grossest absurdity and violation of Nature's 
 laws, and when we look at him we see that lie is a monster, 
 destitute of symmetry and proportion, with forms and shapes 
 that indicate dispositions unworthy even of an animal — traits 
 unearthly and infernal. Thus it is with the lobster, an animal 
 more hideous than any that lives on land ; and thus it is with 
 the serpent, the alligator, &c, though less than with the for- 
 mer, because, as they live partly on land, they are not capable 
 of so great perversion. 
 
 "But what is the application of this to the Frenchman?" 
 For the person who resembles a frog to go backward, is to 
 change into the nearest resemblance to that animal that can 
 be found among animals of the retrograde variety. Of the 
 French infidels and atheists, some resemble the Surinam frog 
 (a frog with a tail), some the cameleon, some the lizard, some 
 the alligator; and the greatest of them all (if Voltaire be the 
 greatest) resembles a lobster, as may be seen in the expression 
 of the eyes, and, though less, in the scenery of the face. The 
 Frenchman being instinctive and by nature practical, lives in 
 the external, in the sensual, in the material and the gross, and 
 considers that if there be any evidence besides the " evidence 
 of the senses," there is at least none equal to it. But the mere 
 objects of sense are filthy, for the simple reason that matter 
 is essentially dirt, and that it is only the supremacy of the 
 spiritual (in which beauty resides) that can make it pure. 
 The sole reason why a flower is not dirt as much as the soil 
 from which it grew is, that it signifies a spiritual beauty, of 
 one kind or another — love, friendship, or some pure senti- 
 ment; and unless an individual perceives this, his observation 
 of a flower as an object of sense is on a par with his observa- 
 tion of soil, of a bug, of a worm, of a snake, or any vile thing 
 on the face of the earth. It is no affectation in the French- 
 man to lay the stress that he does upon the "evidence of the 
 senses," for he sees as much beauty in the vilest reptiles as in 
 the most delightful birds; nay, he takes most pains in exam- 
 
THE FROG. 241 
 
 Jning, painting and describing the former : and the most 
 loathsome swellings and diseases do not disgust him, but on 
 the contrary he delights in examining, representing, and de- 
 scribing them, and invents extraordinary methods of perpetu- 
 ating and holding them up to the admiration and wonder of 
 the world. He exhibits this character of grossness and sen- 
 suality in paintings, and in every variety of art, to a greater 
 degree than any other nation. He is full of " unclean spirits, 
 like frogs," that were seen in the Revelation "coming up out 
 of the bottomless pit." Here is one of them (a Frenchman 
 in caricature), and the man who is 
 composed of frogs like this must be 
 an illustration of the principle that 
 "the whole is like the parts that 
 compose it." The frog lias those 
 things about him that the French- 
 man admires : warts, bearing a like- 
 ness to buboes, blotches, and chan 
 cres; besides puffings and swellings, 
 having the appearance of tumidities 
 
 from disease or from excessive grossness. Also the critical 
 acumen in reference to sensual objects, and the taste for nat- 
 ural history, manifested by the Frenchman, are exhibited by 
 the frog (and usefully too), in clearing the garden of grubs 
 and bugs, and leaving the more beautiful things comparatively 
 untouched. But as bad as it is to be sensual, and to bear too 
 literal a resemblance to the frog, it is worse to attempt to .rea- 
 son, or to go backward, when the idea in the mind is that the 
 objects of sense are essential, primary, superior, the most im- 
 portant, an'] therefore the causes of all things. Was there 
 ever anything so stupid as that shrug of the shoulders, and 
 that leaden gaze, and that motion toward a twigging of the 
 nose, which is exhibited by the Frenchman when he is called 
 upon to know anything or to believe anything beyond the 
 evidence of his senses ? Yes : the frog preceding is very like 
 him and quite equal to him in that; and he is himself ten 
 times more stupid and insensible when he puts " the cart be- 
 fore the horse," the "effect before the cause," and declares 
 
 16 
 
COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 solemnly that reason has an office to perform, and that by 
 means of it he knows something that he did not know before, 
 viz., that the horse is pulled along by the cart, and that what 
 people have supposed to be the effect is in reality the cause ! 
 He resembles the alligator, and the alligator is a stupider ani- 
 mal than the frog, and far more unfeeling 
 and infernal. The frog in him took leave 
 of absence for a while, in order that he 
 might seek out fitting companions, and 
 when he returned he brought such things 
 as lizards and lobsters with him to share 
 in the government of the domain. Thus 
 is illustrated the saying: "When the un- 
 clean spirit has gone out from a man, he walketh through dry 
 places, seeking rest and finding none. Then he saith, 4 1 will 
 return to the place from which I went out;' and when he has 
 returned he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then 
 he goeth and taketh with him seven other spirits worse than 
 himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state 
 of that man is worse than the first." 
 
 ggr^. 
 
THE FKOG. 243 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 The expression u mercurial Frenchman" is a familiar one. 
 A metal moving about like water, instead of being crystal- 
 lized and having a base to stand upon, is no exaggeration of 
 the extraordinary mobility of the people referred to. Attempt- 
 ing to lay your hand on a globule of mercury is like attempt- 
 ing to lay your hand on a frog — you light on emptiness ; and 
 in like manner you can never get the better of a Frenchman 
 in an argument, for he occupies no place in particular, and 
 you can not calculate where he will jump to. It is a general 
 rule, however, that the frog will jump into the water, as the 
 deepest and most important element; and in like manner 
 the Frenchman will jump to scientific facts, as the deepest 
 and most important truths. As these are pliable, and he can 
 make them what he pleases, it is impossible that you should 
 trace him, except b t y the mud which he stirs up from the bot- 
 tom, which soon obscures him entirely ! Supposing even that 
 you have him in the field where the rules of rhetoric are laid 
 down, you lay hands on vacuity when you think he will stay 
 still. This is not his fault, but yours; but if he takes to his 
 scientific facts, and from these reasons against reason, assu- 
 ring you that these are the central truths and the causes of 
 all others, argument is at an end. As the frog goes to its 
 natural element, so goes he to his own place, as the safest 
 for hi?n. Like an infant in the posture that is best suited 
 to his condition, he regards only the objects of the senses. 
 The ipse dixit of Science, from which he is begotten, puts an 
 end to all dispute. The umpire in this case, who appears in 
 the form of a bull-frog, swells about the throat till head and 
 shoulders are mingled into one, and he appears like a monster 
 with eyes in the upper part of the chest ; and all in the en- 
 
244 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 deavor to utter a croak that shall be deeper and more oracu- 
 lar than any which preceded it. However much you desire 
 to get a sight at him, you are doomed to disappointment, for 
 he has sagacity enough to know that the expectation that is 
 aroused by a voice like that would never be realized. 
 
 To mention all the varieties of Frenchmen in connection 
 with the varieties of the frog would be an endless underta- 
 king. There are frogs of a sanguinary disposition (constitu- 
 ting the entire population of a pond of which the water is out), 
 that muster into a regular army, the master-spirit of which :s 
 a frog of wonderful ambition and reckless of blood. Two 
 armies of this description meeting each other leave thousands 
 of their number dead on the ensanguined field. Compare 
 the leader of a noisy army of frogs with the picture called 
 Bonaparte, and with others that might be mentioned. Then 
 there are dirty frogs, that live in mire, and know not the use 
 of water, but are covered with spawn and 
 slime ; and to match these there is a class 
 of Parisians that excel in filthiness. Then 
 there are clean frogs, beautifully colored 
 and speckled, that do not even injure the 
 spring-water that they live in — frogs that 
 you really love to take in your hand wheth 
 er you be Frenchman or not ; and the like 
 of these make Paris a cleaner city than any 
 other in the world. Then there are frogs 
 with yellow skins and beautiful golden eyes, 
 that hop about in the sand, true to their in- 
 stinct which requires them to live in an ele- 
 ment that is shifting; and these are they 
 who talk of stability in the government, and 
 build their houses upon the sand. Then there 
 are toads " ugly and venomous," that " live upon the vapor 
 of a dungeon," by which their brains are rendered prolific — 
 toads who never change their habits, and who are therefore 
 unmitigatingly disgusting in both dress and manners; and to 
 go with these there are Frenchmen who disfranchise them- 
 selves, who are not reckoned among frogs, but are alternately 
 
THE FROG. 
 
 245 
 
 sent to the galleys, banished, or imprisoned. Then there are 
 tree toads, who take the hue of the times in which they live, 
 and who are more elevated in feelings and sentiments than 
 the frogs who surround them, and who redeem the character 
 of Jthe toad, and offer encouragement and example to the low- 
 liest and the most degraded. Were it not for the Frenchmen 
 whose voices make such sweet melody as these, in contrast 
 with the chattering and croaking of the remainder, the mul- 
 titude of frogs would sink in the depths of sensualism, to rise 
 no more. Then there are frogs that we skipped in their 
 proper places, such as put their heads together above the sur- 
 face of the water, entangled with spawn and sea -weeds — 
 
 bandits that disappear on the appearance of a spectator the 
 moment he can say " Jack !" 
 
 The talent for caricature, for which the French are distin- 
 guished, has its origin in the love of exaggeration before spo- 
 ken of. As it is contagious, we plead guilty to the same 
 offence. The French know how to take these things ; and 
 besides, as a general rule, it is a sufficient compliment to rep- 
 resent a man as he really is. A man is in general what he 
 chooses to be; and hence the danger of offence is in descri- 
 bing him as he is not. The French love to have their quali- 
 ties exaggerated, and therefore it is that they deal in compli- 
 ments as well as in caricature. They have little inclination 
 
24:6 COMPARATIVE 1 iJYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 to be dissatisfied with what is said of them ; for when they 
 are "blown" the*y are ready for blows, and a blow from a 
 stone does them no more harm than a blow of wind. For the 
 same reason, when a Frenchman is able to dress himself as 
 he chooses, he can pass for whatever he likes : — 
 
 <k Through tattered clothes small vices do appear; 
 Robes and furred gowns hide all !" 
 
 With such a tournure as he alone has the art of producing, 
 he does not ask even the mantle of charity to be thrown over 
 him. He is fond of wit, and a good joke is never at his ex- 
 pense, for he has more instinct and less sensibility than others. 
 He plays with heads as a child with a rocket, and a revolu- 
 tion is genuine sport — to all but those who say, like the 
 frogs in the fable, " It may be sport to you, but it is death 
 to us !" 
 
 Apropos of this, the French being remarkably like chil- 
 dren, and having a great deal of instinct as animals have, are 
 wonderfully fond of fables; and there is a fable which relates 
 that once upon a time the frogs became wearied of their mo- 
 notonous existence, and prayed to Jupiter to send them a 
 king; whereupon the god sent them a log, which killed manj 
 as it fell among them, and made such a splashing that the 
 rest were awed into stillness; until, finding that it had no 
 longer any power of doing them harm, they became impa- 
 tient — abused, insulted, and leaped upon it, and accused 
 Jupiter of sending them a thing, and at the same time de- 
 manded of him with deafening clamor that he should send 
 them a king that was animated, like themselves, only a great 
 deal more so; whereupon Jupiter sent them a stork, that be- 
 gan immediately to devour them with an appetite that threat- 
 ened to exterminate the race. This is the sum and substance 
 of the fable, and it is particularly applicable to the people 
 who resemble frogs, as much so as if it had been written to 
 describe them. iEsop must have been inspired to have proph- 
 esied so correctly, and to have understood the character of the 
 frog so well. The log will do very well to represent the rule 
 of those Frenchmen who, after the distinction necessary to a 
 
THE FROG. 
 
 247 
 
 revolution, allow the people to do as they please. The stork 
 will represent the rule of one who absorbs into himself the 
 will and functions of the 
 people, and interprets them 
 as he sees fit. The former 
 is like a log, because the 
 Frenchmen who are par- 
 ticularly concerned in it 
 are of the variety that re- 
 semble alligators, the most 
 refined and elevated of 
 whom have the character 
 of camel eons ; and the lat- 
 ter is like a stork, because 
 the person who exercises 
 it resembles that bird : like 
 the crow, vulture, and oth- 
 er carrion-birds, the stork 
 is cowardly ; but he has a show of courage ; he is not boldly 
 but cunningly revengeful. His faults are primarily his fond- 
 ness for carrion and for every species of filth and nuisance, 
 
 his cowardice, also his love of snakes and reptiles — for though 
 these are regarded as high virtues in the bird, as making him 
 an excellent scavenger, and the receptacle of things so vile 
 
248 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 that even the vilest of human beings reject them, yet they are 
 the foundation of the most despicable traits in a human being. 
 The lazy and vicious are very fond of whatever relieves them 
 from the trouble of labor and cleanliness; and this is the rea- 
 son why the stork is held in such high esteem in Egypt, Hol- 
 land, and many other countries, and why the Mohammedans 
 even venerate him. As he is fond of frogs, it is but right and 
 proper that frogs should be fond of him, particularly when 
 they add to the cause of their liking him his disposition to 
 relieve them of all trouble of governing and disposing of them- 
 selves. His fondness for frogs may be shown in this: " Bel- 
 lonius informs us that storks visit Egypt in such abundance, 
 that the fields and meadows are white with them, and that 
 the natives are pleased with their arrival, as the birds deliver 
 them from innumerable swarms of frogs, and also devour ser- 
 pents." The " grave air and mournful visage" of the stork 
 constitute one of the resemblances to the person of whom the 
 following is a portrait (Louis Napoleon). The Marabou stork 
 
 is the bird w T e have chosen 
 to stand by his side. For 
 a description we quote from 
 a writer on natural history : 
 " In its habits this bird 
 bears a close resemblance 
 to the white stork of Europe, 
 
 out becomes still more familiar, and, in consequence of its 
 larger size, renders more essential service in the removal of 
 carrion, offal, and other nuisances. This important office 
 
THE FROG. 24b> 
 
 like the adjutants of Calcutta, it shares with the vultures ; 
 and both birds are universally privileged from all annoyance, 
 in return for so meritorious exertion of their natural propensi- 
 ties. They seem to be constantly attracted by heaps of offen- 
 sive substances collected in the villages and towns, which 
 they devour without scruple, and in immense quantities. . . . 
 Nothing seems to come amiss to the voracious appetite [of 
 this stork] ; for when carrion is scarce, it attacks reptilee,, 
 small birds, and even the lesser quadrupeds (as mice), which 
 it usually swallows entire." From this it appears that no 
 very great danger is to be apprehended from such birds, ex- 
 cept by frogs, and animals that are more weak and cowardly 
 than themselves. " When excited, they elongate their necks, 
 and stand at their full height, menacing with their large bills, 
 which are, however, too light to inflict any serious injury, 
 even had the birds courage enough to attempt it." 
 
 Having spoken hastily of King Stork, we will give a brief 
 description of King Log. There are certain frogs whose 
 greatness appears in the grating of their voices. As it is not 
 natural for instinct to reason, these, by setting themselves up 
 to be reasoners, and by reasoning backward when it is their 
 instinct to go forward, degenerate into lizards of the larger 
 variety — large, because it is their ambition to be so, as indi- 
 cated by their voice, and by their habits of swelling and ex- 
 pansion. 
 
 Opposite to these there are tree-toads, with fine, soft, musi- 
 cal voices, and with a disposition to shrink into the substance 
 of the tree that they are perched upon, at the same time that 
 they desire eminence — as much, even, as the frogs last men- 
 tioned desire a grovelling situation, and to be distinguished. 
 The Frenchmen who resemble tree-toads, by adopting induc- 
 tion as the rule of reasoning, degenerate into a resemblance 
 to the cameleon, the most harmless and beautiful of lizards, 
 as the tree-toad is the most harmless and beautiful of toads. 
 Who can look at the following portrait of a Frenchman, and 
 not say that it is a genuine " character," a distinct genm, 
 drawn to the life? Would you not know by those feet and 
 hands that he hp ^ wonderful powers of clinging to whatever 
 
250 
 
 COMPARATIVE PH\ &i\j<*NOMY. 
 
 ie takes hold of? That right arm has the peculiar thrust 
 that is observed in the right fore-leg of the cameleon, and it 
 
 is evidently grasping the con- 
 tents of his pocket. That left 
 arm has the very same char- 
 acter that is observed in the 
 corresponding member of the 
 quadruped. That left leg — 
 how admirably it imitates the 
 left that sets itself down on 
 the limb of the tree! and the 
 right, how like in character 
 to the one that forms the ba- 
 sis of support, and insures 
 safety to the cameleon ! and 
 even the coat-tail adds ama- 
 zingly to the resemblance, in 
 • the manner of its descent from 
 
 the back, in its length, and in the support which it adds to 
 the posterior aspect of the right extremity. But when we 
 ascend to the head, the likeness is no less remarkable, and 
 still more interesting. In the peculiar angle and curve of 
 that forelock the individual has embodied some striking trait 
 of his character — an endeavor, it may be, to resemble the 
 cameleon in the artistic disposal of everything belonging to 
 him. The top and back part of his head, together with the 
 forelock, turning up on one side and down on the other, are 
 imaged forth in corresponding points in the head of the came- 
 leon. The nose, too, has the very curve, and the very expressioD 
 
THE FROG. 251 
 
 of stubbedness of disposition, together with tne love ot emi- 
 nence and accommodation, in the proportions, that are rudely 
 set forth in the nasal organ of the inferior animal. And that 
 eye, was there ever any like it save in the cameleon ? Does it, 
 not seem as if it would look this way while the left eye looked 
 the other ? and as if it would look upward while the left regard- 
 ed the earth ? Precisely so ; and in this he bears as close a 
 resemblance to the cameleon as in other things. It is well 
 known that the cameleon has the power of moving the eyes 
 in opposite directions, up and down, and toward all points of 
 the compass, just as if he were two animals instead of one. 
 Descending from the head to the chest, we see in the form, 
 of the latter, in the whole length of the vest, in the swelled 
 and in the girted portion, and from the top to the groin, the 
 evidences of a disposition in this particular Frenchman to 
 borrow his fashions from this favorite pattern of the qualities 
 of mind and heart that he is inclined to cultivate. There can 
 be no doubt of his abilities and disposition to change his col- 
 ors to suit the times and circumstances, to blend in with that 
 which most predominates, and to turn that coat of his as often 
 as the exigencies of the case may require ; and of course this 
 implies the ability, if not really the disposition, to bear a 
 scolding tongue, and not merely to survive under it, but to 
 take it good-naturedly, and to thrive and prosper, and to 
 speak a good word to the neighbors in favor of his amiable 
 spouse. 
 
 The moral qualities are swerved from their proper and le- 
 gitimate action by the influence of the animal faculties when 
 the latter predominate, as was shown in the peculiar action 
 of justice consequent upon the bovine qualities of those who 
 resemble the ox. " Pulling and hauling" is the sum of pro- 
 ceedings in the English courts, and oxwhips are applied lust- 
 ily, accompanied with shouts, in which " gee" and " haw" 
 are the conspicuous words, equivalent to pro and con / and 
 it is curious that oxen, like John Bulls, are directed to pull 
 to the right and to the left at the same time, as is evident 
 from the repeated command, " Gee haw !" Hodge is quite 
 certain of being obeyed when he utters such an order as this, 
 
252 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 and he delights in the increased labors of his oxen in their 
 endeavor to pull away from each other, for they are " perform- 
 ing an immense amount of labor" — the grand thing which 
 he proposes to accomplish. In respect to justice, John Bull 
 and Monsieur Frog are the very antipodes of each other. Nat- 
 ural historians inform us that the ranunculi have a singular 
 mode of administering capital punishment. Two stout fellows 
 place themselves on each side of the offender, and crowd up- 
 on him until they have crushed him to death. In like man- 
 ner, French justice places the accused between two parties ; 
 and these, instead of inclining to separation, are disposed to 
 agreement : both parties conspire to condemn, and agree to 
 " go halves" in the division of the spoils ! If a king or a 
 deputy is so unfortunate as to come to trial, the people rush 
 upon him en masse / there are none to defend him, and his 
 death is the explosion that scatters them in wild disorder, to 
 concentrate again at the Tuileries, or some other place, where 
 they revenge the death of their former victim upon their 
 leader. They are essentially democratic only on this princi- 
 ple, that " where the carcass is there the eagles are gathered 
 together." We have seen it suggested that the eagle which 
 the French republic displays aloft is a Gallic bird, and may 
 be nothing more nor less than a gallinaceous fowl. 
 
THE DOG. 
 
 253 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 We Lave lingered on the verge of one part of our subject, 
 longing for the eloquence which it would seem calculated to 
 inspire, and find that we are likely never to go on unless we 
 content us with plain English, like that which has already 
 served us. That subject is the resemblance between the Irish- 
 man and the dog; and the eloquence which we craved (with- 
 out knowing exactly what we were 
 waiting for) is " Irish eloquence." 
 This is so prominent a trait of Irish 
 character, that if the resemblance 
 
 alluded to exists, it must be characteristic of the dog. And 
 so it is. Listen how the loud sound of the watch-dog booms 
 through the air at night, and how the welkin rings with re- 
 sponses from 
 
 "mongrel, puppy, whelp, and hound, 
 
 And curs of low degree,"' 
 
 in imitation of guns, thunder, and the rolling eloquence called 
 oratory ! On all sides round echoes the " war of words, 1 ' in 
 which accent and emphasis play the conspicuous part, the 
 sounds being jerked forth like the report of a rifle ; and the 
 
254: COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 merest squib of them all is as ambitious of being the "big 
 gun" as the one that may justly lay claim to that distinction. 
 Is not this a description of Irish eloquence? Has not the 
 Irishman pathos also to express his bereavement? and does 
 he not hold his "wakes," in which he rivals the dog in wail- 
 ing, as at other times he rivals him in debate and oratory? 
 He seems to howl and bay the moon, as if the wavering stars 
 would shed more tears, and the chaste Diana, the patroness 
 of thieves and vagabonds, would be melted with sympathy at 
 the tale of his sufferings : not to say that the Irishman is a 
 thief and a vagabond, in a worse sense than that he is exact- 
 ing, and that he gives himself up " to license unrestrained," 
 and with a feeling of abandonment to be the prey of pick- 
 pockets, grief, beggary, and intemperance. We speak now 
 of the "common run" of Irish, and they are like the "com- 
 mon run" of dogs that " take after them," and that are thieves 
 and vagabonds without qualification. 
 
 The Irish, take them as they come over, are remarkable 
 for holding you by the button while they inflict upon you 
 what they have to say, or (if they are so fortunate as to be 
 merchants) what they have to sell ; and they are distinguished 
 for pertinacity in begging, or in "beating down;" and, cer- 
 tainly, if they are so elevated as to be purchasers instead of 
 beggars, they have a right to be impudent, though it is some- 
 what difficult to distinguish buying (as they practise it) from 
 begging! The Irishman's mouth waters for everything he 
 eees, and he is the " greatest tease," in every sense of the 
 term, of anybody we know of, with the exception of the dog, 
 who, it must be expected, will follow the fortunes of his mas- 
 ter. " Like master like man" is a trite saying, and as true as 
 it is trite. Compare the Irishman and the dog in respect to 
 barking, snarling, howling, begging, fawning, flattering, back- 
 biting, quarrelling, blustering, scenting, seizing, hanging on, 
 teasing, rollicking, and whatever other traits you may discover 
 in either, and you will be convinced that there is a wonderful 
 resemblance. 
 
 The son of old Erin wastes his breath in sighing for the 
 past, and fails in his efforts for the future because he has no 
 
THE DOG. 255 
 
 heart in it. He has ardent wishes, but it is for the old, for 
 everything hallowed by the tender associations of bygote 
 days. Yet these refer to some wished for good in the future. 
 What he hopes and anticipates is, the return of the good old 
 times of learning and hospitality, of domestic affection and 
 neighborly love, which characterized his ancestors. Noble 
 traits were these, and it is the deep consciousness of the same 
 affections in his bosom still that links him to the past with a 
 tie that bleeds and suffers with everything in the present and 
 the future that essays to rend it. 
 
 In our opinion, we have alluded to the finest trait in the 
 Irish character — a susceptibility to an exquisiteness of pleas- 
 ure or of pain, which comes from an extraordinary degree of 
 consciousness. The cords of affection in his breast are en- 
 dowed with the highest degree of sensibility, and for the rea- 
 son that they do not utter themselves but in tones of the must 
 thrilling pathos, and therefore it is too that they refuse to oe 
 broken. They attach him to the past, to the objects of his 
 first love, and the necessity of change rends his heart. But 
 there is a way in which he can submit to the operation of 
 having the ties which bind him to his kindred and country 
 rent asunder, and his heart taken from him as if it were a 
 fungous excrescence — and that is, to be made drunk. Alas 
 that he should have fallen into the sad necessity of being 
 made insensible, that he might suffer himself to be torn from 
 all that his heart holds dear — from wife, and children, and 
 home, and the relics of his ancestors ! What is left of the 
 Irishman when you take from him his household gods, and 
 his tender susceptibility of pleasure and pain? He is a mis- 
 erable imitation of the Frenchman (see next page), both in 
 the frivolity and hilarity which are the first effects of intoxi- 
 cation, and in the loss of sensibility, and the sundering of 
 domestic ties, and the recklessness of old associations and of 
 the feelings of others, which are the inevitable result of his 
 potations repeated and persevered in. He becomes a fatalist 
 as much worse than the Frenchman as madness is worse than 
 folly, as whiskey is worse than wine, and as insensibility that 
 is induced is worse than that which is natural. He prates 
 
256 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 and babbles, and is full of the ambition of being an orator, 
 and is in every respect as miserable a caricature of the French- 
 man as the perverted American is a miserable representation 
 
 of a Chinaman, and as the degenerate Italian is a miserable 
 impersonation of the Englishman. It will not do for the Irish 
 to resemble frogs, nor for dogs to resemble Frenchmen. The 
 
 consciousness of the Irishman adapts him to domestic life, to 
 which the dog is suited ; and the Distinctiveness of the French- 
 man adapts him to communism, like that of the frog, or those 
 wonderful examples of instinct the bee and the ant: and an 
 attempt to reverse the order of things is destructive to both. 
 France is a bad atmosphere for the Irishman ; and let the 
 man who resembles the dog, or is a descendant of the Irish, 
 
THE DOG. 
 
 257 
 
 not be ambitious to " learn French." If you find him so, you 
 will also find him snappish, ambitious of being a politician, 
 and of distinguishing himself as an orator; and in default of 
 these he will be for ever applying the "lash of scorpions" to 
 his nearest neighbor. 
 
 " Close at my heels the snappish cur 
 With yelping treble flies" — 
 
 will be applicable to him. French dogs are the least amiable 
 of their species, if we may judge from what Dickens says of 
 them: .... "And here are sheep-dogs, sensible as ever, but 
 witli a certain French air about them, not without a suspicion 
 of dominoes, with a kind of flavor of mustache and beard ; 
 demonstrative dogs, shaggy and loose where an English dog 
 would be tight and close ; not so troubled with business cal- 
 culations as our English drovers' dogs, who have always got 
 their sheep on their 
 minds, and think of 
 their wgrk, even rest- 
 ing, as you may see 
 by their faces — but 
 dashing, showy, ra- 
 ther unreliable dogs, 
 who might worry me 
 instead of their legit- 
 imate charges if they 
 saw occasion — and 
 might see it some- 
 what suddenly." The genuine Irishman — the one who is 
 
 worthy a birthplace on the 
 Emerald isle — resembles that 
 noblest of all dogs, the Irish 
 wolf-dog, and more the dog 
 of St. Bernard and the New- 
 foundland dog than the scav- 
 enger-dog of the city and the 
 great variety of whining,bark- 
 ing, howling, snarling, snap- 
 17 
 
258 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 ping dogs that, like Irishmen, are scattered the world over. 
 The man who in feature and expression resembles those no- 
 bler animals just mentioned, is more seen than heard ; he has 
 feelings too deep for utterance ; he is linked to the past by 
 the tenderest associations; his love is pure, concentrated, of 
 the strongest kind, and therefore eternal, looking to the future 
 for the consummation of what is already begun. He is the 
 very opposite of the Frenchman, and the farthest remove pos- 
 sible from the vacillating, tyrannical, cruel, faithless, hypo- 
 critical, beslavering Irishman, who illustrates the saying of 
 Pope : — 
 
 " Of all mad creatures, if the learned are right, 
 It is the slaver kills, and not the bite !" 
 
 Those nobler Irishmen are found at home, for their hearts are 
 there; and if they are compelled to leave their country (not 
 " for their country's good," as certain Englishmen are who 
 are sent to Botany bay), you hear them use the word " home" 
 as synonymous with their country, when they refer to the 
 land that gave them birth ; that is marked everywhere by the 
 hallowed shrines and footprints of their ancestors. They have 
 true eloquence, the very opposite of that haranguing, brawl- 
 ing, litigating, campaigning, brazen eloquence of the "com- 
 mon Irish," who, in reversing their original character, outdo 
 the peculiarities of the French. Their words are the language 
 of genuine feeling, but they are generally silent, for the love 
 that burns in their bosoms is a holy flame. Their eloquence 
 is the very essence of harmony and pathos, and every word 
 they utter may be treasured as an embodiment of love, a sacred 
 memento of the heart from which it came. 
 
 Thackeray, in his " Irish Sketch-Book, " speaks thus of Irish 
 gentlemen: "I have met more gentlemen here than in any 
 other place I ever saw — gentlemen of high and low ranks, 
 that is to say — men shrewd and delicate of perception, ob- 
 servant of society, entering into the feelings of others, and 
 anxious to set them at ease or to gratify them." This is in 
 consequence of the exquisite susceptibility which we call con- 
 sciousness, but when he adds, " of course exaggerating their 
 professions of kindness, and in so far insincere," we beh^d 
 
THE DOG. 
 
 259 
 
 the tendency toward " puppyism," or a resemblance to those 
 dogs that fawn, first upon their masters and finally upon ev- 
 erybody, especially upon those from whom they hope to 
 receive favors ; and in the last stage of all they become 
 "toadies." 
 
 The same writer says : " In regard to the Munster ladies, 
 I had the pleasure to be present at two or three evening par- 
 ties at Cork, and must say that they seem to excel English 
 ladies, not only in wit and vivacity, but in the still more im- 
 portant article of the toilet. They are as well dressed as 
 
 Frenchwomen, and incomparably handsomer In the 
 
 carriages, among the ladies of Kerry, every second woman 
 was handsome ; and there is something peculiarly tender and 
 pleasing in the looks of the young female peasantry, that is 
 
 perhaps even better than beauty The hair flowing loose 
 
 and long is a pretty characteristic of the women of the coun- 
 try ; many a fair one do you see at the door of the cabin, 
 combing complacently 'that greatest ornament of female 
 beauty.' .... I never saw in any country such general grace 
 of manner and ladyhood." 
 
 "Were we to choose the animal 
 that would most resemble this 
 description, we would choose the 
 most beautiful in the world, and 
 that would be the King Charles 
 spaniel (see next page). The still 
 consciousness ; the deep feeling 
 and sympathy of those eyes, in 
 which there is more eloquence 
 than words can utter ; the quiet, 
 the gentleness, the grace ; the 
 exquisite cultivation and refine- 
 ment, of which those very long, 
 pendent ears are the tokens ; ev- 
 erything about the dear crea- 
 ture that speaks of tenderness 
 and love, of domestic happiness, of exquisite appreciation and 
 sensibility, of sensitiveness to unkind treatment, of forgive- 
 
360 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 ness, of meekness, of inoffensive innocence, of a disposition to 
 live in peace and harmony with all mankind — remind us of 
 woman in that refined society that is included within the do- 
 mestic circle, and has its origin from domestic virtue. 
 
 Saint Patrick is said to have driven all the toads and snakes 
 out of Ireland, and we might add lizards included, for these 
 are a medium between the two. But, in expelling them from 
 Mie land, he may have caused them to transmigrate, and to 
 appear again under the mask of the native inhabitants ! 
 " Bloody Irishman" is a term applicable to the Irish in gen- 
 eral, but particularly to that variety that resembles the bull- 
 dog. " Kill" is a word attached to half the places in Ireland 
 — Kildare, Kilkenny, Killarney, Kilkerny, etc. It should be 
 
 remarked, however, that the 
 noblest varieties of dogs, of 
 which the bull-dog is one, be- 
 come by perversion the very 
 worst ; and the same is true 
 of those persons who resemble 
 
 the nobler varieties of dogs. They are either remarkable for 
 their stanch integrity and tenacious adherence to the princi- 
 
THE DOG. 261 
 
 pies of honor and uprightness, or they are noted foi their 
 tenacity of purpose, right or wrong, and in pursuit of their 
 victims are like Spanish bloodhounds; or they answer better 
 still to the description of Cerberus at the gate of hell. The 
 man who resembles the shepherd's dog is by perversion con- 
 verted into a resemblance to the wolf. His affection for 
 sheep, or in other words for innocence and virtue, is convert- 
 ed into the appetite for mutton, or the desire to seduce and 
 to devour that which it is his duty to protect. He has in his 
 face a look of innocence, like that which he lives upon, but 
 which he changes into its opposite. He is the "wolf in 
 sheep's clothing." He looks "sheepish," in a sense that can 
 hardly be distinguished from "wolfish," and when lie looks 
 with admiration upon unstained beauty in the opposite sex 
 you can see in him an "evil eye" like that which is discov- 
 erable in the wolf, or like that which makes the dog look " as 
 if he had been stealing sheep." The dog, if he be worthy of 
 the name, is "death" upon the wolf, and this is particularly 
 the case with the Irish wolf-dog, who resembles that animal 
 as much as he hates him. This is just the difference between 
 the genuine coin and the counterfeit: the more the latter is 
 like the former, the more vile and worthless it is, and the 
 more it is opposite to the true. Hypocrisy is the very oppo- 
 site of the goodness which it affects, for it is the perversion 
 of truth, which is falsehood, and the perversion of virtue, 
 which is vice. But though the wolf-dog and the wolf resem- 
 ble each other and resemble the sheep, the one has a mean, 
 cruel, cowardly expression of countenance, and the other has 
 a magnanimous, mild, courageous expression, that wins your 
 confidence. And so it is with the " Shepherd of the sheep" 
 and with the " wolf in sheep's clothing." The " sheep," we 
 are told, are able to distinguish between one and the other. 
 
 The dog is a very great wit, and exceedingly fond of sport 
 and game. He shows his waggish disposition in the manner 
 In which he plays with you and with other dogs. He appre- 
 ciates the joke you play upon him if it be a good-natured 
 one, and surprises you by the disposition he has to reciprocate 
 it, and by the tact he displays in making you the subject of 
 
262 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 laughter. He is alive to fun and frolic — not playfulness 
 merely, like that of the cat, but something absolutely droll, 
 ridiculous, and absurd. The parallel of this to the disposition 
 and talent for which the Irish are most celebrated, is at once 
 perceived. The lowest, the most ignorant, the most stupid, 
 are not exempt from a peculiar kind of smartness, a certain 
 keen perception of the ludicrous, and a readiness in making 
 apt replies ; and there is not a dog but has the same appreci- 
 ation, and the same facility of expressing it, so far as a dumb 
 dog can express his ideas of things. The tolerance with which 
 a Newfoundland or a dignified old mastiff regards the gam- 
 bols of a puppy, who makes bold to jump into his face and 
 pull him by the tail, is not mere forbearance, but is, if we 
 may judge anything from his actions and the expressions of 
 his countenance, in consequence in no small degree of the 
 gratification of his "wit and mirthful ness." 
 
 This talent for wit sharpens the Irishman's slander, as is 
 evident from the nature of his satire ; and it is similar with 
 
 the dog, as is shown in 
 his worrying and teas- 
 ing poor animals instead 
 
 of doing simply what his master bids r ; ,m. It is easy to set 
 him on, but hard to call him off, and precisely so it is with 
 the " plaguey" Irishman. There is a wonderful tenacity in 
 this love of teasing, which is the counterpart of the French- 
 man's fondness for caricature; and the poor victim, thinking 
 the dog has "the wrong pig by the ear," is fain to cry, 
 
THE DOG. 
 
 263 
 
 " Bloody murder !" and " Leave go !" The dog, we know, cries 
 some time after he is hurt, showing the continuance of the 
 pain, but the hog ceases shouting as soon as the dog ceases 
 his persecutions. Ergo, the dog, like the Irishman, is a tease 
 and a torment. This is a character, in fact, that it seems im- 
 possible for the Irishman to get rid of, for when he tries his 
 best to please he is still vexatious. "What torments these 
 Irish servants are!" is frequently heard from those who have 
 not been the subjects of their satire. They are as proverbial 
 for their ridiculous mistakes as for their wit, and this is the 
 more strange as it seems to be a contradiction in character. 
 But it is according to the principle, "They who take the 
 sword shall perish by the sword," and the same is true of the 
 French. These "Irish bulls," as they are called, are not 
 from lack of shrewdness, but from a want of instinctiveness 
 the trait that is peculiarly natural to the French ; and it is in 
 consequence also of that imperative, headlong, impetuous dis- 
 position which the bull-dog has in common with the bull, and 
 which the Irish have in common with the English. The lack 
 of instinctiveness is shown in the awkwardness of their mo- 
 tions. Their imitations of the French, which are mere perver- 
 sions of their own characters, increase this opposition and 
 render it all the more conspicuous. They are like beetles — 
 
 "Against the traveller borne in heedless hum," 
 
 or like the pumpkin that you can not 
 keep out of your way, but are always 
 
COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 tumbling over, bringing you into the same blundering, awk- 
 ward condition with themselves. If the Irishman were not 
 distinguished for this, there could be no food for his wit, for 
 he could not place you in a ludicrous position in his own 
 mind without placing you so externally. This is true of all 
 persons who have an extraordinary sense of the ludicrous. It 
 is on this principle that the French, who are the fittest sub- 
 jects of caricature, are themselves the greatest caricaturists 
 in the known world. 
 
 Among dogs, the commonality, which aspire to the condi- 
 tion of toads, and to that of frogs in stagnant pools by the 
 roadside, love to dig in the dirt, to roll in it, to splash through 
 the mud, and esteem it a luxury to have a pig pen, or a snug, 
 warm kennel to harbor in. Among the Irish, the common- 
 ality take to dirt-digging more naturally than to anything 
 else; they are dirty in their persons, and admit their pigs in 
 the mud-cabins which they themselves occupy. They are 
 good servants if you deal harshly with them, as a master does 
 with his dog ; but the moment you are disposed to be famil- 
 iar with them they are all over you, jumping against you, and 
 laying their dirty paws upon your clean clothes, as if you 
 were no better than they. You are loved by them quite as 
 well, and they are quite as happy, if you teach them good 
 manners : but the true way to restore to them that sensibility, 
 delicacy, sense of propriety, tender affection, and exquisite 
 susceptibility of enjoyment, which is their rightful inheritance 
 from their ancestors, is, to treat them as if they were possessed 
 of these qualities, and thereby to set them the example. The 
 man who wounds the feelings of his dog, will soon have a dog 
 as hard and ungenerous as himself; but the man who ^eats 
 his dog as he should, will have a faithful servant, who will 
 say, " Go on, master, I will follow thee to the last gasp, w?th 
 truth and loyalty." 
 
THE DOG. 
 
 205 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 " Arrai ! come on, now ! I'm ready for ye!" is as plainly 
 expressed in the attitude of this Irishman as in that of the 
 dog, and it is perfectly natural to both ; but the attitude indi- 
 cates more the posture of affairs in- 
 side than is expressed in words: 
 there is a provisional clause in the 
 defiance, which, if it were written, 
 would read thus — " if you are not 
 too strong for me !" The cowardly 
 disposition exhibited in the manner 
 of looking, of standing, and of grasp- 
 ing the shelalah, is not to be mista- 
 
 ken ; and it is in the attempt to look and to feel courageous 
 that it is most betrayed. If Paddy were not a coward, he 
 would not arm himself with a club as a preparation for a suc- 
 cessful resistance, much less would he use this cruel instru- 
 ment to attack with. Cowardice and cruelty are inseparable, 
 and the proof of the one is proof of the other. The cause 
 which operates to produce these two traits, as explained in 
 the chapter concerning the vulture, is brought to bear power- 
 ful) v upon the Irishman, who drinks to drive away the feeling 
 
2M 
 
 COMT' ARATfV E PfT YPIOG NOMT. 
 
 that he is a coward ; then to screw up Ins courage to the point 
 of defending himself ; then to make him pitiless, abusive to 
 bis friends, cm el and desperate; then to drive him to mad- 
 ness, and to fancy himself rich, generous, and lordly, as he 
 has the inclination to be ; then to shnt out the phantoms of 
 wretchedness from his sight, and to drown himself in obliv- 
 ion ; and finally to struggle feebly against the ghastly messen- 
 gers that come to torment him in the hour of dissolution. 
 
 As the dog has a predisposition to be fond of carrion, and 
 has a large chest for the exhalation of carbonic acid gas, it 
 is natural that the Irishman should have a leaning to ferment 
 ed liquor, and that his chest should be large, enabling him to 
 dispose of a great quantity of excrementitious gases by exha- 
 lation, and thus adapting him to the evil habit he is inclined 
 to. Under these circumstances, if the Irishman is temperate, 
 it is a rare virtue. His countenance expresses the greatest 
 possible degree of sobriety, which betokens a trustworthy 
 character, in which is included courage, prudence, honesty, 
 faithfulness, integrity, and nobleness. If in this portrait of an 
 
 honest dog there is not some- 
 thing sufficiently human to de- 
 serve all this, there is at least 
 perfect sobriety, and a resem- 
 blance to a true-hearted and 
 honorable gentleman. Gentle- 
 
 ^O-e^-ftL 
 
 N.V 
 
 ness is a virtue ; and the dog, if he be well bred, is a gentle 
 man, because he is naturally rude ; while the cat, being nativ 
 
THE DOG. 267 
 
 rally quiet, can not have the virtue of gentility ascribed to 
 her. The least degree of intemperance is a breach of polite- 
 ness ; it is synonymous with rudeness ; while sobriety includes 
 all those qualities that are ascribed to people of the most pol- 
 ished and refined manners. The dog represented on the pre- 
 ceding page is a Scotch terrier. You can see in his counte- 
 nance undaunted bravery, and a sturdy opposition to all 
 sneaking and meanness, to all cruelty and cowardice,, and to 
 all seeking after fermented liquors and fermented food — to 
 all the traits which are manifested in the rat, and of which 
 he has none. He hates the rat, as a thing engendered in 
 filth, which he despises, and as possessing traits the very op- 
 posite of faithfulness and courage ; and hence he kills the rat, 
 but does not eat it; he is intent upon its destruction, but has 
 the strongest aversion to devouring it. He is not cruel : he 
 does not tease people, nor bark and bite, and worry poor ani- 
 mals. He is not cowardly : he is never seen cowering, or 
 dodging, or skulking, or sneaking along the gutters, looking 
 out for garbage with one eye and for clubs and brickbats with 
 the other. He is intent upon reform ; upon cleansing the 
 sewers; upon saving grain and other provisions from rats, 
 which are the emissaries of Fermentation and the imps of 
 Drunkenness. He bears a resemblance to Father Mathew 
 in character and physiognomy, in all the qualities enumerated 
 above, in the features, and particularly in the expression, as 
 Father Mathew bears a resemblance to Fenelon. The like- 
 ness between these two noble catholic priests is indicated in 
 the countenance, in the signs of benevolence, disinterested- 
 ness, courage, magnanimity, purity, virtue, refinement, gen- 
 tleness, and internal peace, breathing " peace on earth and 
 good-will to man." 
 
 It is perceived from these examples, and from every-day 
 observation, that sobriet} 7 is an essential quality of the gentle- 
 man, and that the least degree of intemperance is ungentle- 
 manly ; yet conviviality is essential to sobriety, and insepara- 
 ble from gentility, just as imagination is essential to reason, 
 and is inseparable from refinement and intelligence. Con- 
 viviality keeps company with nobility and courage. 'No truly 
 
268 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 brave person ever lived who was not convivial. Father 
 Mathew is eminently so, and it is not at all inconsistent with 
 his gravity, his earnestness and zeal ; and who can look at the 
 face of Fenelon and not say that it is true of him? In the 
 countenance of that terrier, too, there is conviviality : how 
 bright and sparkling, and yet how gravely earnest ! Earnest- 
 ness is the silken tie that unites these two apparently opposite 
 traits together. A man to be convivial must be in earnest, 
 he must have life about him, and he must be in " sober ear- 
 nest" in order to be sober. The sober man, therefore, who 
 does not labor to destroy intemperance, and to promote so- 
 briety, as the terrier does, is but a sober thing, the principal 
 attribute of which is inertia ; he is doomed to be a numbskull, 
 in the degree that he is insensible in heart to the emotion of 
 philanthropy, which is convivial. 
 
 Nature has provided for this conviviality most beautifully, 
 and it is the perversion of her admirable provision that con 
 stitutes drunkenness. She has formed the patterns from which 
 wineglasses and goblets of every description are derived ; and 
 she has formed the nectar, in cups of her own, from which 
 wines, cordials, and intoxicating liquors of every variety, are 
 concocted and brought into existence. She is counterfeited 
 with such skill, that people fancy they are sipping nectar, like 
 the bee, when they are quaffing poison ; that they are making 
 themselves brave, when they are making themselves cowardly ; 
 that they are growing convivial, when they are growing riot- 
 ous ; that they are acting the part of gentlemen, when they 
 are acting the part of vagabonds ; that they are promoting 
 cheerfulness, when they are promoting gloom; that they are 
 improving their wit, when they are becoming foolish and in- 
 sane ; that they are ministering to health, when they are pay- 
 ing tribute to disease ; that they are giving themselves free 
 dom and the love of independence, when they are making 
 themselves miserably servile ; that they are, in fine, doing ev- 
 erything right, when they are doing everything wrong. To 
 such perversions does the counterfeiting of Nature's benefi- 
 cent provision, and the perversion of conviviality, lead ! Con- 
 viviality, companion of all graces and human excellences, 
 
THE DOG. 
 
 269 
 
 how beautiful thou art! Welcome art thou at the fireside, at 
 the social board, if there is moral courage, truth, and honesty, 
 enough to preclude and expel the base hypocrite who has 
 counterfeited thy likeness ! welcome art thou at " the feast of 
 reason and the flow of soul," and at the home of peace, virtue, 
 and domestic affection ! 
 
 But what shall we say of sobriety that is the result of self- 
 ishness? There are those who desire to prolong life, and to 
 escape suffering and disease, whether others fall victims to 
 intemperance or not. The want of benevolence in such peo- 
 ple shows itself in the want of conviviality. Life with them 
 is such a life as cold-blooded animals enjoy. In their tem- 
 perance they are not much better than vegetables, and make 
 an approach to stocks and stones. The truth of this observa- 
 tion is better exhibited in these two heads, the one of an 
 Irishman and the other of a terrier, than can be expressed in 
 
 words. The first is some- 
 what exaggerated, but the 
 latter is true to life. There 
 
 is no vivacity in either, no conviviality, but dullness and stu- 
 pidity. The unmitigated sobriety of both countenances is 
 easily perceived. There is more of interest, of warmth, of 
 gentlemanliness, in the face of an Irishman who makes him- 
 self merry over his cups, than in this of one who takes the 
 pledge because he has no disposition to break it. It is as if 
 this dog should pledge himself to his master in a wink of the 
 eye that he would never taste of a rat, having become too old 
 and sober, if not too lazy, to catch one. 
 
270 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 Virtuous sobriety manifests itself in the temperate use of 
 the beverages which Nature herself has provided. What 
 preparation, earnestness, delicacy, boldness, and precision, 
 are manifested in the humming-bird, as he hovers about a 
 flower, and passes his slender bill into the cup that contains 
 the pure spirit which so enlivens and thrills him! The con- 
 viviality which belongs to true sobriety, or to temperance, cor- 
 responds to the revelry of a bee in the heart of a flower, and 
 to tire antics of a humming-bird as he approaches a blossom, 
 ami threads the honey-cup with his bill in search of the nectar 
 that delights him. 
 
 But each stage of fermentation, as to the appetite that de- 
 mands it, is a stage in the down-hill course of deception and 
 mockery, of cowardice, cruelty, and degradation. The sac- 
 charine fermentation is a perversion of the secretion in flow- 
 ers that produces honey; and, corresponding with this, cow- 
 ardice is the perversion of caution, and cruelty is the perver- 
 sion of courage. All animals that live on honey, or are very 
 fond of it, are remarkable for courage, and also for careful- 
 ness, which is another name for caution, as, for example, the 
 bee, the humming-bird, and the bear; but animals that are in 
 the way of eating sugar instead of honey, and seem to prefer 
 it, are deficient in those qualities, as, for example, the house- 
 fly, the ant that lives in the sugar-bowl, and not unfrequently 
 the wasp, besides which we may mention children that live 
 on cakes and confectionery, and people who are very fond of 
 sweetmeats and preserves. The red Americans made sugar 
 from the maple, and the white ones manufacture it very ex- 
 tensively from the cane, and use it, too, as a substitute for 
 honey, which their resemblance to the bear includes a partic- 
 ular love for; and this appetite for "sugar" (as if one species 
 of saccharine matter were as good as another) indicates a 
 difficulty of feeling the distinction between courage and cru- 
 elty, and between caution and cowardice. 
 
 The use of sugar is the stepping-stone to intemperance. The 
 appetite grows npon a man by indulgence, and seizes him pe- 
 riodically like the propensity for strong drink, so that he is 
 finally made aware that his condition is like that of the 
 
THE DOG. 271 
 
 drunkard. He requires larger and still larger potations of 
 sugar to satisfy him ; he resolves against the intemperate use 
 of it, and re resolves, but he can not see and resist the tempta- 
 tion ; and when the appetite comes upon him, like that of the 
 drunkard for his cups, he wanders and almost rushes in search 
 of it, and goes from one candy-shop to another as the toper 
 goes from one coffeehouse to another to satisfy himself with 
 drams. This is no fancy sketch, but is taken from life. The 
 appetite for the result of the saccharine fermentation is like 
 that for the result of the vinous ; but with the appetite for 
 honey or for any wholesome article of diet, unperverted by 
 the use of sugar or intoxicating drinks, it is not so. 
 
 Yet the deterioration connected with the first degree of 
 fermentation is very slight compared with that which is con- 
 nected with the second, and w T ould be hardly worth mention- 
 ing if it did not lead to the latter. When the craving for 
 sugar refuses to be satisfied, and when the anxiety of the ap- 
 petite demands relief, there is a feeling that strong drink 
 would be good ; but it is the sugar that renders brandy, gin, 
 and toddy, palatable in the first place : nevertheless, when 
 the mixture and the second degree in artificial courage are 
 taken, those articles are loved raw. Of the cowardice con- 
 nected with drunkenness, we have abundant examples in the 
 Irish ; and as the appetite for alcohol is a greater perversion 
 in those who resemble bears than in others, the Americans, 
 both the Indians and the whites, when they take to drink, are 
 the greatest drunkards in the world. The bear is by nature 
 courageous in the extreme, and is in no need of having his 
 courage stimulated ; he wrestles and fights hand to hand, and 
 cuffs with his paws like a man with his fists, and will prey 
 upon nothing that has not come to its death by his own hands ; 
 and for him to touch fermentation would be a much greater 
 perversion than for the dog, that is inclined to it. Hence the 
 Irishman is excused for being a drunkard, but the Yankee 
 never. 
 
 If you are going to excuse anybody for indulging in intoxi 
 cation, it will be one who feels under the influence of it as 
 does the Irishman who is represented on the following page. 
 
272 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 His combined gestures are an imitation of the humming-bird 
 over the honey-cup. Yet it would be hard-hearted to indulge 
 
 a feeling of gratification at 
 seeing him so merry with- 
 out cause, especially when 
 we reflect that " wounds 
 and bruises without cause" 
 are sure to follow. The so- 
 ber, second thought refuses 
 to be gratified at the exhi- 
 bition of a tragic farce. The 
 contagion of this poor fel- 
 low's intoxication is worse 
 than the original disease. 
 The man who deals out in- 
 toxicating drinks, but ab- 
 stains from them himself, 
 reaps his enjoyments from 
 the fictitious enjoyments of 
 others, and intoxicates his 
 own mind in the degree 
 that he intoxicates the bodies of his victims. This is a species 
 of intoxication as much worse than the other as the soul is 
 superior to the body. The preceding gentleman would never 
 be engaged in so mean an employment as keeping a drinking- 
 house : he would not steal the pleasure and the profit, and 
 leave the penalty to another. On the next page is a dog that 
 looks as if he would like to join him in his gambols ; and the 
 resemblance between them shows that they would be fond of 
 each other's society. He is a drover's dog, and may meet 
 this gentleman at a country inn. The character of his busi- 
 ness is such, that he must from necessity be unfeeling and 
 cruel, though you can see by his good-natured countenance 
 that it is superinduced, as it is in the man ; it is not so much 
 his fault as the fault of circumstances. He has a sense of 
 duty, in spite of his perversions, and is governed by that; so 
 that his conscience does not trouble him, the responsibility 
 being laid off upon his master, whose mandates he obeys; his 
 
THE DOG. 
 
 273 
 
 master, by-the-by, will have a great deal to answer for ! This 
 same dog resembles the paddy given below, and the animal 
 characteristics are the same in both. To a face like this 
 what could be more be- 
 coming than a pipe ? 
 When the dog is made 
 to "sit up," a short pipe 
 is sometimes facetious- 
 ly placed in the corner 
 of his mouth to height- 
 en his .resemblance to 
 an Irishman — of which 
 resemblance there ap- 
 pears to be an intuitive 
 perception in the mind 
 of the operator. 
 
 After the vinous fer- 
 mentation, comes the 
 acetous, and with it a degree ot cowardice and cruelty greater 
 than the last. When a man's temper gets thoroughly spoiled 
 by intemperance, he has passed the stage in which pure whis- 
 key is grateful to him ; he fairly loathes the taste of it, and 
 drinks it only to allay trembling and the fear of death, and 
 to give him courage to live on. The spirit that he has steeped 
 himself in has turned to vinegar, and his taste is for that 
 
 18' 
 
274 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 which gives hirn more cowardice than courage. Wretched man I 
 he no longer drinks liquor, but swills it, and swill is sour : the 
 vilest liquor of the still is nearer to his taste than that he onco 
 approved, and now vinegar is his taste, and his need of alco- 
 hol the same as before. If hard cider or vinegar would sup- 
 port his nerves, he might still fancy himself in Elysium ; but 
 his nervous sensibilities are sharpened, his teeth are set on 
 edge, he is tortured with dreadful apprehensions, and makes 
 a slimpsy show of a gentleman ; he is all unstrung, he can 
 scarcely hold himself together; his endeavor to pluck up 
 courage turns into a plea for mercy ; he is fain to fawn, to beg 
 for quarter, and to have a dog for his mas- 
 ter. He has nothing but his dependence 
 and misery to rely upon. He has nothing 
 of the gentleman left to him, except the 
 court-dress (if he be an Irishman), and this 
 serves to make him contemptible by the 
 contrast of what he is with what he should 
 be. Observe how truly Nature intended the 
 Irish to be gentlemen, lords, and nobles, 
 in the fact that the poorest of them who 
 come fresh to this country make their ap- 
 pearance in court-costume ! 
 
 We have heard it said that drinking hard cider makes a 
 man more cross and crabbed than drinking rum. We doubt 
 not but that it is so. A crabbed disposition is a miserably 
 cowardly one : the man who owns such a trait is cruel with- 
 out courage ; he can not delude himself for a moment into 
 the idea that he is brave, or has the least particle of heroism. 
 The same is the case with the person who is addicted to the 
 
THE DOG. 215 
 
 use of vinegar, which, like the use of sugar, induces all the 
 symptoms of intemperance, with the exception of intoxication. 
 The individual can not deny that he is a coward, and he is 
 not ashamed to own it, but makes it a plea for a thousand 
 indulgences. He likes others to feel his alarm, and all the 
 consequences of his cowardly apprehension, and to be gov- 
 erned by fear as he is; and therefore even in his benevolence 
 he is cruel, and in his morality he is a hard master, as he 
 conceives God to be. In his goodness to others, and in his 
 religion, he is a " hired servant." His reverence and humility 
 are such as his evil appetite in exciting cowardice and cruelty 
 will allow them to be. He feels as if something is not right, 
 as the drunkard often feels, and as if he would dare to be 
 told of his faults by one who is blind and can not see them; 
 but the truth is, he can not bear to be told of a single one. 
 He has not the courage to look upon it ; it would frighten 
 him to death ; and therefore to set it forth would be an un- 
 pardonable offence. He hates the person he is afraid of, but 
 quails at the sight of him, and wishes to appear his friend. 
 
 The dogs that bear a resemblance to the class of persons 
 of whom this is a description are of the sheepish variety, and 
 are allied to wolves. Cruelty requires to be gratified, and 
 they have a feeling that, inasmuch as they look for it to be 
 practised upon themselves, they ought not be disappointed in 
 the apprehension ; but they have not the courage to face their 
 masters, and to confess their crimes. The favor which they 
 show to cruelty they exhibit in making an attack upon sheep, 
 and this for the reason that sheep are their oldest and most- 
 innocent companions. They can fancy that in the sufferings 
 of sheep their own crimes are expiated, and that they suffer 
 punishment by proxy ! They practise this species of decep- 
 tion upon themselves for the reason that they are cowards ; 
 and for their success in making capital out of nothing they 
 rely upon the gullibility of others. They are "sly dogs," for 
 the simple reason that cowardice leads to prevarication and 
 falsehood, and that cruelty is not gratified in any way so com- 
 pletely as by stratagem. Who can not see the unfeeling cru- 
 elty and the cowardice in the eyes of the individual whom 
 
27« 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 we have represented above, to be compared with those of 
 the wolf? — also the dishonesty that in the countenances of 
 both is too intense for words? The " wolf's clothing" is more 
 conspicuous in the man — in the crape on his hat, and in the 
 entire face — than in the wolf; but what a villain is the latter, 
 
 that stands there to give counte- 
 nance to the proceedings ! You 
 might be hoodwinked so thoroughly 
 by that man as not to know that he 
 is a coward ; but imagine a person 
 taking him by the collar, and you 
 can see that he will endeavor to 
 slink away, will beg to be let go, 
 and will promise solemnly to be seen 
 in those parts no more ! 
 
 
THE DOG. 
 
 277 
 
 The taste acquired for the vinous fermentation leads to 
 the putrefactive. Following the stage of drunkenness last 
 described is that in which the fluids of the body are on the 
 eve of losing their vitality, in which the breath is already 
 putrid, and in which the body itself has been known to un- 
 dergo decomposition, called in this case u spontaneous com- 
 bustion." The man whose vitality holds out to this stage of 
 drunkenness has scarcely anything left of a soul but suspicion 
 and cowardice. His voice is sepulchral, and warns us nut to 
 get within the sphere of the breath that accompanies it. The 
 appetite accepts of food that is half rotten, and the degree of 
 suspicion and cowardice is equal to that of the crow. Death 
 stares him in the face, but does not stare him out of counte- 
 nance, for the Death that he sees is a reflection of himself. 
 He puts on the appearance of the grim monster perfectly. 
 
 " Hark, from the tombs a doleful sound !" 
 
 is a voice from his own breast, the breath from which is fetid, 
 showing that he is " full of dead men's bones, and all unclean- 
 
 ness." He looks as though he 
 were frightened out of his seven 
 senses, and no wonder : he does 
 
 not see that it is himself that he is afraid of; it were well if 
 he did ; but that it is himself is evident from the fact that he 
 looks all the dreadful things that he sees. He is himself the 
 monster that is to be dreaded. He is cruel, hard, unmerci- 
 ful, like the dog beside him — an animal that ought to be 
 shot for his own good and for the safety of others. Is this 
 cruel? We do not say it of the man, but of the dog, the very 
 
278 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 embodiment of a thirst for blood. It is only in France that 
 the dog can be perverted to the degree that may be called 
 infernal, and even there it is only in the employ of a butcher 
 and in the atmosphere of a slaughter-house that a dog can be 
 made as this one is. The man, too, who is evidently an Irish- 
 man, has undergone a metamorphosis that gives him a resem- 
 blance to the Frenchman, and also to the frog. It is natural 
 to the French to be fond of tainted meat and of fermented 
 drink, but it is less natural to the Irish ; and for these to at- 
 tain to the appetite for carrion is to become exceedingly per- 
 verted. Yon can see by this man's countenance that putrid 
 meat can go into his mouth as well as not. But anything 
 fresh would go in with reluctance ; even whiskey is not easily 
 swallowed. Imagine a man with the hydrophobia compelled 
 to drink water, and you have an idea of the wretched condi- 
 tion of the man who has carried drunkenness to the last 
 degree. 
 
 But " iniquity will have an end." The man who is not al- 
 ready dead can be redeemed from intemperance even in the 
 last degree. He will be a different person from what lie 
 would have been if he had never become intemperate, but he 
 will be reckoned among the sober, and an honorable position 
 will be assigned him. The difference between him and the 
 person who has never perverted himself will be as the differ- 
 ence between the humble-bee and the humming-bird. The 
 one will have a rioting, rollicking, savage, ungentlemanly way 
 with him, while the other will be a perfect gentleman in all 
 his manners. The drunkard on his last legs may be compared 
 to the blow-fly when it has come to the degree of perfection 
 in the fondness for carrion, at which time, it has so strong a 
 resemblance to the humble-bee as almost to be mistaken for 
 one. When the drunkard is in the corresponding condition, 
 it is the time to save him. It was not known until a few 
 years ago that the " confirmed drunkard" could be saved : 
 the " Washingtonians" proved it to be practicable. We may 
 suppose with good reason that the noble mastiff was derived 
 from a dog like the preceding; and the drunkard when he is 
 reformed has a mastiff-like countenance, the wild, furious, 
 
THE DOG. 
 
 279 
 
 ferocious aspect being tamed down into dignified courage and 
 sobriety. The savage traits which he has acquired will be 
 swayed by higher faculties ; but in 
 spite of these they will render him 
 harsh, and inclined to rend and tear, 
 and to nse his wit sarcastically against 
 the very vice that he has been ad- 
 dicted to. He can learn to be mag- 
 nanimous, and even forgiving, but he 
 will never be very amiable. He has 
 that kind of character and physiog- 
 nomy that are seen in the portrait of Ben Jonson, and particu- 
 larly in Irishmen, most of whom were born of intemperate 
 ancestors — the reformed drunkard and the child of a drunk- 
 ard being alike. 
 
280 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 By knowing what animal a man resembles, we possess a 
 clew to his character that may be of great use to us. We 
 can judge of the secret springs of his conduct, of those mo- 
 tives of action that have their origin in nature, and that are 
 almost as inevitable in man as they are in the lower orders 
 of the animal creation. The knowledge of character by the 
 signs in the face will be very materially assisted by a knowl- 
 edge of the animal nature that is made up of a man's ruling 
 traits. You must understand what his character is by nature 
 if you would understand how various rational and moral in- 
 fluences would affect him ; and this nature of his is something 
 homogeneous, something that is presented individually in 
 some department or other of the animal kingdom. The abil- 
 ity of getting at this resemblance will improve by use. At 
 first you do not see that one man in a hundred has any re- 
 semblance to any particular animal, but the habit of study 
 and observation will make it plain. 
 
 In this lady, for example, you would not at first sight dis- 
 cover that she resembled a dove, but you perceive something 
 in her that produces the effect upon your feelings that you 
 experience in relation to that bird. You may even call her 
 " Dove," and be as familiar with her as lovers are with their 
 lady-loves, and yet suppose that it is a mere fancy that leads 
 you to call her by that endearing appellation. But you may 
 be sure she is like the dove in disposition if she is like in 
 face and in the sphere that she throws around her. She has 
 the element, as the basis of her character, that is embodied 
 in that bird ; and it is her ruling trait, so far as her animal 
 nature is concerned. And it is very likely that her moral 
 character will correspond to it : it would be strange if it did 
 
THE DOVE. 
 
 281 
 
 not. The moral and intellectual character has less to con- 
 trol in one who resembles a dove than in one who resembles 
 a lion. The signs of the higher faculties exhibit, therefore, 
 more refinement in the one and more strength in the other, 
 and this places them on a par in respect to virtue and intelli- 
 gence. In this character goodness finds a congenial soil, and 
 it is therefore luxuriant but tender. In a character that re- 
 sembles the lion, goodness finds a rock to grapple and a furi- 
 ous climate to contend with, and it is therefore strong and 
 rigid like the oak. 
 
 There are, however, a great variety of doves and pigeons, 
 as there are of frogs and toads, and they constitute as great a 
 variety of character. 
 
 A certain likeness and apposition is to be observed between 
 the person who resembles a dove and the one who resembles 
 a hen. The relation is something like that of octaves in mu- 
 sic. On the following page is the portrait of a Spaniard who 
 resembles a cock. The Spaniards resemble cocks as the 
 Irish resemble dogs. Love of contest, and love of triumph, 
 and subserviency, are ruling traits in both characters. Cock- 
 fighting is a passion with the Spaniards, as it is with the cock. 
 In some of the provinces of Spain it is the favorite game ; in 
 others, bull-fighting is the favorite diversion ; but contest in 
 some form or other is a passion. The Spaniards and the Irish 
 are as much like each other in their fondness for fighting as 
 the cock is like the dog. But they differ in the mode. The 
 dog gives no quarter : the cock beats his antagonist and then 
 
282 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 runs, and the conquered party runs after him, and in his turn 
 
 becomes the conqueror. This is the way with the Spaniards, 
 
 » as exemplified in the contest 
 
 between Don Carlos and the 
 late regent Queen Christina. 
 
 In bull-fights it is the same. There is advantage allowed to 
 both parties, though that which is shown to the bull is a mock- 
 ery rather than otherwise. With the Irish it is not so. They 
 fight like dogs, as if in a contest with " grim Death," to whom, 
 as they expect no quarter, they will yield none. The Irish 
 have to be parted. Not so the Spaniards : they fight upon 
 the principle — 
 
 " That he who fights and runs away 
 May live to fight another day !" 
 
 The military ambition of the Spaniard is concentrated in a 
 victorious contest with John Bull — always was, and always 
 will be. The rules of honor in a bull-fight are a specimen of 
 the magnanimity with which he regards that formidable 
 power that it is his glory to contend with. 
 
 One of the most singular things about the cock is his crow- 
 ing when he considers himself in the long run to have gained 
 the victory. Both crow, and the contest has turned into one 
 of lungs. Precisely so it is with the Spaniards. They blow 
 the trumpet of fame in honor of a victory louder than any- 
 body else, and that is saying a great deal. It is all the same 
 
THE COCE". 
 
 283 
 
 whether they anticipate or have gained the victory, or whether 
 they might have gained it had the circumstances been dif- 
 ferent. 
 
 Of the many instances of the 
 confident Coasting and triumphant 
 exultation of the Spaniards which 
 might be given, we quote the fol- 
 lowing " from an ode by Luis de 
 
 Gongora :" ■ 
 
 Raise thy renowned hand, 
 
 O Spain ! from French Pyrenee to the land 
 Where the Moor Atlas lifts his mountain height. 
 And at the martial trumpet's lofty sound 
 Bid thou thy valiant offspring cluster round 
 Beneath thy old victorious banners, bright 
 In hardest adamant, a fearful sight! — 
 
 Such that the lands of languid power, 
 The nations leagued against thy faith, dismayed 
 
 At the strong radiance of thy beamy arms. 
 At the fierce splendor of the falchion-blade, 
 
 With looks averted, in alarms, 
 Shall turn at once their eyes and backs for flight, 
 Like clouds before the deity of day; 
 Or even, like yielding wax, dissolve away 
 Before the luminous and golden fire 
 That from their graven helmets forth shall fly ; 
 As blind of faith, so blinded then in eye !*' 
 
 An equally vivid representation of the cock, with his scai 
 let crown, his valiant look, his martial feathers^ his savage 
 beak, his shrill clarion, his solid spurs, lifted with pride, 
 energy, and scorn, would be parallel to the above; but he 
 has more of defiance and victory in his aspect than can be 
 expressed in words ! The young cock crows in a strain like 
 
284 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 the following. (It is a " poem written in the character of a 
 child ; a species of playful composition popular among the 
 Spaniards" at the time of the great " Armada" for the inva- 
 sion of England in 1585-88.) A little girl is speaking to her 
 playfellow, and tells him — 
 
 " My brother Don John 
 To England is gone, 
 To kill the Drake, 
 And the queen to take, 
 And the heretics all to destroy : 
 And he will give me, 
 When he comes back, 
 A Lutheran boy 
 With a chain round his neck ; 
 And grandmamma 
 From his share shall have 
 A Lutheran maid, 
 To be her slave !'" 
 
 Thus, in the Spaniard, is illustrated the proverb that " as 
 .the old cock crows so crows the young." Whether his giving 
 a chance to the enemy is the result of what pugilists call 
 " honor," or is the result of a desire to have an excuse in case 
 of defeat, does not appear. It is doubtful, however, whether 
 the cock would think so far as that. It is more probably the 
 action of his wonderful subserviency, indicated by the wattles 
 under the jaw. When a fellow-being is weak, this subservi- 
 ency is prompted to help him ; and when the antagonist is 
 
 " wamble-cropped" and beaten, 
 the victor regards him in the light 
 of a hen, and instantly gives quar- 
 ter; and then being turned upon 
 when his anger is at zero he runs, 
 and his ugly Xantippe after him. 
 And thus the fortune of the game 
 passes from one hand to another. 
 The Spaniards are famous cav- 
 aliers. They were the greatest 
 knights-errant in the world. The cock is famous for his gal- 
 lantry and his chivalrous bearing, and for his spirit in defend- 
 
THE COCK. 
 
 285 
 
 ing the females whose safety he is responsible for. But m 
 spite of this, or perhaps on account of it, he is inclined to be 
 jealous. He regards his lady-love as under excessive obliga- 
 tions to him, and he expects to be rewarded by the most de- 
 voted attachment. If he has delivered her from a castle, he 
 considers that he has a right to lock her up in one ; he does 
 not expect, neither will he allow, the least wandering; but 
 he is apprehensive that she may be stolen from him, and 
 therefore he is excessively jealous. And it must be confessed 
 
 that he has reason to be, for 
 his neighbors have as much 
 gallantry with respect to im- 
 prisoned females as he him- 
 self has ! When he fancies 
 that his treasure is in danger 
 of escaping him, he plucks 
 her by the head, and having 
 done it once he is sure to 
 need to do it twice ; and thus 
 his true gallantry particle by 
 particle escapes from him, and he becomes a petty despot. 
 His gallantry takes a wider range ; it shows itself in a bad 
 sense : his business is 
 to deliver ladies from 
 their cruel lords, and 
 he finds that he has 
 a plenty of it to do, 
 and that the females 
 whom he is inclined 
 to take under his pro- 
 tection are very nu- 
 merous. Of course, 
 be is aware that the 
 c*ame disposition ex- 
 ists in his neighbors, 
 and that they will 
 look upon him, and 
 justly too, as one of 
 
£'SG COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 the cruel lords who holds one or more of the fair sex in con- 
 finement. If under these circumstances he can catch one of 
 them in the neighborhood of his domains, he is sure to chas- 
 tise him, if he is able to, and for this he claims the merit of a 
 chivalrous action. Such a chance to display his gallantry is 
 a rare fortune, and he sounds aloud his exploits in the ears 
 of his greatly-obliged and admiring hens, with his face toward 
 home, and on his march thither. In other words, and placing 
 it in the past — 
 
 44 Gayly the troubadour touched his guitar 
 As he was hastening home from the war, 
 Singing, ' From Palestine hither I come, 
 Lady-love, lady-love, welcome me home !' " 
 
 Only for the knight-errantry of the Spaniards, some few of 
 their number would have more wives than the sultan. 
 
 As Spaniards of the best quality are produced in Spain, 
 the cocks that are produced there are of better quality than 
 those of any other country. The Spanish cock is superior 
 game, but its highest excellence consists in the quality of its 
 flesh, which is said to be superior to that of any other of its 
 kind It is to be expected that the country that is best for 
 the cock should favor a likeness to that animal in man, and 
 should develop national characteristics founded in that resem- 
 blance. The same principle holds true with regard to the ox, 
 the hog, the bear, the goose, the swan, the frog, the dog, and 
 we believe with regard to all the other animals that have been 
 mentioned. The people who resemble a particular animal 
 naturally prefer the country that is suited to that animal, but 
 do not always live there ; and as it is the animal that becomes 
 suited to the country, and not the country to the animal, we 
 may suppose that it is the man that becomes suited to the 
 animal, and not the animal to the man. 
 
ra& ^OAT 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIY. 
 
 Among the variety of human faces a resemblance to the 
 goat is very frequently to be met with. This resemblance is 
 plainly discoverable in the face of Sforza; and the prominent 
 traits in the character of the goat are easily traced in his. 
 
 Large combative faculties, energy, perseverance, and precis- 
 ion, are discoverable at a single glance. In the man who re- 
 sembles the goat, the most prominent traits are indicated in 
 the most prominent part of the countenance. In these two 
 profiles the ridge of the nose is distinguished for something 
 more than prominence and convexity : it has a peculiarity of 
 its own, indicating a manner of exercising the combative fac- 
 ulties that may be called dogmatic. Pugilism in a nose like 
 this takes a particular direction : the bent of the reasoning 
 faculties is indicated in a certain bend of the nose, which fur- 
 nishes a sort of channel for dispute and polemical controversy. 
 The " doctors and lawyers" of the olden time are represented 
 always with features like these ; and because the represent a- 
 
288 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 tions are thus true to life, they seem like portraits. In such 
 noses and in such a form of the ridge of the eyebrow as the 
 preceding, there are elastic energy and activity, and a strength 
 that overcomes resistance. Such heads are formed not only 
 for striking with great force, but for pushing; they present a 
 hard front to whatever obstacles stand in the way, and are 
 ever upon the lookout for a challenge, and ready to receive 
 one. They join battle with canons and creeds rather than 
 with windmills and inoffensive sheep; yet they reflect upon 
 themselves, for all their labor and warfare is to show *hat 
 what they are fighting with is a man of straw. 
 
 In proof of the correctness of these remarks, we would refer 
 the reader to the portraits of distinguished controversialists, 
 such as Calvin and John Knox. The age of chivalry abound- 
 ed with snch ; and it should be observed here that they are 
 similar in many respects to those who resemble cocks. The 
 difference between them is that which exists between chivalry 
 and the crnsades. In nothing, but in what might be called 
 the crusades of the Jews (for example, in driving out the Ca- 
 naanites, Hivites, Hittites, Jebusites, Philistines, &c), could 
 the goatish propensity b^ more strongly exhibited than in a 
 crusade to the Holy Land : this was the result, not only of 
 the goatish action of the combative faculties, but of a likeness 
 to the Jews, and of a liking for Judea, and for whatever the 
 Jews were particularly fond of; for the Jews have a striking 
 resemblance to the goat, as will be shown in the sequel. Un- 
 der the influence of religious enthusiasm they made impetu- 
 ous or goatlike descents upon the possessions of others, and 
 the history of the crusades bears a striking analogy to theirs. 
 As the cock and the goat are attached to the barnyard and 
 the dunghill, and have a similar air and manner, and resem- 
 ble each other in profile, so those who resemble these animals 
 are intimately related to each other in character and physiog- 
 nomy. 
 
 The word " striking" is particularly applicable to the goat- 
 like face, as illustrated in the preceding engraving and in the 
 following portrait of Beza. This old reformer, the associate 
 of Calvin, and one of the most learned and zealous controver- 
 
THE GOAT. 
 
 289 
 
 gialists of his time, shows in his countenance the character of 
 the goat as plainly as he exhibited it in his actions. Who can 
 not see that of him, and of the class of which he is a worthy 
 representative, it may be said — 
 
 By apostolic blows and knocks 
 They prove their doctrines orthodox V 
 
 By-the-by, the apostles were Jews, and some of them fine ex- 
 amples of the peculiarity in question. 
 
 A faculty which contributes more than any other to render 
 the action of the combative faculties in the goat peculiar, is 
 subterfuge. This is indicated by the falling or overhanging 
 of the ridge of the eyebrow over the inner angle of the eye, as 
 seen in the figures preceding. In that ridge of the brow there 
 is always something striking in the person who resembles a 
 goat; it looks as if it were formed to make a hole in the wall, 
 so that the enemy might enter in martial triumph with all his 
 hosts. How proudly he proceeds ! It is because his subter- 
 fuge is subservient to his combativeness : if it were not so, it 
 would make him sneaking and cowardly. It is this faculty 
 which causes the goat to make his attack in the rear, when- 
 ever he has an opportunity ; but his attack is so large, and is 
 exercised so boldly, that he carries? his head proudly, as if he 
 had not been guilty of a meanness, and did not meditate the 
 cowardly act which at any moment he is ready to perpetrate. 
 The principle of action with the goat, and with the person 
 who resembles that animal, is vis atergo — it may be set down 
 as their governing motive. They drive things, or, in other 
 words, they are dogmatic. They do not lead, or persuade; 
 and yet they do not come up boldly as antagonists, but manage 
 
 19 
 
290 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 to get uehind, and there to attack so boldly, that they mistake 
 the back side for the front, and claim to " have done the thing 
 fairly," and to have carried the redoubt courageously ! 
 
 But subterfuge favors cowardice more than bravery. It 
 runs to refuges and retreats, to prevarication and falsehood 
 (which is always cowardly), and " crawls out at the little end 
 of the horn.'' It has a thousand resorts, and most of these 
 are confined places, or under-ground passages, where the air 
 is polluted by excretion and putrescence, and is nut relieved 
 by ventilation. Thus cowardice, which is favored by subter- 
 fuge, is still more increased by the causes of stench, as before 
 explained. The habitation of the animal that has large sub- 
 terfuge " smells old," and the animal himself does so ; he is 
 "in bad odor" with all who have true courage and magna- 
 nimity, and not the mere pretension to it, like the goat. This 
 animal has the odor alluded to in greater perfection than any 
 other; it is the sphere of cowardice, and of traits worthy of 
 being distrusted ; and the sphere of the person who resembles 
 the goat has a repelling influence upon those of a different 
 character, and is of the kind to " knock a man down." Thus 
 there is an agreement between subterfuge and combativeness ; 
 
 and every goat, as well as 
 
 "every cock, fights best. 
 
 on his own dunghill." 
 It has been frequently 
 
 observed that in certain 
 
 characters there is a sin- 
 gular meeting of oppo- 
 
 sites. The love of climb- 
 ing is diverse from subterfuge, but it acts harmoniously with 
 that faculty, as combativeness does. The goat is fond of ta- 
 king his station where he can get under a rock or mount to 
 the top of it, and is familiarly seen at the side of a flight of 
 steps, where he can get under or ascend, as one or the other 
 of these dispositions happens to predominate. The sign of 
 the love of climbing is the anterior projection of the ridge of 
 the eyebrow over the centre of the eye — large in the goat and 
 in those who resemble him. In human beings the ambition 
 
THE GOAT. 
 
 291 
 
 ST- 
 
 to rise includes this faculty, together with the love of emi- 
 nence, indicated in the elevation of the wing of the nostril by 
 the muscle called the levator nasi. 
 The love of climbing may be so 
 strongly excited as to produce an in- 
 flammation of the membrane that 
 lines the frontal sinus in the place 
 which indicates this faculty, and in 
 this case there is pain and distress 
 in that portion of the forehead. This 
 remark is applicable to the person 
 of whom this is a profile, and whose 
 " synonym," if we mistake not, is a 
 mountain-goat. The faculty of weight 
 is intimately related to the love of 
 climbing — and hence Nature has 
 given to animals fond of clamber- 
 ing heavy horns, as in the case of the ibex. In the example 
 before us, Nature has slung, not a bottle, but a horn — 
 
 upon each side, 
 
 To keep his balance true." 
 
 There is a sympathetic spirit between these two, the person 
 and the animal. 
 
COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 Now consider what must be the effect of this combination 
 of combativeness, subterfuge, love of climbing, love of emi- 
 nence, and balance and sure-footed ness. It must be some- 
 thing very nearly allied to diplomacy. How nicely every- 
 thing must be weighed, measured, and adjusted, by the man 
 who resembles the animal that climbs precipitous rocks, and 
 spends his life in perfect safety among cliffs and crags, cav- 
 erns and pitfalls! The important office of the diplomatist 
 may be assigned to him with the greatest propriety. It is a 
 rare talent that distinguishes the man who resembles the 
 mountain-goat, the ibex, or the chamois. He is often called 
 upon to take a leap where the greatest danger is involved, 
 and where not a moment is to be lost; and it is never into 
 an oozy bed, like that of the frog, and is never therefore a 
 leap in the dark. The man who resembles the goat always 
 knows what he is about, and is always prudent so far as policy 
 and expediency are concerned. A single reflection will sat- 
 isfy the reader that the Jews possess the faculties here referred 
 to in a super-eminent degree. 
 
 The connection of subterfuge and combativeness with the 
 love of climbing is seen in the disposition to undermine natu- 
 ral and artificial walls and eminences, and to strike against 
 those solid substances that compose an ascent and offer resist- 
 ance to progression. Hence the goat and those who resemble 
 him are suited in their tastes and habits to ruins and to every- 
 thing which savors of the old. A mountain, with 
 
 ruined sides and summit hoar,' 
 
 is especially pleasing to them, and ivy-mantled towers and 
 the fragments of ancient temples are their delight. There is 
 an aristocratic bearing about them, and their thoughts are as- 
 sociated with grandeur, in which the eternal and the perish- 
 able are equally mingled; the contemplation of immortality 
 being assisted by the emblems of frailty and of the insubstan- 
 tiality of sublunary things. The love of his "holy hill of 
 Zion," of his "beautiful temple," and of the rites and cere- 
 monies of his religion (so remarkable for their accuracy and 
 precision), is a characteristic of the Jew. 
 
THE GOAT 
 
 293 
 
 The faculty of acquisitiveness operates as a leading motive 
 in the character of the goat and of those who resemble him, 
 and it dovetails with the faculties before mentioned most ad- 
 mirably. Who has not observed the thievish propensities of 
 this animal, and how boldly he exercises them in connection 
 with combativeness, and how impudently in connection with 
 combativeness and subterfuge ? We could not bring a stronger 
 example of the action of this faculty in the particular way 
 which constitutes a resemblance to the goat, than in the Isra- 
 elite. Boldness and impudence are cheap in those places 
 where the " old-clo' " men congregate ; and what we have 
 already said of the love of antiquity, and of old smells, and 
 of bodily excretions, explains the partiality manifested by 
 these people for trading in cast-off garments, old furniture, 
 and the like. The goat which this person resembles is simi- 
 lar to a sheep, but the similarity serves to heighten the dis- 
 tinction. The person who resembles the goat has a mouth 
 
 which indicates a taste for tobacco — a self-complacent appre- 
 ciation of the quality which he calls " sweet," and which 
 others are insensible of, in the nature of that weed. It is a 
 Charles Goat rather than a Charles Lamb who says in earnest 
 
 to tobacco : — 
 
 " Plant of rarest virtue ! 
 
 Blisters on the tongue that hurts you !" 
 
 A likeness to the sheep betokens spiritual perceptions, and 
 the ability to distinguish between the peculiarities of one per- 
 
294 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 son and those of another; but a likeness to the goat betokens 
 an external mind, and hence a deficient knowledge of human 
 nature. Of course, such a character is a very superficial one ; 
 it is hardly worth the trouble of analyzing. 
 
 In the preceding figure it is easy to see that the eyes are 
 mere windows to look out of. They observe the clothing of 
 the spirit, and to them it is true that — 
 
 44 Nature has made man's breast no windows 
 To publish what goes on within doors, 
 Or what dark secrets there inhabit, 
 Unless his own rash fury blab it!" 
 
 Hence they are interested in clothes and superficial orna- 
 ments, and the Jews trade and traffic in these the world over, 
 particularly in jewels, which are well named, being the fa- 
 vorite merchandise of the Jews. They are no judges of 
 character, and think that others will not know anything more 
 of them than they blab. They make no distinctions, but ad- 
 dress all with the same ridiculous familiarity, or formality, as 
 the case may be. In Chatham street they do not distinguish 
 you from a common loafer ; you are not supposed to know 
 the profession of the person who calls after you until he has 
 pointed at his wares, nor to know whether you want anything 
 or not, nor to have any mind of your own, for a mind is a 
 thing which a Jew does not recognise. Look at those eyes: 
 they catch every object that passes, that may be converted 
 into gain ; they are as full of business as a squirrel's cheeks 
 are of nuts ; they speculate on the solid attractions of woman, 
 and may possibly see jewels in her eyes. His mouth is the 
 figure of a tulip, and is fond of ruby lips and tobacco, the 
 ruby of his own being the stain of the juice. Love with him 
 is a gratification of the senses ; it does not go deeply into his 
 heart, and hence he makes no demands upon the hearts of 
 others; he is a favorite of the ladies rather than otherwise, 
 for, as he asks no heart, he puts them to no inconvenience to 
 find out whether they have any. If he ever heard of "heart- 
 strings," he thought of "purse-strings;" and when he hears 
 of " a man of worth," he thinks of riches. The correspondent 
 
THE GOAT. 295 
 
 of all these traits is in the goat. This animal is all attention 
 to the external ; he has uncommon quickness of the senses. 
 You never see a dreamy or abstracted look in his countenance, 
 as you do in the sheep and the cow, and other domestic ani- 
 mals. He sees every motion you make, and so quickly that 
 he seems almost to perceive your intention ; but if your mo- 
 tive is pacific he does not know it; his nature compels him 
 to act upon the principle of treating every man as a rogue ; 
 his countenance, be it ever so full of honesty, goes for noth- 
 ing, unless he be himself in an honest mood, and then even 
 the basest usage can not destroy his confidence ; he may be 
 seized repeatedly by a dog, and cry bitterly, but in the inter- 
 vals will make no attempt to escape. 
 
296 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 In traversing the thorougn tares and by-ways of a great city, 
 we are impressed with the conviction that there are multi- 
 tudes of people who resemble goats. There is a variety of 
 
 countenances that forcibly remind 
 us of " some sort of animal," though 
 we can not say that there is anything 
 f ,, very gross or beastly in its appear- 
 
 / I] \ \ \ ance. An example is herewith pre- 
 
 sented, and on closer inspection it is 
 the physiognomy of a goat. The in- 
 dividual before us is the representa- 
 tive of a class, who look so very in- 
 nocent of any relationship to inferior 
 creatures, that we do not at first 
 sight form a very distinct idea of 
 the animal they resemble. They 
 give you to understand that they 
 are descended from an ancient and 
 honorable ancestry, and cany theii 
 heads with such an air of knowing 
 what they are about, that you begin to accuse yourself of un- 
 pardonable irreverence in harboring the suspicion that they 
 
THE GOAT. 297 
 
 have a family likeness to the goat. The more you peer into 
 their countenances, the more you are mystified and perplexed 
 with a "lawless and uncertain" imagining; a vague impres- 
 sion steals over you that there is some sort of connection be- 
 tween beard and tobacco, and of these with goat, but you are 
 determined not to credit the evidence of your senses. 
 
 It is a physiognomy like the preceding that excites this sort 
 of metaphysical discussion in your mind. A proper nse of 
 the faculty of comparison would place this specimen of the 
 genus homo where he belongs. He is cut ont and formed 
 specially for "dancing attendance" upon the ladies; and the 
 ladies, dear souls, are quick to perceive the intentions of Na- 
 ture. He is the very person to dance with when it is & part- 
 ner that is wanted. That great prominence of the bone under 
 the eye is an indication that he sees everything: hence he is 
 the very person that is wanted in the cotillon, when it is need- 
 ful that everything should be seen to, and that the dance 
 should go off respectably. The motions in the ballroom are 
 like those that are exercised in "dancing attendance," and 
 the grace and elegance of the latter are greatly enhanced by 
 the systematic exercise of which they are the original. The 
 goat has a "light fantastic toe," and "trips it lightly." The 
 performances called dancing, par excellence, are derived from 
 a resemblance to the goat, which no person need be ashamed 
 of, unless this element in his nature be in too great proportion, 
 or too literal. The actions of this animal upon which we predi- 
 cate our assertions are thus described : " She walks, stops 
 short, runs, jumps, advances, retreats, shows, then hides her- 
 self, or flies ; and this all from caprice, or without any other 
 determinate cause than her whimsical vivacity." A very cor- 
 rect description of a dance certainly, and it may be true also 
 that these "irregular" movements show "inconstancy," as 
 natural history supposes ; but when they are regulated by 
 music, which brings order out of confusion, they show the 
 opposite. 
 
 A word upon this subject. A resemblance to the goat ar- 
 gues a vast deal of amativeness, with very great impulsive- 
 ness of this faculty; and this sort of love is fickle and incon- 
 
298 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 stant. The very motions described above are indications of 
 this, and are lewd and vulgar; but in the degree that they 
 are various and complicated they are subject to the influence 
 of music, and become finally amenable to its laws. Music in 
 this connection is first an element of bacchanalian revel, and 
 is prostituted to debauchery and licentiousness by the superi- 
 ority of that which it attempts to reform ; but after a time it 
 acquires the mastery, and governs the motions, and makes 
 them, like itself, the language of constancy, purity, and love 
 — expressive of the most delicate relations of the sexes, of 
 refinement, friendship, and affection. As love and happiness 
 are united, so are music and the poetry of motion, and it is 
 natural to sing for love and to dance for joy. 
 
 Look again, if you please, at our hero. If you are not a 
 woman, you can see by his countenance that he has in his 
 mouth something delicious ; you are sure that it is a quid, and 
 that he " rolls it as a sweet morsel under his tongue." That 
 in the muscles of his cheeks, and in his lips and tongue, there 
 is the power of extracting the juice, and also of projecting it, 
 is all plain to a masculine judgment; and his face is so 
 largely concerned in his duties to the weed, that there is 
 something delicious in his countenance. He says, when he 
 stuffs a chew through the aperture appropriated to that pur- 
 pose, that he u puts it into his face" And yet not one wo- 
 man in twenty would know that he chews. He looks with 
 doating eyes on the lovely fair, and that is sufficient to with- 
 draw their attention from everything but the eyes that are 
 capable of such appreciation. But the eye indicates taste, 
 and such taste as corresponds to that of the tongue. The 
 ideas which a tobacco-monger forms of a sweet face and of a 
 sweet disposition correspond to his ideas of sweetness. 
 
 Why it is that one who resembles the goat is fond of to- 
 bacco, we have not yet discovered. Certain it is that a per- 
 son with features like the preceding, and with such a beard, 
 can not be otherwise than fond of the drug. The appetite is 
 natural to him, or rather we should say that it is easily ac- 
 quired, and that he holds it with more tenacity than he does 
 his saliva! He is one who does evervthing with an air of 
 
THE GOAT. 
 
 299 
 
 nonchalance, and is " well to do" in the world, and has some- 
 thing to chew upon, like the goat that retires and ruminates 
 upon the stock of food that he has gathered. Here is a lot 
 of people who resemble goats, and have all of them the air 
 and manner that have been described. The resemblances 
 are most admirable, as may be seen by comparing them one 
 by one with the individual goats we have met with and have 
 seen in print. Yet the artist had only the intention of repre- 
 senting a company of persons under the habitual influence of 
 tobacco, and has evidently drawn from his observation — so 
 
 much so, that we are inclined to think that he has given us. 
 portraits, or, better still, that we have seen these portraits be- 
 fore. They speak for themselves, for countenances will speak, 
 even in church. It is easy to see rumination in the faces of 
 the men, and perception in those of the women, which must 
 be highly gratifying to the preacher, whose expression is that 
 of delivery. The man nearest the desk is taking in an idea, 
 and it is evidently a great one. The man with his back to 
 
300 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 us, and facing the speaker, is on the verge of apprehending/ 
 and is pausing and deliberating upon the event, as if there 
 were no weightier consideration than that of listening. The 
 man with a profile is cogitating upon the probable quantity 
 of tobacco-juice he will be able to express from the cud that 
 he has now in his mouth before he will be obliged to throw it 
 away. The remaining, fat-faced, good-natured individual, is 
 the only respectable person in the congregation : he extracts 
 sweets from his tobacco and from the sermon as skilfully as a 
 bee does from poison flowers, and is hospitable with pipes 
 and tobacco to others more than to himself, thereby exceed- 
 ing the requirement of the golden rule. The preacher is one 
 who asks " a chaw" from every man he meets, as is plainly 
 indicated by his countenance ; and he patronizes the last- 
 mentioned individual especially, and is blessed with an in- 
 stinct in his fingers of seizing a pinch of snuff without know- 
 ing it, and of conveying it to his nose during one of his 
 emphatic courtesies. 
 
 But the female part of the congregation — we leave them 
 to an abler pen than our own. The speaker addresses all his 
 eloquent words to the men, for they have reverence — and 
 are of the opinion that such a sermon as that is u not to be 
 sneezed at!" A woman, considering his "pinching wants," 
 is offering to supply them, not dreaming that she is wanting 
 in veneration ; and just now the preacher is touching upon 
 the sublime, and making an appeal to the organ of venera- 
 tion rather than to that of benevolence, which makes the 
 offering of a pinch of snuff highly improper, especially as he 
 might say : " I am not speaking to you, ladies, but to these 
 gentlemen ; when I have something to say on charity, I will 
 turn to you !" But it is a hard thing for women, who are so 
 fond of attention, to see it bestowed on others, and not make an 
 effort to gain it. That woman, especially, shows by her coun 
 tenance that she is ever ready to thrust herself upon the at- 
 tention of others, making herself officious, and in the face of 
 reluctant admiration and cold indifference acting upon the 
 principle, "Never give up the ship !" 
 
 We opine that the preacher is haranguing from a text from 
 
THE GOAT. 301 
 
 Paul, and that the subject is "justification by faith." Paul 
 was a converted Jew, and he would have been a strange Jew 
 indeed if he had not preserved the national characteristics. 
 The intricac} 7 " and subtlety of his reasoning, his discussions 
 about the law, his manner of dispute, his cross-questionings 
 and answers, show that he was " a Hebrew of the Hebrews," 
 and that it was not for nothing that he was brought up at the 
 feet of Gamaliel, and that the manner of his life was after 
 the strictest sect of the Pharisees. He was the lawyer before 
 Festus; the doctor in his epistles; and fully and thoroughly 
 Jewish, in being u all things to all men, that he might win 
 6ome." The Jews, scattered among the nations, are admira- 
 ble diplomatists, for " when they are in Rome they do as the 
 Romans do." All the Jews that are converted to Christianity 
 are converted through the instrumentality of Paul ; and it 
 may be that that class of Gentiles who seem to say, " I am 
 of Paul," are slightly Judaized. 
 
 The long beard of the goat indicates the impulsiveness of 
 those faculties the signs of which are in the chin. The per- 
 son who resembles this animal is remarkable for the same 
 manifestation of the faculties of love. The disposition which 
 more than anything else renders the goat a disgusting animal, 
 is indicated in the breadth of his lower jaw, his peculiar odor, 
 his prominent sacrum, the action of his head in the direction 
 of the lower jaw, and the wanton manners, or u whimsical 
 vivacity," before alluded to. This, together with the fondness 
 for external objects and for the gratification of the senses, ren- 
 ders the person who resembles the goat exceedingly sensual, 
 and a very perfect example of the "lusts of the flesh, the lust 
 of the eye, and the pride of life." 
 
 Amativeness, with nothing to counteract it, and with sub- 
 terfuge and suspicion to favor it, leads to u filthiness of the 
 flesh," and to stimulant heats of fermentation and beds 
 of filth, where whatever is engendered is the vilest of the 
 animal creation, together with pestilence, contagion, and dis- 
 ease. 
 
 But this is applicable only to those who resemble the goat 
 of the stable (see next page) more than the wL'd. and free, and 
 
COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 unperverted animal that inhabits the mountains. The goat 
 has only to exercise his faculties of love of climbing and love 
 
 of eminence to remove the pop- 
 ular prejudice against him ; 
 and the Jew, against whom 
 there is a corresponding preju- 
 dice, is greatly admired when 
 he aspires to a high position, 
 and attains an eminence where 
 he can exercise his noble gifts. 
 In such a case, even the natural grossness of the character be- 
 comes agreeable ; there is abundant provision for the body, 
 and the corporeal necessities of others are attended to: the 
 ancient hospitality, so beautifully exemplified by the patri- 
 archs, is still observed, and the Jew is deserving of the name 
 which is freely given to him, and which h& accepts without 
 ostentation, of being " good-natured and hospitable." Yet his 
 hospitality is seldom returned, except in the " Welcome, stran 
 gers, to dwell among us, if you will," which sounds so pleas- 
 antly to the "strangers in a strange land." 
 
 Yet it is natural that the hospitality that is extended to the 
 
THE GOAT. 303 
 
 Jews should be stinted, and nobody is to blame for it. They 
 are scattered among the Gentiles, and are nowhere tolerated 
 in large numbers. In like manner, goats are scattered, one 
 in this flock of sheep and another in that, a few here and a 
 few there, though it was once their right and their custom to 
 live together. There is a sphere about them that, concen- 
 trated, would be intolerable; and so they are spread abroad, 
 notwithstanding they are naturally gregarious. The Jews 
 have very great inhabitiveness, and wherever they are scat- 
 tered they are a distinct people, and think of a return to their 
 promised land, which is their home still. They are still ani- 
 mated by the spirit that prompted that beautiful psalm : — 
 
 "By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down, 
 Yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion! 
 We hanged our harps upon the willows 
 In the midst thereof. 
 
 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; 
 And they that wasted us required of us mirth, 
 Saying, « Sing us one of the songs of Zion.' 
 How shall we sing the Lord's song 
 In a strange land ? 
 If 1 forget thee, O Jerusalem, 
 Let my right hand forget her cunning; 
 If I do not remember thee, 
 
 Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth ; 
 If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." 
 
 In this charming expression of the love of home, is included 
 whatever is domestic and social. Music and dancing are so 
 — the first expressing love, and the latter the happiness at- 
 tendant thereon; and they are mentioned in order, and with 
 poetic allusions ; the instrument of music, the song, and the 
 dance. The harp is hung upon the willow, for its music 
 should be like that of the wind-harp, plaintive and sad, and 
 the willow is the emblem of mourning. The song is like that 
 of the captive bird — 
 
 " Warbling its native wood-notes wild" 
 
 with a sad memory of its wild-wood home, and gratifying the 
 unreasonable requirement of its captors The dance is per- 
 
SJfJ'J: COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 formed with wasted strength ; and the "sacred mirth" of holy- 
 love and worship, joining the harp and the song, is required 
 by those who enfeeble them, and is the saddest token of all. 
 How shall the bird sing the song of the wild-woods in its wiry 
 prison? and how shall the Jew sing the Lord's song in a 
 •strange land ? He can not; and yet his practice upon the 
 harp shall prove that he does not forget Jerusalem ; the use 
 of his tongue in singing shall prove that he remembers her : if 
 he can forget her, let his hand forget its skill npon instru- 
 ments ; if he ceases to remember, let his tongue refuse to sing ; 
 if he prefer not Jerusalem above his chief joy, let him never 
 again " joy in the dance." 
 
 It may be supposed that we have wandered quite beyond 
 our province, which is the resemblance between the Jew and 
 the goat. The goat has very great inhabitiveness, as all ani- 
 mals have that inhabit mountains and are sheltered by rocks ; 
 but the strongest love of home is that of mountain and valley 
 combined, and this is particularly manifested in the goat. 
 Jerusalem was built upon a steep rock in the midst of a val- 
 ley. This is such a place as the goat would choose, as best 
 suited to the gratification of his nature, which combines sub- 
 terfuge with the love of climbing. Moreover, the goat seems 
 to have a strong sense of his individuality, everywhere stand- 
 ing cJone, and shunning contact. Now, place and individu- 
 ality are essential to each other, and both are essential to 
 music and dancing. Individuals can be placed in harmoni- 
 ous relations to each other, and harmonious relations can con- 
 fer individuality even upon sounds, as is the case with the 
 notes in music. Place and individuality in the goat cause 
 him to be possessed of the faculties of " time" and " tune." 
 It is evident that he has a good knowledge of metre, for in 
 leaping from rock to rock he combines an accurate perception 
 of time and distance, and we can testify that he has a percep- 
 tion of tune, for we have heard him at night utter sounds that 
 were musical in their combination, so much so as to convince 
 us that there is " music in him." The sounds were singularly 
 human and pathetic, and touched our souls with a sympathy 
 that the notes of no other animal ever awakened. We pre- 
 
THE GOAT. 305 
 
 sume that those who are accustomed to sleep in the neighbor- 
 hood of goats have often heard them. 
 
 The reader may be disposed to laugh at the idea that a 
 goat can sing; but there is the same approach to singing in 
 the cries of this animal, that there is to eloquence in the bark- 
 ing and howling of the dog. That the goat is possessed of 
 the elements of the art and science of dancing we have before 
 observed. The ancient Jews excelled in this accomplishment, 
 as they did in music, and their descendants are equal in these 
 respects, if not superior, to the people with whom they dwell. 
 
 Music is the language of love, and " perfect love casteth 
 out fear;" hence the cultivation of music gives increase to 
 courage, and whatever diminishes bravery diminishes the 
 love for music. Of animals that are fond of fermented food 
 the notes are discordant and harsh, and these animals are 
 cowardly ; but of animals that will not eat and drink unless 
 their food and water be fresh and pure, the notes are soft and 
 musical, and these animals are not cowardly and cruel, but 
 cautious and brave. Fermentation is disorder and confusion, 
 and it corresponds to and is promotive of discord in the per- 
 son who allows it in the food and drink that he uses. Music 
 inspires courage, and cultivates it. The schoolboy whistles 
 to put down the fear that haunts him when he passes a grave- 
 yard at night. Tam O'Shanter in the neighborhood of Kirk 
 Alloway is described — 
 
 " Whiles holding fast his gude blue bonnet, 
 Whiles croning o'er some avid Scotch sonnet, 
 Whiles glow'ring round wi' prudent cares. 
 Lest bogles catch him unawares." 
 
 The soldier, with all his boasted bravery, requires 
 *« the thrilling fife and pealing drum" 
 
 to nerve him to the dread encounter; and the music is first 
 and foremost, the warriors following behind, with the expres- 
 sion "Who's afraid ?" legible in their faces. 
 
 There is no disputing the courage of the goat: his indispo- 
 sition to run when there is a provocation to fight is well 
 known, though, as before stated, he has a peculiar way of ma- 
 
 20 
 
306 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 king his assault. The Jews are courageous; they always 
 were, and always will be. They have no need to " pluck up 
 courage," and hence no need of a " brandy smasher." A 
 drunken Jew is a rare commodity. In dealing with you, they 
 make up their minds at once what they will do; and though 
 they invariably conclude to make a large profit, they are, on 
 account of their courage, fair people to deal with. They keep 
 their eye upon the " main chance," which they could not do 
 if they shrunk timidly away ; and they are always ready for 
 that 
 
 " tide in the affairs of men, 
 
 Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." 
 
 Here is the " Jew boy, by Mark Lemon." You may trust 
 him to earn a living, and to live easily without seeming to be 
 
 busy, for he takes after his seniors by a kind of instinct. The 
 philosophy of living is known only to the Jew: it is to live 
 free from care, to be never troubled with business, to live 
 easily as if the means of living were abundant, and by seem- 
 ing to do nothing to show that business is prosperous. This 
 is the air and manner of the Jew boy ; he has nothing of the 
 loafer about him except the appearance. 
 
 It is curious to trace the likeness between the Jew and the 
 goat in the general appearance and ki the features and ex- 
 pressions of the countenance. The signs of attack and rela- 
 tive-defence in the convexity of the nose, the large signs of 
 acquisitiveness and love of clothing in the breadth of that 
 
THE GOAT. 
 
 307 
 
 organ, the love of eminence in the elevation of the wing of 
 the nostril, the want of concentration in the shortness of the 
 upper lip, the strength of the love of home and of family pride 
 in the length and stiffness of the under lip, the energy and 
 impulsiveness of love and will in the beard and chin, the signs 
 of substitution, subterfuge, and the love of climbing, in the 
 ridge of the eyebrow, the look of attention to external objects, 
 and many other things, betray the relationship between the 
 Israelite and the goat. 
 
 The fondness of the Jew for things "as old as the hills," 
 has been already spoken of. He has the strongest possible 
 attachment to the religion of his forefathers, as well as to the 
 country they inhabited. He has no ability to change his 
 creed. The goat is equally attached to the remains of the 
 
 generations that are past, as for example old castles, moulder- 
 ing walls, the ruins of temples, and 
 
 " Rocks, knolls, and mounds, confusedly hurled, 
 The fragments of an earlier world." 
 
 He has " antiquity" written in his visage, and expressed in 
 his sage demeanor, and in that long beard that has always 
 been the badge of wisdom and patriarchal dignity. Who 
 more than the Jew has defended this mark of manhood amid 
 all the obloquy that has been heaped upon it? He inclines 
 to preserve it as a token of age, of wisdom, of experience, and 
 of matured and masculine intellect. It carries with it the im- 
 pression of authority, as of something that grows hoary with 
 age, and resists the liability to decay. "Wo betide the hand 
 that plucks the wizard beard of hoary error !" That hand — 
 
808 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 ** Might wish that it had rather dared 
 To pull the devil by the beard !" 
 
 The Jew had ancestors that lived from two to nine hundred 
 years ; and nothing could be more sure to offend him than 
 the representation that one of these was wanting a beard. 
 The profession of a barber finds no followers among the Jews. 
 And yet the Jew is a notorious shave, or there is no truth in 
 the common opinion. He takes the whole or none ; figura- 
 tively speaking, he " grinds the faces of the poor." This kind 
 of business is very thoroughly done in a pawnbroker's estab- 
 lishment, and the Jews are the people to do it. In this de- 
 graded condition they resemble the goat that is smelled as 
 far as he is seen, and is classed with skunks. " The smell in a 
 pawnbroker's store is sickening ; it nearly resembles what the 
 Spaniards call aroma de bacallo" 
 
THE SHEEP. 
 
 300 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXYI. 
 
 Let the individual here presented be described according 
 to the signs of character in the " Outlines of Physiognomy," 
 and we shall see that his traits agree with those of the sheep, 
 to which animal he is seen to bear a marked resemblance. 
 Such a face speaks very great mild- 
 ness and amiability, refined and ar- 
 
 dent affections, unaffected modesty, and the total absence of 
 ill-will. It expresses the love of children, of parents, brothers 
 and sisters, and the social affections grounded in the domes- 
 tic. Children are regarded by him as "little lambs," and he 
 teaches them by his own meekness and dependence the force 
 of the petition, " Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I." 
 To trust in the " Good Shepherd," and to commit his charge 
 to the Power that protects himself, is his first concern. 
 
 In the man who resembles the sheep, the signs of attack, 
 relative-defence, and self-defence, in the ridge of the nose, are 
 generally large, though less than in the man who resembles 
 the goat ; and, to confess the truth, he is never backward to 
 engage in a fair and honest discussion, but it is always with 
 mildness and courtesy, and without the least disposition to 
 take the advantage of his opponent. In this he is very differ- 
 ent from the person who favors the goat ; for the latter, though 
 
310 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 " all things to all men," makes it a point to take the advantage 
 in an argument, and is often captious. The one has large 
 subterfuge, retaliation, and love of contest, and the other is 
 exceedingly deficient in these, and has great love of pre- 
 serving. 
 
 Men of true courage and heroism more frequently resemble 
 sheep, goats, hares, and other timid, inoffensive animals, than 
 lions, tigers, and animals of the savage variety. This can be 
 
 easily seen by looking 
 at our own revolutiona- 
 ry heroes, and at tne 
 truly brave and patri- 
 otic men of other conn- 
 tries, and by contrast- 
 ing these with the ty- 
 rants and rulers who 
 hold the same relation 
 to the former that the 
 savage animals do to 
 l /MS\ ^HP W the inoffensive. The de- 
 
 structive instrument is 
 like the passion that em- 
 ploys it. "Battering- 
 rams" are bolder instru- 
 ments of war than pikes and guns : they seek to conquer at 
 once, without the shedding of blood ; they are levelled against 
 inanimate objects — 
 and are the very in- 
 struments to " con- 
 quer a peace." We 
 use this as figurative 
 of the warrior who 
 resembles a ram. He 
 is essentially peace- 
 ful, and the exercise 
 of his superior tactics 
 and bravery in war is 
 for the sake of peace and repose, as is truly the case with the 
 
THE SHEEP. 311 
 
 sheep. In the warrior represented on the preceding page, the 
 similarity in the air and expression of the countenance to the 
 peaceful and gentle animal with which he is compared is 
 easily perceived. There is a striking resemblance to the ram 
 in the profile of General Scott. 
 
 The sheep makes good use of the fine developments along 
 the ridge of his nose — sometimes in a friendly argument with 
 his fellow, in which he gives and takes without any tokens of 
 savage anger; and sometimes in a tug of war with some inof- 
 fensive post, which his imagination seems to convert into a 
 hostile champion. The part of his head which is brought to 
 bear upon the object of attack is the sign of substitution, or 
 the lower part of the forehead in the place called the frontal 
 sinits. It is, in reality, the faculty of substitution that is par- 
 ticularly exercised in this case, the post being substituted for 
 
 an individual, and the wall for an armv of soldiers. Bv the 
 
 .... . " » * 
 
 exhibition of martial prowess against inanimate objects, the 
 
 enemy, if he have ordinary prudence, is convinced that resist- 
 ance would be vain, and that it is owing to the magnanimity 
 of the injured party that he is not severely punished. As it 
 is not the love of triumph that prompts the sheep to an onset, 
 he is satisfied to try his strength on some insensible object, 
 and this he regards with a friendly feeling, as the means of 
 his making a demonstration. It is a singular trait of charac- 
 ter that we are speaking of, for those who resemble the sheep 
 are not much observed. In such it might appear as if it were 
 the effect of education and discipline; but observe, and you 
 will see that it is a natural disposition. The love of preserving 
 is uppermost in the animal we are speaking of, and in those 
 who resemble him, even when the warlike faculties are called 
 into exercise. 
 
 The bearing of the head in those who resemble sheep is in- 
 dependent, but not proud. He who, with the appearance of 
 belonging to the genus ovis, hangs his head meanly, has in 
 his composition something of the character of the wolf; he is 
 in the habit of " casting sheeps' eyes" upon the lamb, the em- 
 blem of innocence and virtue, and this has given him the 
 "hang-dog" look that is observed in the dog that is to be 
 
312 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 hanged for stealing sheep. The sneakish look that we are 
 speaking of is conspicuous in the canine animal that hangs 
 about the sheepfold, and says — 
 
 "'Tis conscience does make cowards of us all;" 
 
 and pronounces the sentence of hanging "by the neck till he 
 be dead, dead !" But even this, mean as it is, is better than 
 deception, or the wearing of u sheeps' clothing," by which 
 wolves endeavor to palm themselves off for sheep. It must 
 not be forgotten that we are to distinguish between the look 
 of " sheepishness," as it is called, and the looks that are pecu- 
 liar to the sheep ; but there is hope of reformation in the man 
 who is not insensible to shame. 
 
 In the person who properly resembles the sheep there is a 
 forward position of the head, indicating a certain degree of 
 diffidence, or a susceptibility to shame, should there be an 
 occasion for the exercise of this feeling. Large and promi- 
 nent eyes, in which there 
 is the expression of heroic 
 daring enshrined in peace ; 
 great activity ; a high and 
 gently-retreating forehead 
 — grace in feeling and ac- 
 tion ; a light form and elas- 
 ^^^HIlMfflBlJ^fflBli tic step; admirable precis- 
 ion in hitting thoughts up- 
 on the wing, and in cloth- 
 ing them with language: 
 great consciousness and ca- 
 pacity of suffering; tender- 
 ness of the feelings of oth- 
 ers, and a disposition to 
 lay the burdens of human 
 beings upon inanimate objects; comfort and simplicity in 
 dress ; great refinement of feeling and manners ; freedom, 
 simplicity, and copiousness of ideas; poetry, and sublimity, 
 and elegance of expression; great love of liberty, and indig- 
 nation at the wrong done to others by the right of the strongest 
 
THE SHEEP. 
 
 313 
 
 — are among the traits of character in the man who bears a 
 worthy resemblance to the sheep. In his dress he is studious 
 of comfort, and all his efforts are directed to contentment. 
 He trusts in Providence : he scarcely knows the meaning of 
 the term want or stern necessity ; he does not complain of his 
 lot, nor fear that the world should know that he is set aside 
 to make room for others. In many of these things (but not 
 all) he is the very opposite of the man who resembles the 
 goat. 
 
 As all sheep are not equally improved, or preserved from 
 deterioration, so all men are not equally noble. On the fol- 
 lowing page is a profile of Alexander the Great, who for some 
 reason or other, in the coin from which this cut was taken, 
 was represented with ram's horns. In his youth he answered 
 to the description above, but perversion changed him into the 
 very opposite. The horns, which should betoken moral and 
 intellectual power, like those which threw down the walls of 
 an ancient city, are converted into serpents, coiling around 
 the seat of infernal passions, and whispering in his ear. Spir- 
 itual-mindedness is displaced by sensuality, mildness by re- 
 venge, and contentment and humility by ambition and pride. 
 His face is Grecian, and the Greeks as a nation resemble 
 sheep; but far superior to this is the face of old Homer, 
 
314 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 whose resemblance to the sheep is likewise observable. His 
 is a face knotted and gnarle 1 like that of the patriarch of the 
 
 flock, or like the oak in whose 
 shade the flock reposes, listen- 
 ing to the shepherd's pipe, or 
 like the craggy cliffs where 
 the oak braves the lightning 
 and the tempest, and where 
 the sheep is safe from danger ; 
 but it is a face full of feeling 
 and sentiment — a face from 
 which the noble character has 
 not been worn off by the cha- 
 fing of ambition and insatia- 
 ble desire. It is something 
 altogether different from the 
 mere " battering-ram" which 
 that man is made to be who 
 substitutes physical power for moral and intellectual. And 
 we may observe here, that where Nature is most capable of 
 giving birth to a Ho- 
 mer, a Sophocles, or a 
 Plato, she is most ca- 
 pable of bringing the 
 sheep to perfection. 
 It is a meditative, phil- 
 osophical sheep (see 
 next page) that resem- 
 bles Plato. 
 
 The scenery that is 
 best adapted to refinement and the delights of imagination is 
 best adapted to the sheep, and that is the mountain scenery 
 of Greece. This may appear from history, and, as there is 
 truth in poetry, from pastorals also. A certain writer says 
 that Attica " might rival Spain in the fineness of its wool ; 
 the goat thrives on its hills; the uncultivated lands are over- 
 run with thyme, serpillum, and marjoram ; the' Albanian 
 shepherds lead their flocks in summer to these pastures." 
 
THE SHEEP. 
 
 315 
 
 +T& 
 
 Now, the excellence of the honey that is brought from that- 
 country is not the only excellence that is derived from the 
 aromatic plants which cover the 
 soil : the flavor of mutton, which 
 is savory beyond that of any 
 other meat, makes a demand for 
 aromatic substances, and is in- 
 creased by them, and therefore 
 we aver that the country which 
 produces the Greek is particu- 
 
 larly suited to the sheep. The animal that is superior to all 
 others as a sacrifice of a "sweet-smelling savor" is the sheep, 
 and the Greeks were particularly fond of such sacrifices, and 
 
 therefore required them. 
 The aromas of flowers are 
 like the breathings of the 
 60ul in praise and prayer, 
 in gratitude and love, and 
 in pure and pious aspira- 
 
 tions ; and hence is the offering of incense in religious wor- 
 ship. The sheep is a correspondent of good affections, not 
 only on account of the qualities before mentioned, but because 
 bis flesh is refined and flavored by substances that correspond 
 
316 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 to what is spiritual and heavenly, as the animal faculties in. 
 man are purified and governed by the moral and religious. 
 
 For these reasons, and on account of innocence, the lamb 
 is typical of the Christian sacrifice, as it was also the sacrifi- 
 cial offering of the Greeks. The character that is most per- 
 fectly represented by the sheep is that of Christ; and as Chris- 
 tians are like him, there is the same difference between the 
 Jews and Gentiles that there is between goats and sheep. 
 Also the term " Greek" is used synonymously with " Gentile," 
 for the simple reason that the Gentiles in acquiring a charac- 
 ter corresponding to the innocence, purity, and excellence 
 of the sheep, resemble Greeks. 
 They are called Greeks for the 
 same reason that they are called 
 sheep. " The sheep on the right 
 hand and the goats on the left" 
 is the contrasted position of the 
 Jews and Gentiles in respect to 
 
 Christ. The propriety of this figure has been sufficiently 
 shown in the resemblance of certain persons to the sheep, and 
 of others to the goat, in both character and physiognomy. 
 The portrait above is that of Oberlin. The man who resem- 
 bles the sheep in natural disposition, if he be a Christian, can 
 say with the utmost degree of truth and feeling : — 
 
 " The Lord is my shepherd ; I shall not want ; 
 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures : 
 He leadeth me beside the still waters. 
 He restoreth my soul : 
 
 He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 
 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 
 I will fear no evil : for thou art with me ; 
 Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me/' 
 
THE SHEEP. 317 
 
 As to the Greeks themselves, or the better class of them, 
 we can not do better than to take the following description : 
 "The Athenians have not lost their ancient urbanity; their 
 accent is more harmonious than any other in Greece ; their 
 language is less diffuse, and for that reason more energetic. 
 Their appearance is nearly the same as that of their ances- 
 tors ; the women of Athens are still distinguished for their 
 light figures, the oval form of the face, the regular contour, 
 the straight line that marks the profile, full black eyes, high 
 forehead, red lips, small hands and feet; they are equally 
 graceful in the mournful dance of Ariadne and in the rapid 
 mazes of the Romaika. The simplicity of the ancient dress 
 is in some degree retained : a white tunic descends from the 
 neck, and a white mantle covers the arms and falls over the 
 shoulders; a handkerchief tied loosely around the head does 
 not conceal their jet-black hair, but the barbarous empire is 
 typified in a clumsy and ill-placed girdle, red trowsers, and a 
 heavy Turkish cloak." The resemblance to the sheep is here 
 sufficiently described, and it might be very well contrasted 
 with the resemblance between Turks and turkeys. 
 
 The reason assigned for the language of the Athenians 
 being more energetic than that of other Greeks is that it is 
 less diffuse. We see the correspondence of this in the mo- 
 tions of the sheep, which are short and quick. What is lost 
 in strength, or " the long pull, the strong pull, and the pull 
 all together," as they say at sea, is made up in quickness, 
 elasticity, and energy ; and this is especially suited to expres- 
 sion, or to being the medium of moral and intellectual power: 
 for as grossness is necessary to the former, so refinement is 
 essential to the latter. Sailors are consequently clumsy and 
 gross, and so are all those whom society condemns to the gal- 
 leys, or, in other words, to hard labor; but those who study 
 grace in action, and engage in such employments as require 
 bodily and mental activity, will acquire moral and intellect- 
 ual refinement with much more facility than those with whom 
 these conditions are not attended to. The relation of analysis, 
 and consequently of refinement, to language, is very evident ; 
 and the man who resembles the sheep in a marked degree is 
 
318 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 interested in language as the means of expressing the must 
 refined and delicate shades of thought and feeling, and will 
 probably do much toward perfecting it. He will wish to free 
 it of all that is unmeaning and cumbersome, for these things 
 are clogs to the wheels of progress, and he regards them as 
 sand in sugar or a sinecure in a government. 
 
 The sign of architecture and the memory of names in the 
 Greek contributes very much to his resemblance to the sheep. 
 It is architecture, probably, together with 
 large attack, which inclines the sheep to 
 brace the top of his nose against a pillar 
 or post ; and when lie wishes to make a 
 forcible entree, he calls into exercise his 
 large endurance, and, like certain woolly- 
 beaded gentlemen, tries the strength of 
 his skull. In many more amiable traits 
 than this does the negro resemble the 
 sheep, but we need only say that with proper advantages he 
 becomes a good Christian. 
 
 The rocks with which the sheep is surrounded in his mount- 
 ain-home are natural fortifications, or embrasures, where 
 liberty is often better protected than in castles and fortres- 
 ses. They are the foundations of the beautiful temples and 
 palaces in the higher world which the Greeks took and handed 
 down to earth after they had peopled them with gods and god- 
 desses, and with the sublimest of their heroes. The Grecian 
 deities were the embodiments of their own exquisite and re- 
 fined natures ; and what the horse is to Italian art, the sheep 
 is to the Grecian. Fainting and dramatic representation are 
 more perfect in the former, and architecture and sculpture in 
 the latter. The man who stops short of the perfection which 
 the Greeks attempted to embody in their deities (and in which 
 they failed), stops short of the spiritual beauty of which the 
 aheep is a correspondent. That perfection is reached in the 
 conception of the Divine Man, and is aimed at by those who 
 follow his example. It is with them as with a flock of sheep 
 — where the Leader goes, the flock is sure to follow. " He 
 leadeth them out, he calleth them all by name, and they fol- 
 
THE SHEEP. 
 
 319 
 
 low him, but a stranger will they not follow, for they know 
 not the voice of strangers." Where the people are unani- 
 mous, and will not be diverted from following their leader, 
 what victories can they not accomplish? 
 
 One other trait of character in the sheep we must mention, 
 at the risk of being tedious. It is irritability and indigna- 
 tion. The sheep when offended 
 (stamps indignantly with her 
 
 foot. This conies from relative-defence and love of liberty. 
 It is a noble trait of character, one for which the Greeks dis- 
 tinguished themselves in ancient times, and which their throw- 
 ing off the Turkish yoke shows that they are still possessed 
 of. Spirit and gentleness are united in this face of Kalergi, 
 the Greek patriot. The gentleness of the sheep does not en- 
 title him to the name of "good-natured," which is often a. 
 doubtful compliment. " Hogs," says a newspaper paragraph, 
 " are patterns of good-humor. Hit 'em a kick, and they for- 
 get it as soon as they are out of reach. Dog 'em, and they 
 root as happy as ever the minute they are left alone." This 
 comes from the insensibility of the animal, and from his inca- 
 pability of feeling a "righteous indignation," and not from a 
 lack of retaliation and self-defence. Let an injury once pen- 
 etrate the crust of his insensibility, and he will revenge it on 
 the spot, or show that he is not so forgetful of injuries as you 
 supposed. But the indignant person is not implacable; he 
 is merciful and forgiving. That which rouses indignation ia 
 
320 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 an offence against truth and goodness, purity and innocence, 
 or some other person than one's self; and it was exhibited 
 perfectly in Him who was called the " Lamb of God," and 
 prominently in the characters of the gods, who were a fore- 
 shadowing of the Divinity that was to be restored. 
 
 The goat is very like the sheep, notwithstanding the para- 
 dox, and in like manner the Jew has points of contact with 
 the Christian; Moses is the representative of Christ, and the 
 Old Testament is typical of the New. The corporeal senses 
 are the inlets to the mind, and through the "letter" of a com- 
 munication we arrive at the " spirit" of it. The Jew is literal. 
 Shylock says simply, " It is in the bond ;" but the converted 
 Jew says, "The letter is of no profit — it is the spirit that 
 quickens." The Christian " puts off the old man," and the 
 Jew puts it on ; the literal of which is, that the Christian 
 throws off his old garments, and the Jew takes them ! 
 
THE PARROT. 
 
 321 
 
 CHAPTEK XXXYII 
 
 "We often hear of children learning to repeat like parrots. 
 The gift of language ought, indeed, to entitle the parrot to 
 comparison with somebody. But it is not the ape that we 
 are speaking of. As for saying a man's words after him, the 
 parrot is entirely above it, except it be with the expectation 
 of a reward. There is nothing in which originality is so much 
 exercised as in the use of the tongue. Language is artificial, 
 and the constant ef- 
 fort to invent new lan- 
 guages shows itself in 
 'provincialisms,' not 
 only in provinces but 
 in districts, the world 
 over. You ma} 7 try 
 to get the parrot to 
 say, « Pretty Poll," 
 or " Polly want cof- 
 fee," by setting her 
 the example, but you 
 will fail in the object. 
 It is only to the words " Polly want cracker f " that she deigns 
 a response. She despises servile imitation, and aspires to 
 originality. Think you she is going to make a ninny of her- 
 self by showing her weakness and dependence ? Rather than 
 not talk at all, she will say what she has heard others say, but 
 it will be when she supposes you have forgotten it. She 
 would much rather do what you do not want her to do — to 
 imitate your infirmities, for example — as therein she shows 
 she is not indebted to a master. She aspires to originality in 
 everything. You see in her all sorts of one sided, strange, 
 
 21 
 
COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 outlandish motions, the results of her unwillingness to follow 
 in the footsteps of others. 
 
 In inferior minds the love of originality shows itself in 
 oddity, and, when this is connected with a taste for wit, in a 
 constant exhibition of drollery. There is a perfect agreement 
 between the parrot and the clown, and the value mat is at- 
 tached to them is the same in both. They are tolerated for 
 the same reason, viz., the amusement they afford by the con- 
 stant exhibition of something new and startling, and by their 
 buffoonery. It is a vulgar taste, identical with that which 
 gleans the u horrible and awful" in newspapers, and prefers 
 a lusus naturcB to what is orderly and beautiful. Those who 
 patronize clowns are people who have the same traits, but are 
 in too high a station, or consider it a little below their dig- 
 nity, to act the part of buffoons. Still the clown, though he 
 makes a fool of himself, in compliance with the notion that 
 a fool is a rare commodity in a court, has often more influence 
 over those he amuses than any other man, and treats his mas- 
 ter familiarly and even contemptuously. It is well fcr him 
 
 that he can cry out, " I say, 
 master," every now and then 
 — for if his " master" were 
 not his master in the art he 
 
 professes, he would be considered as deserving of banishment 
 for every tenth witticism that he utters. Like the parrot, he 
 never says anything you w T ould put into his mouth to say — 
 it is something else, or nothing. 
 
THE PARROT. % &2>'6 
 
 It is laughable to hear the parrot laugh like the clown, or, 
 what is the same thing, like some ridiculous old fellow who 
 bursts out in spite of the unmusical quality of his voice, and 
 whose laugh, therefore, is more laughable than what he laughs 
 at! He coughs like somebody with the consumption, till he 
 is apparently exhausted, and almost goes into a swoon ; " tells 
 on you," when you expected that your doings were a profound 
 secret; shows a decided taste for whatever is unpopular; is 
 grotesque, and in all respects a perfect clown. People who 
 are like him are glib with their tongues, make a burlesque of 
 singing and eloquence, introduce variations and high-flown 
 language into their performances, all for the sake of original- 
 ity ; which shows that, after all, there is more harmony in the 
 world than discord, or that order is the rule and absurdity 
 the exception. 
 
 But all persons who resemble the parrot do not resemble 
 him thus literally. The love of originality and the gift of 
 tongues are not always connected with a sense of the ludicrous, 
 uor with such mischief as lurks in the parrot. There is many 
 a sober innovator, whose delight it is to ponder 
 
 " o'er many a volume of forgotten lore," 
 
 that he may not be supposed to make use of the humdrum 
 literature of the day; who introduces obsolete words and 
 coins new ones, and makes a patchwork of all languages ; 
 makes use of execrable phrases, and invents a style that may 
 be called his own. He has the appearance of great learning, 
 of being able to run through the contents of musty libraries 
 at a single glance; passes over modern discoveries, in search 
 of things quaint and queer, which, being monstrosities, and 
 buried out of the sight of man, he considers proper subjects 
 for discovery. Whatever was forced upon the world as a mis- 
 fortune and a necessity, he is particularly solicitous to bring 
 to light. The impression that his matter is new, and out of 
 the ordinary course of tilings, he enforces by the singularity 
 of his style, and his verbosity and grandiloquence. Invention 
 he makes synonymous with discovery, and discovery with in- 
 vention; but his love of originality is gratified in his being 
 
324 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 considered the author of his discoveries, and on examination 
 they are found to be — 
 
 "The children of an idle brain, 
 
 Begot of nothing but vain phantasy." 
 
 His grand idea is original- 
 ity, and as this is attained by 
 raking up whatever is explo- 
 ded, and by paying homage to 
 / Misfortune ; and as language, 
 
 in which he is so thoroughly 
 engrossed, is the mere clothing of ideas — his philosophy is 
 necessarily materialistic. His marvellous acquaintance with 
 languages, and the multiplicity of his words, are as much a 
 subject of wonder as is the gift of speech in the parrot. He 
 bends all his efforts to excite the wonder of people more a-jd 
 more — 
 
 44 Till they cry out, * You prove yourself so able, 
 Pity you were not dragoman at Babel; 
 For had they found a linguist half so good, 
 I make no question but the tower had stood !' " 
 
THE MOCKING-BIRD. 
 
 325 
 
 There is a character quite different from this, and yet 
 closely related to it : it is that which resembles the mocking- 
 bird. This bird is as wonderfully gifted as the parrot, but 
 his gift is eloquence. Intonation, inflection, harmonious mod- 
 ulation, chords that waken echoes in the breasts of a thousand 
 warblers, are as easy in his throat as motion in his wings. 
 
 Those who are gifted with elo- 
 quence possess a strong resem- 
 blance to the mocking-bird ; they 
 strike the chords in human bo- 
 soms when they waken their own, 
 without producing a jarring dis- 
 cord other than is necessary to 
 increase the harmony ; they know 
 the secret spring of feeling in the 
 human heart. They possess ex- 
 traordinary knowledge of human 
 nature, and the reason is, they 
 feel what others feel, intuitively, 
 in a way they can not account for. They are better physiog- 
 nomists than others, but how it is that they are seldom or 
 never deceived in their 
 estimate of character 
 they can not tell. 
 
 The eloquence that 
 the mocking-bird pos- 
 sesses in so extraordi- 
 nary a degree is ac- 
 companied by a won- 
 derful knowledge of 
 character. He never 
 fails to distinguish his 
 friends from his ene- 
 mies in the animal cre- 
 ation, and is almost equally sagacious in respect to human 
 beings. He is as wary of enemies as the crow, but his confi- 
 dence in building his nest close by a house, and a few feet 
 from the ground, shows that he is not governed by suspicion 
 
326 
 
 COMPAKA TIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 in liis relations with others. Of the cat-bird, which is a mock- 
 ing-bird of very charming accomplishments, Audubon says: 
 " In some instances I have known this bird to recognise at 
 once its friend from its foe, and to suffer the former even to 
 handle the treasure deposited in its nest, with all the marked 
 assurance of the knowledge it possessed of its safety; when, 
 on the contrary, the latter had to bear all its anger. The 
 sight of a dog seldom irritates it, while a single glance at the 
 wily cat excites the most painful paroxysms of alarm." This 
 knowledge of the dispositions of others is very intimately con- 
 nected with his gift of eloquence ; for the notes of different 
 birds are the sounds of their affections, and the bird that can 
 express them all must have inspired the feelings which each 
 one expresses the moment he heard them. 
 
 Another trait of the mocking-bird is his deadly hostility to 
 oppressors, particularly the snake, and his readiness to take 
 the part of the injured. This is naturally associated with elo- 
 quence. In all ages of the world, and in all countries, the 
 
 theme that has awa- 
 kened eloquence more 
 than any other is Lib- 
 erty, and the right of 
 the weak to the pro- 
 tection and sympathy 
 of the strong. A bad 
 cause inspires some- 
 thing the very oppo- 
 site of this. The elo- 
 quence uttered in the 
 cause of humanity is 
 divine, and only this is 
 immortal. And those 
 orators whose services 
 were rendered to hu- 
 manity, and whose fame is the inheritance of mankind, had 
 wonderful knowledge of the human heart. The action of an 
 orator is the earnest of his sensibility, every nerve and fibre 
 of his frame being thrilled with the enthusiasm of his inspira 
 
THE MOCKING BIRD. 327 
 
 tion, like the bird, alive in every feather, " fast fluttering all 
 at once," and unable to contain himself. The eloquence it- 
 self, as corresponding to the outpourings of the mocking-bird 
 — it would be a letting-down to attempt to describe it. 
 
 It is man's freedom and his moral accountability that are 
 indicated in the countenance. Technically speaking, the 
 signs of the voluntary action of the faculties are in the face. 
 For this reason, and because pathos and the ability to move 
 the feelings of others implies a knowledge of nature, and of 
 human nature in particular, eloquence is inseparable from 
 physiognomy. The beautiful things appertaining to the lat- 
 ter that are always being introduced into the discourses of 
 our finest orators, are proof of the connection. The knowledge 
 of Nature in its widest sense is embraced in the term Physi- 
 ognomy, and Nature is the theme of the most glowing descrip- 
 tions. The crowning work of creation is the subject of inspi- 
 ration. 
 
328 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXYIII. 
 
 The reader who has felt a sufficient interest in our subject 
 to accompany us to the last chapter, will have made a num- 
 ber of observations in confirmation of our own, and some, no 
 doubt, that are really or apparently contradictory. We do 
 not claim to be infallible, and the reader is not bound to be- 
 lieve anything that he does not see to be true. Of the state- 
 ments we have made, and respecting your interest in them, 
 we would say to you, gentle reader, as we heard an Irish 
 apple-woman say to a boy who asked her for an apple : *• If 
 you see one at all that pleases yourself, take it." This conve- 
 niently illustrates the gentlemanly relation, as well in respect 
 to ideas as in respect to bodily hospitalities, at the same time 
 that it illustrates the natural gentility of the Irish, and, a pri- 
 ori, the gentility of the dog. The language used by that poor 
 Irishwoman, and the common speech of Irishmen, is such as 
 is heard when one gentleman addresses another, and of the 
 kind that is used in genteel society. 
 
 Dear reader, we fancy you asking us mentally to let go 
 your button, at the same time that you are attentive and po- 
 lite. You must not suppose that we have inflicted upon you 
 all that we might have done, had we been disposed to trace 
 the resemblances between men and all the inferior animals 
 of creation. We must receive credit for not having even men- 
 tioned all the resemblances between the men and animals that 
 we have treated of. For example, we might have asked you 
 to observe that, of the two classes of negroes, the one open 
 their mouths like fishes, and the other their jaws like ele- 
 phants. Then we might have directed your attention to the 
 fact that the English are inclined to drawl, and to utter half 
 their words in the inspiration of the voice ; to use aspirates 
 
CONCLUSION. 329 
 
 where they ought not, and to leave them off where they be- 
 long : like the cow in her long-drawn loo, in her moo-hoo ; in 
 her h as in hoo, when she takes back her breath ; and in her 
 neglect of the h as in hoist, when she has a potato in her 
 throat, which gives her occasion to expel what she can not 
 swallow. It is evident that other animals, the dog and the 
 cat for example, when they endeavor to expel anything from 
 the throat, give the sound of h j and that in inspiration they 
 give only the vowel sonnd, if any. It is in consequence, there- 
 fore, of a resemblance to the cow, that the Englishman says, 
 " 'Ear me," and " Lend me your Aears." It is worth men- 
 tioning, also, that one of the most celebrated places in Eng- 
 land is called "Ox-ford." Then, if we had said all that we 
 might have said about the resemblance between the China- 
 man and the hog, we should have remarked upon the simi- 
 larity of sounds — as, for example, that the words Tchong- 
 Koue, Ning-po, Hong-kong, Kwang-tung, and the Choos and 
 the Foos of the Chinese language, partake of the nasal grunt 
 and the foo-'mg of an old hog; while Fu-keen, Pekin, Pe- 
 chele, and the like, are akin to the squeaking of a little pig. 
 As the life employment of the hog is chewing at first-hand 
 (for he has no time to spend in chewing the cud), it is not 
 strange that nearly every other word of the Chinese language 
 has a " choo" in it, so chat the Chinese in conversing do little 
 besides choo. Then we might have spoken of the similarity 
 of the French language to that of the frog, till with the twirl- 
 ing of linguals about our ears we might have fancied ourselves 
 in Bedlam. We might have drawn comparisons between the 
 languages of men and animals, as between the faces of these 
 and those; but we did not, and there are many other things 
 we did not touch upon. 
 
 It may be thought that in the preceding chapters there is 
 no orderly arrangement; but there is an order, and it is ac- 
 cording to harmony, and for that reason it is not easily per- 
 ceived. Harmony is so delightful, that we perceive only that 
 it governs us, and not that it governs us by laws. When we 
 have unfolded the Science of Nature more fully, we shall ana- 
 lyze and understand that which we are now sufficiently happy 
 
330 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 in feeling. From feeling we shall glide into perceiving, from 
 perceiving into understanding, and from understanding intc 
 something higher. 
 
 "We are hard-hearted indeed if, having studied our relation- 
 ship to the inferior animals, we are not disposed to treat them 
 more kindly. We sympathize with them, for we perceive 
 that the same faculties which warm our breasts animate theirs. 
 "We share with them our " creature comforts," for they are 
 creatures more than we, and our superior reason enables us to 
 provide for those comforts better than they. Our moral and 
 religious inspiration, by which we are distinguished, prompts 
 us to confer happiness on others. If we are not true to this, 
 we are inhuman — that is, we are neither men nor brutes — 
 and this never can be said of the inferior animals. Creatures 
 are not bad. A person with a good natural disposition is 
 called a a good creature," and it is in reference to our natural 
 dispositions that we are called the " creatures of God." — "An 
 unfortunate creature" we often hear of, but who ever heard 
 of a wicked creature, except it were of some one whose wick- 
 edness is synonymous with ugliness, such as is observed in the 
 cow or the goat? If we say to a person, "You wicked crea- 
 ture !" the word " creature" shows that we do not mean it. 
 The word " wicked" is an absurdity in such a connection, and 
 therefore it is applied wittily. Simply, "You creature!" is 
 equivalent to saying of the person thus addressed, that — 
 
 " E'en his failings lean to virtue's side !" 
 
 A perverted character has never the term " creature" applied 
 to it. It is evident, therefore, that our relationship to the 
 lower animals is no disgrace to us if it is none to them. In this 
 case, we are " children of Nature," as they are, but more per- 
 fectly, for we are also the " children of God." It is an honor 
 to be the children of "the common Mother" when wisdom is 
 given us to know our Father — which wisdom is not given to 
 the lower animals. A true nobleman will not despise his 
 poor relations : he knows that his origin is humble, and that 
 all his riches and honors are conferred by his Sovereign. 
 "Man is an animal." With this humiliating truth we com 
 
CONCLUSION. 331 
 
 menced our subject, and with this we conclude. But for the 
 use which we should make of this knowledge, we adopt the 
 sentiments of an old author: — 
 
 "Man, considered in himself, and in his own proprium, is 
 nothing but a beast, having like senses, like appetites, like 
 lusts, and also like affections in every respect; his good and 
 best loves are likewise very similar, as the love of associates 
 of his own species, the love of children, and the love of his 
 mate ; so that there is no difference between them in any re- 
 spect. But that he is man, and more excellent than the beasts, 
 is, because he has an interior life, which beasts have not, nor 
 are capable of having; this life is the life of faith and of love 
 from the Lord ; and unless this life were to influence and 
 prevail in each of those properties which he has in common 
 with the beasts, he would never be anything else but a beast : 
 as, for instance, in respect to love toward his associates, if he 
 loved them only for the sake of himself, and there were not 
 in the love something more celestial and divine, he could not 
 be called a man in consequence of that love, because it is 
 similar with the beasts : and so in other instances : wherefore 
 unless the life of love from the Lord were in his will, and the 
 life of faith from the Lord in his understanding, he would in 
 no respect be a man. By the life which he has from the 
 Lord, he lives after death, because thereby the Lord joins 
 him to himself; and thus he has a capacity of being in 
 heaven with the angels, and of living to eternity: and al- 
 though man lives a wild beast, and loves nothing else but 
 himself, and the things which respect himself, yet the mercy 
 of the Lord is so great, being divine and infinite, that he 
 never leaves man, but continually breathes into him his life 
 by the angels, which, notwithstanding his perverse reception 
 thereof, still gives him a capacity of thinking, of reflecting, 
 of understanding what is good or evil, whether it relate to 
 moral, civil, worldly, or corporeal life, and thereby of discern- 
 ing what is true or false." 
 
 Mankind in general find their resemblance in the ape, as 
 was shown in a preceding chapter; while races of men, and 
 individuals in particular, resemble animals of every species 
 
332 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 and variety. As to animals in general, we also find their 
 resemblance in the ape : it is easy to see that the guadrumana 
 resemble both beasts and birds, living as they do in trees, 
 and grasping with the posterior members, as birds do, and 
 belonging at the same time to the mammalia. It is evident, 
 therefore, that every man, in resembling the ape, resembles 
 the entire animal kingdom, and that by resembling each in- 
 dividual beast and bird he resembles each individual man to 
 whom such beast or bird bears a resemblance. As all men 
 have a resemblance in common, it is certain that each indi- 
 vidual man has in himself the peculiarities of all other peo- 
 ple — so blended, that only his own individual peculiarity is 
 conspicuous. Also, as the predominant animal nature is bo- 
 vine in one, equine in another, canine in another, feline in 
 another, and so on — it is evident that there is in every indi- 
 vidual a congregation of all sorts of animal natures, and that 
 the difference between people is the predominance of one or 
 other of these elements. Of course, it is the element that is 
 most conspicuous in an individual that constitutes his resem- 
 blance to a particular beast or bird. 
 
 Being fortified by reasoning, we have no hesitation in say- 
 ing, figuratively, that man's breast is a menagerie of animals, 
 of beasts and birds, clean and unclean, wild and tame. To 
 name them and to govern them by morality and religion, is 
 his highest duty and his highest delight. He transforms 
 them into the likeness of the higher faculties by which they 
 are governed ; and with these they are so admirably blended, 
 that they are no longer animal, but human. The animals of 
 the external world still resemble him, for he subjects them to 
 the same discipline as those within. He masters them by 
 love and kindness ; he makes them beautiful and useful, 
 peaceful, harmonious, and happy. He exhibits in himself 
 (and it is shadowed forth in the animals around him) a fulfil 
 ment of the prophecy : — 
 
 44 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, 
 And the leopard shall lie down with the kid , 
 And the calf, and the young lion, and the fading, together; 
 And a little child shall lead them. 
 
CONCLUSION. 333 
 
 And the cow and the bear shall feed ; 
 
 Their young ones shall lie down together: 
 
 And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 
 
 And the sucking-child shall play on the hole of the asp, 
 
 And the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den : 
 
 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain." 
 
 The helpless condition in which man is born makes it ne- 
 cessary that he should be endowed with a superlative degree 
 of that faculty which prompts him to look out for his own in- 
 terests. It is difficult to see how a person could be possessed 
 of individuality without self-love for its basis, or recognise the 
 individuality of others without first recognising his own, or 
 ever love his neighbor until he had first loved himself. " Char- 
 ity begins at home." Man is required to " love his neighbor 
 as himself," which proves that the standard by which he is to 
 measure his love for his neighbor exists beforehand, and that 
 it is right and proper that be should have loved himself first. 
 Self-love, therefore, is good ; it is necessary to a weak and 
 dependent being ; and all beings are weak and dependent, 
 and the Creator has given them self-love that they may supply 
 their other deficiencies. And what are their deficiencies, 
 and what their wants? Their first wants are physical, their 
 second sensual, their third rational, and their fourth supernal. 
 As long as these wants continue, so long self-love must be 
 active; but, in the degree that these wants are supplied, it 
 becomes man to be charitable, and to minister to the wants 
 of others. It is only after these wants are supplied that man 
 can become wickedly selfish. The object of self-love is to 
 prompt him to take care of himself; and if he desire that 
 others may take care of him, he is selfish beyond what Na- 
 ture intended. An animal requires all the self-love that Na- 
 ture has given it to supply itself with necessaries ; and it is 
 contented to "shirk for itself" if its exertions are capable of 
 supplying its wants. At tne season of the year when it is 
 capable of doing more than this, Nature bestows offspring, 
 and the care of the parents is expended upon other objects 
 than themselves. Thus self-love in animals is kept within 
 bounds; audit is proved by this that the inferior creatures 
 
334 COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
 are good. But with human beings it is otherwise. They 
 wish to be taken care of by others, and to be supplied with 
 multitudes of things that are not necessary; and for this end 
 they acquire artificial appetites, such as the appetites for to- 
 bacco, tea, coffee, opium, and alcoholic stimulants. This per- 
 version of self-love in man is from the perversion of the privi- 
 lege of dependence, which is extreme at the moment he is 
 born, and which is again extreme at the moment of his de- 
 parture from this world : it is from the perversion of his per 
 feet dependence upon his parents for the supply of his bodily 
 wants at the commencement of his life, and of his perfect 
 dependence upon his Creator for those things which alone 
 can satisfy the cravings of an immortal soul at the period of 
 his transition into another state of existence. Between these 
 two extremes of dependence there is abundant room for self- 
 exertion, self-improvement, and self-dependence, and there is 
 occasion for the exercise of benevolence toward others when 
 benevolence toward self has accomplished its object. What, 
 then, must be the depravity of man, when, instead of loving 
 himself and taking care of himself for the sake of his neigh- 
 bor, he loves his neighbor and has his neighbor in keeping 
 for the sake of himself? Look at those who in all countries 
 oppress and enslave the bodies and souls of men, and at those 
 who in their weakness and poverty exercise their tyrannical 
 selfishness in oppression of the inferior animals, and you will 
 see. The animal which the natural man resembles, viz., the 
 ape, is selfish and disgusting in the extreme. 
 
 THE ESC 
 
The Proper Study of 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 o 
 w 
 
 Pk 
 
 Know 
 
 Mankind is Man. 
 
 n 
 
 w 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 Thyself." 
 
 The Brain is the organ of the Mind — 
 according to its size, quality, culture, health, 
 and development, will there be mental man- 
 ifestation. Each particular part of the body^ 
 — Heart, Lungs, Stomach, Eyes, Ears, etc. 
 performs separate and special functions. 
 Different parts of the Brain perform different functions. The forehead is the seat of Intellect — 
 the knowing faculties ; the lower back head of the Affections ; the side head of the Executive, 
 propelling, constructive, and economical powers ; the top head of the Moral, Spiritual, and 
 religious sentiments. And all these are subdivided, as seen in this pictorial head. To read 
 character correctly, one must know something of the Temperaments, and the more he knows 
 of Physiology, Physiognomy and Ethnology — the more perfectly can he judge the character, 
 and capacities of his fellow-men — their adaptation to this or to that pursuit, and in what 
 sphere they may be successful. It answers the question, " What Can I Do Best ?" 
 
 flames, Numbers and Location of the Mental Faculties. 
 
 Amattventss. — Connubial love, affection. 
 Conjugal Love.— Union for life, pairing: instinct. 
 Parental Love. — Care of offspring, and all young. 
 Friendship. — Sociability, union of friends. 
 Inhabitiveness.— Love of home and country. 
 Continuity.— Application, consecutiveness. 
 Yitattveness. — Clinging to life, tenacity, enduraace 
 CoMBATrvENESS.— Defense, courage, criticism. 
 Destructiveness. — Executiveness, push, propell. 
 Alimentiveness. — Appetite for food, etc. 
 Acquisitiveness.— Frugality, economy, to get. 
 Secretiveness.— Self-control, policy, to keep. 
 Cautiousness. — Guardedness, care-taking, safety. 
 Approbativeness.- Love ofa£plause and display. 
 Self-Esteem.— Self-respect, dignity, authority. 
 Firmness.— Stability, perseverance, steadfastness. 
 Conscientiousness. — Sense of right, justice. 
 Hope.- Expectation, anticipation, perfect trust. 
 Spirituality.— Intuition, prescience, faith. 
 Veneration. — Worship, adoration, deference. 
 Benevolence. — Sympathy, kindness, mercy. 
 CoNSTRUc , ™-! !NE g S -Ingenuity, invention, tools, 
 Ideality. Taste, love of beauty, poetry and art. 
 Sublimity. — Love of the grand, vast, magnificent. 
 
 22. Imitation,— Copying, aptitude for mimicry. 
 
 23. Mirth. — Fun, wit, ridicule, facetiousness. 
 
 24. iNDiviDUALiTY.-Observation, curiosity to see. 
 
 25. Form.— Memory of shape, looks, persons, things. 
 
 26. Size.— Measurement of quantity by the eye. 
 
 27. Weight. — Control of motion, balancing. 
 
 28. Color. — Discernment, and love of colors, hues, tints 
 
 29. Order. — Method, system, going by rule, arrangem't. 
 
 30. Calculation.— Mental arithmetic, numbers. 
 
 31. Locality. — Memory of place, position, travels. 
 
 32. Eventuality. — Memory of facts, events, history. 
 
 33. Time.— Telling when, time of day, dates, punctuality. 
 84. Tune.— Love of music, sense of harmony, singing. 
 
 35. Language. — Expression by words, signs or acts. 
 
 36. Causality. — Planning, thinking, philosophy, 
 
 37. Comparison.— Analysis, infer ing, illustration. 
 
 C. Human Nature.— Sagacity, perception, motives. 
 
 D. Suavity— Pleasantness, blandness, nolitenes^. 
 
 For complete definitions of the onrans, with func- 
 tions, culture, etc., isee tne new work, " Brain and 
 Mind," or, Mental Science Considered in Accordance 
 with the Principles of Phrenology, and in Relation to 
 Modern Physiology. Illustrated. Extra cloth, $1.50. 
 
 Fowler & Wells, Publishers, 753 Broadway, N. Y. 
 
NEW PHYSIOGNOMY; 
 
 0* 
 
 SIGNS 
 
 OF 
 
 As manifested in Temperament and Exter- ^7 \ 
 
 nal Forms, and especially in the Human Face \ V<^ \? 
 
 Divine. By Samuel R. Wells. 800 pages \ more than 1,000 illustrations, with frontispiece \ portrait of 
 author. Heavy tinted paper, extra muslin ; price , by mail, post-paid, $5.00 ; full calf, marbled 
 edges, $8.00 ; turkey morocco, full gilt, $10.00. 
 
 THIS is a comprehensive, thorongh, and practical 
 work, in which all that is known on the subject 
 treated is Systematized, Explained, Illustrated, 
 and -Applied. Physiognomy is here shown to be no 
 mere fanciful speculation, but a consistent and well- 
 considered system of Character-reading, based on the 
 established truths of Physiology and Phrenology, and 
 confirmed hy Ethnology, as well as by the peculiarities 
 of individuals. It is no abstraction, but something to 
 be made useful ; something to be practiced by every- 
 body and in all places, and made an efficient help in 
 that noblest of all studies— the Study of Man. it is 
 readily understood by all, and as readily applied. 
 
 Previous Systems are given in this work, 
 including those of all ancient and modern writers. 
 
 General Principles— the Physiological laws 
 on which character reading is based. 
 
 Temperaments - Ancient Doctrines — New 
 Classifications now in general use here. 
 
 Practical Physiognomy- Gcueral Forms 
 of Faces— Eyes, Month, Nose, Chin, Jaws, Teeth, 
 Cheeks, Forehead, Hair, Beard, Complexion, Neck, 
 Ears, Hands, Feet, Voice, Walk, Laugh, Dress, etc. 
 
 Ethnology— The Races, Caucasian, Ind'an, Mon- 
 golian, Malay, and African. 
 
 Physiognomy applied to Marriage, Training of 
 Children, to Personal Improvement, to Business, to 
 Insanity and Idiocy, to Health and Disease, to Pro- 
 fessions, to Personal Improvement, and to Character 
 Reading, Utility of Physiognomy. 
 
 Animal Types— Grades of Intelligence, Instinct 
 and Reason, Animal Heads and Animal Types, seen 
 among Men, Comparative Physiognomy. 
 
 Graph omancy— Character revealed in Hand- 
 writing, Palmistry, " Line of Life," illustrated. 
 
 No one can read this Book without interest, without 
 real profit. "Knowledge is power," and this is em- 
 phatically true of a knowledge of men — of human 
 character. He who has it i3 " master of the situation ;" 
 and anybody may have it who will, and find in it the 
 " secret of success," and the road to the largest personal 
 improvement and usefulness. 
 
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 " Among those who have contributed to the advance- 
 ment of the Bcience of Physiognomy in this country, 
 the author of this book is honorably distinguished, and 
 we feel pleasure in bearing testimony to the conscien- 
 tiousness and ability with which he has executed the 
 iabonoup task that he imposed upon himself."— New 
 Ysrk Herald . 
 
 41 The most complete handbook in the langu-age ; a 
 man who can not find amusement and instruction In 
 Mr. Wells' book, must have a very stupid face indeed." 
 —New York Tribune. 
 
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 acknowledge that physiognomy opens a wide field for 
 interesting investigation."*— New York Times. 
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