may easily be feigned, and may differ much from his real sentiments."

The power of expression is not possessed equally by all; but when possessed, "it has," in the language of Sir Charles Bell, "a great share in human beauty; whether in the living countenance, or in that which the pencil presents. How different the tame regularity of a merely placid countenance, from what strikes the spectator when he beholds the indications of a great mind in that susceptibility of emotion and energy, which marks the brow and animates the eye of the hero even in the calmest scenes of life. How fascinating, when compared with the insipid prettiness and regular features of an inanimate beauty, is that susceptibility which lightens up the countenance and plays upon the features of a woman of sensibility, even while she is unmoved by any particular affection.-The full clear eye, the arched and movable eyebrow, the smooth and polished forehead, as indicating this kind of capacity, this susceptibility of emotion and power of expression, are grand features of human character and beauty."*

The eyes, more than any other feature by far, give character to the expression of the countenance. Thus children early learn to look at the eyes of the parent or nurse to determine the real meaning of the words they may have uttered. Even the dog learns to read the human countenance, and finds in his master's eyes the surest indications of his will.-Who cannot distinguish between the honest look of conscious innocence, and the impudent gaze of hardened guilt; or between the downcast eye of modesty, and the averted and unsteady look of him whose heart is

* Bell's Anatomy of Expression.

the seat of dark designs and purposes? And how different is the expression of the eye when suffused with tears, and when flashing forth the expression of mirthfulness and of joy! The eye-lids, the eyebrows-which are peculiar to man, and even the cheeks, contribute to the production of the various expressions of the eye.

The orator, then, should never wear spectacles, but as a matter of extreme necessity. This, however, may perhaps be preferable to the habitual squint of the eye, which, without great care, is acquired by near-sighted persons. On the contrary, the eyes should be uncovered, and always with a calm and unaffected expression be directed to the audience, though without being fixed on any individual so as to make him a special object of address.

The power possessed even by the eye of the brute has been recognised in all ages. To man alone, however, is given the expressive forehead, the movable brow, the blushing cheek, and the lip which can express derision, contempt, and pride. In one respect, it is more important to attend to the lips, than even to the eyes. The mouth in particular being formed by soft parts, may, by bad habits or by indulgence in any depraved passion, permanently lose even its original characteristics of beauty; while homely features may acquire a beauty and symmetry not their own, by the exercise of benevolence, candor, and fidelity, and the habitual practice of self-control. It is not to be doubted, that the innocent beauty which characterizes the face of early childhood, in thousands of instances has its soft outlines irretrievably marred and defaced by habits acquired perhaps by imitation, or by excessive indulgence in passion. In later life, habitual sorrow, or anxiety, or envy, or a sour temper, as well as habits of in

temperance and voluptuousness, may drive from the countenance even distinguished beauty, and may impart to it traits which are not only devoid of all interest, but forbidding and offensive.*

With the power possessed by the countenance of expressing the stronger emotions and passions, oratory rarely has to do. But with its characteristics of grace-those native lineaments which bespeak moral excellence, wisdom, integrity, and discretion, it has much to do.-Pliny has described the mouth of Pompey as a "mouth of probity"—os probum; and a foreign writer has spoken of the mouth of our Washington, as presented in the picture by Stewart, as strongly suggesting the idea of this os probum. The orator then should not be indifferent to the expression of the countenance; he should have even the forehead bare, and should take special care that the mouth and the lips be in no way distorted during delivery, but remain the true emblems of a dignified self-possession.

Among the common errors to which these instructions are opposed, may be mentioned the following:

Errors relating to the Eyes and Countenance.

1. The closing of the eyes; the staring, the vague wandering or the motionless abstraction of the eyes; the fixing of the eyes upon any individual of the audience; or the turning of the eyes away from the audience.-No bad habits would more certainly attract attention than these, and none

*The parts of the human face the most movable and the most expressive, are the inner extremities of the eyebrow, and the angle of the mouth, and these are precisely the parts of the face which in brutes have least expression; for the brutes have no eyebrows, and no power of elevating or depressing the angle of the mouth. It is in these features therefore that we should expect to find the muscles of expression peculiar to man.”—Anatomy of Expression.

would be more universally condemned. In pronouncing an apostrophe however, or addressing some remote object, or speaking of some distant scene, the eye may be for a time withdrawn from the audience.

2. The indulgence in tears, except on occasions worthy of such excitement.-Demosthenes is said often to have wept, when engaged in pleading capital causes. A distinguished Roman writer has said, "It was a common observation in Greece, that worthy men are easily moved, and prone to tears." A greater than the worthy men of Greece, our Lord, wept at the grave of his friend; and again when he approached Jerusalem-that devoted city, he wept over it, as he uttered the inimitably beautiful exclamation so worthy of him "who spake as never man spake." Austin says, in regard to this subject:-"When manly firmness must be supposed to give way, under the irremediable loss of what is most dear; tears are allowed to speak the anguish of the heart. The warlike Richmond in Shakspeare's Richard III. is not lowered in the estimation of the audience, by his effusion of tears on hearing of the murder of his family by the tyrant. The tear of humanity is also a bright gem in the eye of the judge who pronounces the awful sentence of the law upon a criminal, who might have been expected to fulfil better hopes."-Tears being the strongest symbol of emotion, should thus be reserved for occasions worthy of them.

3. The allowing of the forehead or any part of the face to be covered, in consequence of a long growth of the hair.This bears the marks of effeminacy, and consequently derogates from the dignity of the orator.

4. The unmeaning frown, or any occasional working of the eyebrows. In like manner, the unmeaning smile, or ex

pression of scorn, the retracting of the corners of the mouth, the protrusion or the compression of the lips, the biting them, or folding them upon each other, as with a sort of self-complacency, should be avoided as at least tending to distract the mind of the hearer, and as being often positively offensive.

SECTION V.

OF THE HAND.

THE expressiveness of what is usually called gesture depends on the hand. Next to the tones of the voice and the countenance, the hand perhaps has the greatest variety and power of expression. Says Sheridan:-"Every one knows that with the hands we can demand, or promise; call, dismiss; threaten, supplicate; ask, deny; show joy, sorrow, detestation, fear, confession, penitence, admiration, respect; and many other things now in common use. But how much farther their powers might be carried, through our neglect of using them we little know."

The positions of the hand are described by Austin,* by referring successively to the four following circumstances: 1. The disposition of the fingers. 2. The manner in which the palm is presented. 3. The combined disposition of both hands. 4. The parts of the body on which they are occasionally placed.

1. The Disposition of the Fingers.

The natural state of the fingers, when the arm is hanging freely by the side or employed in unimpassioned gesture, is

*Chironomia, chap. xiii.