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��THE GRANITE MONTHLY.
��" The brilliant black eye. May, in triumph, let fly All its darts, without caring who feels 'em ; But the soft eye of blue, Though it scatters wounds, too. Is much better pleas'd when it heals 'em."
Such a distinction, if it exist, can ap- ply only to Northern nations, where the eye has various hues. Southern nations, generally, have black eyes. The whole German race, according to Tacitus, once were characterized by blue eyes and red hair. The classic and poetic color of the hair, for the highest style of beauty, is auburn or golden. Dark tresses are also cele- brated by ancient bards. Sir John Mennis, in his rules for the choice of a wife, says :
" The hair of her head, it must not be red,
But fair and brown as a berry ; Her forehead high, with a crystal eye.
Her lips as red as a cherry."
But the color of the eyes and hair are intimately associated witfi temperament. We hear much of the humor of men ; of their temper or ruling passion. "All mental propensities or disposi- tions," says Dr. Good, " may be ar- ranged under five general heads, each of which constitutes a temperament, and is distinguished by a correspond- ing effect produced on the corporeal organs and the external features and figure. So that the mind and body maintain, for the most part, a mutual harmony, and the powers of the one, in a general view, become a tolerably fair index of the other."
To these temperaments, physiolo- gists assign the following descriptive names : The sanguineous, bilious, mel- ancholic, phlegmatic, and nervous. Each of these is marked by peculiar external characteristics and internal qualities. The sanguineous tempera- ment is characterized by a free and ' energetic circulation of the blood, — tense pulse, a well-developed and firm muscular system, blonde complexion, blue eyes, and light hair. The moral
��and intellectual traits correspond with the vigorous and healthy constitution described. The perception is quick ; the memory tenacious ; and the feel- ings impulsive. This temperament is also supposed to be marked by great sprightliness and vivacity, a glowing imagination, and a passionate disposi- tion. It is frequently accompanied with great muscular power and strong athletic tendencies. Such men are good for the onset but become impa- tient of delays. They act rather from ardent feeling than mature judgment. In the bilious temperament, the liver and biliary organs are supposed to be excessively active. " The bodily con- formation is represented as rigid and spare rather than full and largely de- veloped." Excess of bile gives to the skin a brown or yellowish tinge. Its texture is harsh and dry. Such per- sons usually have black or brown hair, firm and rigid muscles, and great im- petuosity of temper. "Among its most admitted traits," says Dr. Mayo, " I should enumerate a gloomy but active imagination, a jealous, distrustful and unsatisfied disposition, and an anxiously reflective cast of thought." To this class are referred the world's heroes, who have striven for universal domin- ion and waded through blood to a throne. The iron frame and the inflex- ible will are concomitants. " Cependatit sans ceite maudite bile, on ne gagne pas des grandes bafail/es,'" said Bonaparte. I doubt if a hero or orator of great renown can be named who possessed a plump, round, jolly face, a plethoric habit, with blue eyes and flaxen or auburn hair. Men of unquestioned celebrity no doubt may be found with mixed temperaments, but the bilious frequently, perhaps generally, predom- inates in men of great executive energy and perseverance. It was this trait which obliterated the word "impossible" from the vocabulary of Napoleon. From the days of Nimrod to General Jackson and the Iron Duke, earth's mightiest heroes have possessed tense and rigid muscles, dark, coarse hair, the dingy complexion and strongly
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