Chap. VII. OBLIQUE EYEBROWS. 177 



the captain of a sealing vessel, was out of spirits, by 

 pulling down their cheeks with both hands, so as to 

 make their faces as long as possible. Mr. Bunnet in- 

 forms me that the Australian aborigines when out of 

 spirits have a chop-fallen appearance. After prolonged 

 suffering the eyes become dull and lack expression, and 

 are often slightly suffused with tears. The eyebrows 

 not rarely are rendered oblique, winch is due to their 

 inner ends being raised. This produces peculiarly- 

 formed wrinkles on the forehead, which are very differ- 

 ent from those of a simple frown; though in some cases 

 a frown alone may be present. The corners of the mouth 

 are drawn downwards, which is so universally recognized 

 as a sign of being out of spirits, that it is almost pro- 

 verbial. 



The breathing becomes slow and feeble, and is often 

 interrupted by deep sighs. As Gratiolet remarks, when- 

 ever our attention is long concentrated on any subject, 

 we forget to breathe, and then relieve ourselves by a 

 deep inspiration; but the sighs of a sorrowful person, 

 owing to his slow respiration and languid circulation, 

 are eminently characteristic. 1 As the grief of a person 

 in this state occasionally recurs and increases into a par- 

 oxysm, spasms affect the respiratory muscles, and he 

 feels as if something, the so-called globus hystericus, 

 was rising in his throat. These spasmodic movements 

 are clearly allied to the sobbing of children, and are 

 remnants of those severer spasms which occur when a 

 person is said to choke from excessive grief. 2 



1 The above descriptive remarks are taken in part 

 from mv own observations, but chiefly from Gratiolet 

 ('De la Physionomie,' pp. 53, 337; on Sighing-, 232), who 

 has well treated this whole subject. See, also, Huschke, 

 ' Mimices et Phvsiognomices, Fragmentum Physiologi- 

 cum,' 1821, p. 21. " On the dulness of the eyes, Dr. Piderit, 

 ' Mimik und Physiognomik,' 1867, s. 65. 



2 0» the actfon pf grief on the organs of respiration, 



