Chap. VII. OBLIQUE EYEBROWS. 181 



two eyebrows, as before remarked, are not equally acted 

 on. That the expression is true, may be inferred from 

 the fact that out of fifteen persons, to whom the origi- 

 nal photograph was shown, without any clue to what was 

 intended being given them, fourteen immediately an- 

 swered, " despairing sorrow," " suffering endurance," 

 " melancholy," and so forth. The history of fig. 5 is 

 rather curious: I saw the photograph in a shop-window, 

 and took it to Mr. Rejlander for the sake of finding out 

 by whom it had been made; remarking to him how 

 pathetic the expression was. He answered, " I made it, 

 and it was likely to be pathetic, for the boy in a few min- 

 utes burst out crying." He then showed me a photo- 

 graph of the same boy in a placid state, which I have 

 had (fig. 4) reproduced. In fig. 6, a trace of obliquity 

 in the eyebrow s may be detected ; but this figure, as well 

 as fig. 7, is given to show the depression of the corners 

 of the mouth, f o which subject I shall presently refer. 



Few persons, without some practice, can voluntarily 

 act on their grief -muscles; but after repeated trials a 

 considerable number succeed, whilst others never can. 

 The degree of obliquity in the eyebrows, whether as- 

 sumed voluntarily or unconsciously, differs much in dif- 

 ferent persons. With some who apparently have unusu- 

 ally strong pyramidal muscles, the contraction of the 

 central fascia? of the frontal muscle, although it mav be 

 energetic, as shown by the quadrangular furrows on the 

 forehead, does not raise the inner ends of the eyebrows, 

 but only prevents their being so much lowered as they 

 otherwise would have been. As far as I have been able 

 to observe, the grief-muscles are brought into action 

 much more frequently by children and women than by 

 men. They are rarely acted on, at least with grown-up 

 persons, from bodily pain, but almost exclusively from 

 mental distress. Two persons who, after some practice, 



