204 EXPRESSION OF JOY: Chap. VIII. 



ened, and the skin on the bridge becomes finely wrin- 

 kled in transverse lines, with other oblique longitudinal 

 lines on the sides. The upper front teeth are commonly 

 exposed. A well-marked naso-labial fold is formed, 

 which runs from the wing of each nostril to the corner 

 of the mouth; and this fold is often double in old per- 

 sons. 



A bright and sparkling eye is as characteristic of a 

 pleased or amused state of mind, as is the retraction 

 of the corners of the mouth and upper lip with the 

 wrinkles thus produced. Even the eyes of microcepha- 

 lous idiots, who are so degraded that they never learn 

 to speak, brighten slightly when they are pleased. 12 

 Under extreme laughter the eyes are too much suffused 

 with tears to sparkle; but the moisture squeezed out of 

 the glands during moderate laughter or smiling may 

 aid in giving them lustre; though this must be of alto- 

 gether subordinate importance, as they become dull from 

 grief, though they are then often moist. Their bright- 

 ness seems to be chiefly due to their tenseness, 13 owing 

 to the contraction of the orbicular muscles and to the 

 pressure of the raised cheeks. But, according to Dr. 

 Piderit, who has discussed this point more fully than 

 any other writer, 14 the tenseness may be largely attrib- 

 uted to the eyeballs becoming filled with blood and other 

 fluids, from the acceleration of the circulation, conse- 

 quent on the excitement of pleasure. He remarks on the 

 contrast in the appearance of the eyes of a hectic pa- 

 tient with a rapid circulation, and of a man suffering 

 from cholera with almost all the fluids of his body 

 drained from him. Any cause which lowers the circula- 

 tion deadens the eye. I remember seeing a man utterly 



12 C. Vog-t, ' Memoire sur les Microcephales,' 1867, p. 21. 

 s Sir C. Bell, ' Anatomy of Expression,' p. 133. 



14 ' 



Mimik und Physiognomik,' 1867, s. 63--67. 



