190 IDLE DAYS IN PATAGONIA 



Since we cannot have the eyes we should like 

 best to have, let us consider those that Nature 

 has given us. The incomparable beauty of the 

 "emerald eye" has been greatly praised by the 

 poets, particularly by those of Spain. Emerald 

 eyes, if they only existed, would certainly be beau- 

 tiful beyond all others, especially if set off with 

 dark or black hair and that dim pensive creamy 

 pallor of the skin frequently seen in warm cli- 

 mates, and which is more beautiful than the rosy 

 complexion prevalent in northern regions, though 

 not so lasting. But either they do not exist or else 

 I have been very unfortunate, for after long seek- 

 ing I am compelled to confess that never yet have 

 I been gratified by the sight of emerald eyes. I 

 have seen eyes called green, that is, eyes with a 

 greenish tinge or light in them, but they were not 

 the eyes I sought. One can easily forgive the 

 poets their misleading descriptions, since they are 

 not trustworthy guides, and very often, like 

 Humpty Dumpty in Through the Looking Glass, 

 make words do ' ' extra work. ' ' For sober fact one 

 is accustomed to look to men of science; yet, 

 strange to say, while these complain that we the 

 unscientific ones are without any settled and cor- 

 rect ideas about the color of our own eyes, they 

 have endorsed the poet's fable, and have even 

 taken considerable pains to persuade the world of 

 its truth. Dr. Paul Broca is their greatest au- 

 thority. In his Manual for Anthropologists he 

 divides human eyes into four distinct types 



