C 247 3 
XIII. On the Apparent Direction of Eyes in a Portrait. By 
William Hyde Wollaston, M. D. F. R. S. and V. P. 
Read May 27, 1824. 
Jt may seem, at first view, that portrait painting is not 
altogether a fit subject to be brought before the Royal Society, 
since the delicate touches by which the skill and feeling of 
an accomplished artist convey an expression of sense, and 
grace, and sensibility to the finished representation of the 
human form, cannot admit of such strict analysis as the or- 
dinary subjects of our inquiry. 
Nevertheless, since the rules of perspective, which are 
strictly mathematical, are perfectly within our province, it 
may be presumed that a question, in which some principles 
of that science are involved, may be considered a legitimate 
subject of communication ; that effects not anticipated on any 
received principles must deserve attention ; and that the ex- 
planation of them will be found to have some pretensions to 
utility. 
When we consider the precision, with which we com- 
monly judge whether the eyes of another person are fixed 
upon ourselves, and the immediateness of our perception that 
even a momentary glance is turned upon us, it is very sur- 
prising that the grounds of so accurate a judgement are not 
distinctly known, and that most persons, in attempting to 
explain the subject, would overlook some of the circum- 
stances by which, it will appear, they are generally guided. 
