Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 53.djvu/387

Rh when a creature is in a dark corner and we are between it and the light, or when we are carrying a lamp or candle at night-time. When it is dark the pupils of all animals naturally dilate almost to their full extent, and therefore the sudden appearance of an artificial light finds the eyes in much the same condition as they would be in if under the influence of atropine. Any one who has taken a bright lantern into a cow stall or stable at night must have been struck by the glinting eyes of the animals turned toward him. Pot hunters, in the days when deer were plentiful in America, used to go out at night with an assistant carrying some blazing pine knots just behind them. The eyes of the startled deer with their pupils dilated with terror and darkness at once afforded a deadly mark to the "sportsman." The method was not without its dangers, especially in the settled regions, and innumerable tales are told of domestic animals having been shot by some careless "fire hunter."

I have never been able to make out why the light coming from the eyes of most animals seems to be almost as pale as that from the glowworm. WehnWhen [sic] we examine the human eye with an ophthalmoscope the light reflected from the retina is red, because that membrane is filled with a network of innumerable blood vessels. The eyes of the enraged panther mentioned above threw back a distinctly red light, but usually, especially when one is at some little distance, eyes shining in the dark look of a pale-green color.

Other emotions besides that of anger seem to cause an enlargement of the pupils, but it is by no means easy to explain why this should be the case. Like most of the functions which are under the control of the sympathetic system, exercise increases the tendency. Hence, wherever one sees a person whose pupils dilate or contract very readily, one may at once infer that one is dealing with an emotional and excitable nature.

I shall not attempt on this occasion to point out all the peculiarities observable in the human eyes which aid us in reading character, and, moreover, it would be exceedingly difficult to analyze verbally some of the intuitive judgments we form from such sources every day of our lives. As was remarked above, such judgments are frequently based upon mere instincts, and seem to spring from those lower mental centers which-we possess in common with the lower animals. One generalization which was made several years ago by my friend Mr. J. A. Fothergill is, however, worthy of mention. When the eyes are somewhat prominent and are half veiled by drooping lids (a type well marked in the late Lord Beaconsfield), it is almost invariably a sign of superior mental qualities.—Blackwood's Magazine.