Black eye

“ In the inferior creatures the black eye is always keen and cunning or else soft and mild, as in fawns, doves, aquatic birds, etc.;118 and it is remarkable that in man also the black eye—dark brown iris with large pupil—generally has one or the other of these predominant expressions. Of course, in highly-civilised communities, individual exceptions are extremely numerous. Spanish and negro women have wonderfully soft and loving eyes, while the cunning weasel-like eye is common everywhere, especially amongst Asiatics. ”

“ Some remarks were now made upon York’s black eye, and various remedies proposed—such as the application of a piece of raw flesh, &c., to all of which the Bite did seriously incline, for, as he said, “It lucked scandalous-like to see a man with a black eye. ”

“ It is true that the vivacity and fire which play so important a part in giving character to the eye, are more perceptible in dark eyes than in those whose tints are lighter; black eyes, therefore, have greater force of expression, while in blue eyes there is more softness and delicacy. In the former we see a brilliant fire, which sparkles uniformly on account of the iris, which is of the same colour throughout, giving in all parts the same reflection ”

“ They possess good teeth and these are beautifully white, which is a blessing for people like them who continually show them. The almond-shaped, jet-black eyes, veiled by that curious weird look peculiar to Eastern eyes, is probably the redeeming part of their face, and in them is depicted good-nature, pride and softness of heart. In many cases one sees a shrewd, quick eye, but it is generally an exception among this type, while among the lower classes, the black ones, it is almost a chief characteristic. ”

“ The influence of contrast, which is of course impossible in perfect darkness, seems to be necessary to the impression of the most intense black. An utter absence of retinal excitement would, of course, be no sensation at all, and would be of no more use as a standard of blackness than is the blind spot of the eye, of which we are unconscious until we find by experiment that it is capable of intercepting a retinal image. It seems legitimate, therefore, that black, which, as far as we know it, is but a feeble white, should be classed with other sensations produced by light. ”

“ The eye is, indeed, the chief and most speaking feature of the face, and the one on whose excellence, more than any other, its beauty depends.
[38] Theories have been based on even the peculiar color of the eyes. Thus, it is said that dark blue eyes are found chiefly in persons of delicate, refined or effeminate mental character; light blue eyes, and more particularly gray eyes, in the hardy and active; hazel eyes, in the masculine, vigorous, and profound; black eyes, in those whose energy is of a desultory or remittent character, and who exhibit fickleness in pursuits and affection. ”

“ When no light enters the eye the sensation is of black, and it is worth while to note that so far as our sensations are concerned black is as much a color as white or any other, notwithstanding the fact that no light falls on the retina when the black sensation is being felt. Contrary to ordinary belief, blind persons who are blind because their eyes have been destroyed do not see black all the time ”

“ Black- haired, black-eyed, swarthy, large-mouthed, snub-nosed; the very type and essence of unrestrained, impulsive, emotional, sensual nature. A seeing eye would have noted inevitable danger for the early years of her womanhood. ”

“ The fashion of blackening the teeth entails no little trouble upon its followers, for the colour must be renewed every day, or at least every other day. Strange and repelling as the custom appears at first, the eye soon learns to look without aversion upon a well-blacked and polished set of teeth; but when the colour begins to wear away, and turns to a dullish grey, streaked with black, the mouth certainly becomes most hideous. ”

“ Those eyes which are called black are only dark-hazle, which may be easily seen upon close inspection, and only appear black from the contrast with the white of the eye; in all those which have a blue shade that colour becomes the most predominant. ”

“ The gentleman or lady who squints, or have their eyes turned awry, will be of a penurious disposition, but punctual in their dealings.
A black eye is lively, brisk and penetrating, and proves the person who possesses it to be of a sprightly wit, lively conversation, not easily imposed upon, of a sound understanding, but if taken on the weak side, may be led astray for a while. ”

“ Any other condition of the eye which prevents the patient from seeing black perfectly also makes palming difficult. In some cases black is never seen as black, appearing to be grey, yellow, brown, or even bright red. In such cases it is usually best for the patient to improve his sight by other methods before trying to palm. Blind persons usually have more trouble in seeing black than those who can see, but may be helped by the memory of a black object familiar to them before they lost their sight. ”

“ A “Black Eye.”—If a child, or indeed any one else, receive a blow over the eye, which is likely to cause a “black eye,” there is no remedy superior to, nor more likely to prevent one, than well buttering the parts for two or three inches around the eye with fresh butter, renewing it every few minutes for the space of an hour or two; if such be well and perseveringly done, the disagreeable appearance of a “black eye” will in all probability be prevented. A capital remedy for a “black eye” is the arnica lotion:
Take of—Tincture of Arnica, one ounce ”

“ Most frequently, however, the plat-eye appears in the form of some familiar animal which, glaring at the beholder with eyes of fire, springs upon him, frightening him into rigidity, and, just as he expects his vitals to be torn out, the apparition vanishes, and the trembling negro hurries on his way. The belief has been expressed that, in some instances, the negroes to whom plat-eyes appear have fallen asleep as they walked, and, dreaming of these terrors, awakened to find them gone. ”

“ The complementary of black is white, and of white, black as a rule; but if the white object be very brilliant, the black spectrum will speedily become coloured. The impression left by the setting sun is of this character. At first, while the eye is open, the image is black, then brownish red, with a light blue border; but if the eye be shut suddenly, it becomes green, with a red border, the brilliancy of colour being apparently in proportion to the strength of the impression. These spectra may be perceived for a long time, if the eye is gently rubbed with the finger now and then. ”

“ One and the same Colour be plac'd, part in the Sun-beams, and part in the Shade, that part which is not Shin'd on will appear more of Kin to Blackness than the other, from which more Light Rebounds to the Eye; And Dark Colours seem the Blacker, the less Light they are Look'd upon in, and we think all Things Black in the Dark, when they send no Beams to make Impressions on our Organs of Sight, so that Shadows and Darkness are near of Kin, and Shaddow we know is but a Privation of Light ”

“ But in the case of any of these phenomena it is not easy to test the correctness of the memory, and the same is true of colors other than black. All other colors, including white, are altered by the amount of light to which they are exposed, and are seldom seen as perfectly as it is possible for the normal eye to see them. But when the sight is normal, black is just as black in a dim light as in a bright one. It is also just as black at the distance as at the near-point, while a small area is just as black as a large one, and, in fact, appears blacker. ”

“ These so-called black eyes are by far the most numerous in the world, belonging not only to brown-black, brown, and yellow races, but even prevailing among the darker varieties of the white race, such as Greeks and Spaniards. In races with the darker skin and black hair, the darkest eyes generally prevail, while a fair complexion is usually accompanied by the lighter tints of iris, especially blue. ”

“ The sclerotic coat, which in a healthy European is almost what it is called, the “white” of the eye, only takes a slightly yellow tinge among the darkest races, as the African negro. Again, in ordinary eyes of all races, the pupil in the centre of the iris appears absolutely black, being in fact transparent, and showing through to the black pigment lining the choroid coat at the back of the eye. But the iris itself, if examined in a number of types of men, has most various colour. In understanding the coloration of the eye, as of the skin, the peculiarities of albinos are instructive. ”

“ The absence of the black pigment, which has the important office of absorbing superfluous portions of light, renders the eye preternaturally sensible of this stimulus. Strong lights affect the organ painfully; even the glare of open day produces a partial blindness, and the admission of light is [178] intolerable. These evils are balanced in some measure by superior power of vision in dusk, or imperfect darkness. ”

“ It need hardly be said that what are popularly called black eyes are far from having the iris really black like the pupil; eyes described as black are commonly of the deepest shades of brown or violet. ”

“ The eye also varies much in colour, being blue, yellow, or green. The pupil, or small black aperture in the centre of the coloured portion, is extremely sensitive, dilating greatly in the dark, and contracting to a mere line when the light is strong. ”

“ All persons, without exception, who can see or read diamond type at the near-point, no matter how great their myopia may be, or how much the interior of the eye may be diseased, become able, as a rule, to see black with their eyes closed and covered more readily than patients with hypermetropia or astigmatism ”

“ Darkness seems to be of a black color. The reason of this is, that, according to the theory of colors, blackness is owing to the non-reflection of light from the surfaces of bodies; and consequently, where no light exists to be reflected, nothing but seeming blackness can meet the eye. ”

“ It may be as well to explain that the interior of the eye is coated with a black pigment, which has the same effect as the black colour given to the inner surface of optical instruments: it absorbs any rays of light that may be reflected within the eye, and prevents them from being thrown again upon the retina so as to interfere with the distinctness of the images formed upon it. The retina is very transparent ”

“ But if they be supposed a little less than is requisite to reflect the white and very faint blue of the first order, they will, according to the 4th, 8th, 17th and 18th Observations, reflect so very little Light as to appear intensely black, and yet may perhaps variously refract it to and fro within themselves so long, until it happen to be stifled and lost, by which means they will appear black in all positions of the Eye without any transparency. ”

“ If there be, it must, however, admit of much greater latitude than the harmony between sounds, since all mixtures and degrees of colours, unless where the quantity of light overpowers the eye, are pleasant; however one colour may be more so originally than another. Black appears to be originally disagreeable to the eyes of children ”

“ Red and also fair golden hair become black. Even a very slight yellow shade has an unfavorable effect. A photograph from a drawing is often blemished by little iron-mould specks in the paper, invisible to the eye. These specks frequently appear as black points. There are faces with little yellow specks that do not strike the eye, but which come out very dark in photography. ”

“ The iris of the eye is abnormally large, of very rich dark velvety brown, with jet black pupils, and the so-called "white of the eye" is of a much darker tinge than with Europeans—almost a light bluish grey. ”

“ The corner of the eye is slightly overgrown by the eyelid in the case of children, but this peculiarity almost disappears as they grow older. The eyes are black or dark, with slight changes in them, but I saw no blue eyes. Their hair is black or quite dark, sometimes curly, the children often having brown hair. ”

“ Far as the eye could reach, the sea and the air and the sky seemed to be one indistinguishable mass of whirling and hurrying vapor, as if beyond this point there were no more land, but only wind and water, and the confused and awful voice of their strife. ”

“ They were wonderful eyes, those of the Skipper. Most black eyes are wanting in the depths that one sounds in blue, or gray, in brown, more rarely in hazel eyes; they flash with an outward brilliancy, they soften into velvet, but one seldom sees through them into the heart. ”

“ The iris of the eye is generally black, but often verges toward brown; mouth broad, with thin lips and regular teeth. The women present a full bust and abdomen; they are called pretty, but early marriages soon make them old. ”

“ Only a brown-eyed girl would have hung a moon in a tree! Brown eyes are immensely eloquent of all manner of pleasant things—such as mischief, mirth, and dreams. 137 Moreover, brown eyes are so highly sensitized that they receive and transmit messages in the most secret of ciphers, and yet always with circumspection. He was perfectly satisfied with Pierrette’s eyes and relieved that they were not blue, for blue eyes may be cold, and the finest of black eyes are sometimes dull. Gray eyes alone—misty, fathomless gray eyes—share imagination with brown ones. ”

“ Beneath two black and fine-spun brows are two black eyes, as two clear suns, sympathetic in gaze, frugal in movement, about which Love seems to sport and fly, and from which he empties his quiver and visibly steals hearts. ”

“ An American newspaper paragraph, for the truthfulness of which I cannot vouch, recently stated that twenty-one men in Cincinnati, who had married red-haired women, were found to be colour-blind. A person who is colour-blind mistakes red for black.
(3) Eyes.—But it is when we leave the scalp that the superiority of dark over light hair becomes most manifest. That black eyelashes and eyebrows are infinitely more beautiful than light-coloured ones, is admitted without a dissentient voice ”