Sweat of brow

“ This threefold darkness, unsuspicious of a gray hair, overshadows a sallow, wrinkled brow and cheeks, upon which a hare's foot imitates the ruddy glow of youth with a sort of Vauxhall-by-daylight-splendour. Under the genuine eyebrows, float two colourless eyes, between which a high and well-shaped nose rears its haughty form. ”

“ But for you, the eye is more or less dimmed, wide-opened or closed; the lid twitches, the eyebrow moves; a wrinkle, which vanishes as quickly as a ripple on the ocean, furrows her brow for one moment; the lip tightens, it is slightly curved or it is wreathed with animation—for you the woman has spoken. ”

“ The head, whose contour is simply perfect, is crowned with a mass of dark hair, shining like the lustrous wing of some rare bird. The brow is white, rounded at the temples and clear as the leaf of the lily. The brows are straight, delicate and have in them wonderful expression. ”

“ Because the thought of the azure brow, on which time writes no wrinkles, suggests for a moment the thought of the white brow—the brow of man or woman—the human brow, on which Time does write wrinkles along with the engraver, Sorrow. ”

“ Again I noted that broad, classic brow, with the little tendrils of shining bronze caressing it, the tilted, delicate, nut-brown brows that gave a curious touch of innocent diablerie to the lovely face—flowerlike, pure, high-bred. A touch of roguishness, subtly alluring, sparkling over the maiden Madonna-ness that lay ever like a delicate, luminous suggestion beneath it.
"What is wisdom, O maiden, but clear seeing and understanding?" ”

“ In addition to her beautiful hair, the stranger’s other attractions can be enumerated as a long, well formed nose, well defined eyebrows and long lashes, and deep gray eyes that looked almost black in the shade of her broad brow. ”

“ It is not made, as others sing
Of their young loves, like ivory,
But like a wild-rose in the spring.
Her brow is low and very fair,
And o’er it, smooth and shadowy,
Lies deep the darkness of her hair. ”

“ The high square brow from which the hair has been brushed up and back in short silky waves, the strongly-marked eyebrows, the long straight [Pg 337] nose,—they all speak of good brains and an iron will; while there is a suspicion of daintiness in the close-cropped whiskers, trimly-pointed beard, and flowing moustache. The eyes are his finest feature, large and oval, with the eyelid drooping somewhat at the outer edge, which gives him a look of sadness. ”

“ That broad and bulging brow (whereas his own was narrow and high) , those level and thick eyebrows, for the most part raised a trifle to express contempt of others and self-confidence, that piercing glance (whereas his own pale-blue eyes blinked behind the spectacles of the short-sighted) , that big nose, haughtily arched, those lips surmounted by a brown, curving moustache, that strong, square chin; in a word, all that virile antithesis to his own grotesque, flabby-cheeked face, was the perpetual object of his silent admiration. ”

“ The broad brow is smooth, and the mouth, though showing the lines of suffering—what control these lines suggest!—is firm and content. The dark eyes look out from under their straight black brows with a friendly searching. ”

“ There is also a female dignity of brow, but that is regularly arched, and gives the idea of power and beauty. The horizontal brow is generally a masculine possession, but when in woman's countenance, there is generally an arched line aiding the illustration of a gentle heart. There are many rough but honest-hearted men, who bear wild and perplexed brows; yet, there are brutal, selfish, covetous ones, wearing this brow; and, unless the hair is obviously soft and glistening, you must avoid them, for if they have ardour or passion, it has dark and evil engagements. ”

“ Thick, beautiful, and closely-curled masses of rich brown much-neglected hair fell about an ample brow, and almost to the wearer's shoulders; strong eyebrows marked with their dark shadows a pair of rather sunken eyes, in which a sort of fire, instinct with what may be called proud cynicism, burned with furtive energy. ”

“ The long sunken eye-slits, whose outer corners curve down, so as to follow the lines of the brow-arches, give them an air of sleepy cunning, the eyebrows often overhanging as to form a den for the suspicious roving eyes. The lips are thick, broad, and pouting. The whole face seems dazed, and it is almost beyond mortal patience to see the heavy, slow, owlish way in which their head turns on its axis if anything attracts their attention. ”

“ The immense development of the face below the brow, its enormous width between the cheek-bones, the absolute and sickening plausibility of the whole expression, the great lower jaw, the cruel callous mouth (look at this mouth closely) , and the peculiarly uncanny light blue eyes, are a collection of danger-signals that are rarely seen in one face. But his victims were probably deceived by this wretch's fat, easy, and bland manner—they stifled their instinct, and were duly poisoned. ”

“ I have heard from others that he visibly strove to speak, that his teeth showed in his beard, and that his brow was contorted as with an agony of pain and effort. And this may have been; I know not, I was otherwise engaged. ”

“ His eyes were clear, open, and well set, with a changeful radiance, to which teeth of the most perfect regularity and whiteness lent their assistance, while the noble expanse and elevation of the brow gave to the whole aspect a dignity far above the charm of mere features. His smile was always delightful; and I can easily fancy the peculiar intermixture of tenderness and gravity, with playful innocent hilarity and humour in the expression, as being well calculated to fix a fair lady’s eye. ”

“ The hairs running parallel, as if cut, and at the same time compressed, are leading indications in man and woman of firm understanding, and an unerring perception; and when there is a crescent in the brow when smiling, the fair owner of this brow is poetical and imaginative. When speaking of the size of the eye, or brow, or ear, the physical stature must be considered, and that which would be small in one is not in another. Meeting brows give the face a crafty and gloomy appearance, and occasionally denote dark and dangerous purposes of heart. ”

“ The extreme purity of the outlines, both of the face and limbs, was such as is usually found only in quite early youth; the brow especially, under an abundance of fair hair, finely formed, not high, but arched and full, as is said to be the way with those who have the imaginative temper in excess. ”

“ They had acquired a more severe style of manly beauty. His noble brow was more pale and thoughtful in expression, and was already marked by those lines which are indicative of sorrow and remorse. But there were times when his keen dark eye assumed a diabolical glitter, and the redness of the fire shed an infernal brightness on his face. His lip was curled by bitterness; his brows were knit; and then nothing could surpass the scorn and misanthropy pervading the aspect of the fierce and haughty regicide. ”

“ A great deal of brow in a face is like a great deal of horizon in a view. Like certain young men at the beginning of this century and the end of the last, who became illustrious at an early age, he was endowed with excessive youth, and was as rosy as a young girl, although subject to hours of pallor. ”

“ There was, however, a keen fire in the eyes, a strong determination on the brow, an expansion of the nostril, which gave the idea of quick and eager feelings, and a degree of sternness about the whole line of the features, which would have made the whole countenance commanding, but harsh and severe, had it not been for a light and playful smile that gleamed across the whole, like some of the bright and sudden rays of light that from to time we see run across the bosom of deep still shady waters. ”

“ One morning I fell to sketching a face: what sort of a face it was to be I did not care or know. I took a soft black pencil, gave it a broad point, and worked away. Soon I had traced on the paper a broad and prominent forehead, and a square lower outline of visage: that contour gave me pleasure; my fingers proceeded actively to fill it with features. Strongly marked horizontal eyebrows must be traced under that brow; then followed, naturally, a well-defined nose, with a straight ridge and full nostrils; then a flexible-looking mouth, by no means narrow; ”

“ In one mind avarice predominates; in another pride; in a third, love of pleasure—just as in one countenance the nose is the most marked feature, while in others the chief expression lies in the brow, or in the lines of the mouth. But there are very few countenances in which nose, brow, and mouth do not contribute, though in unequal degrees, to the general effect; and so there are very few characters in which one overgrown propensity makes all others utterly insignificant. ”

“ A sickly, sallow complexion, pale lips, a red nose, lack of buoyancy, general feebleness, lassitude, apathy, and stupidity, resulting from the fact that the compression of the waist induces an oxygen-famine. The eyes lose their sparkle and love-inspiring magic, the features are perceptibly distorted, the brow is prematurely 382wrinkled, and the expression and temper are soured by the constant discomfort that has to be silently endured. ”

“ His enormous jaws are widely opened at each expiration, his under lip hangs over the chin, and the hairy ridge and scalp is contracted upon the brow, presenting an aspect of indescribable ferocity. The females and young at the first cry quickly disappear ”

“ The muscular fibres passing from the top of the forehead to the middle of the eyebrow, causing [16] an elevation of the brow, and the horizontal wrinkles on each side, indicate an enthusiastic person, and one full of hope ”

“ No, my friend, the blood does not flow beneath that ivory skin, the tide of life does not flush those delicate fibres, the purple veins that trace a network beneath the transparent amber of her brow and breast. ”

“ Do you not see that this type is immensely improved by the arrangement of the coiffure in No. 8? By combing her hair off her forehead her face acquires a look of alertness and intelligence, besides being apparently lengthened. She can wear her bang in soft crimps brushed back from her brow, if this plain arrangement is too severe.
For Eyes Set Too High.
A low forehead is supposed to be a sign of beauty in woman. The brows of the famous Venuses are low and broad. Perhaps for this reason many women wear their hair arranged low upon their foreheads. ”

“ A forehead should project more over the eyes than at the top, and there should be a small cavity in the centre, separating the brow into four divisions: but this should be so slightly accentuated as only to be seen when the forehead is in a strong light coming from above it.
When the eyebrows are far from each other at their starting-point between the eyes, they denote warmth, frankness and impulse—a generous and unsuspicious nature. A woman or man having such eyebrows would never be causelessly jealous. ”

“ A retreating chin is a sign of silliness and, if the brow is shallow, of imbecility.
Where the space between the nose and the red part of the lip is short and very sharply cut, it indicates refinement and delicacy of perception, but not much power—no force of intellect; where this space is unusually short, it denotes silliness and weakness of purpose. A rather long but not flat upper lip, especially where the serpentine line of the middle of the mouth is much defined and the middle of the lip droops to the lower lip and is very flexible, denotes an eloquent person. ”

“ Broad jaws, with a broad forehead, mean both force of intellect and force of animal passion. Byron had this combination of brow and jaw; but the lips, which were full and flexible and with upward-curving corners, redeemed the sensuality given by the jaws, and the intellectual qualities shown by the form of the brow were in excess of the indications of voluptuousness given by the lower part of the face.
A person who has the jaw much broader than the brow and head has strong passions and a weak intellect—the very worst possible combination. ”

“ Baldness, perhaps, contributed to the spiritual expression of a brow, which was, however, essentially intellectual, and gave some character of openness to a countenance which, though not ill-favoured, was unhappily stamped by a sinister cast that was not to be mistaken. ”

“ An old soft felt hat will do; the crown should be provided with ventilation holes of generous size; a leather sweatband is uncomfortable, particularly in hot weather, and may sometimes cause bothersome infection of a sunburned and abraded brow. ”

“ Thick eyebrows, somewhat arched, show artistic perception of beauty in colour. Delicately marked eyebrows, slightly arched, indicate tenderness.
Eyebrows lighter than the hair show weakness and indecision. Eyebrows much darker than the hair denote an ardent, passionate and constant temperament.
Angular, strong and sharply interrupted eyebrows close to the eyes always show fire and productive activity. No profound thinker has weakly marked eyebrows, or eyebrows placed very high on the forehead. Want of eyebrow almost always indicates a want of mental and bodily force. ”

“ The use of hair in disguising the face is perfectly useless unless the eyebrows are considerably changed. The brow and the back of the head are also extremely important factors in the art of disguise.
The second picture shows the effect of "improving" the eyebrows of the face on the left, and also of raising the hair on the brow, while the third sketch shows what a difference the addition of a beard and extra hair on the back of the head, can make.
I remember meeting a man on the veldt in South Africa bronzed and bearded, who came to me and said that he had been at school with one of my name. ”