FACES TELLING THEIR OWN STORES.

Otago Witness, Volume 30, Issue 2353, 30 March 1899, Page 58

FACES TELLING THEIR OWN STORES.

CHARACTER AS IT CHISELS THE FEATURES.

Remarkable men boast usually some striking facial trait that stamps them as distinct. Here are a few examples showing how character moulds the features.

The portrait of Lord Salisbury, Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, reveals the fine head of a man well equipped for his tremendous task. The general effect, perhaps, suggests heaviness and weight. This is not the politician whose aim is to see

the reports of his words freely interspersed with "(loud laughter)." It is a head*vithin which can be adequately pondered all the complicated issues affecting a world-wide Empire. The hair has disappeared in a manner peculiarly prevalent amongst intense thinkers. The eyes have a steady gaze that looks upon a thing and "places" it distinctly. It is the natural head for a Minister who is the final mouthpiece of a Power that is second to none.

Comparing the two photographs, it is difficult to believe that Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, Secretary of State for the Colonies, is the junior of Lord Salisbury by but sbc years. In his general bearing this juve-

nility at the age of 62 is at once noted, and the vigour of his intellect is no less apparent. A clear eye with brows slanting upwards from the nose gives fo the face an air of expectancy, a.s if lie awaited, alert and confident, the next move of his opponents. Beyond this the elfects of the mind are. more difficult to trace, for this is not the lace of a man who wears his "heart upon his sleeve for daws to peck at." A firm mouth and a thinker's forehead, however, arc to be noted. A fine old English face is that of Sir Henry Hawkins, typical of justice feo the last stern letter, but tempered by mercy, A groat judge, a man of the world, and &■ thorough sportsman, Sir Henry pobte&ses

all those "John Bull" qualities of which we are so proud, leavened by the sympathetic; rpirit of modern times. Few will doubt but that the possession of a character-moulded expression such as this, so masculine,

strong", and respect-enforcing, has done much to maintain the dignity of the high position which Sir Henry holds. As may be guessed, Sir Henry Hawkins has an abundant sense of humour and, when he permits hinftself to do so, shines brilliantly at repartee.

Another face eminently of the national type is that of Lord Charles Beresford, one of the most popular naval officers 01 our time. Of fine physique, with noble- features tanned by exposure to many suns, he strikes one immediately as looking every inch a worthy successor to the great seacaptains of old who won for us the title "Mistress of the Seas." A fearless eye and

a resolute mouth show there is here a man, whilst lurking somewhere about the lips is just a subtle suspicion of a smile that suggests that the man comes from "Old Oireland." If face reflects character, here it supjilies a true index to that pf an al-ready-tried hero, one whose great ambition it is to lead a British fleet against the foes oi Britain.

From the Navy we naturally pass to the Army, with Field-Marshal Lprd Roberts as an example. "Bobs," a-s he is affectionately styled, is worshipped throughout the service. Tough, active, and hard as nails, his portrait snows him to be one who will "get there." A glance reveals the man with a purpose ; the head is carried almost jauntily erect ; there is a, look in

the eyes that thennost formidable foe would fail to din). It is a soldier's face, with a soldier's fighting chin, and gazing upon it we can well believe that Lord Roberts has always lived up to hiss pet maxim, that personal courage is of value before everything else to a man of war. His is a portrait ju&t sufficiently aggresivc to give thought of pause to secret enemies that look upon it. Next we take up the picture of the drama's first knight, Sir Henry Irving. If ever art was writ large upon a face such indication is here revealed. Here is the genuine actor's mouth, drawn up,, at one corner, a peculiarity also to be seen in the case of Mr Charles Wyndham. In* the

eyes you see just a suspicion of that temporary dreaminess, rousing himself from which the actor, by a mere effort of the will, steps from himself into the very skin of the character he is about to play, that wonderful self-effacement and masterly grasping of another's very soul that caused one famous player to answer the observation of a critic, "Really you played just like King Lear himself," with a thunderous "Like! By Heaven, I was Lear!" Next to the player the p(ay-wright. Mr Arthur Wing l'inero has a shapely head, well-cut features, and a marble-white complexion. With deep, dark eyes, set under heavy brows, *■ he bcrutinis'es society,

turning his impressions into epigrammatic utterances for the puppets of his plays. His wit is revealed in the catching up of the corners of his mouth, and in the sweeping down of the cheek to a roundlypointed chin. A kindly look shines on his countenance, for the whip he uses to lash tha follies of his fellows has ever a thong of kid. A well-shaped nose gives an air of refinement that is apparent in all that he lays his hand to. Seeking abroad for a face that reveals the character of its owner, that of the German Emperor may be examined. What strikes us at once is that the bold, restless out-looking of the eyes is perhaps hardy adequately backed up by ihe resolution of the lower features. It seems to be the face of a man who, in the energy born of a fierce zeal and a tireless activity, will be likely

to start eagerly upon schemes too prof > digious to be carried"- through. It boast! ' of being the curious combination of the face both of a dreamer of di'eams and of a man of action. Restlessness, fire, im-

periousness, belief in a Heaven-sent mission, all are here revealed, together with at least a soupcon of love for being "in the limelight. " A fine bold head is that of Mark Twain. "Printer's devil," pilot boy, private secretary, gold miner, journalist, editor, author and humorist, his active and varied^ career has left its record upon his features, and though at 30 he declared himself "burnt out," the fire is there as of yore. Piercing eyes, set under bushy brows, and nostrils sharply curved, give an appear-

ance of great vigour to a countenance altogether notable. Losing, through unlucky speculations, almost all the earnings of a laborious career, we can, from a look at; the picture, well believe that here is a man whose pluck and "grit" would enable him once more to put shoulder to the wheel and start life over again. In the world of music a noticeable figure is that of the famous, Polish pianist, Paderewpki. Apart from the mass of hair with which it is crowned, the head shows a wide development from temple to temple in the region where phrenologists tell us lie the bumps of tune and ideality. The

eyes have a dreamy look as of those of a man who dwells less amongst his fellowcreatures than in a realm wherein float the delightful themes that his inspiration renders in perfection to us. The ears are ample and well formed, and the nostrils are sensitively shaped. A great man of different type from any of the foregoing is Paul Krugerj President of the Dutch Republic. "Oom Paul's" somewhat dull and heavy face masks a shrewd and subtle mind. The eyes are clear and observant ; the mouth is sagacious and resolute, as of a man who will cling tenaciously, blindly, to the courses

of action that he has elected to follow. Ifc is a business face, and from its possessor we should expect not the seeking of higu ideals, but rather that mercantile considerations and possibly personal interests would be dominating influences in hjs policy. , Lastly we come to Pope Leo XIII, whose age is at present 88. Intense concentration of mind has puckered the brow and pressed the lips ■firmly together. Hard work is attested by every line and wrinkle for the Pope, old man as he is, toils un-

ceasingly. It is the face of a thinker, nofc of a talker. Most involved are the Pope's affairs of State, and a certain symptom of shrewdness reflects from his venerable features. A glamour of piety and rest,, however, overshadows all else, and thei Pope's smile is said to be singularly win>* niufc— C*sseU'« Saturday. Journal