ery satiate and intoxicate, and so is its fire allayed and
softened by the mild blue, the fancy breeding violet. All is one, and
harmonizes in our souls."

"Except Eulenboeck's nose," cried the librarian, quite drunk: "that has
no touch of scarlet, no transitions in its tones, to blend it with the
face; the dark red purple roasts in its magic kitchen, as the beet-root
waxes red under ground in the realms of damp night, though quite
secluded from the sun. Can this excrescence belong to the life? Can the
god of wine so have pampered it? Never! It is a clumsy shell, an ugly
case for malice and lies."

"Puffy emptiness," cried the Bookseller, "brittle splendour, frail
mortality! And there it stands, curved and tottering on the undermined
face, so that with its bulk it may soon press down the whole man in
ruins. Man! whence didst get this unconscionably wry nose?"

"Peace, Crocodile!" bawled Eulenboeck, violently thumping the table:
"will this vermin reform the world? Every nose has its history, ye
nostrum-mongers! Do the addle-headed creatures suppose, that the
smallest event is not subservient as a link to the necessity of eternal
laws? For my nose, as it is, I am indebted to my barber."

"Tell us, old boy," cried the young people.

"Patience!" said the painter. "The science of physiognomy will always
continue a fallacious one, for the very reason that too little regard
is paid to barbers, taverns and other historical circumstances. The
face is indeed the expression of the soul, but it suffers remarkably
under the way in which it is treated. The brow from its solidity is
best off, if a man does not use himself to paint all his little
passions, vexation and uneasiness, by folds upon its surface. See how
noble is our Edward's, and how much more handsome yet it would be, if
the young fellow had thought and employed himself more! The eyes, in
consequence of their alertness, running to and fro, likewise preserve
themselves tolerably in their play, unless a man weeps them out, like
our Crocodile friend there. The mouth now is worse off; that is soon
worn down by chattering and unmeaning smiles, as is the case with our
worthy librarian; if a man besides wipes it to excess after eating and
drinking, its character soon grows undiscernible, especially if from
false shame one keeps always curling the lips inward, like our
excellent Puritan, who probably pronounces their redness lying and
unprofitable parade. But the nose, the po