[_Applause_.] Oh! I beg of you! [_Deprecatingly_.] It is
horribly ugly in me; but in a man it is all right.
I shall now speak of the interesting role that the shoulder plays in the
expression of emotions. My father called the shoulder "the thermometer
of passion." Indeed, the shoulders rise with every strong emotion. If I
say, "Oh! how angry I am!" without raising the shoulders, it sounds if
not false at least weak; but listen, when I raise my shoulders: "Oh! how
angry I am!" Again, if I say, "How I love you!" the words are cold; but,
with shoulders raised, listen, "How I love you!" Thus we see actors
every day who portray different passions, but whose shoulders remain
"cold;" they do not move us.
There is a very pretty observation to make about the elbow. My father
called it the "thermometer of pride and humility," and used to call our
attention to the different ways the soldiers carry their elbows. You
know we have a great many soldiers in France and we have a good, chance
to observe them. A corporal--that is, nothing at all--carries his elbows
like this [_elbows turned outward_]. A sergeant, whose rank is a little
higher than that of a corporal, carries them this way [_elbows slightly
drawn in_]. By the time he becomes lieutenant he is used to authority,
and does not have to show it off so much [_elbows drawn in still more_].
As for a general, one whose rank is the highest in the army, he walks
with his arms hanging naturally at his sides.
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