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It may happen, therefore (and it is hoped it will be so) that we may sometimes appear to have plagiarised from other physiognomists, and to have adopted their views; but this correspondence must, nevertheless, be accepted as a further proof of the accuracy of their and our honest independent labours.

It was impossible, however, amidst much multifarious reading, to keep the mind, latterly, wholly ignorant that some mental characteristics had been ascribed to Noses; but into the nature of these we never inquired, nor are we aware that anything has been done, beyond throwing out a few unconnected, unattested hints, towards a systematic deduction of mental qualifications from Nasal formation.

If it is improper to vindicate one’s self, it might not seem altogether unfitting to vindicate one’s subject from ridicule; and it might appear prudent, if not altogether necessary, to commence by vindicating the Nose from the charge of being too ridiculous an organ to be seriously discoursed upon. But this ridiculousness is mere prejudice; intrinsically one part of the face is as worthy as another, and we may feel assured that He who gave the os sublime to man, did not place, as its foremost and most prominent feature, a ridiculous appendage.