"The dyspeptic has a 'face.' His expression is fitful and disgruntled,
but underlying it is a gleam of hope; the insolvent man, harassed by
creditors, has another well-defined type of facial mold. It is haunted
and worried, with a tinge of defiance in it; the owner of the 'bicycle
face' has his features set in lines of deadly resolution; the 'golf
face' displays fanatical enthusiasm and a puzzled look resulting from
a struggle with the vocabulary of the game; the 'poker face' shows
immobility and superstition; the 'telegraph face,' according to a
well-known New York professor, is 'vacant, stoic and unconcerned,' but
the 'telephone face' stands out among all of these in a class peculiar
to itself. There are traces of a battle and defeat marked on it; the
stamp of hope deferred and resignation, yet without that placidity
which usually betokens the acceptance of an inevitable destiny. The
brows are drawn together above the nose, and at times a murderous
glint shows in the half-closed eyes of the possessor.
"The peculiar feature about the man with the 'telephone face' is, that
he always believes the day will come when he will be able to get the
right number and the right man without being told that the 'line's
busy,' 'party does not reply,' or 'phone is out of order.
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