Commonplace Book

'Now it is well known among novelists that novelists, like women of easy virtue, are utterly without scruple in their use of eyes. Novels in which the principal characters use their eyes to see with are exceedingly rare and are considered to be advanced, unpleasant, and on a doubtful plane of morality. The skilful novelist with a civilized regard for money can, on the other hand, do the deuce of a lot with a pair of blue eyes. Brown eyes can, of course, be used to express fidelity or pique, grey (rare) for modesty, while black eyes are in vogue for foreigners and pronounced cases of sex-repression. But a heroine's eyes should preferably be blue, since that colour lends itself to suitable treatment, inviting easy and moving comparisons with sea, sky, and fountain-pen ink...'

from Nettles in Arcady, in piece in Babes in the Wood by Michael Arlen