Section 24. The Winking⁠ Eyelid

The⁠ object of winking is a very important one. An outside⁠ window soon (S. 5, N. 2) gets soiled⁠ and dirty, and a careful shopkeeper⁠ cleans his windows every morning. But our eye-windows must⁠ never have so much as a speck or spot upon them; and the winking eyelid⁠ is the busy apprentice who, not once a day, but⁠ all the day, keeps the living glass⁠ clean; so that, after all⁠, we are little worse off than the fishes, who⁠ bathe their eyes and wash their faces every moment.—Prof. G. Wilson.

Das Öffnen und Schließen der Augenlider.

‘The — one’, say ‘The opening and closing of the eyelid (pl.) is of great importance.

outside window = street window.

trübe.

Ladenhüter; supply the adv. ‘therefore’ after the verb ‘cleans’, and place the object last of all.

‘must — them’, say ‘must (dürfen) never suffer (erleiden) even (selbst) the smallest speck, the least dimness (Trübung).

das sich öffnende und schließende Augenlid; ‘apprentice’, here Ladenbursche.

but — day, nein, den ganzen Tag hindurch.

Augenglas.

genau betrachtet; the subject should be placed immediately after the conjunction ‘that’; little = not much; to be badly off, schlimm daran sein.

who — moment, welche Augen und Gesicht jeden Augenblick baden und waschen.