The teacher’s other self.–As she stands thus in contemplation she sees the child grown to maturity with all her own predilections–physical, mental, spiritual–woven into the pattern of its life. In this child grown up she sees her other self and can thus estimate the qualities of body, mind, and spirit that now constitute herself, as they reveal themselves in another. She thus gains the child’s point of view and so is able to see herself through the child’s eyes. When she is reading a book, she is aware that the child is looking over her shoulder to note the quality of literature that engages her interest. When she is making a purchase at the shop, she finds the child standing at her elbow and duplicating her order. When she is buying a picture, she is careful to see to it that there are two copies, knowing that a second copy must be provided for the child. When she is arranging her personal adornment, she is conscious of the child peeping through the door and absorbing her with languishing eyes.
This is from the second book by Francis B. Pearson we’re processing for Project Gutenberg. I happened to get this page for proofing today, and for some reason, it just creeps me out. I think it’s the “languishing eyes.”