416 REMARKS OX rURENOLOCfY. 



cause must be referred either to the ignorance of the teacher, or td 

 the mal-organization of the pupil's brain. 



I have given an example in which the non-progression of the 

 pupil was referable to a deficiency in organization 3 for the girl 

 alluded to had excellent teachers, and an excellent disposition. I 

 shall now give an instance in which the fault rests with the 

 instructor. Out of the very many examples which I could give, 

 both from reading and from observation, I shall select one from 

 No. IV. of the " Phrenological Journal," a quarterly periodical of 

 great ability and sound views, replete with amusement, interest, and 

 instruction. The subject of the second article is a boy of an active 

 spirit, combined with much good-nature. ** When sent to school, 

 to learn to read, he made little progress 5 and afterwards, when an 

 attempt was made to teach him Latin, he stood absolutely still. 

 His father and mother were almost in despair lest he should turn 

 out destitute of capacity for any liberal pursuit. As a last resource 

 they sent him to board with a celebrated teahcer in the country j 

 but here he made as little progress as before ; he could not be 

 brought to comprehend a single rule of Latin, and scarcely was 

 able to master three sentences of French ; in geography and 

 arithmetic he was very little more successful. In this state of 

 matters Dr. Spurzheim arrived in this country, and a gentleman 

 who attended his lectures imagined that the case might not be so 

 hopeless as was conceived. He examined the boy's head, and 

 declared that the mystery was cleared up. He found the organ of 

 language very decidedly deficient, and the perceptive organs in 

 general not large ; while the reflecting organs were far above an 

 average in point of size, for that period of life. Combativeness he 

 found rather small, while cautiousness, conscientiousness, self- 

 esteem, love of approbation, firmness, adhesiveness, benevolence^ 

 and ideality were all amply developed, and destructiveness was not 

 deficient. He advised, therefore, that the youth should be taken 

 from school, and sent for three or four years to learn the trade to 

 which it was intended to bring him up ; and that, thereafter, at the 

 age of seventeen or eighteen, his education should be begun anew. 

 This was accordingly done, and with the happiest effects. His 

 studies were now directed entirely according to his development. He 

 was absolved at once from all drudgery with Greek and Latin. 

 He set to master the French language, and could read a French 

 author with facility. His other studies were geography, algebra, 

 and mathematics, and in these also he now took pleasure, and 

 stated distinctly that he saw the principle and application of them. 

 His next course was chemistry, natural history, natural philosophy, 

 and anatomy 3 and the pleasure with which he followed the lectures 

 on these branches of knowledge, was intense, and his improvement 

 proportionately great." 



To this imperfect outline of the interesting article 1 would gladly 

 subjoin the highly sensible and instructive remarks of the youth 

 himself, describing his feelings before and after his acquaintance 

 with phrenology, but must omit them for want of space. How- 



