SKETCH OF EDWARD ATKINSON. 113 



after the experience of a hundred seances, he still persists in mak- 

 ing a grab at the empty air behind the frame, in the obstinate 

 hope of corroborating the material existence of his Doppelgiinger. 

 After thoroughly familiarizing himself with the contents of my 

 sitting-room, he has ceased to overhaul my shelves ; but the intro- 

 duction of any novel object at once re-excites his curiosity, and 

 for similar reasons the wary four-handers of the South American 

 tropics promptly emerge from their hiding-places at sight of a 

 speckled dog — a zoological phenomenon too wondrous to be ignored 

 from motives of discretion. An unfamiliar sound, the tinkling of 

 a cow-bell in a new clearing, or the whirr of a buzz-saw, is equally 

 sure to attract the attention of the four-handed aborigines. They 

 will pursue the strolling bell-ringer for miles, and often stop to 

 compare notes in a sort of solemn whisper. 



But that scientific enthusiasm of our tree-climbing cousins is 

 apt to be dampened by the first drop of night-dew. In daytime 

 the restless vigilance of the tree-man enables him to hold his own 

 against his wiliest foes; but after sunset the owl-eyes of the 

 prowling FeliclcB give them a fatal advantage, and the instinct of 

 night-fear may thus deeply, and perhaps indelibly, have impressed 

 itself upon the mental organism of our forefathers, A petted 

 four-hander of the bolder species, the East Indian Rhesus, for in- 

 stance, will contract a habit of pursuing his penchant of free 

 inquiry to any length, even through the door of a shooting-gallery, 

 which he will push wide open to ascertain the cause of the abnor- 

 mal detonations; but after dark the same investigator will flee 

 from the rustle of a dry leaf, and watch the shadow of a fluttering 

 curtain with the rapt expectancy of a second adventist. 



Inveterate habits persist. The progress of evolution has 

 changed our spooks from hairy bugbears into soft-handed famil- 

 iars, and may yet change them into kid-gloved exquisites ; but, 

 with or without claws, ghosts will probably continue to appear 

 after sunset. 



SKETCH OF EDWARD ATKINSON. 



THE subject of the present sketch holds a prominent position 

 among American writers who have made most valuable con- 

 tributions to political and economic science. His essays, all in 

 this or related departments, are characterized by far-reaching 

 grasp of thought, boldness and absolute independence in discus- 

 sion, and the clear and direct manner in which the principle he is 

 seeking to develop is presented. 



Edward Atkinson was born in Brookline, Mass., February 

 10, 1827. Having fitted for college, it became expedient for him 

 to go to work at an early age, and he served his time, after August 



VOL. XXXIT. — 8 



