504 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



cal Society of Washington as containing a most appreciative rhume, 

 of the labors of the great naturalist. A perusal of the addresses on 

 that occasion brings to mind very vividly the comprehensive scope of 

 the work of this great man. The Introductory, by Professor Theo- 

 dore Gill, is a strong sketch of the wonderful revolution wrought in the 

 methods and convictions of naturalists by the doctrines of Darwin. 

 Of great interest and value also are the succeeding addresses read at 

 that meeting, which were — a " Biographical Sketch," by Dr. William 

 H. Dall ; " The Philosophical Bearings of Darwinism," by Major John 

 W. Powell ; " Darwin's Coral Island Studies," by Mr. Richard Rath- 

 bun ; *' Darwin's Investigations on the Relation of Plants and In- 

 sects," by Professor Charles V. Riley ; " Darwin as a Botanist," by 

 Mr. Lester F. Ward ; " Darwin on Emotional Expression," by Mr. 

 Frank Baker; closing with "A Darwinian Bibliography," by Mr. 

 Frederick W. True,] 



EMOTIONS VERSUS HEALTH IN WOMEN. 



By MAKY T. BISSELL, M. D, 



WHEN the harassed and wretched Macbeth inquired of the doc- 

 tor, " Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased ? " his candid 

 physician promptly disclaimed any such high qualifications. "There- 

 in," said he. " the patient must minister to himself." 



It is possible that the modei'n physician would appear less modest 

 under a similar interrogation, since modern hygiene claims the entire 

 man for its operations, concerning itself not only with his physical, but 

 also with his mental good. Keenly alive to the intimate relations 

 existing between mind and body, it often throws upon the physician 

 of to-day the responsibility of determining whether the remedy indi- 

 cated be chemical or spiritual. This broad outlook embraces large 

 and small interests, and may certainly include one feature in the train- 

 ing of women which, we believe, is opposed to her best growth and 

 health. We refer to a tendency which exists in her education to an 

 undue stimulation of her emotional nature. 



Woman is believed to have been endowed by Nature with a strongly 

 emotional tem])erament. She is accepted as the fairest exponent of 

 sentiments, which in turn lend her her chiefest charm. Tears and 

 smiles, emotion and sensibility, are expected of her. It is permitted 

 to her to be a blue-stocking if she will, but sympathetic and tender 

 she must be. If Ilypatia has her admirers, all the world loves Juliet ! 

 It is precisely in that natural aptitude for emotion, in that type of 

 mind which is exquisitely sensitive to impressions and generously 

 swayed by sympathetic feeling, that one of the great dangers to the 

 perfection of womanhood, physical and mental, may be said to reside. 



Many and varied influences tend to increase this emotional excita- 



