1854] WRITINGS OP JOSEPH HENRY. 341 



in the last stage of his earthly existence, when the additions 

 to his character, made in later years, have been entirely'' 

 swept away. In connection with this point I may mention 

 one idea which has occurred to me, and which I have never 

 seen advanced; but which, if true, invests the subject of 

 early impressions with a fearful interest. The science of 

 statistics shows that certain crimes which are common in 

 the seasons of youth disappear, comparatively, with advanc- 

 ing age, and re-appear again toward the close of life; or in 

 other words, that the tendencies to indulgences in disorders 

 of imagination, and habits which were acquired in the earl}'" 

 life of a vicious youth, or one exposed to evil associations, 

 though they may be masked and kept in subjection by the 

 judgment and the influences of position and reputation 

 during early manhood, middle life, and first decline, resume 

 their sway and close tlie career of the man who has perhaps 

 for years sustained a spotless reputation — with ignominy and 

 shame. How frequently do cases of this kind present them- 

 selves! I have now in my mind's eye an individual who 

 for forty years was known and esteemed as a model of honor, 

 purity, and integrity, but who at the age of seventy com- 

 mitted a crime which consigned his name to infamy. De- 

 pend upon it, this man was subjected to evil influences in 

 early life, and the impressions then made, though neutral- 

 ized by the conditions and circumstances which afterwards 

 surrounded him, were never eff'aced, and when the latter 

 ceased to produce their restraining effects, the former re- 

 sumed their original sway. Pursuing this train of thought 

 we would conclude that the child is not merely the father of 

 the man, but more emphatically, the father of the old man; 

 that the term second childhood has a more extended signifi- 

 cation than that of the mere decline of the faculties. It also 

 should convey the idea that the tendency of the dispositions 

 and propensities of individuals is to return to the condition 

 of earlier life. This principle is important also in an histori- 

 cal point of view. The aged, though they may forget the 

 occurrences of middle and after life, recall with vivid dis- 

 tinctness the impressions of childhood, and thus the grand- 



