CHARACTER OF THE MORE IMPASSIONED WOMAN. 23 



Very curious and significant to the physiologist are 

 the judgments which men and women pass upon them- 

 selves. Distinctly correct self-judgment is a sure test 

 of high intellect, whether with or without the deeper 

 emotions. Captious temperaments often believe them- 

 selves to be sweet-fcempered ; the kindly often fear 

 they are impatient and harsh. Frequently gentle 

 natures believe themselves to be rough, and rough 

 natures believe themselves to be gentle. 



The unresting less contemplative woman, especially 

 if more or less educated, is often given to reading. 

 Respectability does not demand reading, but neither 

 does it forbid it. Deferring to authority in one half of 

 life, and jumping to conclusions in the other half, 

 leaves a woman (at least a well-to-do woman) con- 

 siderable leisure. She must, however, have persons 

 and action in her books as well as in her life. 



The active and less impassioned individual, man or 

 woman, tends more to be interested in the words and 

 dates and methods of an author ; the more impas- 

 sioned and contemplative seeks rather to get at his 

 inmost thought and deepest feeling. One looks at the 

 paper, the type, the binding of a book and puts it on 

 the shelf unread ; the other reads and re-reads his 

 book not knowing perhaps whether the paper is 

 hand- made or not marks it freely, and turns down its 

 corners : the turned- down corners remain old and 

 easily-accessible friends. 



I have learnt from many sources that the two 

 generic biases may be detected in quite early life. 

 Even at birth certain physical characteristics are dis- 

 cernible in the more extreme examples. Let us look 

 at two young girls, one with delicate eyebrows, taking 

 after a less impassioned parent (father or mother) ; the 



