278 PEKSONAL PREPARATION TOR RESEARCH. 



which the feminine mind has less natural affinity than 

 it has " for imaginative * literature. Their remarkable 

 incapacity for independent mental labour is accompanied 

 by an equally remarkable capacity for labour under an 

 accepted masculine guidance.' l 



'Not only have women been the best companions, 

 friends, and consolers, but they have in many cases been 

 the most effective helpers of their husbands in their special 

 lines of work. Gralvani was especially happy with his 

 wife. She was the daughter of Professor Graleazzi, and it 

 is said to have been through her quick observation of 

 the circumstance of the leg of a frog, placed near an 

 electrical machine, becoming convulsed when touched by 

 a knife, that her husband was first led to investigate the 

 science which has since become identified with his name. 

 Lavoisier's wife was also a woman of real scientific ability, 

 who not only shared in her husband's pursuits, but even 

 undertook the task of engraving the plates that accom- 

 panied his " Elements." ' 2 



' The late Dr. Buckland had another true helper in 

 his wife, who assisted him with her pen, prepared and 

 mended his fossils, and furnished many of the drawings 

 and illustrations of his published works.' ' Notwith- 

 standing her devotion to her husband's pursuits,' says her 

 son, Frank Buckland, in the preface to one of his father's 

 works, ' she did not neglect the education of her children, 

 but occupied her mornings in superintending their in- 

 struction in sound and useful knowledge. The sterling 

 value of her labours they now, in after-life, fully appreciate, 

 and feel most thankful that they were blessed with so good 

 a mother.' 



1 Hamerton, The Intellectual Life, pp. 228, 240. 

 2 Character, by Smiles. 



