ii.] QUALITIES. 77 



amount they show all the symptoms of being 

 overtasked, and sicken. An army in retreat 

 suffers in every way, while one in the advance, 

 being full of hope, may perform prodigious 

 feats. 



In the following extracts I insert everything 

 that seems deserving of mention as regards the 

 energy of either parent. It will be observed how 

 strong is the tendency for this primary quality 

 to be transmitted hereditarily. 



Speaking generally of these and all other 

 extracts printed in this book, I should give the 

 following explanation : 



Whenever anything is interpolated by me it is 

 put in square brackets [ ]. All proper names 

 are replaced by dots, because I do not wish to 

 administer to the love of gossip. It is indeed 

 impossible to prevent intimate friends from some- 

 times guessing the name of the author, but I 

 have taken care that nothing is inserted which 

 can cause annoyance. I have taken some trifling 

 editorial liberties, such as occasionally working 

 the words of the question into the answer, when 

 the latter was too curt to explain itself; and 



