in.] ORIGIN OF TASTE FOR SCIENCE. 229 



A great deal of energy is wasted in attempting 

 to seize more than can be grasped. There is a 

 feverish tendency, fostered by the daily press, to 

 interest oneself in all that goes on, which leads to 

 perpetual distraction, and curtails the time avail- 

 able for serious and sustained effort. It may be 

 worth while to mention a curious little morbid 

 experience of my own, as suggestive of much 

 more mischief ; it is this : A few years ago, I 

 had foolishly overworked myself, as many others 

 have done, misled by a perverted instinct which 

 goaded to increased exertion, instead of dictating 

 rest. The consequence was, that I fairly broke 

 down, and could not, for some days, even look at 

 a book or any sort of writing. I went abroad ; 

 and though I grew much better and could amuse 

 myself with books, the first town where I ex- 

 perienced real repose was Rome. There was no 

 doubt of the influence of the place it was 

 strongly marked ; and for a long time I sought 

 in vain for the reason of it. At last, what I 

 accept as a full and adequate explanation, 

 occurred to me ; simply that there were no 

 advertisements on the walls. There was a pic- 



