Phrenology. 105 



relative values of British and foreign monies. He 

 started off in the midst of winter, January, 1844, not 

 a very pleasant season of the year for travelling, but 

 he was accustomed seldom to let obstacles of that 

 kind stand in his way. It was arranged that he 

 should go via Hull to Hamburg. To his disgust, 

 upon reaching Hull he found that the steamer he was 

 to go by was delayed for three days beyond her 

 proper time for starting, so that he had to spend the 

 interval in the best way he could. 



Upon going out to see the town, in the window of 

 a stationer's shop he noticed a large phrenological 

 chart, including an extensive commentary. This he 

 purchased. The weather was not at all agreeable, 

 and he had to spend most of his time in the hotel, 

 with nothing better than the chart wherewith to 

 relieve the tedium of the delay. On the second even- 

 ing the landlady invited him to take tea with one or 

 two of her friends. He had some scruples about 

 partaking of hospitality, the motive for which he could 

 not guess, but as she pressed it, he accepted her kind 

 invitation. There may have been about a dozen 

 present at the party. After tea the subject of phre- 

 nology was introduced. He then began to have a 

 glimmer of the reason why he had been invited. 

 Having been so much occupied with the chart on the 

 previous day, he had been taken for a phrenologist. 

 A lady in the company asked whether he would read 

 the bumps of her husband's head. He said that he 

 could not. She insisted that he should. He still 

 pleaded ignorance, but noticing what seemed a rather 

 unusual prominence where " number " was marked on 



