158 NATURAL INHERITANCE. [CHAP. 



moderately artistic people do not. A man of highly 

 artistic temperament must look on those who are 

 deficient in it, as barbarians ; he would continually 

 crave for a sympathy and response that such persons 

 are incapable of giving. On the other hand, every 

 quiet unmusical man must shrink a little from the idea 

 of wedding himself to a grand piano in constant action, 

 with its vocal and peculiar social accompaniments ; but 

 he might anticipate great pleasure in having a wife of 

 a moderately artistic temperament, who would give 

 colour and variety to his prosaic life. On the other 

 hand, a sensitive and imaginative wife would be con- 

 scious of needing the aid of a husband who had enough 

 plain common-sense to restrain her too enthusiastic 

 and frequently foolish projects. If wife is read for 

 husband, and husband for wife, the same argument 

 still holds true. 



Regression. Having disposed of these preliminaries, 

 we will now examine into the conditions of the inherit- 

 ance of the Artistic Faculty. The data that bear upon 

 it are summarised in Table 22, where I have not cared 

 to separate the sexes, as my data are not numerous 

 enough to allow of more subdivision than can be 

 helped. Also, because from such calculations as I have 

 made, the hereditary influences of the two sexes in 

 respect to art appear to be pretty equal : as they are 

 in respect to nearly every other characteristic, exclu- 

 sive of diseases, that I have examined. 



It is perfectly conceivable that the Artistic Faculty 



