554 



SCmNGE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 224. 



product of civilization. Modesty comes finally 

 to be a feeling of reluctance to all vulgar pub- 

 licity, either as to one's person or mind, a re- 

 luctance to all display, a delicacy and refine, 

 ment, wbicli is late born in evolution, and is, 

 in psychical progress, destined to fuller and 

 higher development, as versus the mere fear of 

 disgusting, which, as Mr. Ellis shows, is in de- 

 cadence in high civilization. Modesty as a 

 mode of self-respect is quite distinct from 

 respect and fear of others' opinions and feelings 

 towards ourselves. Mr. Ellis, indeed, barely 

 mentions (p. 145) modesty as a self-respect, but 

 he seems to connect it with his general treat- 

 ment. It is noteworthy that modesty should be 

 a term which denotes actions to conceal both 

 defects and excellences, but that real modesty 

 is at bottom as psychosis, a personal delicacy 

 about social conspicuousness, and may have no 

 real psychic connection with either of the other 

 phases, that is, it proceeds not from sensitive- 

 ness to one's own excellences or defects as 

 viewed by others, but merely a general reluc- 

 tance to have one's personality become in any 

 wise open to public gaze and prying. 



The other psychic basis of modesty-actions 

 which BIr. Ellis mentions, namely, fear of losing 

 in some way sexual attractiveness, may be ob- 

 jected to on the same ground as not real psychic 

 modesty. 



If modesty were as closely related to fear as 

 is claimed we should expect similarity of ex- 

 pression, but the blush of modesty is the con- 

 verse of the pallor of fear. The most brazen, 

 unmodest woman fears exposure so far as it is 

 disgusting to others. The blush is not the ex- 

 pression of fear, but of self-attentive embarrass- 

 ment, and secondarily the expression of real 

 psychic modesty. We cannot, with Mr. Ellis, 

 relegate the influence of darkness in restraining 

 modesty to the blushing being thereby con- 

 cealed ; but at least the more obvious and 

 primary factor is that modesty and modesty- 

 action is originally a concealment from the eyes 

 of others, and if the eyes of others are con- 

 cealed by darkness this action and feeling 

 naturally disappear. Mr. Ellis does not ex- 

 plain how shame is distinct from modesty. Cer- 

 tainly, so far as shame is modesty shocked, it 

 is psychologically modesty. 



Our impression on the whole, then, is that 

 while the origin and evolution of modesty- 

 actions are as precautions against causing dis- 

 gust, yet modesty as distinctive psychic quality 

 which exhibits the same reactions is far later in 

 date. 



Hiram M. Stanley. 



Lake Forest, III., March 7, 1899. 



TRANSMITTED CHARACTERISTICS IN A WHITE 

 ANGORA CAT. 



To THE Editor of Science : The following 

 observations furnished me by Dr. S. F. Gilbert, 

 of Elysburg, Northumberland county. Pa., con- 

 cerning his white Angora cat, which I examined 

 a short time .since, may be of some interest to 

 those working upon the subject of the trans- 

 mission of acquired characters. 



The cat of Dr. Gilbert is of the white Angora 

 breed. The parentage of this cat is unknown. 

 The mother-cat, referred to above, has the right 

 eye blue and the left yellow, and is about 

 three years old. The kitten of this cat is eight 

 months old, male, and has the right eye yellow 

 and the left eye blue, just the reverse of the 

 mother. The kitten is subject to fits. The fits, 

 as Dr. Gilbert describes them, are of a violent, 

 excitable kind ; the kitten running aimlessly 

 about, falling down and scratching, or striking 

 with its feet. These fits, which have occurred 

 twice, lasted about ten minutes. The father 

 of Dr. Gilbert's kitten is a large mongrel with 

 white breast and face, the other parts of the 

 body being zebra-colored. 



The mother has had seventeen kittens, eleven 

 of which were white, two having different colored 

 eyes. Two of the kittens were deaf, and in 

 general the breed seems to be very tender and 

 difiicult to raise. 



John W. Harshberger. 



University of Pennsylvania. 



osmotic solutions. 

 To the Editor of Science : A letter in 

 your columns shows that I ought to explain a 

 special feature of the solutions used for deter- 

 mining osmotic pressure. In my recent paper 

 on ' Physiological Osmosis ' (Science, Vol. IX., 

 p. 206) I cited a one-per cent, solution as hav- 

 ing one part of sugar in one hundred parts of 



