INSTINCT. 433 



propensity, serving no useful purpose, and is so stubborn 

 and ineradicable a part of the character as fully to deserve 

 a place among the instincts. Its natural stimuli are unfa- 

 miliar human beings, especially those whom we respect. Its 

 reactions are the arrest of whatever we are saying or doing 

 when such strangers draw nigh, coupled often with the pre- 

 tense that we were not saying or doing that thing, but possibly 

 something different. Often there is added to this a disposi- 

 tion to mendacity when asked to give an account of ourselves. 

 With many persons the first impulse, when the door-bell 

 rings, or a visitor is suddenly announced, is to scuttle out 

 of the room, so as not to be 'caught.' When a person at 

 whom we have been looking becomes aware of us, our im- 

 mediate impulse may be to look the other way, and pretend 

 we have not seen him. Many friends have confessed to 

 me that this is a frequent phenomenon with them in 

 meeting acquaintances in the street, especially unfamiliar 

 ones. The bow is a secondary correction of the primary 

 feint that we do not see the other person. Probably most 

 readers will recognize in themselves, at least, the start, the 

 nascent disposition, on many occasions, to act in each and all 

 of these several ways. That the ' start ' is neutralized by 

 second thought proves it to come from a deeper region 

 than thought. There is unquestionably a native impulse 

 in every one to conceal love-affairs, and the acquired im- 

 pulse to conceal pecuniary affairs seems in mam^ to be 

 almost equally strong. It is to be noted that even where 

 a given habit of concealment is reflective and deliberate, 

 its motive is far less often d^nite prudence than a vague 

 aversion to have one's sanctity invaded and one's personal 

 concerns fingered and turned over by other jjeople. Thus, 

 some persons will never leave anything with their name 

 written on it, where others may pick it up — even in the 

 woods, an old envelope must not be thrown on the ground. 

 Many cut all the leaves of a book of which they may be 

 reading a single chapter, so that no one shall know which 

 one they have singled out, and all this with no definite notion 

 of harm. The impulse to conceal is more apt to be pro- 

 voked by superiors than b}- equals or inferiors. How dif- 

 ferently do boys talk together when their parents are not 



