TYPES OF CHAEACTEB. ■ 301 



Look into the world; all are chalked out upon the same 

 model, or nearly so. 



There are two or three types for a hundred thousand girls, 

 aJl different one from the other; they have all the same 

 inclinations and the same forms; there is but one type for 

 young people from eighteen to twenty years of age; they 

 have all the same tastes, the same pretensions, and the same 

 inode of arranging their hair ; all the mothers afford but one 

 single and the same representation; she is the vigilant hen 

 who only lives for her chickens. 



There is something even worse than not having certain 

 qualities, and that is to feign them; certainly, if I had only 

 room for one tree in my garden, and I were obliged to choose 

 between the peach-tree and the thorn-apple, I Siould deter- 

 mine in favour of the peach; but where is the garden in 

 which there is only room for two trees, or the heart in which 

 there is only room for two affections 1 And then there are so 

 many gardens, and so many different hearts. 



Give me the smallest portion of a plant, half of a leaf, a 

 torn petal, the fragment of a branch, a seed even, and I know 

 at once what I am to expect; that plant promises me such a 

 form, such a colour, such a perfume ; if I love its perfume, 

 its colour, its form, it wUl give them to me in the promised 

 season; if not, I can ask that which I love of another; this 

 one will not be long in meeting with some one who seeks it, 

 and who loves that which it has to give. Now, here is a 

 drawing-room fiUed with young girls ; let us examine them 

 for a minute. 



This one is a iair girl; her head is covered with small 

 tresses which escape from the comb and curl of themselves; 

 her dark blue eyes are piercing; her nose is aquiline; her 

 mouth is terminated at the two comers by a strongly-marked 

 line, the upper lip is thin and close, the under lip is short 

 but thick; both are as red as cherries; she has a firm, 

 decided, bold character, she loves risks and dangers. 



But being fair she must always be dressed in white ; her 

 eyes are constantly cast down, and she will utter piercing 

 cries at the sight of a spider ; she is passionately fond of the 

 country and solitude, and declares she could live for ever 

 upon milk and fruit. 



