218 Idle Days in Patagonia. 
timid man has had an experience of this kind he 
looks back on the day that brought it to him as 
the happiest he has known, one that stands out 
brightly and shines with a strange glory among his 
days. 
When we are suddenly confronted with any 
terrible danger, the change of nature we undergo 
is equally great. In some cases fear paralyzes us, 
and, like animals, we stand still, powerless to move 
a step in flight, or to lift a hand in defence of our 
lives ; and sometimes we are seized with panic, and, 
again, act more like the inferior animals than 
rational beings. On the other hand, frequently in 
cases of sudden extreme peril, which cannot be 
escaped by flight, and must be instantly faced, 
even the most timid men at once, as if by miracle, 
become possessed of the necessary courage, sharp, 
quick apprehension, and swift decision. This is a 
miracle very common in nature; man and the in- 
ferior animals alike, when confronted with almost 
certain death ‘‘gather resolution from despair.” 
We are accustomed to call this thé “courage of 
despair”; but there can really be no trace of so 
debilitating a feeling in the person fighting, or pre- 
pared to fight, for dear life. At such times the 
nightly Review for August, 1889, there occurs the following 
passage, descriptive of the state of mind experienced by men in 
fight :—‘* All maddening pleasures seem to be compressed into 
that very short space of time, and yet every sensation experienced 
in those fleeting moments is so indelibly impressed on the brain 
that not even the most trifling incident is ever forgotten in after 
life.” 
