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 



