Animal Traits, [September, _ 
_A further matter forced itself upon my attention. Habit, from 
one point of view, stands in the same relation to truth that the | 
spurious mother of the great Solomon’s time did to the child of r 
_ doubtful parentage. It seeks to divide it, ignoring the fact that 
to separate is to destroy it. 
; Familiarity with what is currently accepted had shut from me 
= the vast oceans of truth that stretch illimitably on every side; 
= anda sight of these wild creatures under circumstances which 
= were not habitual, seemed to immeasurably enlarge the view of 
the relations which human life bears to the scheme of things. 
As night after night passed, I found myself unconsciously esti- 
mating the similarities and differences between myself and the 
weaker brethren. The first were innumerable, the last easily 
counted. Of the total sum of physical and mental activities in 
-~our several cases which we term “ character,” that of the weaker 
_ folks may be stated at ninety-nine-hundredths ancestrally derived, » 
and one-one-hundreths individually derived. Of Homo sapiens 
say ninety-hundreths are ancestrally and ten-hundredths individ- 
ually obtained. It really seemed that the only superiority I en- 
=~ joyed over the others was.a slight power of judgment on the 
-~ ancestral derivations. But this power is extremely weak. 
_ One evening I had noticed a splash of rain and noise of thun- 
der at intervals for some hours until a lurid glare and crash came 
on the stillness with terrific effect. I never knew how it hap- 
pened, but certainly when the awful racket was over I was on the 
floor under the table. Coachwhip was regarding me curiously | 
from the back of a chair, and puss marched up with her inevita- 
ble mew. After a hearty laugh I had to admit that between my 
and hers there was not one marvedi’s choice. She took to 
roof, I to the floor. I recovered from the panic sooner, but 
2 was more dignified. Her enemy was already dead, 
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