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Human Nature 
 
 OR 
 
 MEN AND WOMEN EXPOSED. 
 
 TiiEATING ()B^ EVERY CHARAOTERISTIC. BOTH GOOD AND BAD, OF THE VARIOUS 
 
 TYPES OF 
 
 MAN AND WOMAN. 
 
 AS THEi" ffiXIST, ASTD AS MANIFESTED IN EVEBY-DAY LIFE, (J VING 
 
 "THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH," 
 
 W Prof. A. E. Willis 
 
 Ij'clurtr. I'husiojiininist tint/ r/irf/tnldij/.s/. 
 
 TMIKD EDIT! OX. 
 
 LUST RATED, REVISED, AND CONDENSED, 
 
 Allm. ^ ^ ^Hir G CO 
 4c- »v 50Div^ , „^ 
 
 This Book or An '^^ ' ^^■ 
 
 ■ i htiBe pages, sent ' i o 
 
01S^ 
 
 Kntebed Accobding to Act of Congeess 
 
 in the office of the 
 
 LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS. 
 
 AT 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
' ^ 5 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 Thkri is no subject of greater importance to man than the study of 
 -imself, first; and, secondly, of his fellow-men. There are no sciences 
 better adapted to aid in this study than phrenology and physiognomy 
 The examination of these sciences not only reveals the laws of the mind, 
 but proves to be one of the best means of educating and developing those 
 faculties which are especially necessary to the efficient performance of 
 the active and practical duties of life. Unfortunately, only a few of our 
 people have cared to gather information from the rich fields of knowledge 
 into which these sciences would lead them; while some are so strongly 
 prejudiced that they prefer to go through the world ignorant of this whole 
 subject, rather than to open their eyes and let the hght of new truth 
 dawn upon thein. There are others who are careless and indifferent, 
 seldom acquiring any scientific knowledge, unless it is forced upon the«n; 
 and still another class, who fear phrenology because of its power \o 
 disclose their secret faults — if it would only flatter them, they would 
 gladly embrace iL A hungry man, in his right mind, will not refuse good, 
 wholesome food; nor will a wise man reject practical, useful knowledge, 
 no matter whether it is palatable or otherwise. Truth is no respecter of 
 persons, neither does it array itself in unseemly garments, nor in aa^ 
 way injure the individual who seeks and finds it, and is governed by it 
 The honest, progressive man is always in love with it, and his reward is 
 as great and lasting as Truth itself. 
 
 Notwithstanding the opposition that was at first exhibited to these 
 sciences (as to all new inventions and doctrines), they are rapidly gaining 
 in popular esteem, and are now recognized and studied by many of the 
 most intelligent and influential minds of the age. 
 
 The author's aim in this work has not been to treat these two scicncet 
 in a learned, technical or theoretical manner, but rather to take up their 
 
 practical side aod bearmgj ^nd make tb@m piors popular %pd mm^t^ 
 
6 PREFACB. 
 
 hcnsiblc to the maisses, by presenting human character as seen and mani- 
 fested in everyday life. Hence, I have selected a variety of subjects, and 
 written on them from a physiognomical and phrenological point of view. 
 
 The author of this book makes no pretensions to rhetorical finish; 
 that kind of writing is hardly adapted to such a work. My purpose 
 has been to express my thoughts in plain, simple language, so that every 
 person, who has learned to read and write, will be able to comprehend 
 my statements. I believe the too liberal use of foreign and high-sounding 
 phrases (those hard to pronounce and not in common use) in scientific 
 works is one of the chief reasons why such works are not more generally 
 read and liked by the public, 
 
 I have endeavored to describe human nature just as it exists in all 
 classes of society, and in its public and private manifestations, without 
 any flattery on the one hand, or exaggeration and magnifying of iraper 
 fections on the other. Like an honest and true man, my earnest desire 
 has been, to present in this book "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing 
 but the truth." 
 
\\)v 
 
 SIGNS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 Indications of a Fine Mind— A clear thinking Mind— An harmonioos Cbaractcr— A Mind 
 that loves and appreciates that which is Beautiful— la Beauty only skin deep ?— 
 Beautiful Eyes— Large, round, full and projecting Eyes— Excessive Passion— Laxity 
 of the Passions— Pain and Pleasure— Dimples in the Cheek— A Suspicious Nature- 
 Revenge — Sagacity— Necessity of further discovery. 
 
 It is not my intention, in this work, to enter into an elaborate 
 description of the signs of character. Most books on this subject 
 are too extensive and complicated for the public to peruse. My 
 aim is to awaken in the mind of the reader sufficient interest to 
 study for him or herself, by mentioning, in a brief manner, a few 
 unmistakable signs. 
 
 A fine mind is always indicated by a fine organization. As well 
 :ook for the sun to shine at night, as to see elegance, taste, refine- 
 ment and delicacy of thought in one whose body is rough, coarse 
 and common. The skin of such a person should be pure-looking, 
 6ofr, even, and of fine texture. The hair should likewise be very 
 fine and soft. Mind molds and rules the body, and not the body 
 the mind; therefore, if the mind is not finely organized, neither is 
 the body. By fineness of mind I mean texture or quality. Every 
 person knows the difference between fine and coarse cloth. The 
 coarse cloth may be the most serviceable for every-day wear, but 
 the fine will be the most valuable, and therefore the most prized 
 and taken care of. and will be used only on extra occasions. So 
 with a fine and coarse mind — the latter may be good and moral, 
 and best adapted for the common duties of life, but the former 
 will be contented only in the higher, loftier and purer pursuits and 
 walks of life. 
 
 A clear-thinking mind is evinced by a dark, sallow complexion. 
 Such persons are generally calm, cool and collected— are definite, 
 precise, systematic and comprehensive in their views and manner 
 of saying and doing things. They seldom get confused in their 
 ideas, god express tfieinselves clearly and positively. A h^mg- 
 
SIGNS OF CHARACTER- 15 
 
 fiious character, or one that is evenly balanced in the moral, social, 
 intellectual and executive facCilties, is manifested, first, by a general 
 fullness and uniform appearance of the head. The skull should pre- 
 sent an even surface — no bumps, because they indicate that there 
 is a deficiency of some other bumps (or more properly speaking, 
 organs) near by, or else the other organs are too large, and there 
 is an excess of some kind. A head that presents the appearance 
 of hills and valleys will show inconsistencies and contradictions 
 of character, and a liability to extremes. Not only should the 
 head be even, but also equally devieloped and proportionate. It 
 would be difficult to describe just what shape the head ought to be. 
 A phrenological plaster-of-Paris head, with all the organs marked 
 on it, will give you the best idea. The second sign is proportionate 
 and beautifully or properly-formed features. If the nose is concave 
 or convex, the mouth unpleasant to look at (having a peculiar or 
 objectionable expression around the corners), the chin deficient, 
 and the eyes fixed, staring or evasive, look out for some odd and 
 mean trait of character. 
 
 A mind that loves and appreciates that which is beautiful must 
 have beautiful features, which consist in fine, delicate and har- 
 monious combinations of form, connected with a pleasing and 
 lovely expression. Form is the basis or frame-work of beauty; 
 and two things or conditions are necessary to produce human 
 beauty. First, the body, which is form; second, the 'soul or 
 spirit, which gives expression through the form. These two 
 qualities combined constitute what we term beauty. When I spea' 
 of beauty I mean the highest type. In some persons we ser an 
 excess of mere physical beauty; in others, an excess of mental and 
 moral beauty; and in a third class we see the physical and moral 
 about equally combined. So there are many kinds and combina- 
 tions of beauty, just as there are many kinds and combinations 
 of colors. There are likewise many different tastes in regard to 
 beauty. What one person admires another does not. So in regard 
 to colors; some like red, some blue, some green, some violet, and 
 so on. As a rule, people like colors according to their passions or 
 sentiments, and they appreciate and are fascinated by that kind of 
 beauty which is a reflex of their own mind or soul. 
 
 It is an old saying that beauty is only skin-keep. I do not con- 
 sider that true beauty in which the_ moral and social faculties do 
 
1 6 SIGNS OF CHARACTER 
 
 not lend thelf molding influence. Snakes have pretty skins, but 
 we shudder at the very sight of them. A pretty face, therefore, 
 that, on close inspection, reveals deceit, cunning, or any kind of 
 wickedness, cannot be called beautiful Addison has justly said 
 that no woman can be handsome by the force of features aione, 
 any more than she can be witty by the help of speech only. It is 
 by the force of thought that the expression of virtue or vice is writ- 
 ten upon the countenance, and the features improved or dec^raded. 
 Beauty of mind and beautiful features are therefore inseparably 
 :onnected; for as a man thinketh so he will appear, and his face 
 will be a mirror in which a skilled physiognomist can discern the 
 ruling passions of the soul. 
 
 Be careful as to how far you trust or place confidence in persons 
 '»^-ho are very forward and bold, especially if they are anxious to pry 
 into your secrets and private affairs. They are apt to be thievish 
 or tainted with immorality. Loud talkers are also >^ubjects of sus- 
 picion, as far as their morals are concerned Sm.ill secretiveness and 
 an emotional nature will naturally incline a person to speak louder 
 than one possessing large secretiveness and a cool disposition. 
 But the class I particularly refer to are persons w!io always aim to 
 attract the attention of every person in the room, or on a steamboat 
 or railway car, on the streets and other public places, by talking loud 
 enough to be heard above everybody else. When a woman does 
 it you may know she is either vain and crazy to be taken notice of. 
 and be the center of observation, or else she is fast; rest assured 
 ^ither modesty or virtue are wanting in such a woman. And when 
 J- .nan does it you may at once conclude he has more gab than 
 sense, more blow and brag about him than genuine talent. Vonng 
 women who snicker and laugh out loud at theaters or any public 
 place of entertainment, and bore men to take them to such places, 
 are, as a rule, bold, cheeky, saucy, impudent and immodest in their 
 behavior; and the less young men have to do with such girls or 
 women the better for them financially as well as morally. 
 
 There is great necessity of being guarded and cautious in read- 
 ing persons from mere appearance, or their assumed, affected and 
 dignified mode of conversation and actions. Persons that are reti- 
 cent, reserveci. evasive and mysterious in their ways of acting and 
 general conduct, are subjects of suspicion, and are to be mistrusted 
 more than those who are just the opposite. 
 
J 
 
 I 
 
 ^ 
 
 The Celestial or Baby nose; mild, 
 docile apd amiable disposition; likewise 
 indicative of female character. The op- 
 posite of the Jewish or Roman nose. 
 Observe its concave shape. 
 
 The Jewish nose; commercial, trad- 
 ing, speculating; love of money, property, 
 etc. Slow to act, suspicious and reserved. 
 Observe the width of the lower part of the 
 nose, where it joins the nostril: also the 
 convex, outline. 
 
 '^ V 
 
 M \ 
 
 V well formed nose, indicating strength and development of character: long-heaaed. 
 Observe the sign of originality, as seen in the drooping septum. It renders a per.cm 
 rather odd, and unlike any one else in their way of saying and aomg th^.gs. ..re partic^ 
 ularly interested in anythino: new-new theories, plans, sc/^^ces, etc.. Qua., .eibrmator^ 
 in. character. 
 
The turneci-up nose. Pert; quick to 
 feel, think and act. Easily offended over 
 trivial things. Not much force of charac- 
 ter. If the point is sharp, have a scolding 
 disposition and fiery temper. 
 
 The Roman nose; generalship, long, 
 headed, far-seeing; combative; great force 
 of mind; argumentative, opposing, resist- 
 ing, conquering and subduing. Observe 
 the conveE shape, which is always indica- 
 tive of a combative spirit in some form. 
 
 The peculiarity of this nose is that it all seems to be crowded down to the point. It 
 projects far out fi'om the lip, but does not turn up or down. It is an uncommon nose: 
 and after considerable study, I noticed and concluded that it belonged only to persons 
 having a clear, natural insight iuto business affairs, being able to see what will pay, and 
 make it a success, imparting what I propose to call business scent^ for such a man cas 
 tmell business us easily as a dog can smell and trace his master. 
 
SIGNS OF CHARACTBIL 1 9 
 
 When men and women get drunk and quarrelsome they show 
 and act out their real animal natures — that is, whatever animal, 
 fishp bird or reptile a person resembles in his disposition, he will 
 show to perfection when intoxicated or enraged. If he has a low, 
 vicious, mean or savage nature, he will manifest it; or if he resem- 
 bles an animal or reptile of that nature, he will act like the brute he 
 takes after. If a man has a mild, docile and harmless nature, like 
 a sheep, deer or dove, for instance, he will never hurt anybody or 
 be quarrelsome, whether drunk or angry. 
 
 Beautiful eyes, having finely arched and dark eyebrows, are not 
 common in men, and they indicate, in the man who is fortunate 
 enough to be so divinely blest, a genuine, natural-born artist — one 
 who has the soul to appreciate that which is beautiful and lovely. 
 In woman they denote a love and desire for pleasure, beauty and 
 the opposite sex, combined very often with a good deal of deviltry. 
 The characteristics of this eye may likewise be found the same in 
 both sexes. Wherever a lovely eye is seen, whether in man, woman 
 or beast, there you will find some admirable trait of character; and 
 wherever a mean-looking eye is to be seen, rest assured there is a 
 mean disposition of some kind behind it. 
 
 A person with large, round, full and projecting eyes, that in 
 appearance resemble those of an owl or a cat, has a disposition that 
 is either timid, stupid, foolish, double-dealing or two-faced, and 
 generally acts as though he were half-frightened, half-scared and 
 afraid of you. 
 
 Excessive passion or abuse of the sexual organs .shows itself in 
 and around the eyes — gives a sort of dull, heavy, striking and 
 sometimes fascinating look; When the lips have a deep red, almost 
 crimson color, it indicates immorality or a strong passional nature, 
 one that is liable to yield to temptation. 
 
 Laxity of the passions causes the lips to separate, open, and 
 imparts to the lower lip a drooping, hanging appearance; while self- 
 control and stringency cause them to close and present a tight, com- 
 pressed appearance. When both conditions are equal — that is, the 
 passions strong, but under control, the lips will have a full, curving, 
 but closed and natural appearance, neither open nor compressed. 
 
 Pain is objectionable, though not injurious; pleasure is agreeable, 
 hence the love ^of it, like money, knows no bounds, and has a tendency 
 
20 §in^% Of CUAKACrtK. 
 
 to lead one into excess. Therefore, those most fond of plea<;'ifc 
 are in the greatest danger of being led astray and finally rained. 
 
 The more people develop their ^e!hsh riatures thr nuire thi^y 
 cramp their souls and the smaller ihey [.'eci»!!ie, <>n Uir same prin- 
 ciple that women cramp their waists by tight lacing, miiifing their 
 health and spoiling the natural shajje of their bodies Thus selfish- 
 ness injures the character of the soul and mars its facial expression, 
 whereas generosity expands the soul and makes it beautiful 
 
 Excess of reason and calculation mav lead a man to stinginess. 
 avarice or extreme economy, especially if the lips are thin and cau- 
 tiousness large. 
 
 In men of genius the convolutions of the brain are deeper than 
 in persons of ordinary talent, hence there is a greater amount di\ii 
 surface of neurine or gray matter, which is the thinking part of the 
 brain, and is indicated by the uneven or hilly appearance of the 
 skull In sluggish persons, and those of common minds, the skull 
 is much smoother. 
 
 Sharp, bony knuckles, indicate persons who are fond of physical 
 exercise, hence are good walkers and workers; but fleshy hand:>, 
 that scarcely show any knuckles, belong to la/.y persons, and if the 
 flesh is soft and flabby, they arc sin. ply useless individuals in the 
 world — almost too lazy to exist. They prefer to sit down and 
 take things easy, or ride everywhere they want to go, and are per- 
 fectly contented in doing nothing, except to eat. drmk, sleep and 
 lie around the house. 
 
 A person of taste and refinement may be known by fine, soft 
 and neat hair, while a dirty, slovenly person, will have coarse hair 
 and an untidy, slouchy appearance of the whole head. The fine 
 hair of the rab*^it, in contrast with that of the hog, will serve as an 
 illustration. 
 
 With the nervous temperament excessive, the affections arc 
 often inconstant, fictitious and sickly rather than firm, hearty and 
 real, and the judgiTient not trustworthy 1 here is, also, a great 
 desire for novelty and change, with a ready capacity to learn and 
 forget, and extreme or abnormal sensitiveness. 
 
 Goethe says nothing is more significant of a man's character than 
 what he finds laughable, and 1 may add, also, the ktni^ of laugh. 
 Rowdies may be known by their laugh on the street as far as they 
 can be heard. Wise men and fools do not laugh alike, nor do 
 
SIGNS Of CHARACTER. 2i 
 
 rough, ig"norant people laugh the same as the refiaed and intelli- 
 g^ent. There is the suppressed, secretive laugh, in contrast to the 
 loud and open. The giggling laugh, and the hearty, whole-souled 
 laugh, are easily distinguished and recognized by observation and 
 attention. There are few things more dej)rcssing to the mind and 
 injurious to the body than grief, fretting and turning one's self into 
 a sort of living sepulchre; and nothing more healthful than hearty, 
 whole-souled laughter and a cheerful, contented mind. 
 
 There is a time to laugh, however, and a time when it is im- 
 proper. There are things worth laughing at, and things that are 
 not. Sensible, intelligent people do not laugh unless they see or 
 hear something worth laughing at; but silly, nonsensical people 
 laugh at things that are not worth noticing — laugh when they 
 should not, when there is nothing to laugh at, and even on sacred 
 or serious occasions. 
 
 Dimples in the cheek indicate a good-natured, lovable and 
 merry disposition, fond of being petted, and susceptible to the 
 charms of music. They are found only in round and full forms and 
 with blonde or light complexions, not in the dark and angular faces. 
 When seen in the chin, they are said to indicate a desire to be 
 loved, love of society and a warm nature. 
 
 Sagacity is indicated by a short, round neck, which seems set 
 in the shoulders, as Dr. Simms, the physiognomist, justly observes. 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, General Grant and D. L. Moody, the evangel- 
 ist, are good illustrations. 
 
 On general principles, large-boned people are more honest, solid 
 and reliable than small-boned persons, and have more enduring 
 constitutions and stronger characters, — like Lincoln, Jackson and 
 the Duke of Wellington, the first and last being made up of 
 more bone than any other material. The most useful animals to 
 man. such as the horse, ox and camel, are large-boned, and have 
 wonderful physical endurance; whereas some of the most useless 
 and "deceptive animals have small bones, though plenty of muscle, 
 such as the fox, skunk, porcupine, panther, and anim.als of the cat 
 tribe. Small-boned people, however, have more of the warm and 
 social nature and are inclined more to music. 
 
 All savage and destructive animals have heads formed on the 
 broad and fiat, or round principle, such as lions, tigers, leopards and 
 rattlesnake^^ A^ ^?o.;^ docile and Inoffbnslvf animals have narrow 
 
2f SIGNS or CHARACTER. 
 
 heads between the ears, and are generally long-faced, like the horse, 
 deer, hare and rabbit. So men, as a rule, with wide heads from ear 
 to ear, have more force, management and executive ability than 
 men with thin heads. If the head is very broad and deficient in 
 moral and intellectual faculties, then the possessor of such a head 
 may, on provocation, become rough and brutal in his treatment of 
 animals or oth«^^r persons. But when a wide head is well balanced 
 with the intrilt ctual and moral organs, you have talent, worth and 
 power couibnird. A person with such a head will try and develop, 
 put into execution or carry out any new or general idea he may 
 have — in other words, thoughts become actions. Hence, force, 
 energy, policy, push, management and business ability or tact is 
 generally found in such heads, though a man may have large energy, 
 will-power, enterprise, ambition and business ability, wliere the 
 head is long and of only natural width, as also a man with a wide 
 head may be so constituted as to lack executive ability; the reader 
 must take observations in order to discriminate for himself 
 
 There are three distinct forms of faces in the Caucasian race: 
 the round, oblong, and pyriform or egg shape; each form having a 
 character peculiar to itself With the round, plump face we find 
 contentment, ease, pleasing natures, willing to accommodate them- 
 selves to others; they are yielding, pliable and easily pleased. Oblong 
 form — strength of character, power, greatness, success, clear judg- 
 ment and business talent. Pyriform — sensitive, brilliant, intense; 
 mclined to be fickle or changeable, imaginative, quick, sharp and 
 keen rather than powerful. 
 
 Whenever a man aspires and claims to know or do something, 
 or advocates any new truths or doctrines that are not fashionable 
 or popular to the public mind, their prejudice will at once be 
 aroused, and they will denounce him as a quack or humbug. On 
 the same principle, when an individual assumes to know more on a 
 given subject, and attempts or offers to give instruction to a con- 
 ceited person, he will turn up his nose, despise and reject not only 
 the information, however valuable it may be, but also the individual, 
 and most likely, if in his power, hold the person up to ridicule and 
 scorn, or when the opportunity is afforded, make all sorts of fun out 
 of the subject and person. Such is generally the course of action 
 ouf^ucd by neoole ^of whom there are not a few) who are aitogethei 
 tou wise in their own cQnt^^ri 
 
* SIGNS OF CHARACTEIL 23 
 
 A suspicious nature is generally found with a long, hooking 
 nose and large human nature, a faculty located in the center and 
 top of the forehead. If large secretiveness be added, you may be 
 sure to find suspicion with such a nose. Such persons suspect, 
 siirmise or imagine the existence of something without any reason 
 for so doing. Suspicion, therefore, is the opposite of faith, the 
 nature of which is to believe a thing without evidence. Jealousy, 
 the mind's toothache, that gnawing worm that eats out the happi- 
 ness of thousands, arises from a mixture of suspicion and a desire 
 to be loved. The latter condition being mdicated by the indented 
 or dimpled chin. Many husbands and wives keep themselves and 
 their companions in a state of mental torture through their un- 
 founded and cruel suspicions. 
 
 Revenge, or retaliation, will generally be found in persons hav- 
 ing a hollow in the center of the forehead; also in dark races, or 
 individuals of dark hair and complexion. The dark races are cer- 
 tainly more inclined to revenge than the light. An implacable 
 disposition may be read in the protruding under lip. 
 
 A strong social nature is shown in open, protruding, red lips, 
 especially when the cheeks are full, the abdomen large, and the eyes 
 bright, large and expressive. The individual may be quite sociable 
 without all these conditions, but rest assured where you see small 
 eyes and compressed and thin lips you will find a lack of real social 
 nature, that kind of nature that is spontaneous, warm and dem.on- 
 strative. You must make a distitiction between a friendly, sympa- 
 thetic nature, that can be warmed up on certain occasions, and 
 manifest friendship toward those they become thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with, and that Christ-like, outgoing nature that has a 
 kind word and hearty shake of the hand for the stranger as well as 
 the friend. Cats and dogs are sociable when they become ac- 
 quainted, and human beings ought to be a step in advance, a de- 
 gree above animals, and be sociable without friendship acquaint- 
 ance. 
 
 The largest and most active organ or organs of the brain will 
 determine the general tone or character of conversation. Thus, if 
 approbativeness is the ruling faculty, the social conversation of 
 those possessing it wnll be chiefly about themselves, their own busi- 
 ness and social affairs, or those relatives, friends and acquaintances 
 they may feel it to be a credit or benefit to themselves to speak of. 
 
24 SIGNS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 If amativencss and conjugality are the largest they will talk much 
 about the opposite sex, courtship, marriage and love affairs in all 
 their various phases. What people ttiink about the most, they 
 like to talk about when they have the opportunity. If they are 
 intelligent they will talk intellectually. If really pious they will 
 love to talk on religious subjects. If very social they will talk 
 about social topics. If wicked and licentious they will say wicked 
 things, and their conversation will be too dirty, filthy and foul to 
 listen to. 1 have known even Christian men to tell some of the 
 most licentious and corrupting stories I ever heard. Who can cal- 
 culate the number of young minds that are poisoned and may be 
 ruined by evil communications? One smutty story will do more 
 harm than a dozen sermons will do good, and will cling to the 
 memory longer than anything that is good. Men are punished foi 
 writing, publishing and selling obscene literature; and ought not 
 any man or woman to be arrested and punished in some way for 
 giving vent to vile ideas in verbal language.'* Men who curse and 
 swear, and write smut on the walls and doors of public and private 
 places should be severely punished; it is degrading to the lowest 
 degree, and springs from a corrupt mind. The perverted condition 
 of the love propensity is tiie cause of all moral filth, swearing in- 
 cluded. 
 
 Although much has been done to enable us to perceive the 
 character and disposition of the mind from, external signs in the 
 body, there is need of other discoveries. The same faculties mani- 
 fest themselves in various ways in different persons. It is the 
 education of the faculties, or lack of it, that makes up the diversity 
 of their manifestations as much or more than the faculties them- 
 selves. Hence the phrenologist, before he can be perfect, must 
 discover a method by which he can determine or read in what 
 manner and under what influence each faculty^ has been developed. 
 I believe that these conditions, and the peculiar disposition of each 
 person imparted by the animal propensities (or the organs lying 
 at the base and interior of the brain), must be observed from the 
 expression of the countenance. 
 
 Persons with a long spine will be found somewhat repulsive in 
 character. Serpents have long spines and arc repulsive. 
 
!\^ 
 
 I--- 
 
 The upper lip is projecting over the under lip. Such mouths represent a dispoGition 
 in- their owners to impress themselves strongly upon others; are advancing in manner and 
 behavior, and have generally considerable conceit, egotism oi; vanity. 
 
 '.mmodest, indeiicatCj fond of a gay and ia>L -ae, iaxunous Iivicg; high glcj. 
 
 Sportive, somewhat cynicdl; pc-.->jive affection denoted 
 the lower hp. Liable to be fast. 
 
 ■'V^'rfhful and slightly sarcastic; upper lip too thi^i in '^ '•-■e lower, henc». 
 
 the affections are not well balanced. ]May receive care-sr .are little about 
 
 giving them. Turned up corners indicate a laughing dispc5^uior>. 
 
o\^ 
 
 Common, vulgar, lack of refinement, and neither voluptuous nor affectionate. 
 The aesthetical nature deficient. 
 
 
 Cold as an iceberg. Stin, set, precise; 
 consiaerabie self-control, but not much 
 affection. Observe the thinness of the 
 lower lip, also a lack of curvature and 
 fullness in the middle, so essential as the 
 sign of an affectionate and sociable dis- 
 position. 
 
 The perfect mouth. Love for ths-i 
 which is beautiful and tasty. Indicative 
 of a whole-souled and generous nature. 
 Good disposition, strong affection; desire 
 for caressing and kissing. The affections 
 both active and passive, A sociable and 
 warm nature. 
 
 SViowing the under lip protruding beyond the upper. The fullness of the lowty i^p 
 represents strong, active affections; but its protruding condition signifies a tendency in the 
 disposition of such persons ,to draw others to them, to cause them to succumb tu their 
 terms, desires and requirements; a hmd of holding back on their part, keeping- y^f reserve; 
 tnoughj at the same time, aggressive in spirit. 
 
EXPRESSION. 
 
 How it is caused or produced — Perfection of Character — What the Organic Quality does — 
 Lines and Expression around the Mouth — Fine Features— What gives the Eye* 
 t.heir individual and peculiar look — Fascinating Power of the Eye — What Persons 
 notice most in others — What the Face, as a whole, reveals — Language of the Chiri 
 — Formation of the Jaws in relation to Will Power — The Mouth, the Nose, tbe 
 Eyes — Meaning of the words Mind, Spirit and Soul — What the Eyes express — 
 Black F.yes — Light Eyes — Round Eyes — Flat Eyes — What the Hair indicates — The 
 different Colors and Quality — A properly developed Character — How to Think right 
 — The Lips, and what they indicate — Signs of Character in the Walk — Restless, 
 craving, passionate Natures — Gum-chewing Women. 
 
 It is the exercise of the faculties that gives expression to the 
 face; and as no two persons have exactly a corresponding combina- 
 tion of faculties and temperaments, so there are no two persons pos- 
 sessing the same look, appearance or likeness. Each faculty stamps 
 its own peculiar language upon the countenance. A dormant 
 faculty makes little or no impression upon the face. It leaves a 
 vacancy; the language of that faculty is not there. Active benev- 
 olence gives a beaming, urbane look; agreeableness imparts a win- 
 ning, pleasing look; amativeness, a fascinating look, but if perverted, 
 a lascivious, tempting an4 wicked look; resistance and firmness, a 
 set, stern look; language, an expressive appearance around the eye; 
 ideality, a beautiful look; self-esteem, a dignified look; causality, a 
 thoughtful look; and so on. The larger and more active the faculty, 
 the more marked will be its character upon the face. But it is the 
 combination of all the faculties that gives the identical, definite look 
 to each individual. Hence, the secret of reading a person by the 
 face is in the ability to discern, by mere expression, what faculties 
 or qualities of mind are pictured on the countenance, and to dis- 
 cover whether they are used in a proper direction or in a perverted 
 manner. We are attracted or repelled according to the language 
 of the faculties we most admire; and I suppose we like to see in 
 others the same qualities of mind we possess ourselves. Is not this 
 the theory and secret of love ? 
 
Perfection of character depend- on the perfection and harmonious 
 development of all the organs of the mind and body. They must 
 all be of equal size and streng-th. The temperaments and the or- 
 g-anic quality must also be equally combined. 
 
 The greater any given organ or faculty, the greater will be its 
 power, its capacity of enjoyment, and the more will it require to 
 receive satisfaction. 
 
 It is the organic quality that gives tone, grade and value to one's 
 character, talents, feelings and thoughts. If that condition is large, 
 the whole nature, physical and mental, is of a high type and stand- 
 ard; but if deficient, then it is altogether low and common, and the 
 mind is more of an animal ard earthly nature, no matter what may 
 be the size of the organs. Ihe faculty of conscientiousness cannot 
 be relied upon, as it may be led by the selfish propensities and animal 
 desires. Mirthfulness, with vu.ch an organization, would manifest 
 itself in foolish jesting, and, ii destructiveness was also prominent, 
 would delight in tormenting otiier persons or dumb animals, just 
 for fun; but in a higher nature, mirthfulness would be intelligent 
 wit. Amativeness and conjugality, with a high and finely-developed 
 organism, would be pure, true, exalted and spiritual love; but with 
 the opposite condition, would be Cv'>mmon, tending to a mere animal 
 feeling, even if moral — and if not .T^oral, would be low, base and 
 degrading in its influence; and so with all the faculties of the 
 human mind. In observing character, iherefore, the orgardc quality 
 is the first thing to be observed, as that is the foundation upon 
 which the whole man is built, and the key that unlocks the entire 
 character. 
 
 The lines and expression around the mouth betray and reveal 
 the state of the heart, as to whether it is gccd-natnred, mean, sar- 
 castic, sensual, refined, peaceful, happy, disappeii:tcd. sour, etc. 
 
 The finer the features, the smoother and more delicate the hair, 
 and, also, the same condition of the mind and feelings. A rough 
 face, a rough mind or character. There are different kinds of rough- 
 ness, however; the reader must learn to distinguish between that 
 kind of roughness which indicates power or strength, and that 
 which reveals simply a coarse or low mind. One thing necessary 
 in reading character is the ability to discern the size and relative 
 proportions of all the faculties, and to tell the kind of feeling and 
 talefit dilTerent combinations of far ulties will produce-— jUSt the 
 
axpnessiojf. ig 
 
 same as an artist can tell what color a copibination of other colors 
 will produce; or the chemist what will be the effect of a mixture of 
 dilTerent chemicals, or of the same colors and chemicals in different 
 pr<,.j><)rtions. 
 
 1 hf round, smooth, bab)> -looking faces have not the force and 
 -»irtii^ih of character that the rough, angular and uneven face has; 
 and when the lines are deep and the features or prominences of the 
 face stroTiL^ly marked, you may expect to find originality of thought 
 and profundit)' of mind, with distinguished character of some kind; 
 but in the smooth, unwrinkled face, look out for a feeble mind. By 
 feeble i do not mean idiotic, but rather weak, lacking depth and 
 power. There are a great many baby-looking faces in the world, 
 and such persons rarely amount to anything beyond a com.mon- 
 place life and character — are too fickle and childish in their tastes 
 and sentiments. 
 
 In the mental process of reading a person, we first perceive the 
 expression, and from that conceive the character. Perception 
 arises from the action of the perceptive faculties, located immedi- 
 ately over the eyes and nose; conception, from the reflective facul- 
 ties, located in the upper part of the forehead. In the central part 
 of the forehead are located most of the literary faculties. 
 
 It is the largest and most predominating trait of character that 
 g^ives to the eyes their peculiar look — that expressive cast, that 
 which we most notice and are influenced by; hence, the expression 
 of the eye changes as fast as our thoughts change and the 'i^ifferent 
 faculties are brought into action. The eyes, therefore, . become a 
 mirror. in which are pictured, as they come and go, all the thoughts, 
 feelings, emotions and passions of the soul. Mow easy it is to see 
 the presence of anger, joy, sadness ! So, in like manner, if we study 
 until we become familiar with the different kinds of expression, we 
 can observe the language of every change and condition of the mind. 
 
 What a magnetic or fascinating appearance is imparted to the 
 eye when lit up by active amativeness, agreeableness and approba- 
 tiveness! Secretiveness and mirthfulness are likewise conspicu- 
 ously manifested in the eye. 
 
 Whatever persons notice most in others clearly indicates the 
 ruling trait of character in them.selves. If they notice dress in 
 preference to anything else, then dress is their chief desire. If 
 words mxd actions arc criticised, then it is character and quality @( 
 
30 BXPRBSSION. 
 
 mind that Is predominant in the observer. Artists notice features 
 expressions and beauty; fashionable and amative persons notice 
 the style and physique of individuals, and so on; each one trying 
 to find in others what is a reflex of his own mind. 
 
 The face, as a whole, with its accompanying expression, reveals 
 one's nature and animal propensities. It likewise shows whether 
 the faculties are active or passive, while the head shows their size 
 and proportion to each other. Every feature of the face has its 
 appropriate manifestation. The forehead portrays the amount of 
 intellect. The chin tells us how much virility, ardor, intensity and 
 the kind of affectionate desire one possesses. The mouth shows 
 how much affection one has — whether friendly, sociable, warm- 
 liearted or the reverse. The nose represents the selfish traits and 
 propensities — those qualities of mind that m.ake men bold, fearless, 
 aggressive, far-seeing, defensive, determined and accumulative. 
 But the eyes — those two magnetic star? — what do they mean.? 
 That is a question, reader, easier asked than answered There seems 
 to be a mystery about the eyes which has never yet been explained 
 What a depth of meaning, what a mine, what a store-house, ir 
 which seem to be deposited things good and bad I How anxiously 
 we look into them and try to discover what is behind ! If we 
 could only read the thoughts they convey! And what a mental 
 effort we sometimes make to do so I But, after all, we have to give 
 it up; they are too much like a policeman's lantern — the longer we 
 look, the more blinded and confused we become. To see through 
 a thing and discover what is behind, is not so easy as to get behind 
 and see what is ahead. 
 
 Two things, however, are evident: First, all eyes are not alike; 
 second, they do not affect us in the same manner nor exercise the 
 same power over us, neither do any two individuals. I therefore 
 conclude that the eyes reveal (or are an index of) the kind, quality 
 and nature of the mind, spirit and soul. These three words are 
 sometimes used to express one and the same thing, yet each word 
 has its peculiar, specific meaning. 
 
 Mind is used to designate the intellect or understanding — the *• 
 mental process of thinking, willing and choosing; also, inclination, 
 desire, intent, purpose. Mind may likewise be termed the opera- 
 tion of the spirit upon the faculties, bringing them into activity. 
 
 The word spirit means life, ardor, vivacity; great activity of 
 
EXPRfiSSION. S ^ 
 
 peculiar characteristics of mind and temper; disposition of mind, 
 intellectual or moral state, cheerfulness, enterprise. It may also be 
 used to indicate the highest principle in man. 
 
 By soul, we mean any noble manifestation of the heart or moral 
 nature; the seat of life and action; the rational and emotional part 
 of man's nature. Of course, these definitions are intended to rep- 
 resent the spirit as connected with the body. In my chapter on 
 Modern Christianity, I shall give a new and more thorough descrip- 
 tion of the differences between mind, spirit and soul. 
 
 From the above definitions, I presume it will be clear to the 
 reader what is meant by the mind, spirit, soul, or whatever you 
 choose to name that part of man manifested in the eye. And here 
 let me say that the quality or nature of the soul, as to whether it is 
 pure and exalted, or gross and low, can be determined by the 
 organic quality. 
 
 The eyes, therefore, express every emotion of the soul, the 
 quality of the soul and its present moral condition. They seem to 
 be the window through which every faculty peeps out. Eyes differ 
 in color, form, size and rapidity of motion. 
 
 Black eyes are deep as the ocean, artful, crafty, treacherous, re- 
 vengeful — a smoldering fire that may burst into a full -blaze at a 
 moment's notice. They are generally retiring and reserved, and 
 sometimes full of deviltry. The ways of a wicked person with 
 black eyes are past finding out. So much for the bad qualities. 
 The good qualities belonging to black or dark eyes are frankness, a 
 confiding disposition, affection, plain-speaking, truthfulness, and a 
 good degree of power, determination and force of character. Many 
 black eyes are beautiful, magnetic in their effect, and indicative of 
 a true, noble character. But, reader, never trifle with such, nor play 
 any mean tricks with them, or they may take fearful revenge; you 
 can go just so far, but no farther; and once aroused, they give no 
 quarter and know no such thing as mercy. I remember a small, 
 handsome-looking woman, with large, black eyes, who put on con- 
 siderable style, and presented the appearance of a delicate, lady-like 
 woman. Those black full moons of hers had captivated four or five 
 young men, to whom she had promised her hand in marriage. One 
 of them did not exactly like that kind of fun, and so followed her up, 
 causing her to apprehend danger. * While talking with her upon 
 the subject, she declared if he came near her she would shoot him. 
 
3« EXPRESSION. 
 
 I replied, she certainly would not have the courage to shoot a man 
 when she coolly walked over to her bureau and took out a pistol, 
 remarking, in an emphatic manner, "Wouldn't I?" 1 concluded 
 she would. Another black-eyed woman told me that if she ever 
 found out her husband was not true to her, she would certainly 
 shoot him. 
 
 Small, fiat, light eyes are cunning, evasive, sly, manoeuvering, 
 deceitful; apt to lie, cheat, and with acquisitiveness, steal. Their 
 deceitfulness is different from that of black eyes. Light eyes resort 
 to a good deal of device, contrivance and stratagem. They are full 
 of tactics, policy and management, and can keep things to them- 
 selves, with little or no desire to impart them to others, unless it is 
 something that weighs terribly upon the mind. Black eyes are not 
 good at keeping secrets. They may, through conscientiousness or 
 friendship, keep things committed to them as a secret trust, but 
 should enmity ever arise, they may betray you. 
 
 Light eyes would not speak a thing right out, but work to your 
 disadvantage in an underhanded way — at the same time pretending 
 probably to be your friend, and making themselves quite agreeable; 
 but the black eye would come right out, declare war and open fire 
 Light-eyed enemies are snakes in the grass; black-eyed ones will 
 show their enmity, and fight in the open field, though they may 
 have a very treacherous way of doing it — something like the Indian. 
 for instance. The fact that Indians fight behind trees as much as 
 possible, or some other defensive place, is because that is their mode 
 of life and warfare, and their only means of protection ag.iinst a 
 trained and armed military company. What 1 wish lo impress 
 upon the reader is, that they do not conceal their feelings, and pre- 
 tend to be friendly when they are not. Light eyes conceal their 
 character, their t''eelings, emotions, intentions and purposes, and, 
 though they may hate and despise a person, will seldom manifest 
 it unless in some manner compelled to do so. There are, however, 
 many amiable, devoted women amony this class, as well as men, 
 having strong, silent love, with tenderness and s\-mpathy. The 
 conditions peculiar to both kinds of e\ e.s are all riL^ht if go\ turned 
 by the intellect and moral faculties, but.ulK-n j)er\ L-rtc-d. then looic 
 out for their evil manifestations, as alread)- described In the full, 
 open blue eye, you may expect to find a mild and good character. 
 
 The more round the eye, the easier will it receive impressions, 
 
-% 
 
 Ascerbity, moroseness; crusty, stringent, self important; not easily imposed unon. 
 [ i.ock sociability and affection. Have much self-control, and not inclined to dissipation. 
 j Observe the lips are thin and compressed. Generally very economical, or stingy and 
 ij mean. 
 
 Dissatisfaction; sour; over-particular; more nice than wise. Poor lips for 
 kissing, and the form scarcely human. 
 
 Coarseness; common mind; the affections more passive than 
 active; given to sensual thoughts. 
 
 Sedate, serious turn of mind; lack of mirthfulness; deficient in character; common, 
 
 mean, with a little vanity; sarcastic. Mouths that droop 
 
 at the corners never laugh much. 
 
r 
 
 The dreamy eye. Full of pleasure and 
 animal enjoyment; but good-natured and 
 though tiui. Can Jove more than one. 
 
 Submissive, mild, discerning, penetrat- 
 ing, and clear perception, b\it rather 
 coquettish. 
 
 The wanton eye. Inclined to desire and submit to licentious gratification. Lack of 
 resistance to obstacles or opposing circumstances. Deficient in force of character and 
 controlling influence. Observe the flatness of the eye and the distance between the eye- 
 lid and eyebrow. 
 
 The monogamic eye. Wide-awake, 
 eager, active, very susceptible to sur- 
 rounding impressions. Readily observe. 
 Such eyes generally have much feminine 
 expression in them. 
 
 Expressive, speaking eye when ani- 
 mated. Large language. Studious, in- 
 quiring and watchful; but artful, mean, 
 trickish and treacherous. The color is 
 almost or quite black. 
 
EXPRESSION. 35 
 
 observe and gather ideas; and the sooner, also, will such impres- 
 sions be lost or forgotten. The narrower the eye, the slower will 
 it be in gathering facts, receiving ideas, or coming to a conclusion; 
 but its possessor will retain knowledge much longer after it is 
 acquired, and such persons are slower but more deliberate in judg- 
 ment. Small eyes, especially in children, are dull and slow to learn; 
 while large are quick to perceive, full of life and vivacity. The 
 brighter the eye, the more will the individual resemble his or her 
 mother. Eyes that are slow to move, are slow in thought and act; 
 while eyes that move rapidly belong to minds that are wide-awake 
 and quick as lightning. 
 
 The hair indicates fineness or coarseness of temperament and 
 feeling, also tone and strength of character and constitution". 
 Auburn hair denotes quick susceptibilities. Black hair is accom- 
 panied with the bilious temperament, which gives power, strength 
 and endurance. Light hair means delicacy, fineness and lighter 
 tone of character — almost the opposite of black hair. Red hair 
 belongs to the sanguine temperament, gives intense feelings, and a 
 fiery, ardent, hot-blooded and passionate nature. If curly, emo- 
 tional and impulsive. Straight hair denotes mildness or tameness 
 of nature. 
 
 Red-haired persons should pursue out-door employment, as they 
 need al' the pure air they can get. Fine, light-haired persons can 
 pursue ny light or in-door business, but are not adapted for heavy 
 work. Dark-haired persons can endure a considerable amount of 
 labor of aln:ost u v kind. The coarser the hair, the more so the 
 inc'ividual in thought, feeling and manner, and vice versa. 
 
 Men of properly developed and prominent character are so 
 marked in their appearance, that, once seen, they, can be easily 
 recognized anywhere; whereas common-place persons are more 
 difficult to distinguish and remember. 
 
 He who does not vary the intonation of the voice in speaking 
 lacks self-control. There is a vast difference in the voice of per- 
 sons, and 'a wonderful amount of character is revealed in its tones. 
 We can distinguish an adult from a child, and a male from a female, 
 simply by the voice. I shall never forget a lady I heard trying to 
 awaken her sleeping husband, one morning, in a room adjoining 
 mine. There was so much tenderness, sweetness and music in her 
 iQ\%%i %h%% tht tongi seem to be fixed in my memory. The voice 
 
36 EXPRESSION. 
 
 needs cultivation, as well as the muscles, and org^ans of the brain 
 The develo[)ment of character will modify the voice, and the study 
 of vocal music and elocution will improve it. 
 
 Men cannot think and act rightly on any subject, or have cleai 
 and proper ideas, unless all their faculties are brought into active 
 and equal use. 
 
 It is the mental, passional and emotional temperament*; com 
 bined, that give energy, go-aheadativeness, impulsiveness and in- 
 tensity of feeling and action. They cause a person to throw the 
 whole soul into whatever is to be done, especially in speaking, 
 acting or writing. 
 
 A person with a healthy and equally-balanced condition of 
 faculties and vital organs att-pacts (or causes people, thmgs and 
 circumstances to succumb or place themselves under his influence 
 or at his command) without any special effort; while an individual 
 
 having an organization which is the reverse, could not, with special 
 effort, secure the same results and power. 
 
 When the lips have a pure, fresh, cherry-red appearance, the 
 blood is in the same condition, and the health good; but if they 
 look dry, scabby, blue and sickly, the blood is in a very bad state 
 
 Lips that are full and red, having a cushioned appearance, indi- 
 cate a strong social nature, or a great amount of affection, and fond- 
 ness for caressing and kissing. When the red part of both lips is 
 fully and evenly developed, that is, tolerably thick and well rounded 
 out, the affections will be more harmonious and evenly developed. 
 and the person will love to kiss and be kissed; but if the lower lip 
 only is full, and the upper li{j comparatively thin, the individual ma) 
 enjoy and submit to being kissed, especially if a lady, but care little 
 about kissing others (babies excepted). 
 
 Lips that are thin and compressed are wanting in affection, and 
 indicate their possessor to be cold-hearted, deficient in sociability, 
 and stringent, but having much self-control. 
 
 Lips that are naturally open, exposing the upper teeth, may mean 
 laxity of the passions, or a desire to be praised, or both. 
 
 Be on your guard with the individual whose mouth has a dis- 
 gusting appearance, a sarcastic expression, objectionable lines 
 around it, or one corner drawn up more than the other, unless 
 by injury. 
 
EXPRESSION. 3; 
 
 A very large mouth denotes animalism, coarseness or vulgarity; 
 a straight mouth, a common or undeveloped character — nothing of 
 the beautiful and artistic. Large mouths, however, are essential to 
 g-ood speakers, giving flexibility, so that they can express them- 
 selves easily. 
 
 With the large mouth we frequently find strength of character 
 and talent; whereas, in the small mouth, there is generally over- 
 much modesty and shallow sentiment; are apt to carry their civil- 
 ized ideas of nicety and delicacy too far; seem to live in their minds 
 more than in their bodies. Some one has said that a "blue and thin- 
 lipped woman will bore you to death with literature-or woman's 
 rights theories, while you want your dinner, or spoil your temper 
 by their red-hot, scolding tongues;" but that will depend somewhat 
 on other combinations: if she has a m.asculine temperament, such 
 may be the case, because there would not be miuch congeniality 
 in her nature. If the mouth is coarse as well as large, there will 
 either be much sensuality or strong, coarse points of character that 
 will render life with such a person anything but pleasant. 
 
 There is considerable character manifested in the chin, as it in- 
 dicates the force and strength of the mind in connection with the 
 nature and peculiarities of the affections. The connection between 
 the Latin word mentu^n for chin, and mens for mind, is certainly 
 suggestive, especially as m.indless animals have no chin. Search 
 the entire animal kingdom and )'ou cannot find a perfect or well- 
 formed chin as seen in the human family; and, though animals un- 
 doubtedly have understanding and a certain amount or kind ol 
 reason, they evidently have not the power or capacity for compara- 
 tive, deductive and logical reasoning. The less chin a person has, 
 or the m.ore it recedes toward the neck, the less persistence and 
 mind force there is; the more it advances or projects from- the level 
 of the face, the more persistence and tenacity of mind there will be. 
 A sharp, narrow, round, pointed cliin belongs to persons of very 
 tender but intense affections, who keenly feel the loss of loved 
 friends, take things to heart easily, and are possessed of a weak 
 heart physically as well as mentally. But in the broad, full chiii 
 you will find a stronger heart, more vigorous and powerful circuit- 
 tion of tlood, and, therefore, a much stronger an^ less easily affected " 
 love nature. The affections are less sensitive and not so easily t)ro- 
 ken or crushed in the broad, round, full chin as they are in \\\^ small, 
 
3g EXPRESSION. 
 
 round, pointed chin. In fact there is more vigor and power to the 
 affections and will in a large or broad, full, prominent chin than 
 there is to a small one, no matter what the shape may be, whether 
 round or square at the point. The narrow, round, pointed chin 
 means desire for affinity and congeniality; gives much intensity 
 of feeling, but less power and consistency. The broad, round, 
 pointed chin is perhaps the most perfect form, as it indicates good 
 heart power, and strong, constant, enduring love for the obje^ of 
 its affections. The narrow, square chin, means a desire to lo^re or 
 bestow the affections on some other person. The broad, square 
 chin a more violent, erratic, and powerful state of the affertions, 
 which needs controlling. In the indented chin there is a longing 
 desire on the part of its possessor to be loved, are unhappy unless 
 they have the affections of some person; and, when they h?ve not, 
 are apt to make love themselves in order to secure a lover, ^,ven if 
 the individual with such a chin should be a lady. 
 
 A prominent, pointed chin signifies ardor and impulsiveness in 
 regard to the affections. A deficient or receding chin d-notes a 
 lack of virility. 
 
 The lower jaw taken as a whole indicates the various states ol 
 will power. There seem to be three elements or parts that 
 constitute the entire will, viz.: persistence or perseverance, obsti- 
 nacy and contrariness. It is possible, however, that the two last 
 elements of will may be one and the same thing manifested ma 
 different way; nevertheless, we find three conditions of the will 
 manifested in three well known animals, and their jaws are all dif- 
 ferently formed. First, there is the hog kind of will, shown by the 
 width of the jaw in the back part; secondly, the mule and jackass 
 will shown by the drooping of the jaw in the rear part, m contrast 
 to the jaw of the horse and other animals the opposite in will power; 
 and thirdly, the bulldog will, shown in the long, forward-projecting 
 chin in contrast to that of the wolf When a bulldog gets hold of 
 a person or thing, he means business and persists m hanging on. 
 So in human life; we find some people who are persistent and per- 
 severing in their efforts to accomplish success or gain an object; 
 while others, wolf-like, snap at a thing and instantly let go, others, 
 again, are as headstrong, unyielding and stubborn as any mule or 
 jackass, especially when they cannot have their own way This is a 
 good trait of character, however, when properly used and not per- 
 
BXPRESSIOH. 3^ 
 
 verted, as It gives stability and unflinching principle to the character; 
 but in domestic and business life it is too frequently used in the 
 wrong way. Another class of people are just like, or as contrary and 
 perverse as the hog. The moment they discover you want them to 
 do a certain thing or pursue a certain course, they are sure to door 
 take the opposite. They seem to delight in thwarting others in 
 their plans and purposes. All three conditions of the will can be 
 propefly and improperly used, and if each person used his will to 
 control himself as much as he does others, the world, or the people 
 in it, would be a good deal better physically, intellectually and 
 rhorally. 
 
 Many persons think the nose of very little importance in read- 
 ing character, but it is just the opposite. It represents masculine 
 and feminine qualities more than any other feature — shows how 
 much power and force of mind one has, and how much of the com- 
 mercial, aggressive and martial spirit — shows whether one is long- 
 headed enough to see into a mill-stone, or no farther than the point 
 of his nose, it shows whether the character is weak or strong, 
 whether the disposition is of a turn-up or turn-down nature. If the 
 nose is concave and turned up a little at the point, whenever such 
 persons become offended (and such individuals take offense easily) 
 they will manifest a sort of turn-up, go-oflf, get-away, leave-you- 
 alone sort of spirit, and act as if they were afraid to have anything 
 more to say or do with the offender. Certain animals will act in a 
 similar manner. Take pussy, for instance. Do something she does 
 not like, and she goes off to another part of the room, and looks at 
 you in a half- frightened, suspicious manner, as much as to say, "You 
 contemptible thing, what do you mean? and why do you do that ^ 
 For the turned-up nose has likewise an inquisitive disposition; but 
 pussy never seeks revenge by making any attack upon you at any 
 ? I future time, nor has she just the kind of nose I have been describ- 
 ^f jing; nor do human beings with this kind of nose seek retaliation or 
 n jrevenge in the future — they are generally contented to leave one 
 severely alone. But the convex nose, turning down at the point. 
 n eagle fashion, is just the opposite. Do them an injury or an 
 rSt imaginary evil, and they will wait for an opportunity to pounce upon 
 oi ^ou like an eagle upon its prey — not physically, perhaps, but in 
 s» some manner they will take the advantage of you; it may be in a 
 «(• business transaction, or in the way of an injury to your character. 
 
J IXPRESSION. 
 
 The story of the tailor and the eleph'ant somewhat illustrates thb 
 shade of character. A tailor was in the habit of tormenting an 
 elephant by pricking him with his needle. The elephant did not 
 resent it at the time, but went away to a pool of the dirtiest water 
 he could find, and sucking up all he could carry in his proboscis, 
 returned to the tailor and gave him the benefit of a good ducking. 
 While examining a person having a n^se of this description, I re- 
 marked that, if a person took any advantage of him or did him an 
 injury, he would try to get even with him some tim.e, if it was fifty 
 years afterwards. The subject replied that he would if it were a 
 hundred years afterwards. Such persons never forget an injury. 
 
 So significant a feature has the nose been that persons have fre- 
 quently been noted and even nam.ed from peculiarities of the nose. 
 For instance, Cicero was a nick-name; the real name of the great 
 Roman orator was Marcus TuUius, to which was added the agnomen, 
 CzVf'r^, from the word Cicer, a vetch or kind of chick-pea, on ac- 
 count of the shape or some other peculiarity of his nose, or the 
 noses of his progenitors. So also the poet Ovid, or Publius Ovidius, 
 was called A''a.f^, from his prominent nose. 
 
 Moral courage is indicated by a long nose that .stands well out 
 from the face in the upper part joining the forehead; also giving a 
 ^\6.^ space betvveen the eye-brows, as seen in the picture of Luther 
 Such persons will stand firm and uphold any moral truth or prin- 
 ciple though a^l the world oppose, and such a character had Luther, 
 the great reformer. 
 
 The desire to climb and ascend high places, such as hills, mount- 
 ains, towers' and steeples, may be known by a nose that stands well 
 out from the face in its lower part, and inclines slightly upward at 
 the point. The jJiind of such a person will also have a progressive 
 ind upward tendency, will desire to rise in the scale of humanity, 
 will, in short, be lofty-minded. Especially will the latter be true 
 if the individual is endowed with a large amount of the organic 
 quality. 
 
 The convex nose also indicates combativeness — the opposing, 
 resisting, fighting and energetic spirit. 
 
 When the central part of the nose, where it joins the face, Is 
 wide, it indicates a commercial spirit, love of money or property, 
 And desire to accumulate. When narrow, it means deficiency in 
 that respect. When the nose is broad at the wings and sharp at 
 
 
Sternness, commanding, ability, au- 
 thority, discernment, reflection, resist- 
 ance, determination. Observe the pro- 
 jecting, overhanging eyebrows. 
 
 Love, modesty, tenderness. ]\e[)re 
 sents a character ahnost perfect as far as 
 good, amiable and moral traits are con- 
 cerned. 
 
 Sound, mature understanding; full of plans and schemes; shrewd, thoughtful; policy 
 and management of human nature; observe the drooping over the eyelid at the outer corner. 
 Are apt to lie or evade the truth. 
 
 Quick to perceive, wide-awake; im- 
 pressibility; observe rapidly, but do not 
 retain impressions long, or think intently. 
 Good eyesight. 
 
 Tlie amorous, sensual, talkative and 
 unprincipled eye. Apt to lead a f j.st life. 
 Observe the fullness of the under eyelid. 
 In the living eye the expression is wicked 
 and insinuating." 
 
THE SECRETIVE EYE. 
 
 Secretiveness is shown in the half closed eyelids and very light eye. Such persons 
 seem to peep out at you like a cat. They keep their own counsel, are evasive and non- 
 eommunicative in reference to their business, plans and purposes, as well as their general 
 thoughts. Even their most intimate friends hardly know their mind. They are slow and 
 careful in expressing themselves, and generally talk in subdued or soft tones of voice. 
 This kind of secretiveness differs from that found in Negroes and Indians: their charac- 
 teristic being artifice and cunning, rather than genuine secretiveness; for the Negro is 
 joud, boisterous and demonstrative, and lets everybody know within range what is going 
 on, which a secretive person always seeks to avoid. It is true they steal and do things on 
 the sly, but that is the result of necessity, cunning and artifice. In the blonde complex- 
 ions, where the light eye predominates, we find secretiveness proper; in the brunette or 
 dark races, where the black or dark brown eyes predominate, we find a different kind of 
 secretiveness. which verges into cunning, artifice and treachery. 
 
BXPHESSION. 43 
 
 the point, there is also a love of money, with a tendency to be close, 
 or make by saving and cutting down expenses. When broad at the 
 wings and hooked at the point, there is a desire to make money by 
 speculation or unfair means. 
 
 The nose that stands well out from the face and of the Grecian 
 type, indicates a love of the beautiful, or the aesthetic nature. A 
 long riose indicates a long-headed, far-seeing, shrewd, scheming, 
 planning mind. Are generally quick to read human nature, and are 
 cautious but not always the most reliable or trustworthy. 
 
 Whenever you see a bump or prominence in the center of a per- 
 son's nose, you may know they are inclined to argue, combat, resist, 
 oppose or defend in some way or other; will also manifest much 
 energy in business or any enterprise ^they may be engaged in. 
 When the prominence is high up on the nose, near the frontal sinus 
 or forehead, it indicates an aggressive spirit. When it is near the 
 point of the nose, it means personal defense, protection of one's 
 rights, property and person, and also betrays considerable selfish- 
 ness, especially in business affairs. Such a nose will always look 
 out for self. 
 
 Where the nostrils are wide open it is a sign of good lung and 
 breathing power; when narrow, a deficiency. 
 
 The manner of walking corresponds and harmonizes with the, 
 habits and disposition. A slouch and a sloven hang out their signs 
 as they walk. A man of ambition, energy and hope will walk 
 rapidly, briskly and take long steps. 
 
 The man who has much firmness and precision in his character 
 will have just that kind of a walk. 
 
 Those who have an easy, graceful walk, will do things in like 
 manner; while those who seem to make an effort to walk, work and 
 labor as if it were a task. 
 
 Beware of persons who, when viewed from behind, have a sort 
 of mean, shuffling, secretive kind of walk. They move along as 
 though they were afraid to use their legs. 
 
 Those who step heavily on the heel generally have much solidity 
 and firmness of character. Those who walk tip-toe fashion are 
 fond of dancing and prone to the sentimental side of life. Those 
 who have a springy, up-and-down step, are happy, hopeful natures, 
 but apt to be unbalanced mentally; in other words, have rooms to 
 rent in the upper stpry. 
 
44 
 
 EXPRESSION. 
 
 Those who walk very lightly may have a light, mirthful, senti' 
 mental kind of character, or possess secretiveness or cautiousnes*. 
 or all combined. 
 
 A person who is overflowing with conceit, egotism and vanity, 
 (vill not only show it in the face and eyes, but in the dignified, self- 
 complacent, pompous, I-don't-care kind of a walk. The head will 
 also be erect or slightly elevated. A man who is brim-full of bus- 
 iness, walks in a hurried and somewhat excited manner; while onr 
 ,vho has made a fortune and retired, walks along cool, easy, \ch 
 urcly and indifferent. 
 
 Large self-esteem and firmness will not only cause their possess- 
 or to walk erect and stand straight, but also to sit erect, scarcely 
 bending the body in any })()sition. Sitting or lounging in a careless 
 manner generally denotes deficient self-esteem. 
 
 Carnivorous animals have savage-looking eyes, but the herbiv- 
 orous have mild and soft eyes. Contrast the eyes of the lion, tiger 
 and hyena with the deer, gazelle, cow and horse. Mild, harniiess, 
 inoffensive people will have eyes that are mild and soft in expres- 
 sion, but stern, severe, cruel and dangerous persons will have hard, 
 savage, unkind and somewhat repulsive-looking eyes. 
 
 The difference in the phrenological and physiognomical mani- 
 festations of the same faculties is simply this: phrenology, or an 
 examination of the head, reveals the latent power, or original 
 strength of the faculties, while physiognomy or the expression 
 of the face, shows the activity of the faculties and the manner in 
 which they have been exercised, or the kind of education they 
 have received, whether good or bad. The face, however, is much 
 more expressive of feeling than it is of thought, especially that 
 part of the face from the eyebrows downward. 
 
 Persons who have a restless, craving, passionate nature, arc 
 never contented unless witnessing or taking part in something 
 exciting, such as gambling, horse-racing, or any of the sporting 
 games, attending some sensational play or fashionable ball — will 
 indulge in stimulants of some kind, such as wines, liquors and to- 
 bacco. A woman who chews gum and has little ambition for any- 
 thing else than to dress and attend fashionable, showy places ot 
 amusement, and visit drinking restaurants, has generally the same 
 elements of character; and if she conveniently could, would go 
 anywhere ^nd everywhere that a man does. The commpn habit of 
 
EXPRESSION. 45 
 
 picking the teeth indicates a sort of craving, uneasy nature, one 
 fond of some kind of excitement. The constant practice of many 
 >v pu king their teeth for half an hour after eating, and even be- 
 tuet-n (neaN and swallowing all of the corrupt matter instead of 
 eniting it. IS just about as dirty and irritating a practice as picking 
 >nc s nose Tooth-picking, gum-chewing, tobacco-chewing, and 
 even smoking, are all exciting and injurious habits. No one of 
 thrm beautify or lend any charm to the face or character. 
 
BLONDES AND BRUNETTES. 
 
 Definition of Blondes and Brunettes — An Intermediate Type — Why 
 Tropical regions produce Brunettes, and the Temperate, 
 Blondes — Cause of diversity of Color in the Eyes — Blood, and 
 its relation to the mind— Characteristic* of Hazel and Black- 
 eyed people — The nature of one's Magnetism modified by the 
 Nature and Color of the Blood — Insinuation, two kinds of it 
 applicable to Brunettes — The Reserved Nature of Brunettes — 
 The Nature of their Affections — Deficient, Character of 
 Blondes — The Conscience of Blondes— Their Inclination to 
 Sin — Their Cleanliness — Cause of Temper — Different kinds of 
 Temper — Red-haired Persons. 
 
 A BLONDE IS a person with fair, clear, soft complexion, light hair 
 and light eyes. A brunette has dark hair, eyes and complexion. 
 The eyes are sometimes very dark, apparently black, with seldom any 
 color it the face. 
 
 I should regard the above explanation unnecessary were it not for 
 the fact that I once conversed with a lady of affluence, who aimed to 
 shine in social and literary circles, who did not know the difference 
 between a blonde and a brunette. 
 
 There is another type arising from the predominance of the arterial 
 blood or sanguine temperament, having red hair and a highly-colored 
 complexion, which I will describe in this chapter, as these three types 
 of character, either singly or in combination, arc found in most 
 American and European people. 
 
 Blondes sometimes have brown eyes and brunettes light or blue — 
 conditions they have inherited from their parents,receiving the physical 
 nature of one and the mental of the other; or, it may be caused by one 
 parent being a blonde and the other a brunette. 
 
 The majority of people are neither pure blondes, brunettes, nor of 
 florid complexion, but a mixture of these two or three types in dififerent 
 proportions; so I shall not attempt to describe intermediate conditions. 
 
 The natural traits of character peculiar to blondes and brunettes are 
 as different and unlike as their complexions are; and the color of their 
 
 fec^ is a pretty good index to the color or nature ol tl^eif 
 
THE BLONDE— AN ACTRESS. 
 
 Frotyi a PJiotograph hy Gelirig, of CJiicago. 
 
 I selected this picture to illustrate the mental rather than the physical qualities ot 
 the American blonde. Physically, blondes are generally more voluptuous in their forms 
 than the person represented in the above cut. But the cute, wide-awake, knowing, 
 mirthful and somewhat cunning or artful expression, so characteristic of blondes, is here 
 well illustrated. One of those smiling, happy, I-do-not-care-in-for-a-good-time sort of 
 expressions. 
 
1 
 
 liRUXETTE. 
 The Oblong Form oi Face. 
 
BLONDES AND BRUNETTES. 49 
 
 minds. And here the question arises. Why do the tropical regions 
 produce brunettes, and the temperate or colder climates produce 
 blondes? There have been various theories and reasons given in 
 reg^ard to this difference; but I do not think the primary cause has 
 ever been explained, and if I should happen to give a reason that 
 may ap[)ear absurd to the reader, or, in reality, to be erroneous, I 
 shall only be doing what many (in fact, most, if not all) philosoph- 
 ical and scientific men have done in relation to some of their pel 
 theories. 
 
 I assert, in the first place, that there can be no permanent change 
 in the color of a living, healthy body, unless produced by the action 
 of the mind; and nothing material can act upon the mind except 
 through the senses, and by the aid of electricity, or the nervous 
 fluid, the connecting link between mind and matter. 
 
 Secondly, mind rules and molds matter, and makes it like unto 
 itself. If you ask me how I know that mind molds and rules matter 
 instead of matter mind, I answer, that as far as we know, sj)irit ex- 
 isted before matter, the Creator before that which he created; hence, 
 I prefer to reason from the metaphysical down to the physical; from 
 the immaterial to the material; from the infinite down to the finite, 
 in the order of creation and molding power, instead of looking for 
 the infinite to emerge from the finite, or the spirit principle from 
 the physical. The sun controls and regulates our globe, and not 
 our earth the sun. The light, heat and electricity of the sun is 
 superior to matter, so, reasoning from analogy, spirit is superior to 
 matter, and therefore controls it. The body is the image of the 
 mind, as much as man is the image of his Maker. The color and 
 condition of the body are, therefore the reflex of the mind. 
 
 Flowers owe their various tints and hues to the light and heat 
 of the sun indirectly; and yet every ilower preserves its identity 
 and appropriate color, clearly showing that it is not the direct action 
 of the sun which produces a blackening or bleaching-out process. 
 So 1 believe every human being has a color in harmony with the 
 mind, and that the mind, spirit or soul, is the primary or direct, while 
 external agencies (such as sun and climate) are indirect, agencies 
 or causes, and that these indirect causes first act upon the mind, 
 and through it upon the body. 
 
 It is the soul that gives color to the eye; therefore black, brown, 
 blue, grey and hazel eyes exp.-ess different conditions and feelings 
 
50 BLONDES AND BRUNETTES. 
 
 of the soul. External impressions, atmospheric conditions and 
 changes act upon our nervous system, and through it upon the 
 mind, causing us to think, feel and act differently; and as mind, 
 through the nervous fluid, acts upon matter, it in turn gradually 
 changes our external appearance. If this is not so, why does joy, 
 trouble, bereavement, anxiety, and an excess of any passion, stamp 
 themselves upon the features? Why does too much sexual inter- 
 course, or abuse of any kind, make the eyes and their surroundings 
 look dull, heavy, impure, black or smutty ? But, you say, these are 
 physiological manifestations. Partially so, but not entirely. Sup- 
 pose the mind to be separated from the body, what impression or 
 change could be made upon it except by the laws of chemistry, 
 which decompose it? 
 
 The rays of the sun bring two great blessings to humanity — 
 light and heat. Some things are peculiarly sensitive to light, others 
 to heat. It is the nature of light and heat to change the properties 
 and color of anything that is sensitive or capable of receiving im- 
 pressions from the rays of the sun. Nitrate of silver, brought in 
 contact with organic matter, will change colo r — that is, turn black 
 when exposed to the actinic rays. So the mind, when brought in 
 contact with our physical nature, receives impressions from the 
 sun, and our feelings and desires change in proportion to the inten- 
 sity of the light and heat. And these mental changes are in turn 
 impressed upon our bodies; so that, in time, they present a dark- 
 ened appearance. Hot and cold climates produce opposite effects 
 upon people. Is it not a fact that natives of hot climates are pas- 
 sionate, voluptuous, dreamy and inert, while those of colder climates 
 are just the opposite — cold and indifferent, but more active, men- 
 tally and physically ? 
 
 I conclude, therefore (or rather infer), that the heatjng rays of 
 the sun have more effect upon human beings than the actinic rays . 
 
 Heat first produces inertia, and inertia brings on those qualities 
 and conditions of mind and body peculiar to the brunette type of 
 character. 
 
 If blondes go to a hot climate and remain, their descendants 
 will in time get dark; and if brunettes go to a cold climate, their 
 descendants will in time get lighter ; and their character will like- 
 wise change in proportion. 
 
Blood is animal life, and the quality of a man's thoughts will 
 depend on the quality of his blood; and the kind of blood will de- 
 termine the kind of life. And I am inclined to believe that the 
 blood, or the iron contained in the blood, is the developer of thought, 
 in the same way that sulphate of iron in wat er is the developer of 
 the latent image on the photographer's sensitized plate. It is the 
 blood that feeds or nourishes tha organs of the brain, and excites 
 them to action; that is, I believe the blood is the physical medium, 
 and electricity the spiritual medium of exciting the brain and pro- 
 ducing thought in a material organization. It is the blood that 
 gives color to the complexion ; when there is an abundance of arte- 
 rial, pure cherry-red blood, we have the sanguine temperament, 
 which imparts a red complexion and red hair. When the blood is 
 mostly venous, or dark-colored, it leaves the complexion dark and 
 the hair black; and in connection with the liver produces the bilious 
 temperament. This kind of blood, or venous system, belongs to 
 tropical regions. Any person having this kind of blood is cold - 
 bloode d: hence, can bear any amount of heat, unless modified by 
 combinations of other temperaments. It imparts a sort of dor- 
 mant and inactive or indolent nature, and is active only vvheHj 
 aroused. When a man or woman, having this venous blood, is pro-\ 
 voked and thoroughly aroused, he or she is very dangerous, venom- \ 
 ous, malignant, hateful, and merciless in attack. 
 
 We sometimes hear of men who, all their lifetime, have been 
 known as quiet and peaceable citizens, who, becoming enraged, 
 have committed some terrible deed. Black-eyed and black-haired 
 people often have a good deal of unfathomable meanness and treach- 
 ery; their ways are so dark and mysterious that they are past find- 
 ing out, and the more of that s nake -kin d of blood they have, the! 
 worse they are, and their power to fascinate and use a magnetic | 
 influence upon others is beyond description. Many persons with 
 arterial blood exercise a healthy magnetism; but the venous blood 
 in a person with large, black, penetrating eyes, imparts a sort of 
 sickly, irritating, weakening magnetism, similar to what serpents 
 ase in charming. May heaven preserve you, reader, from being a 
 victim, for if once you get under the influence of such a person, you 
 Are a gone case — you are simply a t^, like a mouse in the claws of 
 a cat, or a bird flying around in agony as it sees the open mouth of 
 4ts destroyer, but is unable to save itself. I know of but one way 
 
S2 BLONDES AND BRUNETTES. 
 
 to counteract the powerful influence of men and women fascinators 
 of this description. That is, to set your whole nature against them, 
 and firmly resist their first attack. The more you yield to their 
 influence, the harder it is to break away — like a man being fasci- 
 nated by a serpent — the longer he stands and looks at it, the feebler 
 he is, until he is unable to move. 
 
 Persons, however, having pure arterial blood, and a healthy, 
 vigorous constitution, will have a healthy influence over others, and, 
 if the magnetic power is strong, can n^e it for healing others, though 
 they may likewise use it for evil purposes. 
 
 Insinuation is another, and perhaps the worst, characteristic 
 belonging to brunettes, especially those who have deep, cunning, 
 knowing black eyes. This is one objection that has been raised 
 against the Jews; the men particularly h.ive that bold, aggressive, pen- 
 etrating, hard way of looking at a person, especially ladies, as thou^^h 
 they would like to look right through them; and there are a good 
 many men besides Jews who do the same thing. There are two 
 kinds of insinuations, and both more applicable to brunettes, though 
 frequently found in the blonde iii a modified form. Oi\e is harmless, 
 the other evil. A harmless insinuation is the act of gaining favor, 
 influence and affection, by gentle means — the act of ingratiating 
 one's-self, in a pleasing manner, into the good-will and confidence 
 of another, without any desire or intention to injure or take ad- 
 vantage by so doing. 
 
 An evil insinuation is one of the deepest dyes that stains the 
 soul. It means a hint, a suggestion of something immoral; artfully 
 introducing and instilling into the mind thoughts and ideas that 
 are wicked; hinting imputations of an injurious nature without 
 making any direct charge; a creeping and stealing upon the affec- 
 tions and confidence for base purposes. It was by insinuation and 
 flattery that the Devil ruined our first parents; and there are a good 
 many human devils in the world at the present day, perpetuating 
 Satan's hellish work, and seeking to corrupt innocence by instilling 
 into the minds of youth, through words, looks and actions, ideas 
 calculated to kindle in their hearts t he fire of passion and lust. 
 
 I do not wish to be understood as saying that all brunettes are 
 such characters as I have been describing; but simply that these 
 bad traits are more likely to be found in such persons. Brunettes 
 ftfe naturally very reserved in their character. By reserve. I mean 
 
BLONDE. 
 The Round Form of Face. 
 
BLONDES AND BRUNETTES. 55 
 
 backwardness, coyness, bashfulness, cautiousness and modesty. As 
 a ru\e, a brunette will shrink from the idea of having a picture taken 
 in a low-necked dress, unless she is artistically educated and brought 
 up to dress in that manner; but a blonde is not so particular, and 
 has no scruples about the matter, unless she has a very poor figure, 
 or is uncultivated in taste and intellect. 
 
 Brunettes are likewise reserved in character and manner. They 
 seem to hold themselves back, and retain much of the inner and 
 deeper part of their nature unrevealed to the world or their ac- 
 quaintances. There is much to study in them, and it is hard to find 
 out what their real, hidden character is. And yet, in some respects, 
 they are the most frank, open, free and outspoken persons in exist- 
 ence. There is very little of what phrenologists call secretiveness 
 in their make-up; hence they are not reserved in expressing their 
 ideas, but speak out plainly and to the point. 
 
 Brunettes seldom, if ever, resort to little, underhanded, sharp 
 tricks or cunning devices. When they do play any game, it is one 
 that the victim will not be apt to forget. There is far more depth, 
 thought, solidity and force of character in brunettes than in blondes. 
 The affections in brunettes are more steady, constant, enduring and 
 powerful in their nature than in the blonde type. Once in love, 
 they love the same till the end of life. There is a sacred, intense 
 and somewhat romantic kind of feeling in their love that is found 
 in no other class; and when such individuals are in love, they are 
 jealous and unhappy if the object of their affections is not exclu- 
 sively theirs. This may be true of all persons to a certain extent, 
 but particularly is it so with brunettes. 
 
 A brunette girl, about ten years old, said to me once, **When I 
 like any person, I don't want him to like anybody else." 
 
 The Jews, as a class, form a good illustration of the brunette 
 type, and, although in some respects they are quite reserved, in 
 others, they are very free, communicative and sociable, and are a 
 happy, jovial kind of people. 
 
 Blondes are deficient in strength, power and solidity of character. 
 There is much lightness and frivolity in their nature. They seem 
 to see only the sunny side of life, and are always in for a good time. 
 They are very fond of music, dancing and all kinds of pleasures; 
 ^cncc, arc easier led astray than anj^ Qt^ier clg^% T^^Y ^ave no. 
 
56 BLONDES AND BRUNETTES. 
 
 taste for any kind of strong intellectual food; hence, do not care 
 for philosophical or scientific works or studies; but have a great 
 desire for h.^^ht Hterature, such as novels and all kinds of fictitious 
 and sentimental stories. A woman of this type has little idea of 
 (ousiness. or the value of a thing, and she likes to glide through life 
 as easily a^ possible, basking in mirth and pleasure, Hke a butterfly 
 in the sun. 
 
 The conscience of a blonde will often stretch like a piece of 
 India-rubber, and lying and cheating are second nature to them. I 
 mean by tliese statements that many little things or points in regard 
 to right and wrong, of a moral and religious nature, that others 
 would have conscientious scruples about, do not trouble them in 
 the least. They are quite liberal-minded about amusements, and 
 do not believe in bemg persecuted for conscience sake. Then they 
 have a way of concealing th.eir thoughts and shifting and evading 
 questions they do not wish to answer, by lying directly or indirectly. 
 1 hey will Ukewise ,nretend or assume to be pleasant and friendly 
 when they do not mean it, and so deceive persons by covering up 
 their thoughts an J feelings in every conceivable manner — will make 
 all sorts of promises which they have no idea of fulfilling; in fact, 
 generally assume a character that does not belong to them. If they 
 are playing any kind of game, they will cheat every opportunity 
 they have, and then draw a face a yard long, and declare positively 
 they did not. 
 
 Blondes are very fond of lively music, while a brunette likes 
 music that goes to the heart, thrills and touches the soul — that 
 kind of music which gives deeper emotions, and carries one away 
 in ecstasy. A brunette can be exceedingly good or exceedingly 
 bad, and, when entirely given up to wickedness, has no equal out- 
 side of the infernal regions. But blondes, from the fact that they 
 are light charactered and improperly balanced in their nature, are 
 more easily drawn into the current of sin. Still, they do not drink 
 as deep as brunettes. The majority of prostitutes are blondes (or 
 nearly so), not because they are more passionate than the other 
 class, but simply because they are prone to a merry and fast kind 
 of life, the result of which often leads them to that condition. 
 Another reason is that there is less of the reserved (and in one 
 sense, repelling), modest nature that is so peculiar to the brunettes, 
 and which makes therp harder to become familiar with; whereas, 
 
BLONDES AND BRUNETTES. 57 
 
 blondes are so giddy, thoughtless and go-aheadative in their manner 
 that they seldom stop to think, reason, look ahead, or count the 
 cost of their folly. 
 
 Cleanh'ness is next to Godh'ness, and in this respect blondes set 
 a good example to brunettes, for they are very particular in having 
 everything around them and about their persons clean; while bru- 
 nettes are generally slovenly, either in person, dress or about the 
 house. This is perhaps the chief reason why the Jews have been 
 objected to in some hotels, because their habits and manners about 
 the rooms or at the meal tables have not been orderly and tasty. 
 The women look very nice on the street, but are not so particular in 
 their rooms. I shall never for^^et a family I met at Long Branch one 
 summer; the boys would rush to the table, grab the victuals, and put 
 them down like starving cats. 1 have no unkind feeling against the 
 jews, however, nor would 1 have the public to understand that the 
 better class of Jews are like the family I have described. Brunettes 
 are also apt to shut up and screen the windows, so that the rooms 
 look cheerless and uninviting — have the walls papered dark and 
 gloomy-looking. Hut bioiuies will have their rooms well lighted 
 and cheerful. An architect will reveal much of his character, taste 
 and love of light, or indiffcience about it, in his designs and plans 
 for the construction of a house, and his manner of lighting and 
 ventilating it. A striking illustration of this fact can be seen in 
 the interior arrangement of some hotels and public buildings in 
 contrast with others. 
 
 Society generally associates a bad temper with red hair. A 
 person who has not some kind of temper is worth very little, either 
 to himself or the world, because temper arises from the same fac- 
 ulties that impart propelling power, executive ability and force of 
 character. But the kind of temper one has arises m. ore from the 
 nature of the blood than the faculties. The faculties determine the 
 degree (or intensity) and durability; therefore, red-haired persons, 
 having so much arterial blood in them, are naturally hot-tempered, 
 because hot-blooded, and are hot in their attachments — in fact, hot 
 all through and all over, and somewhat passionate and enthusiastic; 
 but tliey have not so much of that treacherous, revengeful, murder- 
 ous disposition others have who possess more of the dark, venous 
 blood. I remember a child of delicate health, brought up under 
 strict religious training, but full of that sickly, venous blood, v/ho 
 
58 BLONDES AND BRUNETTES. 
 
 would almost die with fits of temper, and so hate her father at times 
 that she would wish him dead. The faculties will manifest them- 
 selves according to the nature of the blood. Red-haired persons 
 are full of vivacity and animal life, sometimes boiling over with 
 ebullitions of feeling. They are particularly adapted for (in fact, 
 require) an out-door business, or some calling that will keep them 
 most of their time in the open air. Men of this stamp are generally 
 fond of hunting, fishing and field sports. 
 
 Red-haired people are often quite sensitive in reference to re- 
 marks made about the color of their hair. In a hotel where I was 
 stopping, some one who had heard me lecture and wanted to tease 
 one of the servants who had red hair, told her about my remarks 
 on her color of hair, making them, different, of course, from what I 
 said. She was an ignorant Irish girl, and took it all in; so the next 
 day as I was passing her on the stairway, she wanted to know in a 
 serious tone of voice if I said that red-heads had no right to live. 
 And I have often found difficulty in getting intelligent people o\ 
 that color of hair upon a platform, for public examination. Fine 
 red hair, with an intelligent and healthy countenance, is not to be 
 despised but admired, especially for the good physical qualities 
 which it indicates. 
 
 In closing this chapter, I wish to remind the reader that the 
 descriptions given of the blonde, brunette and red-haired conditions 
 are not applicable to every person you meet, because most persons 
 are combinations of two or more condiiions. For instance, a person 
 may be partly blonde and brunette, or a mixture of the blonde and 
 red hair, which is often the case. But these suggestions will serve 
 to give you the outlines of character belonging to these conditions, 
 and are intended to serve as land-marks or guide-boards, by and 
 through which the reader may know how and whom to investigate 
 more closely for him or herself. 
 
HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 
 
 Cmase of Dishonesty — Has Man the power to regain lost Purity? — Is there a Personal 
 Devil? — Adamistic Sin — A Principle of Phrenology — Relation of Mind and Body — 
 Primary Cause of Disease and Sin — Perverted Faculties — How to counteract Pas- 
 •ion and form a pure Character — The Influence of Amorous Thoughts — Definition 
 of Conscience — Its relation to other Faculties — No Person perfectly Honest — Three 
 Prerequisites to Honesty — Education of the Conscience: How to do it — Time re- 
 quired to Reform Character — Cause of Criminal Acts — How to Determine a Person's 
 Honesty — Persons Honest in some things and Dishonest in others, and why they 
 ftre so — How to judge of Young Men and Young Women — How to perceive Sin- 
 cerity or Insincerity in others — The Kind of Place a Thief will Seek — Great or 
 Intellectual Thieves, and Petty Thieves — How a Boy Thief stole a Pocket-Book — 
 The Man who was Robbed on the Railroad Cars — Qualification for a Wholesale 
 Thief — Policy Honesty — Genuine Honesty, and the Principle it springs from — How 
 • Dishonest Person acts in general Conduct — The Policy Man — Signs of Honesty — 
 The Consummation of Meanness — Qualification for Money-making — How the Poor 
 can have and maintain their Rights — Signs of Honesty and Dishonesty in the 
 Countenance — How Honest and Dishonest Men act — Selfishness — The Social Na- 
 ture of Man Suffers through Dishonesty. 
 
 When Adam sinned, every faculty he possessed was affected by 
 the fall. That is, he lost acuteness of perception, brilliancy, purity, 
 and that power which perfection alone can impart. His intellectual, 
 moral, and social natures were no longer perfect. His moral charac- 
 ter was stained, his intellect blunted, and his social nature degraded 
 Man has never been able to regain his lost condition, and, though I 
 have great faith in human progress, I fail to see how, or by what 
 process, man can restore himself by his present ability. The differ- 
 ent kinds of sin and temptation are too strong and numerous for 
 fallen man to resist, and he needs the helping hand of his Creator 
 to lift him out of the horrible pit into which he has fallen. If every 
 man and woman in the world determined to give their whole energy 
 to their physical, intellectual and moral improvement, and if all 
 kinds of evil influences, temptations, and the Devil hiinself, were 
 withdrawn from man and the world, and nothing but pure and 
 Divine influences operated upon man, such a thing as man's regain- 
 ing his lo^t condition might be possible, though still questionable. 
 
h. sneak-thief. " A low nature, with a large development of the organ of human 
 »ature Observe the mean and sneaky expression of the whole face, especially around 
 ihe eyes; also, the peeping, half-shut eye. 
 
HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 
 
 I am aware that some do not believe in a personal Devil, . 
 
 not discuss that question here; but simply remark that to conceiv^. 
 of the existence of evil without some fountain-head, is like observ- 
 ing an effect and denying any cause of it. Cau^e and effect are in- 
 separably connected. Therefore, evil is the effect of some cause, 
 and that causejs an intelligent being or spirit. It may be urged 
 that evil is the effect of violated law. So it is generally; but are not 
 all laws made by and for the regulation of intelligent beings? There- 
 fore, the law was first violated by some intelligent and accountable 
 being, and that being is called Satan. 
 
 There are some persons who admit hereditary sin. but not sin 
 inherited from Adam. Now, so far as we know concerning the 
 human race, sin commenced with Adam, and it has never been 
 eradicated. And, as there has been no second perfect man and 
 woman, it still remains in the human family; for I wish the reader 
 to remember that Adamistic sin exists in the will and soul more 
 than in the body, though the body suffers in consequence of it. Christ 
 was perfect, but he did not leave any children, nor even marry; 
 hence, if we inherit sin from our parents and grand-parents, they 
 inherited it in like manner, from their ancestors, and so sin may be 
 traced back to Adam. 
 
 It always seemed to me that many phrenologists, authors and 
 lecturers, who advocate physical perfection, and who regard it as 
 superior to mental and religious influence, begin at the vvrong end. 
 
 One of the principles of phrenology, and what I consider the 
 fundamental principle, is, that mind molds and rules matter. Now, 
 if this be the case, then the body is just what the mind makes it. 
 All physical disease comes from excessive or deficient exercise of 
 the faculties of the mJnd, either in the individual or in his ances- 
 tors. The body of itself has no reason, choice, or will, not even 
 desire. It simply takes or does what the mind directs. And if 
 the mind was pure and perfect in mankind, their bodies would be 
 the same. 
 
 The fact that I wish to impress upon the reader is, that in all 
 kinds of disease and sin, the mind, will or soul is the primary cause, 
 though I admit the mind will vary its manifestations in different 
 organizations, and that mind and body affect, act and react upon 
 each other— the mind, however, always being the positive force, 
 and thg body the negative. Not only has mm'$ entire nature $uf^ 
 
HONESTY AKD DISHONEStf. 
 
 .^ by the fall, but all his faculties are liable and prone to pervef- 
 sion or abuse. 
 
 Perverted cautiousness will produce fright, terror and rashness, 
 and do the very thing it ought not to. Excessive amativeness, or 
 love, leads to perversion and causes licentiousness, sin and suffering, 
 and when soured, turns to hatred and jealousy. Excessive venera- 
 tion leads to bigotry and religious intolerance, and perverted wit 
 turns everything into ridicule; perverted ideality, or imagination, 
 conceives, admires and pictures images in the mind that are base 
 and degrading, rather than beautiful, pure and elevating, and so 
 with all the faculties. 
 
 I remember examining a young man who had a very large organ 
 of ideality, but his face did not have that pure, ideal or pretty ex- 
 pression that the faculty of ideality imparts to it. I saw there was 
 something wrong, and placing my fingers on the organ of amative- 
 ness, I found it also very large; so I at once concluded he had been 
 visiting immoral shows, such as low variety theatres; and, when I 
 questioned him on the subject, he admitted it was so. Thus one of 
 his moral sentiments had been perverted, and made to imagine and 
 picture foul im.ages for the mind and memory through a corrupt 
 propensity. 
 
 It is evident, then, that the only way man can cleanse his char- 
 acter and control his passions, is to commence with his thoughts; 
 regulate and control them, and you control and mold the whole 
 character. Give no evil thought lodgment in your mind one mo- 
 ment, but banish it as you would a viper, and there will be no dangei 
 of your becoming a victim of passion. But this is easier said than 
 done, and easier practiced in youth than at any other time. Parents 
 could not instil into the minds and hearts of their children any 
 greater blessing than to teach them self-control by persuading them 
 to control their thoughts. Alas! parents know very little about 
 the thoughts of their offspring. They tell them to do some things, 
 and not to do other things, but never in a confiding, loving manner 
 try to ascertain what the current of their thought is — what they 
 think about most; and so, by continually thinking about some pet 
 idol or object of their heart or fancy, the smoldering fire of passion 
 is kindled, which burns away slowly, but surely, till some day it 
 l&ursts out in full blaze, and consumes its victim. Whereas, if those 
 l^kked thoughts in youth had been stilled, the fire might havjp been 
 
HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 63 
 
 extinguished, and the darling saved. O, mothers and fathers, you 
 think you know all about your children; but the secrets of their 
 hearts — their unexpressed thoughts — which are silently forming 
 their future character, you know little or nothing about. Take 
 them upon your knee, and in the most affectionate and confiding 
 manner, persuade them to tell you what they think about most, 
 what they love, and what they have the greatest desire for. Do not 
 do it in an authoritative, commanding manner; you only repel them 
 in that way. You must, as it were, court it out of them. When. 
 you know their thoughts and desires, you know how to train them. 
 But children are generally left to grow up and think about what 
 they please, and, the more evil they see and come in contact with, 
 the more they think about it, and the more they become like it. 
 And, although they may not do by act what they see others do, 
 they will in thought; and finally thought urges them on to evil acts. 
 Secret thoughts are the medium through which the Devil tempts 
 mankind, and we give way to them the more readily because it is a 
 species of sin and imaginary pleasure no other human being knows 
 anything about. How many young persons there are just boiling 
 over with amorous thoughts and desires; though, if you charge them 
 with it, they would most Hkely deny it, because they feel ashamed 
 to own up. Now, these desires will some day ripen into evil actions, 
 unless morally satisfied. What is true of a mativeness^ is true of 
 conscientiousness, that faculty which prom.pts men to do right, love 
 truth, justice, equity and honesty. Conscience is not an instructor. 
 It does not teach men what is right or wrong, only so far as it acts 
 in connection with the intellectual faculties. The intellect first 
 determines what is right, and conscience gives the impulse to do it. 
 Conscientiousness, combined with veneration, renders man obedient 
 to his Maker and his laws; combined with inhabitiveness, it will 
 render him obedient to the laws of his country; and with conju- 
 gality, will make him true and loyal to his marriage vov/s; combined 
 with acquisitiveness and friendship, it v/ill pay and exact payment 
 of all bills, and discharge all business obligations in a just and 
 straightforward manner. But with these conditions deficient it will 
 not do so. Hence the most conscientious man in the world is not 
 perfectly honest. He will be dishonest in some particular. There 
 never was a person honest in every particular, since the fall of Adam. 
 When he fell, conscience fell with him. So we find many people 
 
64 HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 
 
 scrupulously honest about some things, but indifferent about others, 
 and yet-, in the general acceptation of the term, we call them honest. 
 
 Many persons appear, in the eyes of a suspicious, selfish nian. 
 dishonest, when \n purpose or intention they mean to do ri<;ht 
 Whereas, a person may be apparently honest, but in heart a regular 
 thief or swindler. We must look beyond and behind apparent hon- 
 esty or dishonesty for the reality. 
 
 Let us first inquire what are the pre-requisites to honesty. There 
 are three. The first in order is the organic quality, which is defined 
 in the latter part of this book, among the organs and temperaments; 
 the second is conscientiousness; and the third education. 
 
 I would not give much for the strength and durability of any 
 one's honesty who is deficient in the organic quality. He is too 
 earthly and animal in his nature to resist powerful temptations. 
 He who is deficient in conscientiousness lacks an innate sense of 
 duty and obligation, and the motive power to do a thing or not to 
 do it. 
 
 Then conscience is not of much use unless it is educated. It 
 will allow a person to do whatever education says is right. The 
 heathen mother who throws her infant into the river Ganges is 
 conscientious in doing so; and he who worships a block of wood, or 
 any false God, instead of his Maker, believes he is doing right. But 
 his sincerity does not make it so. 
 
 Paul and the Jews thought they were doing service for God by 
 persecuting his people. But when Paul's conscience became en- 
 lightened, or better educated, he saw his mistake. 
 
 Many religious people have thought they were doing right by 
 persecuting and putting to death those who did not believe as they 
 did. Just think of the Spanish Inquisition and the horrible instru- 
 ments of torture that were used. The conscience of those religious 
 tormentors of the dark ages was blinded by ignorance, superstition 
 and intolerance. Still I often hear people say it makes no difference 
 what you bcli-e\'e so long as you are sincere. How preposterous! 
 As well say that it will not hurt a man to swallow poison if he sin- 
 cerely believes it will do him good. Guiteau believed that the 
 shooting of Mr. Garfield was a political necessity, but other people 
 do not think that his belief justified the act, nor does the law rec- 
 ognize such excuses. One man may believe he is doing right in 
 
HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 65 
 
 killing another, as is sometimes the case, but the law and the peo- 
 ple step in and hang him for carrying out his beh'ef. Any person 
 with two grains of common sense ought to know that belief and 
 sincerity does not alter facts nor change either mental or physical 
 laws. Peter was sincere when he defended Christ with his sword, 
 but his sincerity did not make his act right, and he was quickly told 
 to put his sword into its sheath. 
 
 So I use the word education here as applied to the faculty of 
 conscientiousness — not the intellect merely, although the conscience 
 has to be educated through the intellect. To be honest, and have 
 correct views of right and wrong, one must have these three con- 
 ditions in equal force and well developed. 
 
 Honesty and dishonesty are partly the result of proper or im- 
 proper education, training or influence brought to bear on one's 
 conscience. When children see honesty in their parents, and are 
 taught to practice it, and men and women see honesty in others, 
 and learn to imitate it, that is being educated to honesty. 
 
 When children grow up under the influence of dishonesty, and 
 are constantly made to feel that to be honest is a weakness rather 
 than a virtue — that they cannot get rich by that kind of policy — 
 they are practically taught to be dishonest. So it is really the ed 
 ucation of the faculties that determines their action for good 0, 
 evil, more than the size of them. 
 
 Let two persons be raised under similar circumstances, havUfg 
 precisely the same mental and physical organization, and they will 
 think, feel and act differently, according as their education differed. 
 All the faculties will manifest their power in whatever way or man- 
 ner they are taught to act, and they can be taught and influenced 
 in any direction. Veneration will worship any God it is taught to 
 worship; faith will believe anything it is taught to believe; hope 
 will expect whatever is placed before it; language will utter 
 whatever words it is familiar with; amativeness will love either 
 purely or sensually; and conscientiousness will approve of any 
 act, whether right or wrong, if taught and influenced hy reason 
 or custom. 
 
 This kind of education is not all accomplished in one life. It is 
 hereditary, and may take generations to produce a complete re- 
 formation of character. Hence a notorious thief, swindler or villain 
 
66 HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 
 
 is not so entirely from the force, education or circumstances of his 
 own life, but has inherited its starting power or propensity from 
 one or both of his parents. 
 
 People do not become dishonest suddenly. They go through a 
 hardening process. Even persons who have borne an honest repu- 
 tation all through their previous life, up to a certain period in their 
 history when they have committed some dishonorable and criminal 
 act, have been silently preparing themselves to commit the deed 
 for months, and sometimes years, or half a life-time. And this has 
 been accomplished by a weakening and degrading influence upon 
 The faculty of conscientiousness, from the selfish or passional facul- 
 ties, which has been increasing in activity and growing stronger an( 
 stronger, till it has completely mastered the conscience and wil; 
 So, in determining a person's honesty, it is not sufficient to tub 
 certain how large that organ is, but how large are the selfif;?? /nd 
 animal propensities — what class or set of faculties have the Z'iCi.nd- 
 ancy. If the moral predominates over all others, then honei i.y can 
 be relied upon. But if the selfish sentiments and animal pn;pensi- 
 ties control the whole character, large conscientiousness is liable to 
 give way whenever a strong temptation presents itself, thouijh the 
 individual may afterwards repent. 
 
 To measure a person's honesty, therefore, we require to know 
 the strongest desire in his nature. It is likewise necessary to know 
 in what way, and under what influences, the faculties have been ex- 
 ercised and educated. If it is the gratification of passion, pleasure, 
 dress, taste, display, parade, style and ambition, then his honesty is 
 in great danger. But if integrity, fidelity, purity of character, hos- 
 pitality, and love of everything that is noble and elevating are 
 uppermost in his mind, and constitute the chief aim of his life, the 
 person is scarcely tempted to be dishonest, much less guilty of it. 
 But men differ in their ideas of honesty, and some are very honest 
 about some things, but dishonest, or at least indifferent, about 
 others, which phrenology alone can explain. 
 
 For instance, a person having large moral organs, but deficient 
 acquisitiveness, would be very sensitive in regard to general honesty, 
 such as relates to moral principle, intention, purpose, motives, and 
 a sense of duty and obligation, but is liable to be careless and indif- 
 fe/ tnt in regard to business transactions and the payment of bills. 
 H benevolence was very large, such a person would probably give 
 
HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 6/ 
 
 away what belonged to another; and with large veneration, would 
 feel a sense of guilt for the neglect of religious duty. If, on the 
 other hand, acquisitiveness was large and the moral faculties only 
 average, the individual may be very particular and prompt in the 
 payment of bills and the discharge of all business obligations, as far 
 as it would be in his power to do so, and would expect others to do 
 the same with him — but, at the same time, dishonest in purpose, 
 motives, and general principles of moral equity and justice, and feel- 
 ing indifferent to Divine laws and religious ordinances. And soon, 
 through man's mental nature, conscience manifesting itself as it is 
 acted upon by other faculties and combinations. 
 
 Thousands of naturally honest young men, who occupy positions 
 of trust and responsibility, become in time dishonest, because a 
 strong desire for fashionable life, with a love for gambling, drink and 
 fast women, have made greater demands than their salaries would 
 meet, and so led them to rob their employers. 1 heard of a bank 
 cashier whose wife was an actress, and wanted an expensive ward- 
 robe. His salary was not sufficient to keep her dressed for the stage, 
 so he began to steal from the funds of the bank till he finally be- 
 came a defaulter to the extent of about eighty thousand dollars. Busi- 
 ness men, therefore, in engaging help, instead of asking for references, 
 should find out what their largest faculties are, and their associations 
 in hfe,and thuslearn theirnatural tendencies. RecommxCndations are 
 not a guarantee of character; they only show what reputation a per- 
 son bears, so far as he is known, while the hidden or concealed char- 
 acter may not have come to light, and will not until temptation or 
 circumstances bring it out. Bad characters, with a little shrewd- 
 ness, can manage to get good recommendations and give good 
 references. I have had persons come to me with recommendations 
 that were not worth the paper they were written on. 
 
 Persons who are constantly traveling or passing on the reputa- 
 tion or recommendations of others — who are continually referring 
 to some acquaintance of note and prominence in society or business 
 circles, are not the most trustworthy, as they generally lack strength 
 and force of character, and sometimes morality. They should be 
 kept at arm's length until you thoroughly know and understand 
 them. 
 
 When you meet a young man who is constantly boasting or 
 talking about his ancestry, the standing in society of hiis relatives, 
 
6S HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 
 
 and what they are worth, or what they have done, rest assured that 
 he is building his character upon a sandy foundation. He is of no 
 service to himself or the world. 
 
 When you meet a young lady who is constantly talking about 
 and admiring the fashions, balls, parties, amusements and light lit- 
 erature, you may be sure she has rooms to rent in the upper story; 
 will never make a good wife; will spend all the money she can lay 
 her hands on, and will not be particular how it is obtained, so long 
 as she has the use of it. 
 
 Beware of the individual, whether man or woman, who persist- 
 ently, though gently, and sometimes slowly, aims to ingratiate him- 
 self or herself into your favor or confidence and good will. They 
 seldom take advantage till they get a favorable opportunity, and 
 then they bite like tigers. I mean such persons as make a business of 
 forming intimate acquaintances for selfish and base purposes. And 
 the reader must use his or her faculty of human nature to distinguish 
 between genuine and spurious friendship, for these evil-doers gen- 
 erally accomplish their mean acts under the robe of friendship. 
 
 Assumed friendship can generally be detected by the way such 
 persons act. Their little unguarded actions will generally reveal 
 their true character and expose their motives and secret intentions. 
 
 A person who is sensitive to mental impressions can feel and 
 perceive honesty and sincerity in others; and the insincerity of 
 persons will be likewise impressed upon his mind. Men having 
 large acquisitiveness are not the persons to trust with large sums 
 of money, especially if secretiveness is large and the moral faculties 
 only full. They should not be exposed to temptation unless closely 
 watched. But a man having large conscientiousness and the or- 
 ganic quality, vAih only average acquisitiveness and secretiveness, 
 may be trusted with any amount, without any restraint or watching; 
 because, in the first place, they have very little love for money, and, 
 secondly, they are far above dishonesty in that respect. Their tastes 
 and aspirations are for something higher and nobler, and they sel- 
 dom, if ever, seek public office or position where financial responsi- 
 bility is involved. The men who seek fat public of^ces are generally 
 just the men who ought not to get them. The very faculties and 
 propensities that prompt them to seek such offices are the ones that 
 render them unfit for such positions of trust. 
 
HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 69 
 
 A thief will always seek the place that gives him the most free- 
 dom and trust, so that he can better exercise his thievish propensi- 
 ties. Great thieves are generally very intelligent and smart men, 
 because their animal propensities have brought the intellect into 
 subjection, so that the individual uses all his intellectual powers in 
 connection with acquisitiveness and secretiveness. Whereas, the 
 selfish propensities ought to be in subjection to the intellect, and 
 impart to it power and force. Intellectual thieves do not bother 
 with little things; they think, plan and scheme, and use all their 
 physical powers to accomplish some grand swindle or public plunder. 
 Petty thieves are less intellectual; they are ignorant, but often re- 
 ceive more punishment than wholesale thieves, because they have 
 not intellect enough to escape the law, and do not steal enough to 
 pay intellectual lawyers to defend them. 
 
 The sneak thief, however, is a great annoyance to the public 
 and individuals, because it is difficult to watch him or catch him. He 
 steals like a cat —takes things behind your back and when you are 
 least expecting such a thing. Still there is something in the man- 
 ner and actions of a regular and promiscuous thief (that is, one who 
 steals anywhere and everywhere he can find a chance) independent 
 of his looks, that is sufficient to excite a person's suspicion and put 
 him on his guard. As a rule, a thief is restless and uneasy in his 
 movements, especially if he operates on the streets and in public 
 places, because he fears detection and arrest, and never knows the 
 moment an officer will lay his hands on him; hence he is in constant 
 fear, and in spite of his effort to control himself so as to appear hon- 
 est, his excited organ of cautiousness makes him nervous, watchful 
 and uneasy in his movements. 
 
 All thieves are forward, bold and venturesome, prying into per- 
 sons' affairs, and pushing themselves into places where they have no 
 business. Like a young girl I met in a hotel only fourteen years old. 
 As soon as I saw her in the parlor I concluded there was something 
 wrong about her. After watching her a little while I told the pro- 
 prietor I thought she was a little fast, and would steal if she got a 
 chance. Before she left the house she stole something out of one 
 of the boarders' rooms, and her actions proved her to be far from a 
 modest girl. She got intimate with the chambermaid and went 
 into the various rooms when the beds were being made up. In that 
 w*y she had a chance to see. what trinkets or jewelry was lying 
 
70 
 
 HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 
 
 around on the bureaus or in the drawers. And whenever you sec 
 or hear of any one going into your own or other persons' rooms in 
 their absence, unless there is some particular reason for their doing 
 so, such a person will bear watching. In a boarding house 1 once 
 stopped at in Philadelphia, two men were having a warm discussion 
 at the dinner table. One of them had been in the habit of going 
 into his neighbor's room and helping himself to little things when 
 he was absent, without saying anything about it. Nearly all thefts, 
 robberies and burglaries are committed in a similar way. The thief 
 or his accomplice first finds out where money or goods are located, 
 makes a careful examination in a sly, quiet way of the house or store, 
 and the doors or windows in it, then plans and waits for a favorable 
 opportunity to commit the act. So, when you find a man or women 
 quizzing you about your private affairs, or carefully noticing the 
 arrangement of your house or store, look out and be on your guard. 
 A beautiful woman once called at my office and wanted to know if 
 I were not doing pretty well and making lots of money. I imme- 
 diately divined a motive back of her question, and told her I man- 
 aged to make enough to pay for my board. She left and never 
 troubled me any more, but almost ruined a prominent lawyer and 
 his son, not by direct stealing, but by getting them under her influ- 
 ence and power. There seems to be no end to the innumerable 
 ways and means dishonest people resort to in order to get money 
 without labor, and no matter whether they steal it outright or get 
 it in an indirect manner, they are all thieves. 
 
 Never unnecessarily show your money in a promiscuous crowd, 
 in a railway car, street car, on a steamboat, or in any public place, 
 not even in private or in your own house before your servants, for 
 though your servants or help may be honest, they are poor, and 
 you thereby unintentionally tempt them, and if they are not honest 
 the temptation is all the stronger, and if you do it in a public place 
 and there happens to be a pickpocket, you may expect to loose 
 your money unless you keep your hand on it. A young lady in 
 Chicago went to the door in answer to the bell, and received from 
 a boy a small bill for collection. While the boy waited in the hall, 
 she went into the parlor and got her mother's pocket-book from off 
 the mantel-piece, and in the presence of the boy took out enough 
 money to pay the bill, and handed it to him, leaving twenty-five dol- 
 lars In the book, then left it oii the m»ntel-piece again, and hurried up 
 
HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 7 1 
 
 staffs. A little while afterwards her mother wanted her pocket-book, 
 and on looking for it found it was gone. The boy saw the money, 
 watched the young lady from the steps replace it, then slipped in 
 and stole it after she left the rooms. 
 
 There are many persons, even in civilized society and countries, 
 whose moral sense is so weak and the organic tone so low, that they 
 look upon stealing more as a business than a crime, and to unnec- 
 essarily expose money or jewelry before them is not only a lack of 
 common sense, but downright criminal carelessness and thought- 
 lessness. An event that will illustrate this point occurred at a pic- 
 nic in one of the southern states. A vain mother had richly dressed 
 her seven year old girl and decked her in jewels, among them 
 being a costly diamond pin. She was left to roam about the pic- 
 nic grounds as she pleased, and finally wandered off to a secluded 
 place where she was out of sight of the company, when a low-bred 
 negro saw her and the jewelry and robbed her, and then to hide his 
 crime or identity, killed her. Meanwhile, the little girl was missed 
 and searched for by her father. Suddenly he was horrified to see 
 a muscular negro with the dead body of his dear child hurrying 
 toward the river bank. A severe struggle ensued between the 
 father and the murderer for the body of the child, till cries for help 
 brought others to the rescue, when the negro was overpowered, 
 and. according to southern style, hung to a tree. Now, while every 
 rational person will admit the criminal should have been punished 
 :by law (not lynch law), the moral nevertheless stands out bold that, 
 |if the parents of that child had displayed more good sen«e and judg- 
 iment and hss vanity, the child would not have 5een robbed, much 
 [less killed. A picnic ground is hardly the place for the display of 
 diamonds, especially when children are left to run around unpro- 
 tected and in danger of meeting all sorts of characters. 
 
 Whenever you find one or more persons crowding against you in 
 my public place or conveyance, be on your guard; that is the time 
 :hieves do their work, and the game they sometimes play to do it. 
 A.S in the case of a gentleman who was traveling on the cars, and 
 lad taken considerable money with him to buy goods with. He 
 Ifcry foolishly displayed his money while sitting in the car, and 
 tfter arriving at his destination when he looked for his pocket- 
 .j)Ook it was gone; then he remembered that just before he left 
 jlhc car three or four men crowded against him so forcibly that he 
 
72 HONESTY AND DISHONESTT. 
 
 g^ently rebuked them for it, but never suspected their motive till it 
 
 was too late. 
 
 A man in whose brain the selfish and animal propensities are 
 predominant, with the intellect next, and plenty of vital stamina, 
 and the moral faculties well in subjection, is well qualified for a 
 wholesale thief; he is hard to catch, and, if caught, still harder to 
 punish; and how much better is a smart, intelligent lawyer, who 
 knowingly defends a notorious thief, than the thief himself ? Petty 
 thieves generally come from the common and low class of society, 
 but defaulters and wholesale thieves come from a more respectable 
 and higher class of society. 
 
 The fact that so many criminals go unpunished, or nearly so, 
 shows that conscientiousness in the officers of the law, and the 
 community too, is weak, or else force, execution and courage arc 
 deficient, or perhaps both. Where firmness, conscientiousness, 
 combativeness and destructiveness are large, criminals are apt to 
 get their just deserts; but where benevolence and acquisitiveness 
 are large, and conscientiousness only average or full, criminals are 
 let off very easily. 
 
 Some are honest because they think it policy to be so; that is, 
 they are not honest from principle or the love of it, but from selfish- 
 ness, because it pays better; and, when it don't pay them to be hon- 
 est, they pocket their conscience, and resort to policy, shrewdness, 
 trickery and underhanded dealing — the outgrowth of secretiveness. 
 Such persons, though apparently honest, are thieves at heart. 
 
 Honesty springs from that principle which is loyal to truth and 
 righteousness, and has nothing to do with worldly policy. Honesty 
 and policy are opposite terms. You can tell an honest person by 
 his conversation and manner of doing business. An honest man or 
 woman is frank, open-hearted, outspoken, free in manner and the 
 expression of their thoughts and ideas, and in business will show up 
 things, and represent them just as they are; will have one price and 
 stick to it; do not equivocate and hesitate, and beat around the bush 
 half an hour before they can say or do a thing; do not act in a mys- 
 terious manner, and make enigmas of themselves, nor become a 
 Chinese puzzle to nearly every person they become acquainted with. 
 Such persons are not, and can not be, honest in motive and purpose, 
 if they are in their actions. 
 
HOTTESTY AND DISHONESTY. 71 
 
 A dishonest person or one who acts from mere policy, is cunning, 
 evasive, sly, double-faced, snaky, slow to speak and express himself, 
 indefinite in statement and ideas, restrained in manner or action, 
 draws a veil over his whole character, assumes much external polite- 
 ness, and even smiles on you if he sees a chance to make anything. 
 He seldom, if ever, laughs heartily, is afraid to speak or act without 
 first thinking how he will do it, cannot look you steadily in the eye, 
 and will endeavor to throw you off your guard by saying one thing 
 and meaning another; will perhaps say a few things about himself, 
 in order to draw out your secrets, but take good care to say noth- 
 ing about himself which is of any importance; will gain as much 
 confidence from others as he can, but retain his own; will expose 
 confidence placed in him, if to his advantage to do so; or, if he has 
 any dislike against those who have confided in him, will tattle 
 behind their backs or in their absence. 
 
 Trust no such persons, even if they are friendly to you, for their 
 hearts are as unreliable and changeable as the winds and waves. In 
 business they always put the best side out, cover up defects, have a 
 price to suit the buyer and not the value of the article, always make 
 the sharpest bargain they can, pay- as little and receive as much as 
 possible for all kinds of merchandise, sell some articles low and 
 make up on others; take advantage wherever they can, but never 
 give any, unless as a bait; impose on persons in straitened cir- 
 cumstances; misuse and "plunder those who are financially in their 
 power, and like a cat watching a mouse, try to prey upon money, 
 property, and perhaps a business that some other person has lab- 
 ored hard to build up; are vulture-like and eagle-like to grasp what- 
 ever comes within their reach, regardless of the rights and feelings 
 of others. 
 
 The policy man will make goods out of poor material and by 
 unskilled laborers, and still sell them for the best price he can get; 
 will put in low contracts to secure a job, and then slight the work 
 to make money out of it; will even jeopardize human life, erecting 
 and constructing that which is unsafe, in order to make something 
 out of it. Policy has nothing to fear, lose or sacrifice, but every- 
 thing to gain in whatever way and under any circumstances most 
 convenient. 
 
 Policy is so prevalent and honesty so rare that a genuine honest 
 man is often mistrusted, suspected, and even arrested, because the 
 
;4 ttONlSSTY AK& DtSMONESfY. 
 
 policy man Judges everybody by himself. He has never looked 
 through an honest telescope, and he really does not know how hon- 
 esty looks, acts or manifests itself. Many a man often appears dis- 
 honest in a business point of view, because he lacks definite or 
 distinct ideas of business or business principles. Business is foreign 
 to his nature. Especially is this the case with artists, poets, liter- 
 ary men, and those adapted to the higher pursuits of life. 
 
 A rogue at heart may present an external appearance of hones- 
 ty, while one who is honest at heart may, in some things, appear 
 dishonest; and when one person accuses another of being dishonest 
 without sufficient cause or evidence, he is generally the most dis- 
 honest himself. 
 
 Familiarity or intimate acquaintance with an honest person 
 ripens into respect, but with a policy person it frequently creates 
 contempt. 
 
 Policy creates fear, distrust and suspicion concerning'one's neigh- 
 bors — makes men almost afraid of their own brothers, and produces 
 universal distrust; makes church members doubtful of each other's 
 piety, and society and church organizations wickedly jealous of each 
 other. 
 
 Another sign of honesty is, that when an individual has done 
 wrong through temptation or any other cause, and has become con- 
 vinced of it, he will repent and do better, or restore what has been 
 wrongfully taken, if in his power to do so, or make just and ample 
 restitution for any injury inflicted, whether of a private, social or 
 public nature. He who has injured another's feelings, will seek 
 reconciliation; he who has tarnished his neighbor's good name will 
 aim to restore it to its former brightness; and he who has robbed 
 the public treasury will try to pay it back. 
 
 It is not so much the actions that constitute the character as 
 the motives that prompt the acts. Man would judge his fellow-men 
 by their actions, but Divinity by their motives. 
 
 Acts and words are not always indicative of the hidden motive. 
 If all men were honest in thought, word and deed, wealth in this 
 world would be more equally distributed. As it is, there are too 
 many human sharks ready to gobble up another man's hard-earncw 
 wealth or self-made business. Thev use everv kind of force and 
 ivratagem to get from another what they have no claim upon for 
 
HONBSTY AND DlbUONEbTV. 75 
 
 the least remuneration possible, and then coolly inform their un- 
 suspecting victim that the little they have given has been through 
 kindness and friendship. 
 
 The consummation of all meanness is for the mighty in any 
 sphere of life, financially, socially or intellectually, to oppress or 
 take advantage of the weak because they have the power to do so; 
 and for those who have risen in life to kick those who are falling. 
 If all men had equal desires and ability to gain wealth and property, 
 all would be equally rich, or at least in about equal circumstances; 
 but this is not the case. All have not the desire, to say nothing 
 about the difference in ability. Some prefer to fill their minds more 
 than their pockets — to lay up mental, enduring treasures, and to 
 become benefactors to their race, rather than spend all their time 
 and energy for selfish purposes or lay up a fortune to ruin their 
 children with. Better give them a sound constitution and good 
 education, and let them make their own fortunes, and then they 
 will know better how to spend them. 
 
 It does not require any great amount of intellect or education 
 to make money. Intellect seeks higher and nobler pursuits than 
 money-making. Very often men with little brains and less educa- 
 tion will make money easily, while an intelligent man will almost 
 starve; though an intelligent man is the best financier, and, with 
 the animal propensities, can make the most money. 
 
 When a man gives his whole energy and talent to money-mak- 
 ing, what is to hinder him from doing it, especially if he pockets 
 his conscience and shaves everybody he can.? Wealth is seldom 
 obtained honestly. Somebody has lost and suffered; for what is 
 one man's gain is generally another's loss. I do not say that it can- 
 not be acquired, to a reasonable extent, honestly; but that is the 
 exception, not the rule. When all men rise to an intellectual and 
 moral level, we may look for an equal distribution of wealth, but 
 not before. 
 
 No thoroughly honest man — one who gives value for all he re- 
 ceives, and pays every man according to service rendered, and never 
 in any way takes advantage of individuals or the public, can ever 
 amass millions upon miUions in the few years allotted to human life. 
 
 The best thing poor people can do to maintain their rights is to 
 educate themselves; and by education, I mean the culture of their 
 whole nature — every organ and faculty they possess, whether ptiys* 
 
;6 HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 
 
 ical, mental, social, moral or animal; and by animal, I do not mean 
 
 perverted animalism, but those animal propensities which make 
 men provide for the wants of the body, and give force and execu- 
 tiveness to their character — the very thing poor people do not use, 
 unless it be in quarrelling and fighting. 
 
 Men whose chief desire is to be rich cannot, in the very nature 
 of things, be honest, at least in purpose or motive. Therefore, when 
 men devote their whole souls to money-making, they proclaim 
 themselves thieves, because such persons always want more of this 
 world's goods than is their proper share. They will never be satis- 
 fied. The more they get, the stronger the passion grows, and their 
 thirst for wealth knows no bounds — to them no sound is so musical, 
 no sight so charming, as that of money. So, when acquisitiveness 
 becomes abnormal, conscientious scruples give way, and they arc 
 bound, if they can, to gain what they desire. But what right has 
 one to a thousand times as much as another, unless he gives an 
 equivalent for it .'' What right has he to devote his whole mind to 
 one thing till he becomes insane on that point .^ — robbing his own 
 soul and body of proper care and provision — robbing his Maker 
 and society of their claims upon him .? So, even if he gets his 
 wealth honestly, he is dishonest in other respects. 
 
 Reader, would you like to look and feel and live like an old 
 miser .^ " Is there anything noble-looking, intelligent, refined or 
 beautiful in the countenance of such a person } Just the reverse. 
 They look like the last rose of summer, which has nearly dried up. 
 They are the most dilapidated-looking specimens of humanity one 
 wants to see, and their souls are in as bad a condition as their bodies. 
 They enjoy little or nothing. Life and nature are dead, or fast 
 asleep, and suffering humanity may die also, for all they care. Their 
 sense of moral obligation and responsibility has been stupefied. 
 Stinginess has coiled itself around their hearts like a serpent, and 
 all noble desires and generous impulses have been crushed out. 
 Men cannot look healthy, bright and amiable, except the faculties 
 are purely and honestly exercised. 
 
 Honesty and dishonesty hang out their appropriate signs upon 
 the countenance, and they are no more ahke than darkness and 
 daylight. Honesty gives a plain, open, noble, speaking expression. 
 Every look and feature is one of frankness, and you can seem to 
 ^$4 th^ very thoughts or minds of such persons from their couji' 
 
HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 11 
 
 tenance, especially during conversation. They always look you 
 steadily and straightly in the eye, unless very bashful, and that is 
 easily observed. 1 he faces of dishonest persons are ail riddles. 
 The more you look at them and study them, the more you are puz- 
 zled. They throw a vail over their faces — do not like to be scruti- 
 nized closely, have a mean-looking expression, a concealed, reserved, 
 sly way with them during conversation — look at you by glances, 
 and not steadily, often have a watchful, restless appearance — lack 
 that confiding, trustworthy, noble look so conspicuous in honest men. 
 
 Honest persons speak the truth, tell you just what they think 
 and mean, and are free to communicate. Dishonest persons evade 
 the truth, lie, misrepresent, are not candid, say one thing and mean 
 another. If some one they do not like calls on them, they will say 
 they are delighted and happy to see them, when, in their hearts, 
 they wish they had stayed away; or else have their servants lie for 
 them, by saying they are not at home. 
 
 Policy-honesty is a two-faced thing; it makes fair promises and 
 pretensions in doing anything, but when the time comes, backs out 
 or evades the matter. Like a man in Chicago who owned a house 
 and lot, and had been using a vacant lot adjoining his, till one day 
 the owner from the East was looking it up, and seeing the man at 
 his gate, asked him whose lot it was. '*Well," said he, *'I do not 
 know who the owner is, nor where he lives; I have been trying to 
 find out for some time myself, as I have been using the ground and 
 want to pay something for it, and would like to rent it." The stran- 
 ger then informed him that he was the owner of it, but the man 
 was not so ready or anxious to pay anything for it then. As long 
 as the owner existed only in imagination, and remained in the East, 
 he was willing to pay for privileges; but as soon as he came within 
 paying distance, his show of honest ardor cooled down and vanished. 
 
 These may be considered by many, little and insignificant things; 
 but, as I have said before, it is the little acts that reveal the char- 
 acter, and he who will commit a small sin, and consider it of no 
 importance, will commit a greater one when the opportunity is 
 favorable and the temptation strong enough. That man or woman 
 who will cheat and tell lies in games of amusement, will do so in 
 the higher game of life. 
 
 In fact, I fear many persons become conspicuously dishonest, 
 ^d sometimes gamblers, by cheating in so-called innocent garnet^ 
 
78 HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 
 
 just for fun, and to show how smart they can be by displaying their 
 dishonest propensities. It is a regular school discipline, that fits 
 young people for lives of dishonesty. They may not steal, rob or 
 swindle persons out of money or property, but they will practice 
 deception, in their every-day life, in some form or other, for there 
 is no end to ways in which dishonesty may be practiced without 
 rendering one amenable to the laws of man. 
 
 Honest people are honest in all they say and do, and show it in 
 all their actions, though they may be more honest or particular 
 about some things, which accord with their tastes, desires and edu- 
 cation, than about others; and when they appear to be indifferent 
 in reference to some subjects, it is not from any real intention to be 
 so, but because they do not see and understand the importance, or 
 have not a definite idea of the matter, and so fail to realize that 
 they are dishonest. 
 
 The most dishonest people in the world will be honest in busi- 
 ness transactions up to a certain point or period; that is, so far as 
 they deem it essential to their own interests to be so. Policy teaches 
 them t^iUt they must be honest in some things and up to a given 
 time; tnherwise there will be no chance for them to practice dis- 
 honest)'-, and reap a harvest. 
 
 A thief in public office may, through policy, be honest for a long 
 time, till he gains the confidence and good will of the community, 
 so that he can make a clean sweep when he does steal. An em- 
 ploye will discharge his duties honorably, and take an unusual 
 interest in his employer's business, until he thinks he has done it 
 long enough to give himself full play for plunder or to take advantage 
 in some way, without awaking suspicion on the part of his em- 
 ployer. I once had a man acting for me as agent. I was thoroughly 
 convinced in my mind that he had very little principle, and was a 
 shrewd dead-beat. Still, I wished to prove positively whether my 
 impressions were correct, and so gave him a fair chance to show 
 himself, taking care he only went so far. It only required about 
 three weeks for him to play his little, mean, dishonest game. So 
 long as he thought he could make anything out of me, he acted 
 about squarely; but when that time ceased, in his estimation, bis 
 true character revealed itself. 
 
 The moral to be learned from this statement is, trust people of 
 doubtful honesty only as long as you have them in your power, or 
 
HOMSStV AND DISHONEStV. 79 
 
 it is policy for them to be honest. Your judgment, circumstances 
 and facts, in connection with a close observation of their little acts 
 and expressions in conversation, must determine when this day of 
 honesty is over or drawing to a close. 
 
 Two men enter into partnership. One applies his mind to work- 
 ing up or carrying on the business; the other to studying how hf 
 can obtain the largest share of the profits, or bounce his partner. 
 And yet the disloyal partner may make the greatest show rj 
 honesty, as far as dollars and cents are concerned, and in general 
 business transactions, because it is his business policy to be remark- 
 ably square on business points, so that he can better take advantage 
 of the other, who, perhaps, is, or has been, thoughtlessly careless 
 in some things, especially when his mind has been engaged in the 
 promotion of the business. 
 
 Honest persons are generally unsuspecting of the motives of 
 others, because suspicion, relating to business matters, which some- 
 times arises from dishonesty, is foreign to their natures. Not prac- 
 ticing mean tricks themselves, they do not think of it, or look for 
 it in others, and on this account they are easily imposed upon, and 
 are the class from which dishonest men seek to make gain. 
 
 Honest people are therefore liable to be imposed upon, and, as 
 some writer has said: "I could hardly feel much confidence in a 
 man who had never been imposed upon," because the individual 
 who is never imposed upon must be a sharp, wary, suspicious person. 
 
 Dishonest persons are always suspicious of others, because they 
 need watching themselves, and are therefore subjects of suspicion. 
 Be cautious, then, of the man or woman who is always suspicious 
 of and watching others. 
 
 As a rule, impostors and humbugs are more likely to impose 
 upon some person who is not friendly, or who they know suspects 
 them, than they are upon those who use them well and have confi- 
 dence in them. 
 
 Individuals who conceal the truth and their motives in business 
 transactions, will cry down and depreciate the value of goods, or a 
 business, in order to buy at the lowest figure. They say it is naught 
 until they have captured the prize, and then they sing another tune. 
 
 All kinds of meanness is a species of dishonesty. How some 
 persons show the littleness of their souls by their contemptible, 
 
8o HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 
 
 selfish acts! And if there is one respect more than another In 
 which religious people do not allow Christianity to mold and renew 
 their characters, it is in their individual peculiarities, arising from 
 their selfish sentiments and animal propensities. It makes one 
 appear small and unlovable in the eyes of mankind. 
 
 The selfishness of some people beggars all description. There 
 are no words in the vocabulary of the English language to explain 
 or describe the ungrateful, inhuman, uncivilized, uncharitable, dis- 
 respectful, sarcastic, humiliating, snubbing, tricky, and even treach- 
 erous way some people have of treating each other, and all for the 
 slightest offense. Touch their dignity, their sensitiveness, their 
 peculiar notions and feelings, and they turn around and treat you 
 as though you were a mere brute, unworthy of human consideration 
 or notice. Persons that are properly educated, intelligent, and of 
 good, honest disposition of heart and mind do not act so. It is a 
 freak of nature. Persons who have more of the animal than the 
 angelic, or even human nature about them, and who commit such 
 disgusting actions, which are beneath the dignity of the true man 
 or woman, are really to be pitied. They show in their very faces 
 that they are oddities. But there are some who delight in mean- 
 ness and all kinds of tricks of a business, social and moral nature, 
 that sour the disposition of those they are practiced upon. It seems 
 second nature to such individuals, and nearly every act and word 
 they express carries poison to the soul or a dagger to the heart. 
 They are spiritual murderers. We hang the individual who takes 
 the physical life of another, and yet, in many instances, the murder 
 has been committed through this kind of treatment. Aggravation 
 beyond endurance has been the cause which actually tempted the 
 criminal, perhaps for years, to commit the act, till his feelings got 
 the better of his judgment. 
 
 On the other hand, persons often murder through meanness; they 
 are annoyed because they cannot do just as they please, and so 
 have revenge to get even. The continual teasing and torment- 
 ing of children cultivates a quarrelsome, hateful, revengeful and 
 murderous disposition. 
 
 Perhaps no part of man's nature is made to suffer more, through 
 this kind of dishonesty, than the social — such as love, friendship 
 and parental love. Many a man has been driven to a drunkard's 
 grave through the tantalizing and unprincipled actions of the co- 
 
HONESTY AND DISHONJ2STY. gl 
 
 quette; and many a woman has been brought to shame and ruin 
 through the deceitful talk and artful propositions of some scoundrel. 
 Many children have turned out dishonest to their parents, and many 
 a friend has been injured, or perhaps ruined, by the one he has be- 
 friended — all through dishonesty of purpose, motive and actions. 
 
 When a ju^y is empaneled to try a criminal, dishonesty shows 
 itself in the selection of the men, particularly as far as the defense 
 is concerned. They reject all intelligent and honest men, and se- 
 lect those who are incapable of forming a logical conclusion, but 
 are mere dupes, to be molded to suit the requirements of the case. 
 
 I remember a farmer calling at my office one day, and stating 
 that he had been called on a jury to try a notorious counterfeiter, 
 but that the lawyer for the defense had rejected him, and he did 
 not know for what reason. He was a man having a fine, moral, in- 
 telligent and honest-looking face; and I at once informed him that 
 he was too intelligent to be on the jury for that case, though he was 
 really just the man who should have been there. 
 
 How much justice can we have in our courts, when the jury are 
 selected from a class of know-nothings, and with utter disregard of 
 truth and honesty } 
 
 Dishonesty disregards all moral obligations, lives reckless of the 
 requirements of law and order, and is unconcerned regarding the 
 rights or interests of others. 
 
 I remember, a long time ago, of driving past a field of wheat,, 
 and, seeing a cow in it, I called to the neighbors living by the side 
 of it (for it extended to the roadside), and informed them of the 
 fact. The reply I got was, "Oh, that is not our wheat; it belongs to 
 Mr. H ." It was quite evident to me that they had studied self- 
 ishness more than moral philosophy, or even neighborly generosity^ 
 They certainly did not believe in being their brother's keeper. 
 
 Dishonesty quibbles in dealing or buying, tries hard to beat down 
 and make a hard bargain, or get something thrown in extra — raises 
 all kinds of objections and finds fault without just occasion. 
 
 The besetting sins of persons cause them to commit dishonest 
 acts when they wauld otherwise be honest. Men having a strong 
 passion for drink, gambling, women, fast horses, and wild specula- 
 tions will require considerable money to spend or invest, and if their 
 salaries or incomes ^e not large enough to C[i?et their demands^, 
 
82 HONESTY AND DISHONESTY. 
 
 they resort to unfair means of getting it. Men do, under the influ- 
 ence of passion, what nothing could tempt them to do when they 
 are not thus influenced. 
 
 For a man or woman to conquer and control a strong passion, 
 requires a great amount of principle and indomitable perseverance. 
 The organs of firmness, conscientiousness, approbativeness and the 
 organic quality must be large. 
 
 Let me impress upon the reader that honesty runs through man's 
 entire nature — is not confined to business transactions, but extends 
 to every act, thought and motive that transpires in one's life. And 
 a truly honest man or woman is the noblest type of human nature; 
 because, as I have said before, to be honest one must have a large 
 share of the organic quality to lift him above his animal nature and 
 surrounding temptations. 
 
 Honesty never misconstrues another person's motives; never 
 misrepresents statements; will relate things or facts as it hears them 
 without knowingly or intentionally changing them; but dishonesty 
 will add a little to, or take a little from, a story, so as to make the 
 thing appear in a different light. 
 
 Honesty will always advertise its business in a plain, straight- 
 forward manner. But dishonesty resorts to many little tricks — 
 employs humbugs, sails under false colors, makes liberal offers, so 
 as to draw people in, and then takes advantage in some way to make 
 up for their liberal offers; will sometimes misrepresent their nation- 
 ality, attach some foreign or high-toned name to an article of mer- 
 chandise or art, and call it a new thing or style, when it is only g 
 modification of something out of date. ^ 
 
FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. 
 
 ATiat it is — What it has done — Original Sin, in what did it consist? — The Evil and Power 
 of Flattery — Its Poisonous Effect — The Fundamental Principle of Sin — Why Flat 
 tery is so frequently used, and by whom — Two kinds of Flattery — How Children 
 are Spoiled — Its Prevalence in the Church — How Pastors and People are Injured 
 by it — Man-worship — How Women Tempt their Pastor — Presentations, and what 
 they mean — Self-praise — Our Friends sometimes our worst Enemies — Criticism 
 more to be Desired than Flattery — How Flattery affects Females — Other Forms of 
 Flattery — Persons who are always Smiling — How some Women are ruined by Flat- 
 tery — The Class of Men who make use of it — The Manner in which Public Persons 
 are Flattered — The Woman with a Hundred Dresses — Vanity of Servant Girls — The 
 Theater, its Influence upon the Mind for Good or Evil — Powdering, Painting and 
 Padding of the Human Form — Artistic Taste and Ability — A Philadelphia Woman 
 who wanted a Pretty Picture — What Persons mean when they speak Disparagingly 
 of themselves — Why People use Flattery— Self-flattery — The Bible on Flattery — 
 The Various Manifestations of Approbativeness — Results of the Mortification of 
 this Organ — The Woman who tried to Shoot her Son-in-Law — How a Young Lady 
 Avenged herself of an Insult — Cause of Retaliation, and Incidents Illustrating it— 
 The Meanest kind of Meanness — What a Woman is — Her Weakest and Strongest 
 Points of Character — Why there is need of greater Perfection in Female Character 
 — The late Prince Imperial of France—The late General Custer — Doctors and Viv- 
 isection — Manoeuvres of Young Ladies to Attract Attention — Origin of Kings and 
 Queens — Vanity in School Commencements — Sunday-school Concerts — Why a Vain 
 Girl hated Religion — The Proud. Haughty Behavior of a Young Woman in a Street- 
 car — The Plain Old Woman — Conceit — Betting — Misunderstandings and Misrepre- 
 sentations — Touchy People — How Friendship is Turned to Enmity— How Conceited 
 People Talk and Act — A Conceited Doctor — A Dog and Elephant— Conceit in 
 Relation to Religion— Two Convicts — Ingersoii — Long Trails — Quaker Ladies- 
 Exaggeration— Lying — Historical Lies — Deception — The Woman who saw a (rla^/ 
 Stove— Whispering and Laughing in Public Gatherings — The Tell-tale Dispositioa 
 — Troublesome Kisses-— The Love of Power and Authority — Jealousy in the Armj 
 — In Government Positions — In Associations and Boards — Funeral Vanity. 
 
 FLATTERY IS the most ensnaring art and powerful influence that 
 Satan can bring to bear upon the human mind. It is the great- 
 est soul-seducer in the Devil's catalogue of temptations, because it 
 steals upon the affections in the most subtle manner, and entwines 
 itself around the heart, secreting its deadly poison before the con- 
 fcious nsLtixTC of the soul is aware of its presence. It is so palatable 
 
§4 fiAffMM, co^ctif Am fAtnff. 
 
 that human nature will drink it in like water. Through ft ftiafi Is^nt 
 his first estate, and plunged the entire race into the vortex of sm. 
 
 In what did the original sin consist, but, first, the flattering of 
 Eve into the idea that she should be as a God, knowing good and 
 evil; and, second, exciting her animal propensities? That is, the 
 Devil first aroused her vanity, or the selfish, sentimental part of 
 her nature, (so sensitive in, and characteristic of, women in all ages, 
 for as Lavater has justly said, "Pride and vanity are in the natural 
 character of all women,") and through that awakened desire in her 
 physical nature. A similar form of temptation was brought to bear 
 upon Christ. Satan first tempted his sentimental nature, and, failing 
 in that, descended to his animal nature, and was here likewise unsuc- 
 cessful, and so left Christ master of the situation, and the Redeemer 
 and Savior of mankind. 
 
 Now, if Satan had not considered flattery the most powerful 
 kind of temptation, he would not have used it to accomplish the 
 ruin of man, and especially to attempt the ruin of the Savior. 
 
 The original sin, then, consisted in gratifying abnormal or im- 
 proper desires. Mentally, the faculty of approbativeness was tempt- 
 ed, and physically the propensities which give rise to appetite and 
 desire. "Whether desire arose from amativeness or the appetite of 
 the stomach, I shall not discuss in this chapter. 
 
 The evil and power of flattery lie in its hidden and unperceived 
 nature, and in the manner it is presented and impressed upon the 
 mind. No sin is more agreeable and pleasing, and none so gentle, 
 fascinating and insinuating in its introduction to the soul. It is, 
 like miasma in the air, unseen, and we are ignorant of its presence 
 till we feel its effects, and hence it is the more dangerous. That 
 which we can see, either mentally or physically, may possibly be 
 avoided, but that which is silent and concealed from our view is like 
 a pit or precipice in the traveler's pathway by night, into or over 
 which he will most certainly fall. There is no kind of sin poor hu- 
 man nature is so unable to resist, and to which it so easily succumbs, 
 as flattery. It can bear all manner of abuse and evil treatment, but 
 praise it cannot endure. Under its softening influence, it weakens 
 and melts away like butter and ice on a hot day. 
 
 Nothing will spoil men, women or children quicker than Jl/yf^^ 
 tion; and there is nothing in the world people seek and 
 more liberally. 
 
fhAfftKY, C6l9Ctn ANt) VANIft. Ij 
 
 What poison in the air Is to the body, flattery is to the soul. 
 
 If an individual was about to take poison, and two kinds were 
 presented for his use — one sweet, the other bitter— he would nat- 
 urally take the sweet. Flattery is the sweetest poison the soul can 
 take, and because of its sweetness, people forget it is a poison; but 
 poison taken with honey is just as destructive to life as though it 
 was taken with sour grapes. 
 
 How strange that people, young and old, do not wake up to the 
 soul-corrupting influence of flattery! Alas! there are plenty of 
 Edens in the world at the present day. Thousands of persons will 
 sell the birthright o( their souls for a mess of flattery. The funda- 
 mental principle of sin is two-fold — external and internal. Exter- 
 nal sin is flattery; internal sin is selfishness. Satan awakened the 
 selfishness of our first parents by flattering them. Thus there was 
 an external force acting upon an internal. And this is precisely 
 the plan adopted by men from the beginning till the present time. 
 Whenever one individual wishes a favor from another, or endeavors 
 to get some desire satisfied, and it is necessary to tempt them in 
 some manner, they generally appeal to their selfish propensities 
 through some sort of flattery. Thus flattery is the connecting link 
 or means by which the selfishness of one person acts upon the 
 selfishness of another. 
 
 There are two kinds of flattery — direct and indirect. That 
 which is direct may be observed; but indirect flattery is concealed, 
 obscure, beyond the sight of ordinary perception. The majority of 
 people look upon flattery as an innocent thing, because they fail to 
 see the evil that lies behind it; and the most moral and religious 
 classes of society are the very ones who practice it to the greatest 
 extent. It is really their besetting sin, though they appear to be 
 ignorant of the fact. Let a noted sinner, such as a drunkard or 
 criminal, be converted and join the church, and if he has the organ 
 of approbativeness large he will take great delight forever afterward 
 in telling the congregation, whenever he has an opportunity, what 
 a wicked man he used to be, and refer to some of his special sins 
 as a contrast to what he now is. He does it as he says to show 
 the power, goodness and grace of God; but, in reality, he is calling 
 attention to himself more than to the Lord. And that seems to 
 be the tendency with one religious class of people now-a-days, to 
 |pleai€ tfecmgelves more than the Lord, for they make their worsWp 
 
g6 FLATTERY, CONCEIT AHD VANITT. 
 
 a sort of religious entertainment. So in Bible-classes and class- 
 meetings, it is a common thing to find the leader flattering two or 
 three favorites by constantly alluding to them, or personally ad- 
 dressing them, and they always have a selfish motive lurking in 
 their hearts for so doing. They practice it so much that it becomes 
 second nature to them, and their familiarity with it blinds their 
 judgment to its injurious effects. The disposition to receive flat- 
 tery is generally stronger than the inclination to give it; hence 
 many persons will flatter others for the purpose of being flattered 
 themselves in return. 
 
 How frequently we meet individuals who seem to feed and live 
 on flattery, and they regard those who do not constantly praise 
 them as being unfriendly. They are miserable if they are not the 
 pets and favored ones of the family circle, church, society, clique, 
 political party, profession, or any class or sphere to which they be- 
 long. It is too often the case that, in religious meetings, a few of 
 the leading or more active members are in the habit of doing most 
 of the talking by having their say every night. A. will make pleas- 
 ing comments on the thoughts suggested by B.; then, when B. rises 
 to speak, he will return the compliment to A.; and so they make a 
 business of tickling or exciting each other's vanity, and when the 
 meeting is over, congratulate each other on having such a splendid 
 prayer-meeting, when, in reality, it has been a mutual admiration 
 and praise meeting. I has been in the first person, then Brother 
 
 in the second person, while the Lord and some poor strangers 
 
 in the back seat have been in the third person, by way of consider- 
 ation. But let it be known that a stranger is wealthy, or holds 
 some prominent position, and it is astonishing how many are anx- 
 ious to shake hands with him, how glad they are to see and welcome 
 him, and how much they are interested in his welfare and his family 
 and his wife, if he has one, and if he has not, there are plenty of 
 virgins, more foolish than wise, to relieve him of single-blessedness. 
 In fact, these accommodating creatures have been waiting a long 
 time, and have been constantly on the look-out, and when a new- 
 comer arrives all the virgins in the church are in a flutter, on the 
 tip-toe of expectation; and the lucky one feels something like her 
 mother Eve when she received her first-born. I consider flattery 
 one of the worst evils in church society. 
 
 Ministers praise the people for their liberality, so as to get twice 
 
FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. 87 
 
 as much out of them and retain their good-will, and the people 
 praise and laud their pastor to the very heavens, till they make him 
 a spoiled child, puffed up with vanity and self-importance. And 
 the result of it all is that both pastor and people become cold and 
 indifferent toward those members who are not given to the same 
 kind of blarney. In order to become popular in a fashionable or 
 prominent city church, it is not so necessary to be pious as to talk 
 sweetly and give liberally. Nothing will make a member unpopu- 
 lar quicker than to be an independent thinKer, and utter a few 
 words of criticism and condemnation against any folly or evil exist- 
 ing in the church. He may pitch into sinners and outside corpo- 
 rations to his heart's content, but he must be a deaf mute in the 
 saintly vineyard to which he belongs. 
 
 Now one would think a people professing to be the followers of 
 him who loved holiness would be anxious to know and remedy any 
 besetting sin they may have. But their desire for flattery says, 
 "No, we will not be rebuked or chastised;" and so, like the ostrich, 
 they put their heads under their wings, imagining they are safe, 
 while the enemy steals upon them. 
 
 There are plenty of pastors and churches who have gone down 
 by being blind to their own faults, and seeking to cover up, conceal 
 and inwardly cherish their own weaknesses — saying to themselves 
 and the world, " We are a great people," when the seeds of moral cor- 
 ruption were fast springing up and choking their Christian vitality. 
 
 It is a sad thing when one or more individuals are so conceited 
 that they cannot see their own imperfections. But it is a sadder 
 thing when they object to another person bringing to light and ex- 
 posing to ^heir view that which is of the greatest benefit for them 
 to know. To be accidentally blind calls for pity; but to be wilfully 
 blind is deserving of scorn and condemnation. Many of the errors 
 in the teachings ot the church are due to the exaggeration of Scrip- 
 tural truth and doctrine through an excess of the organ of appro- 
 bativeness, which gives rise to the spirit of flattery and conceit, and 
 makes Christians boast, magnify and add more to the meaning of 
 a passage than the original text implies. 
 
 There is so much man-worship existing in churches that it is 
 scarcely to be wondered at that some ministers lose their prestige, 
 and occasionally do things inconsistent with their calling. The 
 only wonder is that so many of them bear the intoxicating influence 
 
?? FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. 
 
 of flattery so well as they do, without showing any signs of mental 
 derangement. It is not uncommon, in a prayer-meeting, to hear 
 nearly every one who speaks allude, in a complimentary way, to 
 what the pastor has said or done. In fact, they seem to put him 
 in the place of Christ about as much as the Roman Catholics do the 
 Virgin Mary. Thus every minister becomes a sort of Pope or 
 priest among his people, and the members are expected to conform 
 to his ideas or desires, and some of these exalted lords will even go 
 so far as to think for their obedient dupes. This just suits a large 
 class of members, because they are actually too lazy to think for 
 themselves, and will readily pin their faith to any man who will 
 think for them. 
 
 Every true minister of the Gospel should receive due reverence 
 and respect; but there is a point beyond which reverence becomes 
 idolatry, and many women, in their admiration and devotion, seem 
 to forget that a minister is human, and they frequently become so 
 demonstrative in their zeal and affection that it is. enough to stag- 
 ger the rectitude and tempt the animal propensities of any man, no 
 matter how rich in piety or honest in m.otive he may be. A min- 
 ister in conversation with a friend on one occasion, stated that 
 some of the young female converts would come to him, during their 
 religious excitement, and sit on his knee, and throw their arms 
 around him, and hug him like a father. But I fear there are very 
 few ministers who could bear that sort of thing like a father. The 
 cause of such outbursts of feeling arises. from persons allowing their 
 emotional and love natures to get excited as well as their religious 
 faculties; hence their feelings get the better of their judgment. 
 The reader must not infer, however, that such demonstrations of 
 feeling, on the part of young lady converts, were mere amative feel- 
 ing. It was rather the outburst of religious fervor toward one 
 whom they highly reverenced as a religious teacher and adviser, 
 but not as a man. Still, such actions are rash, and calculated to 
 excite amativeness in one or both parties. There is some excuse, 
 however, for young persons who act thus; but for the married wom- 
 en, and those much advanced in life, to practice their fascinating, 
 beguiling, smooth-talking and flattering arts on their unsuspecting 
 pastor is to love their neighbor a little more than their Bible re- 
 quests them to do, and is sometimes the beginning of domestic 
 troubles in one or more families of the flock. 
 
FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. Sf 
 
 What is this presentation business, so extensively indulged in 
 all over Christendom, but anotlier form of flattery? Frequently 
 these presents are bought by subscriptions from the leading mem- 
 bers, or those vvlio most admire or are most intimate with the pas- 
 tor. Consequently these parties expect and receive more visits 
 and sunny smiles than the other members who did not contribute, 
 because they were either not able or were not asked to do so. It is 
 ev.deiit, then, that there is much selfishness mixed up with the 
 motive that prompts a large number of presentations. There are 
 plenty of persons connected with churches who give largely, either 
 to be praised and considered liberal and become the leading spirit 
 in the church, or else through business policy, just in the same way 
 as many men are honest — not because they love equity and up- 
 rightness, but because they think it pays to be honest, or appar- 
 ently so, in business transactions. Paul says, "Though I give my 
 body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing;" 
 — clearly indicating that one may be liberal in bestowing gifts for 
 religious purposes without any love for the object to which he gives; 
 and. as a rule, men expect an equivalent of some kind for what they 
 give. He who makes a present to another expects in return the 
 j^O(Kl-will, esteem or affection of the receiver; a^d he who gives to 
 any benevolent religious object expects its value in popularity or 
 business. 
 
 The spirit of self-praise, in some churches, is very strong. The 
 sums of money they have given to religious enterprises during the 
 year is compared with that of others, and they delight in and boast 
 of raising the largest contributions. If they are raising money for 
 a special purpose, say the enlarging or building of a new edifice, 
 there is sometimes a roll of honor made on which are written, to 
 be preserved, the names of the givers, and how much they gave; 
 that, of course, excites ambition and vanity, and as a result parents 
 not only put down their own names and subscriptions, but those of 
 their children also, and they will even go so far as to put down the 
 names of their dead children and attach a subscription opposite. 
 Such performances are really the outgrowth of a morbid state of 
 the moral and selfish sentiments, and the only good if it can be 
 called good that results from it, is the raising of a few extra dollars. 
 The great work they are doing seems to be upon the lips of every 
 active member, and they glory in spreading the fame of the church, 
 
90 FLATTERY. CONCEIT AND VANITY. 
 
 forgetting the injunction of the Scriptures, "Let not your right 
 hand know what your left hand doeth," or "Let the lips of another 
 praise tliee." It appears to me that people should give or be influ- 
 enced to give to religious objects through a feeling of love and 
 principle, and that the roll of honor business is a base, unchristian 
 and demoralizing method of raising money. 
 
 There is a species of flattery peculiar to the church, and another 
 peculiar to the world. The latter kind is sought and given by all 
 classes, from Bridget in the kitchen, to the head of the nation 
 There is probably nothing else so sweet and inspiring to the former 
 as a little flattery. Colored persons are likewise very sensitive to 
 praise. They appreciate it next to a good, hearty meal. 
 
 Many are the individuals whose eyes will brighten up and sparkle 
 like diamonds when flattering comments fall upon their ears; where- 
 as severe criticism and censure call forth the expression of indigna- 
 tion and hate. 
 
 It frequently happens that our friends are, in some respects, our 
 worst enemies, because, being somewhat blind to our faults, they 
 fail to point them out, or else will not do it for fear of injuring our 
 feelings. Then the kind treatment and words of praise from friends 
 cause us to over-estimate ourselves, and thereby prevent us from 
 perceiving and remedying our weaknesses, imperfections and off*en- 
 sive faults; whereas our enemies are not slow in pointing them out 
 They hold us up, as it were, in a mirror, so that we can see ourselves 
 as others see us. 
 
 Thus flattery deceives and holds us back, while criticism pre- 
 sents the plain, naked truth, gives us a better and more correct 
 notion of ourselves, brings out the latent energy within us, and 
 prepares us for a greater and more useful sphere of labor. I hav^e 
 known persons, in literary or mutual improvement societies, to 
 crave flattery, while positively refusing to be criticised. With such 
 individuals, knowledge will be very limited. They will never make 
 any progress beyond a certain point. They prefer to say or read 
 something funny, that will excite the faculty of mirthfulness in 
 others, and then take their seat amid the clapping of hands; but arc 
 too narrow-minded and conceited to allow any one to point out 
 their mistakes or show them wherein they might have been more 
 successful. 
 
FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANIT?. gt 
 
 There is no better schooling for a person than severe and cor- 
 rect criticism (I do not mean sarcastic criticism, though that is 
 better than none), however unpleasant and lacerating it may be to 
 the feelings. And those persons who are the most sensitive to it, 
 are the very ones who most need it, because, being so sensitive and 
 opposed to criticism, they are more susceptible to the injurious in- 
 fluence of flattery. I suppose one reason why the evils of flattery 
 are not more generally recognized is because it is instilled into the 
 mind in the innocent days of childhood, and hence forms a part of 
 one's education. When visiting a school in Brooklyn, N. Y., I was 
 invited by the courteous president into one of the class-rooms to 
 witness and hear an improved or new method of teaching French to 
 children. The parents and friends of the little folks were there 
 also, and the lesson was somewhat in the form of an examination tQ 
 show the parents what the children had learned in a certain time. 
 Most of the children were dressed plain, but one in particular sat in 
 the front seat dressed up like a doll. They had been taught chiefly 
 the names of certain things that they had on them about them or 
 in the room, and so when the name of a certain thing was given 
 they would go and point it out. When the little dressy girl's turn 
 came she was given the word doll in French, and immediately 
 stepped over to the table and picked up her doll, almost as large as 
 herself, said two or three words in French and laid it down. As 
 soon as she was through, two large bouquets were presented to her, 
 sent in, I suppose, by her friends, because the other children who 
 were plainer in dress but smarter in intellect received nothing. 
 There was a pause and a moment of sensation as the doll girl re- 
 ceived her beautiful flowers and took her seat. I watched the 
 countenances of the other children and felt pained and provoked 
 myself, as I saw the sad, disappointed, and even mortified expression 
 steal over the faces of a number of the others, and thought to my- 
 self that is one way of educating children to be vain and to crave 
 for finery rather than knowledge. We see it again in the family 
 home. Little Miss Precocious is the pet of the family, and is soon 
 taught to believe that she is a being of some importance and worthy 
 of special notice; hence vanity sits enthroned, governs her whole 
 conduct, and she is a spoiled child before she is fifteen years of age^ 
 She is quick to learn vocal and instrumental music, and receives 
 maay compliments for her ability and rapid improvement. Her 
 
ftAffMY, eomtn Afw vamtt. 
 
 mamma makes her the subject of conversation with every acquaint- 
 ance who calls, and some who hear her play or sing are so generous 
 with their compliments that the child begins to think she is but a 
 little lower than the angels in Heaven she has been singing about. 
 Let us, in imagination, visit another family. Here is another little 
 miss, who is remarkable for her beauty and graceful manners. Her 
 parents are fond of her; she is not long in observing this, and soon 
 becomes affected in the same manner. She has many admirers, who 
 are profuse in their expressions of esteem. She is the recipient of 
 many favors and much attention, which others less handsome are 
 not fortunate enough to receive — though they may be thankful they 
 do not. The vanity of her parents knows no bounds. She is in- 
 dulged to excess, allowed to have her own way, and educated or 
 trained for a fashionable life. She has one object in view that 
 towers above, all others. It occupies her thoughts even more than 
 the marriage altar. She must be a star of the first magnitude at 
 every ball or party — the belle of the city and the diamond queen of 
 society. Such a woman appreciates and measures men according 
 to their wealth and the amount of flattery they have to bestow. 
 Those whose lips do not extol her charms she does not like, and 
 those who cannot pay extravagant bills she has no use for. She is 
 a mere butterfly, who can only live in the warm, congenial sun of 
 prosperity and pleasure. She is a sort of sunflower, who turns her 
 head in whatever direction the attraction of fashion may be. She 
 is like unto some of our garden flowers, beautiful to look upon, but 
 having no fragrance; and like some of our birds of beautiful plumage 
 which are poor singers. When she passes from society, her name is 
 forgotten, and the glory of her youth has faded forever. She was 
 simply a thing of physical beauty — only that and nothing more. 
 She might have been beautiful in mind as well as form; but she 
 yielded to the corrupting influence of flattery, and that ruined her. 
 Flattery in her own heart, flattery from friends, and the flattery of 
 false appearances, all entwined around her soul, and crushed out 
 the very essence of a noble life. And what is true, in this respect, 
 of a woman is likewise true of a man. 
 
 But suppose misfortune to overtake one of these fair, vain crea- 
 tures called women; or if, perchance, she is married, and her hus- 
 band's income is not large enough to support her reckless style of 
 living; what will, or docs, such a woman do? One of two things— 
 
Either steal, or prostitute her person. 1 know these are two strong 
 words to use; but, as I do not beh'eve In ilattery, I propose to call 
 things by their right names. The first thing she will do will be to 
 tax her feminine ingenuity, which is a peculiar gift of women, to see 
 if she cannot devise some way or means of obtaining more money, 
 which she can generally do if her husband occupies a place of trust 
 and influence in society. She may not (in fact, does not) steal in a 
 direct manner herself, but she will be the instigator of a plan or 
 scheme by which her husband, or some other person, would steal 
 for her, either directly or indirectly. But if she fails to raise money 
 in some such manner, rest assured she will resort to prostitution, 
 either public or private; for such a woman would never be satisfied 
 to walk in the humbler circles of society, casting aside her rich 
 dresses and costly jewelry. 
 
 I do not assert that personal compliments or praise will bring a 
 woman to this condition, but there are other forms of flattery, which 
 exeri a very strong influence on the human mind: those which arise 
 from external appearances, and present alluring temptations be- 
 cause of their splendor and glittering, dazzling, fascinating power 
 to the eye of the observer. I class these things under the head of 
 flattery because they are so deceiving and intoxicating feo both men 
 and women and produce the same effect on the mind that personal 
 flattery does. Therefore, eonsidering flattery as a name for all de- 
 ceptive, artful, enchanting and pleasing influences that act upon 
 the mind, it is the most powerful seducer the human soul has to 
 encounter and battle with, and we need not wonder that so many 
 persons become its victims instead of victors. 
 
 The most contemptible kind of flattery is that which is given 
 just for the sake of being polite and agreeable, or commending in 
 words of praise when not sincere in so doing — praising another for 
 policy's sake, in order to gain some advantage or favor. To render 
 praise which we do not mean is simply a polite way of lying on our 
 part, and a positive injury to the party we have deceived; and yet 
 this is a common practice with persons who consider themselves 
 good people. Miss A. has some acquaintances w^ho call on her 
 occasionally. She dislikes their company, and would rather have 
 them stay away; nevertheless she meets them in a pleasant, friendly 
 manner at the door, tells them she is delighted to see them, that 
 they arc almost strangers —it is ?o long since they have called. 
 
94 FLATTERY, CONCEIT AlSTi VANITY. 
 
 She entertains them, and makes herself as agreeable as possible. 
 When they are about leaving, she asks them why they are in such a 
 hurry— why not stay a little longer; and if they insist on going, she 
 invites them to call again whenever convenient, and even kisses them 
 good-bye. But she has scarcely closed the door on them before she 
 changes her tune, and in a half-passionate mood, declares she would 
 rather have their room than their company, or words to that effect. 
 
 Those persons who are always so smiling and agreeable in their 
 Intercourse are the quickest to turn sour whenever they are dis- 
 pleased. This winning and pleasing manner is very often assumed 
 — put on for the occasion. In other words, it does not come from 
 the heart. Some business men will smile at their help one minute, 
 and shortly afterward turn around and discharge them for a trifling 
 offense. There are plenty of women who cannot endure a stern or 
 sedate look; it seems to freeze them. They prefer the society of 
 one who has winning ways and happy smiles. But there is often a 
 better heart behind a sober, penetrating eye than there is in the one 
 whose face is lit up with sunny smiles; for he who draws and melts 
 with a smile, can like\^'ise repel and freeze with a frown. The flat- 
 tery of smiles too ofte?:\ gains on people to their own disadvantage. 
 They place us in a negaxive condition to others, so that we are the 
 more easily acted upon; whereas a stern countenance leaves us in 
 a positive relation. 
 
 With evil-disposed, utiprincipled men, flattery serves as a wedge 
 by which they ingratiate, press or force themselves into the good- 
 will and affection of women, and, like Satan, when he gains a slight 
 entrance into the human heart, work their way farther and farther 
 into the confidence of their victims until they accomplish their ruin. 
 Many a bright and fair damsel, who had been the pride and joy of 
 her parents, has been brought to grief by the cunning flattery of 
 her seducer. And the parents who despise and sometimes turn 
 their backs upon the daughter who has fallen from virtue, are the 
 very ones who have most encouraged the ensnaring sin. They see 
 the effect but not the cause. No man of sense, who has any true 
 regard for a woman, will deliberately flatter her. Flattery is the 
 Devil's weapon, and he who uses it has a devilish purpose in so 
 doing. But women who have a cultivated intellect cannot be flat- 
 tered in a direct manner; hence, shrewd men resort to what I term 
 indirect Sattcry. 
 
FLATTERY. CONCEIT AND VANITY. 95 
 
 If a man wishes to gain the confidence and friendship of a mar- 
 ried woman who has a child she indulges, he will flatter it, and be 
 very kind to it, thus winning the heart of the mother through her 
 child. If he can find the slightest matrimonial discord, he will 
 strongly sympathize with her, and try to convince her that she is 
 too ^cod and worthy a woman for such a man as her husband. If 
 she be a single lady, he will praise her very highly to some of her 
 friends, who will be sure to go and tell her all he says — though 1 
 do not say every man who praises a young lady in the presence of 
 her friends or herself has any immoral motive. Such may be the 
 case, or he may simply wish to gain her esteem, or become a special 
 favorite. Nevertheless, every woman ought to be on her guard, let 
 flattery come from whomsoever or whatever source it may. She 
 should likewise use her judgment to distinguish between flattery 
 and just and friendly commendation and praise. Of the two ex- 
 tremes, one had better not receive enough than too much praise^ 
 
 Public persons are frequently flattered through the press, espec- 
 ially actors and actresses; and frequently private individuals are 
 flattered through the newspapers on account of their appearance 
 at some fashionable ball or party; and yet, I have sometimes 
 thought, the dresses and jewelry of such persons are praised more 
 than the originals; indicating that the fashionable Vv^orld is more 
 interested in dresses and diamonds than in the persons who wear 
 them. In fact, the individuals themselves are more anxious and 
 better satisfied to see a printed description of their elegant and 
 costly adornmeiits, than they v/ould be to see a description of the 
 qualities and jewels that adorn their minds. 
 
 Nowhere is the vanity of women more apparent than in dress 
 and the efforts and sacrifices they will make to dress, see and be 
 seen, I examined a lady's head at Richfield Springs, N, Y., one 
 summer, and told her she had too much love of praise and flattery, 
 and was too sensitive in her feelings. The followino^ summer I met 
 her husband in the White Mountains, who introduced himself to 
 me, and after getting a chart of his own head, told me that his wife 
 would take twenty dresses to a summer resort with her,' and change 
 her dress three or four times a day, if she thought she could attract 
 attention by so doing; that she was making her hundredth dress 
 and still was not satisfied, and thought he did not care for her nor 
 use her right. Poor woman! It is a wonder she did not apply for 
 
9^ FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. 
 
 A divorce on the ground of cruelty and neglect ! It seems to be tli€ 
 ambition of some fashionable women to have as many changes of 
 dress and toilet as they can I read a statement in a newspaper 
 from a Saratoga correspondent, that a certain lady who was stop- 
 ping at one of the hotels there, had not repeated a toilet once in 
 three weeks, and arrayed herself in two or three different dresses 
 daily. As to how true it is, i do not know; but judge from my own 
 observations that there is more truth than poetry in it. 
 
 Nor is the feeling of vanity and passion for dress confined to 
 the aristocracy, or any particular class of women; it runs through 
 the whole sex, especially in civilized countries, and the United 
 States in particular. Servant girls are almost as bad as those they 
 work for and wait on, and some of them worse. The keeper of a 
 boarding house in Salem, Mass., told me her former cook had a 
 dress that cost over one hundred dollars, and that she paid fifteen 
 dollars to have a chemise made; that one of her girls in the kitchen 
 had a dress which cost nearly one hundred dollars. She had a 
 pretty face, and I suppose she thought she might as well have a 
 dress to correspond. VVHio knows now-a-days when passing a well- 
 dressed woman on the street, or seeing her in some public gather- 
 ing, whether she is a mistress or a servant, a society belle or a 
 kitchen belle; that is, if you judge her simply by her dress. Cooks 
 and dining-room girls will save their wages for months in order to 
 have a fine dress and feathers in their hats, all to attract attention 
 and catch a beau, a husband, or a flirt. I low truly has si^m person 
 said: "It is the eyes of others that ruin us, not our own." 
 
 There is another form of flattery which may come under this 
 head. 1 refer to that which makes men and women so fond of the 
 theater, and of any richly-furnished, tasty, elegant {>lace of amuse- 
 ment or recreation. I am not discussing here whether theater gomg 
 is right or wrong; but one thing is evident: the world furnishes us 
 more objects of beauty and pleasure than the church does. As the 
 human mind craves for these two things, pcop'e will go where they 
 are to be seen. Of course, it is not the mission of the church, as a 
 church, or religion, to furnish objects of beauty or amusement, but 
 to save souls; but it is the duty of society, whether m the church 
 or out of it, to provide some kind of moral amusement to meet a 
 demand in mans mental and physical organization, which is just as 
 necessary to be fed as his stomach. 
 
I?LATTERV, CONCEIT AND VANITY. 97 
 
 But to return to the subject. There is a kind of flattery belong- 
 ing to the theater which seems to entrance the mind, and which is 
 so powerful in its effect upon some that it creates an insatiable 
 desire for theater-going, and unfits them for the stern realities of 
 life. Life to them is a sort of dream or delirium. They see nothing 
 in a practical lii^Hit, or in its true nature; hence their idea of people 
 and things are fictitious. This is simply because what they have 
 seen has been fictitious, or a reality flattered; and they have not 
 looked beyond the external vail to see the reality behind. They 
 are affected only by that which pleases the fancy or excites the 
 imagination. Uid they but perceive and think a little, they could 
 read the lesson which every play is intended to convey. 
 
 Thousands of persons become stage-struck because they are 
 sensitive to flattery, or anything of a superficial nature; but they 
 have little idea how much hard work and close application there is 
 attending a theatrical life. But there are a great many people who 
 go to a theater just to be amused. Unable to entertain themselves, 
 they are willing to pay others to do it for them. They belong to 
 that giddy, harmless class of the community, who never think 
 intently on any subject — never exercise or try to develop their 
 mental powers; and, so far as intelligence is concerned, are little 
 better than the brute creation. They only gratify their animal or 
 selfish propensities. And this is one reason why theaters do not 
 rise higher in the character of the plays presented. The majority 
 of regular theater attendants are of the class I have just described; 
 hence the managers pander to their taste, and put on the stage the 
 plays that suit the people. 
 
 What means all this powdering, painting, stuflfing and padding 
 business, so extensively practiced in the cities of the United States, 
 but a desire to flatter and present a better appearance than nature 
 has bestowed, though it generally detracts from, instead of improv- 
 ing, the personal beauty. There are women who would feel insulted 
 to be considered anything but perfect ladies — religious ones at that 
 — who powder so excessively, on extra occasious, as to make them- 
 selves look more like the daubed actresses of a low variety-stage 
 than pure-minded, respectable women. If they have a picture 
 taken, the artist must make it look fifty per cent, better than the 
 original, or else they are dissatisfied; and he is sure to lose their 
 patronage, and his reputation as an artist, so far as they are con- 
 
gS FU.TTERY, CONCEIT AND VANItV. 
 
 cerned. Let a painter execute a portrait in oil or water colois, and 
 put a healthy color in the face; they will probably object to it 
 They would rather have a sort of deathly-pale complexion, similar to 
 what they get by powdering, which imparts the most sickly appear- 
 ance to the face one can imagine. But, then, they know more about 
 how a picture ought to be than the artist, and so he must succumb 
 to their whims or lose his money and his practice. And yet these 
 knowing individuals could not tell the names of the three primary 
 colors and their complementaries. In fact, many persons do not 
 study colors enough to know which is the complementary of their 
 own complexions. When art and artists occupy their proj)er 
 positions in the minds of the public, they will execute and finish 
 pictures as they think best, and not be controlled by the whims of 
 purchasers. 
 
 A lady of ordinary appearance went to a photographic artist in 
 Philadelphia, to have her picture taken and painted on a porcelain 
 plate, for a Christmas present to her husband. She told the artist 
 she wanted something beautiful and finely finished; she was not so 
 particular about the likeness as she was to have a pretty or flatter- 
 ing picture. Accordingly the artist did his best and painted a 
 beautiful picture, much better looking than the original. She took 
 it home and gave it to her husband, who returned to the gallery a 
 few days afterwards with the picture and his wife, stating that it 
 was not a good likeness; said he, "This is fine work and a beautiful 
 picture, but it does not look H.ke my wife, and I want a likeness of 
 her." When the reception-room lady who took the order reminded 
 the lady that she ordered a good-looking picture regardless of like- 
 ness, she replied: "Yes, I know I wanted it pretty, but I thought 
 you could make it so and keep the likeness too." So the artist 
 had to do his work over again, just on account of the woman's 
 vanity and her desire to be flattered; or, in other words, because 
 she got the artist to paint a lie for her, 
 
 I am aware there are plenty of men and women in the picture 
 business who know no more about art than their customers, and 
 sometimes not so much; but what business have people to patronize 
 such miserable daubers } Thousands of men and women flatter 
 themselves they have artistic ability, and become painters or pho- 
 tographers, palm off" upon the people distorted, indistinct, unnatural 
 pictures, freaks of their imagination. I remember seeing an oil 
 
FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. Q9 
 
 portrait of a lady, painted by one of these art know-nothings, that 
 was one of the worst distortions of humanity I ever saw or wish to 
 see. Still, she hung it in her parlor for every visitor to laugh at. 
 It was a fine caricature, and one of the most amusing things she 
 could place on exhibition. Perhaps, if a first-class artist had painted 
 one, she v/ould have objected to it, and never taken it from his studio. 
 
 It is a common occurrence in a photograph gallery for subjects 
 to inform the operator that they are sure he will not get a good pic- 
 ture of them — they always look horrid in a picture — never did 
 have a good one, never expect to — they have tried so often, and 
 always failed — have been to nearly every gallery in the city — they 
 know they are poor subjects, and if they do not succeed this time, 
 they will never try again. Thus they do all in their power to dis- 
 courage the operator, and remove every hope and all the ambition 
 he may have of so doing. He at once concludes they are hard sub- 
 jects — nervous, whimsical, vain, and self-willed. They will sit just 
 as they please, have just such a view as they please — in fact, do 
 anything and everything but what the operator wants them to do; 
 and that they will not do. Well, after a great deal of fussing and 
 disputing, a negative is taken, and they make their exit, leaving 
 the excited operator to cool down, and recuperate from his nervous 
 exhaustion. They return a day or two afterwards to see their 
 proof They hardly get a sight of it before they exclaim: "O! I 
 do not like that; it does not look a bit like me. I know I am a dif- 
 ficult subject, and hard to take, and don't want anything better 
 looking than what I am; but that does not do me justice! That's 
 horrid ! It's the worst looking thing I ever had." 
 
 Now, It is generally the case that operators, having a nervous 
 temperament, have feelings which cause them to think and feel like 
 other people. And after listening to that kind of soul-inspiring 
 language, they frequently become too much inspired, lose control 
 of temper, and retaliate in remarks not very complimentary to their 
 subjects; and the result is, the latter go away mad at the gallery, 
 the operator and themselves, wondering why they cannot get a 
 picture just as good as some other person, who has been a calm, 
 unassuming, yielding, graceful^ do-as-you-please kind of subject, 
 but no better looking. 
 
 It is evident that those persons who pass uncomplimentary re- 
 marks upon themselves do not mean what they say^ but are trying 
 
109 FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. 
 
 to get the person addressed to really compliment them and flatter 
 their vanity, if he has to lie to do it. A lady who had thus spoken 
 to a gentleman concerning herself, received as an answer (he per- 
 ceiving her object and vanity) that it would not do for him to say 
 that to her. This was such a cutting rebuke to her that she left 
 the room as soon as convenient, and never recognized or spoke to 
 the gentleman afterwards; so, if she had really meant what she said, 
 she would not have felt so sensitive and offended over it. It is 
 plain, therefore, that she did just what thousands of persons of both 
 sexes do every day, which is to disparage themselves in an attempt 
 to compel some one else to contradict and praise them. It is cer- 
 tainly a mean and awkward way of seeking compliments, for it is 
 generally said or done in such a manner that, as I have just re- 
 marked, one is compelled to either lie, or remain silent, or give 
 offense. One of the three things is inevitable, except in some cases 
 where the person can avoid the difficulty by evasion. 
 
 One of the evils attending flattery is that it is generally the 
 outgrowth of selfishness. Persons are apt to praise others about as 
 much or as far as they consider it to be for their own interest to do 
 so. Business persons will flatter their customers, so that they can 
 sell goods and get at their pockets, and people are generally willing 
 to pay well for goods, providing they are well soaped with flattery. 
 Who are the most successful salesmen.? Why, those having large 
 agreeableness, secretiveness and human nature. They can thus 
 win the good-will of their customers, and palaver them till they 
 make them believe they v/ant an article, against their own judgment. 
 
 Sometimes persons, through conceit or vain hope, will flattei 
 themselves into a delusion concerning their talents or future wel- 
 fare. 
 
 A gentleman, in speaking of colleges, once said he would send 
 his son to school, if it was for no other purpose than to take the 
 conceit out of him; for, however smart he may be, he is pretty sure 
 to meet some one who can excel him, at least in some branches of 
 education. If, on the other hand, he is diffident, and does not 
 think enough of himself, then college life and discipline will help to 
 remedy this deficiency. 
 
 Flattery is a poor thing to live upon; it never satisfies. The 
 more we get, the more we want. It soon passes away; for they 
 wlwj flatter to-day, may scorn to-morrow. The m^ whp is dll 
 
FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. I©I 
 
 smiles and politeness, rendering all the attention that etiquette 
 calls for to the lady he escorts to an evening entertainment, may, 
 after marriage, prove to be just the reverse. 
 
 Let me remind the reader that the Bible does not flatter men, 
 and God never flattered his people. There is not so much danger, 
 if there is any, arising from a deficiency of praise as there* is in an 
 excess of it. And the writings of that wise man, Solomon, are full 
 of warnings against this evil, so common in the moral and religious 
 classes of society. 
 
 Approbativeness is one of the most influential and powerful 
 organs of the brain. It manifests itself in a great variety of ways. 
 Not only does the love of flattery spring from it, but it also gives 
 rise to the spirit of emulation as seen in the political, business, 
 social and religious contests of Uie. In the common and worldly 
 mind it delights in physical contests for superiority, such as wrest- 
 ling, walking-matches, boat-racing, horse-racing, pigeon-shooting 
 and similar performances. In the intellectual and moral mind it 
 soars higher, and loves to excel in the nobler and grander events of 
 life, such as oratory and poetry, in the arts and sciences, in litera- 
 ture and music, in business and pleasure. It produces competition 
 and rivalry between individuals, cities and nations, and is really the 
 backbone of enterprise and industry. It makes people like to see 
 things and talk about things on a big scale; admires success, but 
 cannot endure disappointment. It even thinks a thief smart if he 
 steals a million, but a fool if only a small amount. I was amused to 
 hear a colored student in a college in Virginia, when being ex- 
 amined in a moral philosophy class, say, that he would consider a 
 man a natural thief if he stole a hog, but if he were to steal a mil- 
 lion dollars that would be a case of temptation. He was partly 
 right, inasmuch as a million would be a stronger inducement to 
 theft than a hog, but he would be a thief all the same; the differ- 
 ence being that in the lesser case he would be a petty thief, and in 
 the other a wholesale thief, which is the hardest kind to convict 
 and punish. 
 
 This organ loves to see prosperity in others as well as self-ad- 
 vancement; it admires the victor, but looks coldly upon the defeated 
 in whatever contest or sphere of Hfe. It makes scholars overwork 
 their brain to keep up or be ahead in their classes; like a young 
 lady teacher in a high school who ^ec^me insiane through h^d 
 
102 
 
 FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. 
 
 Study in order to obtain Normal School honors. Nothing stimu- 
 lates and pleases this faculty so much as victory, success, popularity, 
 praise, great display, bestowal of favors and power. How the 
 world honors, adores and remembers great generals and heroes of 
 all kinds; and how quickly they censure one who suffers defeat. 
 Nor is anything so displeasing and offensive to approbativeness as 
 defeat, censure and scorn; nor does anything so excite this organ 
 to deeds of desperation, as censure mingled with defeat and morti- 
 fication. I have no doubt that Horace Greeley and General Lee 
 went to their graves earlier than they would have done, but for the 
 silent and consuming grief caused through the mortification of this 
 organ. Even murders or attempts at it may be traced to its mor- 
 tified and enraged excitement, as when a mother tried to shoot her 
 son-in-law for the murder of her daughter, evidently because he 
 accused or blamed her for the flirting conduct of his wife. And 
 the jury, as a consequence, would not hang him, but simply gave 
 him fourteen years in the penitentiary. She appeared in the court 
 room in a long crape mourning vail, and drawing a revolver, fired 
 at the prisoner, but the vail caught between the hammer and the 
 cartridge and prevented explosion. 
 
 Retaliation also springs from the mortified excitement of this 
 organ. A young lady, a stranger in New York City, saw an adver- 
 tisement in the paper for an assistant. She called to answer it, 
 when the man or brute attempted to rob her of her virtue. She 
 got away from him, and set her feminine ingenuity to work to pun- 
 ish him for his insult upon her honor and virtue. She made a lash 
 in which she inserted a number of pins, then bought some red pep- 
 per, and going to his place of business, sent word up to his office 
 that a lady desired to see him at the door. He walked down stairs 
 to the sidewalk, when, after saying a few words to him, she threw 
 a handful of red pepper into his eyes and then commenced to lash 
 and cut him about the face and head terribly. But there is no end 
 to the numerous instances and ways in which this spirit of retalia- 
 tion is shown; sometimes with a show of justice, and very often en- 
 tirely uncalled for and unjustifiable. Perhaps the most aggravating 
 form in which this unchristian spirit is manifested is in social and 
 business life. If one man does not do what another thinks he ought 
 to, he makes up his mind to get even in some way by retaliation. 
 In social life one person tries to pay back a slight or neglect of 
 
FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. 10? 
 
 ^ome acquaintance to show preference, give favors or bestow praise, 
 by cutting the acquaintance, playing a mean trick or humiliating 
 the offender. I remember a girl whose friendship suddenly turned 
 to impudence and sarcasm, because I did not compliment her by 
 examining her head at a parlor entertainment, and she is but a 
 ample of several such cases, including both sexes. A young, 
 cheeky daughter of a hotel-keeper in Iowa, was anxious to be 
 present in the parlor while I made some examinations. I politely 
 informed her that the examinations were private. Taking the 
 exclusion as an offense, she did all in her power to annoy me and my 
 subjects. If I had been very anxious to have her present at all ex- 
 aminations she would most likely have pleaded other engagements 
 or want of time; but because she was not wanted and made to feel so, 
 she was determined to retaliate by annoyance, in a style girls and 
 women have a faculty for doing, without being boisterous or very 
 rude. These sort of polite annoyances and social retaliations (if I 
 may call them by that name) for slight and unintentional offenses, 
 are enough to provoke a saint, especially when practiced by a woman 
 toward a man; because he feels he cannot, with gentlemanly pro- 
 priety, resent them. That is about the meanest kind of meanness, 
 where a woman takes advantage, retaliates or does something just 
 because she is a woman, and her victim a man, and therefore unable, 
 through a sense of gallantry and manliness, to defend or protect 
 himself. 
 
 A woman is tne strangest mixture of opposites and inconsisten- 
 cies in all God's creation. Of all terrestrial beings she is the sweet- 
 est and meanest; the loveliest and the vainest; the most angelic 
 and Satanic. She can rise to the most exalted heights of piety, 
 devotion, love and purity, or sink to the lowest depths of degra- 
 dation and wickedness. She can be as modest and innocent as a 
 lamb, and as artful and insinuating as the devil himself. She can 
 make her life and character as beautiful and fragrant as a rose, or as 
 poisonous and offensive as the poppy or deadly nightshade. It is 
 under the influence of this organ of approbativeness that we see the 
 weakest and most objectionable points in her character, because then 
 she is under the rule of a selfish sentiment; the strongest faculty in 
 her soul except love. But when she is controlled by love and the 
 moral faculties, she is an earthly angel, and no brighter blessing illu- 
 mines the pathway of man. The reason I am so severe, as some will 
 
104 FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. 
 
 undoubtedly think, on female character, is because I want to see love- 
 ly woman more perfect; and one reason why I am so anxious about 
 their perfection is because men can never be any better cr greater 
 morally and intellectually than what their mothers make them. 
 Mothers influence the characters of their children more than fathers. 
 When woman rises the whole race will rise, but if she sinks the race 
 will sink with her. 
 
 Vanity and show-off feeling is another phase of the organ of 
 approbativeness improperly educated. It is found in both sexes, 
 but is more peculiarly characteristic of females. We see it best 
 illustrated in the male character on such occasions as military 
 parades. The army probably furnishes the best illustrations of 
 masculine vanity anywhere to be found; especially with the officers. 
 It was stated in the public press concerning the late Prince Imperial 
 of France, that at a ball given by the Duchess of W^estminster, in 
 1876, he offered to jump over a balcony to the illuminated lawn be- 
 low (a distance of twenty feet), if his partner would bet him a shil- 
 ling that he would not. She wisely refused. No young man save 
 one whose brain was fairly intoxicated with vanity, would think of 
 making such a proposition or exhibition of himself. And I am in- 
 clined to think that the same spirit of vain ambition was the cause 
 of his losing his life among the Zulus in Africa. Who can prove 
 that Gen. Custer, a brave general who was massacred with his men 
 by the Indians, did not also lose his life by an over-zealous, vain 
 ambition.? Even the great Napoleon came to an inglorious end, 
 and the whole French nation to grief and humiliation in their late 
 war with Germany, through this monster passion. In the latter 
 case, however, there was a mixture of conceit with their vain ideas. 
 
 Sometimes medical professors, touched with this vain feeling, 
 resort to vivisection as a means of exciting or gratifying the curi- 
 osity of their students by showing them what they can do in sur- 
 gery; thus causing the poor animals to be tortured and slaughtered 
 without mercy. If some of the vain, conceited doctors would only 
 carve up one another to amuse their students, instead of the poor, 
 dumb, defenseless animals, the rest of the world would be much 
 better off. 
 
 This spirit of vanity in woman runs through every grade and 
 condition in life, from the cradle to the grave. It permeates their 
 every thought and act. It speaks in their voice, their looks, their 
 
fLAtTfiRY, CONCEtt ANt) VANttV. t05 
 
 gestures, their conduct. You may as well expect an old toper to 
 pass a saloon without stepping in to take a drink, as for a woman 
 to pass a mirror without stopping to look at herself to see if her 
 frizzes are all right, her hat just so, and her dress hanging grace- 
 fully. For, after all, she cares more about her toilet than her face, 
 unless it be to see that the powder is not rubbed off — if she hap- 
 pens to be one of the daubing kind. Anything to attract attention 
 seems to be the secret motive of some of the fair sex. And it is 
 really amusing to watch their little manoeuvres. A young lady 
 who was going off for a short trip with her intended, was anxious 
 that everybody sitting on the veranda should know it, and take 
 some notice of her departure; so she got her friend to run out to 
 the gate, about thirty yards from the house, to stop the omnibus, 
 while she took her time to get ready, then slowly walked through 
 the yard, putting on her gloves, keeping the 'bus and its occupants 
 awaiting her pleasure. Of course, she found it necessary to wait 
 till the 'bus was there before she could get her things on ! A 
 woman invariably keeps somebody waiting while she is fussing to 
 get ready and attract a little attention. If she is sitting down in 
 a car, or in some public place, she must fuss with her gloves, pull 
 them off and on, or else with her ear rings or bracelets — anything 
 to attract the eyes of others. 
 
 This same vanity or show-off feeling, is manifested by nations, 
 corporations, managing boards and all kinds of associations and 
 societies as well as by individuals. Kings, queens, and aristocratic 
 forms of government are the outgrowth of approbativeness. The 
 old Israelites were not contented with a mere leader, they wanted 
 a king, and so Saul was given unto them; and thus began the 
 kingdom form of government with all its pomp, pride and vanity. 
 Railroad, insurance, bank and other corporations pay immense 
 salaries to their presidents for the name and show of the thing, but 
 give comparatively small wages to their section hands, night watch- 
 men and others having weary, tiresome and responsible positions 
 to fill. The men on railroads upon whom the lives of travelers are 
 dependent, such as switchmen, engineers, brakemen, etc., are often 
 overworked until they become sleepy and careless, risking their 
 own lives as well as those of the passengers. Men who risk their 
 lives on locomotives and trains every hoar, yea, and almost every 
 minute of the day and night, for the benefit of the public and the 
 
ic6 FLATTEiV, COHCRIT AND VAmtV. 
 
 corporations they serve, ought to be well paid and enough men em- 
 ployed to give each other sufficient rest and time to recuperate the 
 terrible strain upon their nervous system which constant watching 
 for danger necessarily engenders. This show-off feeling is not con- 
 fined to the upper class, however; it visits the poor in their humble 
 dwellings as well. Like a poor family I heard of in New York City, 
 who, on a New Year's day, set a splendid table and on it a cake which 
 cost seven dollars, and the very next day went to their baker to 
 get a loaf of bread on trust. It is astonishing how poor people will 
 often deprive themselves of the necessaries of life in order to make 
 a display on extra occasions, or to keep up personal apj^earances 
 Many a person whom you see dressed well on the streets with 
 feathers in their hats, if you could but look into their homes and 
 sit down and take a meal at their tables, you would be surprised at 
 the contrast, and at once remember the old proverb, "All that 
 glitters is not gold." I never could see the sense of people starving 
 their own bodies and souls to feed the eyes of others. 
 
 Pride is seen in parents who dress their children and grown 
 daughters in a more lavish style than their pockets will often per- 
 mit, for school examinations and commencement exercises. I pre- 
 sume they regard graduation-day as the most important event in a 
 girl's life next to getting married; and so, frequently go beyond 
 their means to array them in white silk or satin, kid gloves, and 
 other toilet accessories, such as jewelry, etc., in order to make a 
 grand show of them; when, perhaps, their teachers have had the 
 hardest work imaginable to enable them to pass examination with 
 average credit. Even after the affair is over, and in after years, 
 there is more talk about, and allusion to a young lady's toilet, and 
 how she looked and acted on commencement-day, than there is 
 about her examination or what she learned, unless she has been an 
 « xceptionally bright student and her parents can brag about her 
 femaitness It ill becomes any college, seminary or public school 
 to tolerate this nonsense, and thereby foster the spirit of pride and 
 vanity in young people as well as in old. Schools are supposed to 
 educate young people to be good and sensible, and not vain and 
 useless; and if the pdrcnts have not any common sense in such 
 matters, teachers should take steps to remedy the evil. Let them 
 remember the words of the Apostle Paul: " Let not him who putteth 
 on his armor boast as him that taketh it off." Pride enters largely 
 
FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. I07 
 
 Into Sabbath-school concerts and church decorations. The children 
 appear upon the platform to recite, even of a Sabbath evening, with 
 their hair and dresses decked with flowers, which, in addition to 
 the decorations of the pulpit and other surroundings, present a sort 
 of fairy scene. It is beautiful and pleasing to the senses, I admit, 
 and generally accomplishes the purpose such performances are par- 
 ticularly gotten up for, namely: to draw a crowd, get a good col- 
 lection and satisfy the pride of those who get it up and participate 
 in the exercises. But after all such things create vanity and ad- 
 miration for the creature, instead of reverence for God. The thought- 
 less multitudes go there to see the show and be entertained, not to 
 hear the gospel; and if they did there would be very little gospel 
 to hear. Church fairs are gotten up for a similar purpose; to raise 
 money and give the young people as well as some of the old ones, a 
 chance to fix themselves up like actresses and look ridiculous; also 
 to do a little courting and perhaps pious flirting. Some churches 
 have been known to spend more money for floral decorations on sin- 
 gle occasions, like Easter, than they have contributed during the 
 whole year for missionary purposes. O. 2ow pride and vanity knocks 
 and locks religion out of a church and the hearts of the people! 
 Just as in the case of a lady 1 once met whose mind was poisoned 
 against religion and had been from her youthful days, because her 
 mother, who was a pious woman, would not let her wear flowers in 
 her hat. She cried more over that, than anything in her whole life. 
 Her mother was most likely a little too plain and rigid in her taste 
 and ideas about such things, but it shows the power of pride in the 
 human soul. 
 
 Sometimes pride is mingled with haughtiness and manifests 
 itself in an offensive way, like a round-faced young woman, well- 
 dressed, who was sitting in a street car opposite me one evening, 
 when a poorly-dressed man entered the car and sat down beside her. 
 She pulled her cloak up and threw it across her lap, then turning 
 her head around gave him a contemptuous look and got up, com- 
 pelling her escort to change places with her as though she was even 
 superior to him and much nicer. As she performed this disgrace- 
 ful act she fairly blushed with pride, though she ought to have 
 blushed with shame, and I am not suie but there was a little of that 
 feeling mixed with her pride. If the man had been in any way 
 offensive I should not have blamed her so much (though under aU 
 
I08 TLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. 
 
 occasions it is well to be lady-like), but he was not. He was not 
 drunk, nor even chewing tobacco, nor in any way offensive to any- 
 one, save he was a poor and commonly-dressed man. If such 
 proud, vanity-stricken young women, whose brains are in the wrong 
 part of their heads, would only turn up their celestial noses and put 
 on a few righteous airs with the young fops of the city, or any class 
 of men, young or old, rich or poor, who are given to bad and dis- 
 gusting habits, they would do a good deal of good. But they gen- 
 erally shoot off their pride bullets where they only do harm instead 
 of good, just as assassins shoot smart men but never hurt the less 
 important ones. If a young man can sport a nobby suit of clothes, 
 play the agreeable, and carry a cane under his arm for people to 
 run their eyes and faces against, why, he may smoke, drink, chew 
 and hold high carnival in general, and still not be objectionable, but 
 rather adored, by the proud, outside-show class of young women. 
 What a striking contrast to the young woman I have described, 
 was the honest old lady I saw (both of them in New York), partic- 
 ular to a cent in paying her debts, and though well-off was dressed 
 like a beggar. She never knew what it was to want for a dollar, 
 and though shabby in appearance, she lived comfortably and in a 
 well-furnished home. She did not think enough about dress or 
 have sufficient pride about her personal appearance, while the other 
 had too much. 
 
 Pride is a remarkably selfish feeling, just as a dog adheres to his 
 master whether he be a good man or a bad man, and defends him 
 when assaulted whether he is in the right or wrong; so pride clings 
 to self with all the tenacity of the soul. It loves self and glories in 
 self, and never sees its own imperfections. Stanley, who went in 
 search of Livingstone, the African explorer, says the native Africans 
 appear to be as proud of their black skin as the Europeans of their 
 pale color. Pride makes no discrimination between race, nations 
 or color; it always thinks itself and its own class perfect. It only 
 discriminates in its own favor, when brought in contrast with an- 
 other person, class or nation. Pride is self-destructive; it works its 
 own ruin because it is too selfish to exist; hence the adage, "pride 
 goeth before a fall." 
 
 There are many shades of pride, if I may so express it. Pride 
 of one's ancestry, pride of country, pride of knowledge, pride of 
 Wraith, pride of dress, and pride pf looks. People are very sensi- 
 
FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. !•# 
 
 tive over the two latter, hence the amount of time and money spent 
 to present a good appearance. Wealth or beauty is the great boon 
 the fair sex covet, and the lady who has a pretty face is generally 
 proud. Beauty and pride occupy about the same relation to each 
 other that wealth and fashion do. Not that beauty engenders pride, 
 but because it attracts so much attention and receives so much 
 praise, the spirit of pride and vanity is soon developed in its pos- 
 sessor, and if any man wants to see a beauty under a cloud or a sud- 
 den change in facial expression from sweetness to anger and scorn, 
 let him but intimate to a belle, or any lady who thinks herself 
 pretty, that she is not, and he will get a look from that beauty cold 
 enough to freeze him. 1 tried it once, and once only. It was sev- 
 eral years ago, and we were going to a picnic. The young lady was 
 quite good-looking, but not a belle, although evidently very proud 
 of her beauty. We were talking by the way, when I thoughtlessly 
 remarked and without really meaning what I said, that I guessed 
 we were both behind the door when beauty was shared. It was 
 seven years after that before she spoke to me again. 
 
 Conceit arises from the organ of approbativeness also, and not 
 as is generally supposed from self-esteem. The majority of people 
 of both sexes are conceited, but very few have large self-esteem. 
 Conceit, like pride and vanity, is a perverted condition of this organ 
 (approbativeness), and it is the cause of very much unpleasantness 
 in the human family. It would take a good-sized volume to describe 
 the numerous mistakes and accidents that are caused through its 
 action and influence upon men's characters and judgment. The 
 pernicious and dishonest habit of betting arises from conceit. Two 
 men get up a controversy about something and each thinks he is 
 right and the other wrong, because he esteems his own judgment 
 better than his neighbor's, and as a sort of display puts up money 
 and risks it to back his opinion. Conceit makes a man think him- 
 self smarter than he really is; makes him think he knows more 
 than he does: and makes him think he understands what another 
 person wants him to do, or what he means by a statement, when he 
 does not half comprehend the meaning intended. Many public 
 speakers are misunderstood in this way, and many an author suffers 
 by havmg some phrase or sentence in his book misinterpreted, just 
 because some conceited person jumps at a conclusion in harmony 
 with his own mmd or way of thinking, without properly examining 
 
no FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. 
 
 a statement and studying the meaning of the author or his motive 
 
 for making it, or trying to catch the spirit in which it was spoken 
 or written. Others will pick up a book and critically read one 
 chapter, or a few pages here and there, and then conceitedly con- 
 clude they know all about the book. No greater injustice can be 
 done to an author, because from such a cursory reading the reader, 
 no matter how smart he is, can only gather a few disconnected ideas, 
 and therefore cannot possibly form a correct estimate of the work as 
 a whole. An employer tells a conceited assistant he wants a certain 
 thing done so and so; he has hardly commenced to explain to him 
 how it is to be done, before he concludes he understands just what 
 he wants and instead of listening attentively and studying to com- 
 prehend what his employer really wants, he simply says, "Yes, sir, 
 yes, sir," and goes off and does almost the opposite of his orders. 
 A conceited young man goes to college and after he has been there 
 a year, more or less, he begins to think he knows more than his 
 professors. And when he has been through the text-books of the 
 school and graduates, he feels as big and vain as a peacock. He 
 thinks himself a highly-educated man, and walking dictionary, 
 when he has only learned how to think, how to gather knowledge, 
 and how to make use of it, as far as practical life is concerned. 
 Conceited young women frequently prejudge a man's motives, by 
 thinking he wants their company, or certain favors or privileges, or 
 that he is in love with them and wants to marry, if he should chance 
 to call or take them out two or three times; and conceited men are 
 just as bad in reference to ladies. 
 
 Conceit is the cause of some ladies seeking or rather thrusting 
 their presence and claim for attention upon a person when he is en- 
 gaged in conversation with another person. It is a common occur- 
 rence and what I consider a bold breach of etiquette. A modest, 
 well-educated lady will not do it, but a conceited, proud, selfish 
 woman will invariably interrupt the conversation of two persons 
 whenever she wishes to speak to one of the parties. It is the same 
 class of women who expect to be waited upon immediately when 
 they enter a place of business, no matter who is before them, and 
 take offense if they are not. I remember a photographer showing 
 me a picture of just such a character. She went to his studio to 
 have a negative taken, and acted unreasonable and made quite a 
 fuss because she could not be waited upon before the other custo 
 
Ft.ATTEftV, COKCttt AND VAKiry, 11? 
 
 filers who were ahead of her. Such women will leave a parlor or 
 company in a very short time, if conversation is not directed to 
 them, or some kind of attention shown. They must be taken notice 
 of in some way, or they feel slighted and take offense. You may 
 show all the favors and acts of kindness and friendship you please 
 to such a woman, but the moment you correct, censure or scold her 
 for anything, she will reverse her feelinf:^s towards you and substi- 
 tute enmity for friendship. Women are not willing to be corrected 
 or even instructed by their gentlemen escorts. Information how- 
 ever necessary and valuable for them to know, when given in that 
 way, is pretty sure to be taken by ladies as a polite insult. A gen- 
 tleman was playing in a four-handed game of croquet one day with 
 a conceited young lady as his partner. He saw she did not thor- 
 oughly understand the game, and was not playing right, so he 
 ventured to correct her and explain how. She took offense, got 
 angry, threw down her mallet and walked off You may treat her 
 to candy and bouquets, and take her out riding and to places of 
 entertainment and she will smile her sweetest smile as only a lady 
 can, but attempt to point out lier faults or instruct her as to how 
 she should act, and you incur her displeasure at once. She can 
 stand all the praise, admiration, favors and presents you choose to 
 shower upon her, but criticism and correction makes her wilt or 
 socially freeze up. 
 
 Conceit makes people talk about their relatives and acquaint- 
 ances, like a young lady I had in my employ once. I could seldom 
 allude to any person but what she had some relative just like them, 
 and she could hardly ever talk on any subject herself without bring- 
 ing in her uncles, aunts, cousins, brothers, sisters, grandparents or 
 some other blood relation; in fact, that is the most some young 
 ladies can find to talk about, what their mammas and papas say 
 and do. And there are plenty of other ladies just like her, whose 
 conversation always turns upon family affairs or family connections, 
 and the common events of home and every-day life. Bad educa- 
 tion and novel-reading is another cause of commonplace and 
 trashy talk among young ladies. 
 
 Conceit makes people talk big about what they have got or are 
 going to do, or want done. It is the braggadocio feeling, and 
 whenever I hear a person talk that way I subtract about one-half 
 from their statements in order to g*;t at the truth. Some people 
 
n2 FLATTERY, CONCSIT AND VANITY. 
 
 when they call on me to have an examination of their heads, begin 
 to tell me in a very emphatic manner that they particularly want 
 to know all the bad qualities about them, they are very anxious to 
 know the whole truth. And then when they get the truth, it does 
 not always go down pleasantly, and they are the very kind to take 
 offense. About two or three times in the run of a year I meet with 
 these conceited and unreasonable subjects. They pretend they 
 want to know their faults, but secretly expect to be highly compli- 
 mented. Hence, when a person comes to me with such an imper- 
 ative request to know all, I generally make up my mind I have got 
 a hard subject to please, because if I fail to point out some weak or 
 bad points he thinks I am a humbug and have not told him all, but 
 have flattered him to get his money; and if I do make him out to 
 be bad or of poor intelligence, then he is offended, if not angry, and 
 begins to make all sorts of objections. But as I have already inti- 
 mated, these unreasonable persons are exceptional, and rare cases 
 in my professional experience. Conceited persons frequently walk 
 up to me in a public hall, or on the street, and say, "Professor, 
 what do you think of my face.? What kind of a head, or nose, or 
 mouth, or eye, have I got.? Look me in the face now, and tell me 
 if you think I would do, or not do, so-and-so." If I were to answer 
 their questions and not compliment them or flatter their vanity, 
 they would be offended, and if I refuse to answer them (for such 
 persons never expect to pay for such information), tr.en they are 
 offended. 
 
 Sometimes conceit will cost a man his life. Like a conceited 
 doctor who thought he knew all about elephants, and insisted, 
 though warned of the danger, on going into the barn where one 
 was, and had his conceited head torn from his body. And a con- 
 ceited young man whose Newfoundland dog had killed a bear, 
 thought he could t^ickle an elephant also, which was standing in 
 the water with his keeper. The dog had more sense and less con- 
 ceit than his master, and did not wish to make the attempt until 
 urged on by his owner, and then, with dog-like faithfulness, he 
 obeyed orders. The elephant caught him, ducked him, threw him 
 up in the air about thirty feet, caught him on his tusks and threw 
 him out on the ground a dead dog. 
 
 When a fashionable woman goes to a dry goods store and buys 
 a small parcel of goods, she wants it sent home; but when she 
 
FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. II3 
 
 parades the streets she can carry a whole arm -full of dress goods 
 in the shape of along trail, without a murmur. If any lady readers 
 of this chapter should deem me rather severe in my criticisms 
 concerning their ways and habits, let me remind them that their 
 greatest, most searching and uncharitable critics, come from their 
 own sex. I remember a lady who was standing with a number of 
 others on a piazza, one si^.mmer afternoon, in Saratoga, who re- 
 marked, as another lady passed along the sidewalk with a long trail, 
 "Dear me, I wonder how much she is paid by the city authorities 
 for sweeping the streets." But the next time she went out walking 
 herself, I noticed she had a trail on her own dress, only not quite as 
 long. This long-trail fashion on a public street in the summer is a 
 public nuisance, anyhow, for the dust they raise for other people to 
 swallow who have to walk behind them, or even pass them, is any- 
 thing but pleasant or healthy. 
 
 Pride so permeates the human soul that it is difficult to tell 
 where it begins or where it ends, for even the Quakers who discoun- 
 tenance anything that looks like pride or vanity, are about as proud 
 of their simplicity in dress and manner as the fashionable women 
 are of their toilets and latest styles. The Quaker ladies are very 
 particular to have their comforters just so, and their bonnet-strings 
 tied exactly to suit the taste; all of which is proper to a certain 
 extent. Every man and woman should use taste and order in the 
 arrangement of their garments, and in all the affairs of Hfe. But 
 the pride of the Quakers in their systematic neatness is something 
 like that of a good, modest and talented old man, whom everybody 
 supposed was entirely free from pride, until some one who was skep- 
 tical on that point made up his mind to thoroughly test him; and, 
 after trying unsuccessfully in every conceivable way to excite a 
 
 vein of vanity, he at last said to him: "Mr. , you are the most 
 
 modest, humble and unassuming man I ever met." That brought 
 the blush of pride to his face; he was proud of his meekness; or, to 
 express it in other words, he was proud to think he was not proud. 
 
 Exaggeration has its origin in approbativeness, also, and is one 
 of the most prevalent and annoying traits in human character. 
 The disposition to magnify a thing and make a mountain jut of a 
 mole-hill, is the cause of many false reports and slanderous lies and 
 misstatements so often put into circulation, either by gossip or 
 through the medium of the press. A large percentage of the ordi- 
 
114 FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. 
 
 nary lying that takes place in the common affairs of life, is done 
 through the influence or desire of this feeling to make a thing 
 appear big, and excite wonder and surprise in the minds of others. 
 Not that people mean to deliberately lie, but that in their desire to 
 say sometliing to attract attention, they over-state a thing. It also 
 causes people to use words extravagantly; to be superfluous in 
 speaking or writing; and even use words that convey a different 
 meaning. One-half of the lies in history which have come down 
 to us, are the result of exaggeration caused by a desire on the part 
 of the author to be brilliant; to surprise and charm his readers 
 rather than to make exact statements. A great deal of trouble is 
 caused and hard feeling engendered between parties through people 
 magnifying things and making careless or erroneous statements. 
 A great many business men always make exaggerated statements 
 in reference to the amount of business they are doing; praise up 
 their goods as being far superior to what they really are; put the 
 best side to view and cover up any defects. Some of them fill 
 baskets with peaches, putting a few good ones on the top, and the 
 rest filled with green or rotten fruit of different kinds. Anything 
 or anyway to make an article look inviting, tempting or better than 
 it really is. This spirit of exaggeration pervades the press to a 
 great extent, hence the uncertainty as to the truthfulness of reports 
 or statements. I have noticed this many times, and particularly in 
 their descriptions of summer resorts in the early part of the season. 
 To read one of the daily papers one would suppose the hotels were 
 about full, and everything in full blast; but go there and you find 
 them about half full, or hardly that. 
 
 In society gossip, however, and in ordinary conversation is where 
 this spirit of exaggeration runs high. A woman, for instance, has 
 heard something which she is aching to repeat, and the first friend 
 or neighbor she meets, she lets her tongue go lively, and piles on 
 the adjectives and exclamations heavy, until she makes her neighbor 
 imagine she sees stars where there are none. Or, perchance, she 
 has been visiting some city or place where there was lots to see; 
 like a woman in Michigan who went to the Chicago Exposition, and 
 saw a new kind of stove with some glass in the upper part, so that 
 the baking process could be watched. When she returned to her 
 home, she told a wonderful story about a glass stove that she had 
 seen, where you could see the fire burning, the pies bakinif, and 
 
FLATTERY, CONCEIT ANt) VANITY. tl^ 
 
 everything about it in full view. After a few days had passed, one 
 of the neighbors who had heard her story and had her curiosity 
 excited, went to the Exposition, also, and walked up and down the 
 aisle past the same stove several times and looking for it, and finally 
 enquired of the exhibitor where the "glass stove" was to be seen. 
 He told her he guessed his stove was the one she was looking for, 
 as they had not quite got to making stoves out of glass yet. After 
 relating the above incident to me he said, that if a story got to be 
 of that size in Michigan, he did not know what proportions it would 
 assume by the time it reached California. 
 
 Conceit is what keeps millions of people out of the Kingdom of 
 Heaven; they are so good in their own estimation that they think 
 if they have not robbed or murdered anybody, they have a natural 
 right to an inheritance with the saints; those who, through great 
 self-denial and tribulation, have overcome the world, the flesh and 
 the devil, and won their reward. It is this very feeling that {:»re- 
 vents so many from believing the gospel, as well as many f ther 
 things that are contrary to their conceited ideas. It is re pugnant 
 to the feelings and mind of a self-righteous man to have to depend 
 on the goodness of some other being to make up his deficiencies, 
 or even for another to insinuate he is not a good man. He is just 
 as sensitive about his goodness, as a belle is of her beauty. He 
 thinks he is quite able to take care of himself A conceited bather 
 at Atlantic City one summer evidently thought so, and ventured 
 out into the ocean beyond his depth and was rescued by the life- 
 guard just in time to save his life. As I stood on the beach and 
 saw him brought in upon the shoulders of his physical savior in an 
 insensi^Dle condition, I thought to myself, what a powerful lesson on 
 the conceit and frailty of man ! It really staggers one with be- 
 wilderment and astonishment to think how desperately and blindly 
 conceited people are. Why, two-thirds of the prisoners in our jails 
 and penitentiaries are, in their own estimation, pretty good sort of 
 people, and I have little doubt but what many of them think that 
 those who put them there ought to be in their places, and scarcely 
 any of them think their punishment to be just. As I passed through 
 the penitentiary on Blackwell's Island, N. Y., I asked a woman 
 what she was there for. **0," said she, "a very simple thing. Some 
 lady accused me of stealing." Then I asked a man what he was 
 there for, "For nothing," he replied, **1 was just walking along 
 
Ilg FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. 
 
 the street and a policeman took hold of me and arrested me, and 1 
 was sent here." And I expect if it were possible for somebody to 
 pass through hell at same future time and should see Robert Inger- 
 soll and ask him what he was there for, he would say, "O, nothing; 
 I simply told the people in the other world that there was no such 
 plafce as this, and one of the Almighty's angels grabbed me and cast 
 me in here." When I look over the world and see the awful amount 
 of wickedness, suffering and misery that exist, and then remember 
 how good people are, in their own estimation, I come to the con- 
 clusion that a good many are fooling themselves rather badly. 
 There is hardly a house or family nowadays but what has hanging 
 on its parlor walls some of those fancy scripture mottoes, and that 
 is about all the religion a good many people have. It suits their 
 conceited natures much better to hang up religion outside of them, 
 where they can look at it, than it does to carry it in their hearts. 
 People who are living a life of sin, and are the very servants of the 
 devil, will hang this familiar motto over their parlor door, "God 
 bless our home;" and if you were to talk to them about their future 
 state and prospects they would tell you at once they expect to go 
 right straight to heaven when they die, and demand to know why 
 they should not when they never hurt anybody, nor cheated any 
 person. Conceit so blinds the spiritual or moral sense of sight, 
 that people's ideas of sm are very weak and crude, and all they can 
 seem to look upon as sin are such actions as get them into jail; such 
 sins as find their way into the criminal columns of our newspapers. 
 Sins against humanity they can see, but not sins against Divinity; 
 big sins, but not little ones. They are something like the girl who 
 on being asked how she could confess all her sins to the priest, 
 when she could not possibly remember the half of them, replied, 
 that she could remember all the big ones anyway. 
 
 As I have intimated, it is this disposition to exaggerate that ad- 
 dicts people to a certain kind of lying; and it is their wounded conceil 
 that makes them so intensely indignant when charged with lying 
 Hence the same organ that gives the lie resents the charge and re- 
 taliates on the accuser, or stirs up other organs and propensities to 
 do it, such as combativeness and destructiveness. A boasting, exag- 
 gerating, conceited man naturally thinks his own statements must be 
 correct, and it mortifies his pride to have a person even doubt it, much 
 more to call it a deliberate lie; and even when he knows he is telling 
 
FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. 
 
 a He he does not regard it with half the disgust that he would if some 
 other man had told it. He looks upon it in his own case as a sort 
 of pardonable necessity to carry his point or accomplish his object. 
 The sins that such a man or woman commit are never so hideous 
 in their own estimation as the same sins committed by some other 
 person; and that is one reason why so many sin with impunity. 
 It is this same feeling, combined with parental love, that causes 
 parents to see the faults of other people's children but not those of 
 their own; and to magnify the virtues and talents of their own 
 children as compared with those of other people. This is why so 
 many inconsiderate parents will allow their children to have any- 
 thing they want to play with, soil and tear books, albums and other 
 things lying on the parlor tables; and even to take offense if visitors 
 and strangers, or persons they may be living with, will not allow 
 them to destroy their things also. It does seem as if some parents 
 were almost destitute of common sense, so enormous and bordering 
 on insanity is their conceit, pride and vanity over their idolized 
 children, whom they worship and serve m^ore than the God who 
 gave them. They will crowd their children upon the attention of 
 visitors and even strangers to have special notice taken of them, or 
 some complimentary remark made about their looks or smartness; 
 then, if the visitor or stranger does not take as much notice of them 
 as they think he ought to, they consider it a slight and are offep.ded. 
 But it is really the imaginary offense to their own vanity they feel 
 grieved about, more than for the feelings of their own childre.fi. It 
 is their selfishness that stirs up their displeasure. Ambition in 
 children to show their smartness and see how much they can do, 
 not only intellectualhy but in some physical performance, often 
 terminates in trouble and even death. Like a Httle girl in Con- 
 necticut, who was fond of skipping, and, child-like, wanted to see 
 how many times she could jump the rope without stopping. She 
 did it two hundred and fifty times, and was seized with fits imme- 
 diately afterwards. I do not know whether she died or not, but 
 many a person's life has been lost by attempting to do some such 
 foolish thing; trying to do what God never intended them to do, 
 and what his natural laws never fitted them to do. No organ in the 
 brain, no faculty of the soul, needs educating more than does the 
 organ of approbativeness; and the worst feature about the matter 
 IB, not a school, college or pulpit in the civilized world attempts to 
 
i^S FLATTERT, COKCEIT AND VAmT?. 
 
 educate it. They all humor it and pervert it just as parents pet, 
 humor and spoil their children. 
 
 The desire to talk and whisper in j)ubh'c audiences when order 
 and quietness should prevail, is another peculiarity ot the perverted 
 use of the organ of approbativeness. To lauL^^h and whisper as 
 many women do at public lectures and church services, is not only 
 very annoying to the speaker and others sitting near them, but im- 
 modest and unwomanly. There may be occasions when such a 
 thing is necessary and excusable, but the whispering, smiling, 
 laughing business is so common nowadays, that it seems impossible 
 for two women, especially young ladies, to sit beside each other or 
 in company with a gentleman even in a church, without whispering 
 and laughing whenever they see or hear anything that suits their 
 fancy, excites their curiosity or provokes their mirth. Men do this, 
 too, but it is more prevalent with ladies. A similar manifestation 
 of the same feeling is seen when two persons, particularly young 
 women, are visiting an exhibition or going through a large store 
 where there are a variety of things interesting to be seen. 
 The moment one sees an article she thinks is specially worthy of 
 notice, or has some quality peculiar or funny about it, she begins to 
 call or pull the other one to come and look at it, no matter how 
 earnestly she may be engaged looking at something that interests 
 her equally as much. It is precisely the same feeling that is man- 
 ifested by children in showing everything they have in the shape 
 v^ t-oys, pictures, books etc., to visitors as well as to their parents. 
 A kuni.cJ ^'^eljne '^"'^kcs people anxious to circulate news, to be the 
 first to tell bt/riiccning strange and wonderful, especially if it is a 
 scandal or anything bad abo' ^ their neighbors. It is the cause of 
 women and girls telling what another says or does to them, es- 
 pecially what a gentleman does or says, and frequently making 
 considerable fuss about a small thing. Like a cook in New Jersey, 
 who told her mother the minister she was working for often kissed 
 her (she must have enjoyed it or she would not have submitted so 
 often). Her mother told her to tell his wife if he did it again; she 
 did, the wife flew into a rage and raised a matrimonial storm, and 
 then the church committee asked him to resign. Thus the happi- 
 ness of a family was broken up and a minister's usefulness termi- 
 nated in that place, at any rate, all because that servant had cooked 
 every thing but her own tongue. I am not advocating that minis- 
 
FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. II9 
 
 ters should kiss their cooks, but it seems reasonable to suppose that 
 if she had really objected to being kissed, she would have enforced 
 that objection on the first attempt, and not after it had been done 
 several times. The fact, I should judge, was that she felt compli- 
 mented and just ached to tell somebody that she had been kissed 
 by a minister; and that, in connection with a feeling that his mar- 
 riage made the act improper, urged her to tell her mother. And 
 the whole three of these women, cook, mother and wife, if the story 
 as reported in the papers was true, acted rashly and unwisely. 
 When a woman objects to being kissed, or any man is imprudent 
 enough to attempt improprieties, there is a way to check such ad- 
 vances without telling and exciting the whole community and rais- 
 ing a huge scandal; it only makes a mountain out of a mole-hill and 
 does the community and country ten times more harm than good. 
 All these manifestations of the same faculty spring from a conceit- 
 ed, show-off, selfish kind of feeling, to call the attention of others to 
 what they see, think or feel, or what has been done to them. Hence 
 the pleasure people with large approbativeness take in whispering 
 and directing the attention of their companions to whatsoever is 
 attractive or impressive to them, is really a vain and selfish pleas- 
 ure generally gratified at the expense and annoyance of others. 
 Women do not get angry at being kissed unless done by a man 
 they dislike, or at a time or on an occasion they deem inopportune, 
 and the same faculty or feeling that would cause them to take of- 
 fense at being kissed, would also be wounded if they were not 
 kissed when they wanted to be. Behold how great a fire a little 
 matter kindleth, and the ambitious, tell-tale mongers are the ones 
 who do it. 
 
 The love of power and authority, and desire to control, govern, 
 command and order others, is still anotner manifestation of appro- 
 bativeness. It is seen to perfection in the army; hence the numer- 
 ous and constant jealousies that spring up among the officers. 
 Politics is another grand field for the display of this feeling. How 
 men will fight and tear each other to pieces, morally and intellect- 
 ually, to gain control of the government, the disbursement of offices, 
 or to be the leaders of their party! Think of the schemes resorted 
 to, the tricks that are played, the lies that are told at every elec- 
 tion to gain votes, and through them a place of power, authority, 
 and honor 1 But as the newspapf rf sx^ constantly full @f political 
 
120 FLATTERY, CONCEIT AND VANITY. 
 
 and military struggles for superiority, and numerous works are 
 devoted to that subject, it is useless for me to enlarge upon it here. 
 School boards also furnish illustrations of this ruling passion, and 
 some of the members will become as jealous of their little bit of 
 authority as a dog is of his bone, or a cat of her morsel of meat. 
 Let one member take upon himself to do a thing, or exercise a 
 little more than his share of authority without consulting the rest, 
 or at least a certain conceited member in it, and there will be 
 almost a prize fight at the next meeting of the board. 
 
 The sense of shame may be attributed to this organ also. 
 Shame is the result of the faculty of approbativeness being alive to 
 the fact that something has been done or said which brings censure 
 and displeasure instead of praise and commendation, which makes 
 the individual feel small, look confused or at a disadvantage. The 
 sense of guilt, shame and remorse are kindred feelings, all arising 
 from the interruption and wounding of this faculty. Guilt and re- 
 morse, however, are caused by the quickening of the faculty of 
 conscientiousness in connection with approbativeness. A large 
 percentage of honesty is also due to approbativeness rather than to 
 conscientiousness ; for, after all, the influencing motive with many 
 people and in many instances is not so much the principle of right 
 because it is right, as the feeling, "what will people say, and how 
 will they teeat me if I do wrong." So dreading the odium that 
 wrong acts would bring upon them, they refrain from doing what 
 they would otherwise do. 
 
 Funeral vanity belongs to this family of evils also. Of all occa- 
 sions and places where vanity ought to hide its worthless head, it 
 is surely at the grave. But fashion says : No, I will honor the 
 carcass more than the living body. When living he is criticised 
 and censured without mercy; but when dead, pride and vanity 
 strew his path with flowers and enroll him among the saints of 
 heaven. So heavy has this show-off spirit made funeral expenses, 
 that it costs more to die than to get married. Poor people and 
 those in middle life are often taxed to their utmost to know how 
 to give their relatives a decent burial, according to the customs of 
 society, and defray the useless expenses attached thereto. When 
 a man is going to be married he can take time to prepare for it, as 
 he can postpone it ; but men cannot postpone dying or the 
 expenses gi % funeral. These gom? generally without warning, and 
 
FLATTKKV, CO.NlLIT.AND VANITY. 121 
 
 all the pomp that the wealthy may lavish upon their deceased 
 friends is so short-lived that it is scarcely worth while to bestow 
 it, especially as the dead cannot appreciate. A great many of 
 these costly expressions of sympathy and mourning at funerals are 
 done for show, and very often there is little real heart-grief about 
 the whole affair. In the case of the death of a king, queen, or 
 president, a good deal of the public sympathy, as expressed, or 
 supposed to be, in the draping of stores, is all show, and done as 
 much for advertising as for mourning; hence great pains is taken 
 to trim the place so as to attract attention. As to whether mourn- 
 ing decorations, used as a means of advertising, are right or wrong, 
 I am not discussing here ; but am simply calling attention to the 
 fact that business and sympathy are pretty well mixed up in public 
 calamities and manifestations of sorrow. So that even in funerals, 
 where the tenderest feelings of the soul are supposed to be awak- 
 ened, vanity and selfishnes-s go hand in hand and rise to public 
 gaze. 
 
 My object in this chapter has been to call the attention of people 
 to the various forms of this besetting sin, that they who will may 
 at least siodify, if not exterminate, the evil. 
 
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 THE TRUE AND SPIRITUAL EYE. 
 
 When the eyelids, especially the upper, are well defined, and retire under the eye- 
 bone, leaving an open space as seen in this cut, there will generally be found a frank, 
 sincere and refined nature, with an amorous disposition. The love feeling, however, will 
 be spiritual and refined. But in the worldly, cunning eye shown below, which forms a 
 contrast to this one, the love passion will be impure, gross and licentious. In some forms 
 similar to the above eye, will be found a voluptuous nature, which, if not controlled, may 
 lead to lust and dishonesty. The true character, as expressed by the eye, must be dis- 
 cerned psychologically as well as physiognomically. No matter how beautiful and perfect 
 the form of the eye may be, once the soul becomes corrupted the psychological expression 
 of it will soon become impure; and so a badly formed eye may transmit a good expression 
 if morality is developed in the soul. 
 
 THE DECEITFUL, LYING EYE. 
 
 An eye that has a fullness between the upper lid and brow, and in which there is not 
 a distinct, well-defined lid as it recedes under the brow, will be found to be evasive and 
 have a strong tendency to lie and deceive. There will also be a good deal of animal 
 cunning — that shrewd, knowing disposition that enables persons to accomplish their 
 purpose by a sort of maneuvering, evasive, dodging, tricky cast of mind. Animal cunning 
 is the very opposite to a frank, spiritual and straightfonvard nature. It will take consid- 
 erable moral training to prevent such an eye as the above from lying, if not from stealing. 
 An irreligious, unprincipled, licentious nature is frequently found with this class of eyes. 
 There seems to be a variety of eyes of this order, differing slightly in form, but possess- 
 ing a similar character- 
 
BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 
 
 The Important question — Money whiat all Men labor for — The Selfishness of Men— The 
 Secret of Success — The difference in Talent between Doing Business and Managing 
 it — Bad Beginning versus Ending — Getting into vne Wrong Occupation, and its 
 Results — In a hurry to get Rich — Time wasted trying to find out what one is fit 
 for — Health, and its relation to Business — Self- Knowledge — Danger of Speculation 
 — A General Knowledge of Mankind — A Business Man's Experience — Value of In- 
 telligent Female ITelp — Qualities of a good Salesman — How they Sell Goods — Why 
 those who Buy Goods should understand Human Niture — How to hire Help — How 
 to study Human Nature — The School Superintendent who was taken in by a Con- 
 fidence Man — Understanding one's Business — Mistakes of some Beginners in Busi- 
 ness — Wltere to do Business, and why some Business Enterprises and Institutions 
 Fail — Outside Appearances have a good deal to do with Success — So has the Study 
 of Local Geography — The amount of Capital necessary — The Executive Power in 
 Business — Value of Perseverance and Push — Tricks of Advertising — The Ability to 
 cany out Plans — Concentration of Effort — Sticking to one thing — Square dealing 
 or Integrity in business — Punctuality in meeting Engagements and in paying Bills — 
 The Business Value of Time — The Lawyer and School Teacher— Economy in Busi- 
 ness — Foresight and Calculation — Counting the Cost— Intuition, or First Impres- 
 sions — Good and Regular Habits — Quickness of Apprehension and Decision. 
 
 There is probably no question that concerns the masses more 
 than how t® succeed in Hfe, and none concerning which there is 
 less definite knowledge. Not only each individual, but all classes 
 of people and all nations are battling with the difficulties of life, and 
 taxing their brains to solve that most perplexing problem— financial 
 success. For I care not in what avocation a man may be engaged, 
 money is the object desired. The laborer, the merchant, the me- 
 chanic, the artist, the scholar, and even the minister are all in pur- 
 suit of that commercial article with which they can purchase food 
 to eat, clothes to wear, and the various luxuries of life. I do not 
 say that money is the sole object of every man's life. Some make 
 money their god, but others seek it simply as a necessary means of 
 support, with which to satisfy the wants of the body and enable 
 them to employ their talents in the pursuit and accomplishment of 
 higher and nobler ends. Be that as it may, money or its equivalent 
 is the one general aim of the whole race; and the strugg^le that i» 
 
BUSINESS SUCCESS AIVD FAfLURa. i^ 
 
 constantly going on in the commercial world between individuais, 
 communities and nations, as to which shall receive the lion's share, 
 is like the desperate contest between two or more armies in which 
 some are slain, some wounded and some victorious. So in the bus- 
 iness struggle for success, some rise to wealth and commercial em- 
 inence, some struggle through life with many ups and downs, while 
 others fail in almost everything they touch, and scarcely keep the 
 wolf of hunger and want from their doors. 
 
 I never knew or realized how selfish men are, how strong their 
 passion for money and success, and how desperately they strive to 
 climb over each other in business life till one morning I entered 
 the stock exchange in New York. It looked as though Bedlam was 
 let loose, and they were all ready to take each other by the throat, 
 so intensely anxious were the bulls and bears to carry their point. 
 They reminded me of a reported scene that took place at the terri- 
 ble boat disaster at London, Canada, May 24th, 1881. Hundreds 
 had been precipitated into the water and were climbing on top of 
 one another to reach the surface and the shore, and among the 
 struggling mass of beings was a small lad who, in his fall into the 
 water struck on the back of a gentleman; the man feeling the weight 
 on his back rather heavy, and not knowing what it was, tried violently 
 to free himself; but the little fellow in desperation hung on with a 
 death grip, and with the man reached the shore in safety. Thus in 
 financial life, especially when disasters overtake men or a panic 
 sweeps over the land, men climb over one another and hang on to 
 each other with all the intensity of desperation, that they may reach 
 the goal of success and avoid failure. 
 
 There is always a good reason why one man succeeds and an- 
 other fails. It is because one understands business principles and 
 rules, and knows how to apply them better than another. And it 
 is to some of these rules, principles and requirements, that I wish 
 to call the attention of the reader. In the first place all men are 
 not qualified for a business life, do not know how to carry on and 
 manage a business for themselves. There are a great many who 
 are better fitted to do business for others, than for themselves; that 
 is, they can do the work, but are not capable of managing the finan- 
 cial part. There is a vast difference between the ability to make a 
 thing and the ability to draw custom, to buy, sell and dispose of 
 manufactured articles. The one requires skiil anti tact, the other? 
 
126 BUSINESS SUCCESS AND fAILURfi. 
 
 judgment and push or force. Here is where a great many make a 
 mistake; they do not distinguish between talent for doing things 
 and talent for managing things. Hence quite a number who fail in 
 business for themselves, might be successful doing the same thing 
 for others. In other words, a man might steer a ship quite well 
 and safely, but were he to attempt to be a pilot, he would very 
 likely run her on the rocks and to destruction. It takes a different 
 kind of knowledge to pilot a vessel than what it does to steer it. 
 A man may know comparatively nothing about the structure of a 
 ship, or even the control of it, but if he knows all the dangerous 
 places in the bay or channel, and the course to be pursued to avoid 
 them, he is fit to be pilot, though other men may man the vessel, 
 do the work on it, or engineer the machinery of a steamer much 
 better than he could. Business tact is not mechanical skill nor in- 
 tellectual ability, nor both combined. It is a peculiar and special 
 talent. And the man who contemplates starting in business for 
 himself had better find out before he begins whether he possesses 
 that kind of business talent or not, otherwise he may lose his time 
 and money, and probably the friends who helped him and then lost 
 faith in him, if not money as well. I would not say by any means, 
 that a failure in starting out in life always indicates poor business 
 tact, any more than the battle of Bull Run indicated the power of 
 the South, or the weakness and failure of the North. A bad be- 
 ginning often makes a good ending; and very often the difficulties 
 and failures that beset men at the start, work to their success in the 
 end, providing they have enough practical talent to profit by their 
 experience, and see where and how to do better in the future. 
 There are a great many, however, who thoughtlessly and conceit- 
 edly jump into business with false ideas, having neither pluck nor 
 tact, and such will fail and fail, till eventually, like a drowning man, 
 they will sink to rise no more. 
 
 Another difficulty is, that men and women get into the wrong 
 occupation, or pursuit, or profession — the one for which nature 
 never intended them, and for which they have little talent. How 
 then can they expect to be successful when out of place and 
 trying to do what they cannot do? Think of the hundreds of 
 accidents and the immense loss of life annually through men 
 being in the wrong place! Men get into positions on railroads 
 and steamboats who, through carelessness or deficient talent 
 
BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 12/ 
 
 cause accidents that hurl men, women and children by hundreds 
 into eternity. In such a case not only is the individual himself 
 affected by his being in the wrong place, but society is frequently 
 a much greater sufferer. A man's family, if he has one, suffers 
 also, because he will not make pis much money, as a rule, in the 
 wrong calling as he would in the right; hence it is a serious 
 mistake for himself, his family and society, when he gets into the 
 wrong place. It is a bad thing for the nation, frequently, when men 
 get into prominent positions and are not fit for them. The wrong 
 man at the head of an army would be terribly disastrous to the 
 whole country, and might cost it its liberty. Napoleon always 
 selected his generals by their noses. He wanted no men with short, 
 flat, insignificant noses for commanders and fighters, and he was 
 right. So if a man wants to be a speculator or general business 
 man, he must see that he has the right kind of a nose on his face 
 before he begins, or somebody that has a better business nose will 
 scalp him pretty badly. Many a man who goes on a board of 
 trade to speculate and is not fit for it, loses his little all in a single 
 deal or in a day, leaving the scene of action a wiser but sadder 
 man. 
 
 There are too many in the world who want to get rich too fast. 
 They are not satisfied to make money in a safe and reasonable way. 
 They must make it in a lump, and they often lose what they have 
 in a lump too, because their selfish and ambitious natures overbal- 
 ance their talent and judgment, when they get about half crazy 
 and take great risks. Business gambling is just as risky and dan- 
 gerous as any other kind of gambling. A good many people spend 
 half, two-thirds, and sometimes the whole of their life trying to 
 find out what they are fit for, and thus they go on blundering 
 through the world from one thing to another, wasting their time 
 and energy. How much better this world would be if everybody 
 was in the right place! How much happier people would be; how 
 much more successful they would be, and how much less real pov- 
 erty, misery and even crime would exist ! 
 
 The first among the conditions and qualifications which I pro- 
 pose to enumerate as essential to the successful business man is 
 Health. What can one do or accomplish with a broken down 
 constitution ? or how much energy can he manifest with a weak 
 •tomach, livery heart or lungs ? People do not realize how much 
 
t$$ BUbiiNESS SUCCEbb AxND i-AlLURE. 
 
 they lose every year through poor health, loss of tim«, money. 
 pleasure or happiness. True, many of them toil on and battle 
 against the weakness of the flesh by force of will and ambition, but 
 they only shorten their days, and by the time they have provided 
 themselves with a comfortable home, or made a fortune, they die 
 and leave their hard, wearisome earnings to others. Many a man 
 has built him a beautiful house to live in, and about the time it was 
 finished, sometimes before, he has found his bodily home to be 
 underneath the ground. Nervous prostration, consumption, of 
 heart disease has carried him off. Look into the faces of a large 
 proportion of business men and women and you can read the sad 
 story of an overworked body and brain. They are pushing busi- 
 ness at the expense of health and happiness. And tell me, reader, 
 what good is money if you are too sick and feeble to enjoy it ? I 
 remember a lady I once met in my travels, worth a quarter of a 
 million, but her stomach was so weak that she dare not eat solid 
 food. She would have been a much happier woman with less 
 money and stronger digestive organs. Life to her was almost 
 misery, and if she had been obliged to make her own way in the 
 world she would have found it pretty up-hill work. 
 
 A healthy man, other things being equal, can certainly accom- 
 plish more than a sick man, not merely through vital force, which 
 imparts strength and the disposition to labor, but on account of 
 brain qualities. He thinks better and clearer and more intelli- 
 gently, sees things in a different light, and knows better what to 
 do, and has greater resolution and determination to do it. The 
 sick man is easily depressed and soured in disposition; then he 
 becomes irritable, peevish, fault-finding, hard to please, borrows 
 trouble and goes half way to meet it, especially if his Cautiousness 
 is large; but the healthy man looks on the bright side of the pic- 
 ture and takes a more hopeful view of things. Think of the num- 
 ber every year who have to give up business or go into something 
 else on account of their bad health. About two-thirds of such 
 cases are owing to downright negligence on their part; they studied 
 money-making, but not themselves. In their anxiety to do busi- 
 ness they overreached the mark, and in the end lost by it; whereas, 
 had they taken care of themselves they might have continued on 
 in their first calling and eventually succeeded. There are plenty 
 of business people who hardly give themselves tin^e to eat, and 
 
fiUSINfiSS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. I2g 
 
 do not take as much care of their own stomachs and bodies as they 
 do of their horses and pet dogs, cats and birds. No man can afford 
 to be sick, whether he be rich or poor. His time is vahiable either 
 to himself, his family, or society, and to waste that time, or a part 
 of it, through violation of natural laws is a sin against himself, his 
 Maker, and his couritry. A sickly body and despondent mind ha.-. 
 been the cause of many a suicide, because business cares and 
 troubles weigh heavily upon such persons and produce a species ol 
 insanity; hence a healthy mind, which can only be obtained througn 
 a healthy body, is essential to success in any sphere in life. No 
 weak, sickly man can be as great and powerful in any position, pro- 
 fession or business as a healthy, vigorous man can. Great orators, 
 statesmen and singers generally have large chest capacity; that 
 is, one of the essential qualities to complete or perfect success and 
 greatness in either the literary or business world is a well-devel- 
 oped chest. A large chest is one of the signs of longevity; so let 
 those who wish to hold out in life's struggle, and live long enough 
 to reap the reward of their toil, cultivate chest power by strength- 
 ening the heart and lungs. Famous race-horses have powerful 
 hearts and lungs, which are just as essential in winning a victory 
 as speed, because the latter needs the former to give endurance; 
 otherwise the animal would be exhausted in a short distance, leav- 
 ing the slower but stronger horse to win the race. So in the race 
 and contest of life, men need strong, steady, enduring powers of 
 mind and body as well as activity and keen perception; otherwise 
 their labors and growing success will be nipped in the bud. 
 
 The second element of success is self-knowledge, for no man 
 need expect to climb far up the ladder of fame with(^ut knowing 
 himself, his excesses and deficiencies, how to use himself and make 
 the most of himself He must as thoroughly understand his own 
 brain mechanism and how to control it as the engineer does his 
 engine, or the mechanic his tools or machine. A man ought to 
 know whether he is thinking right on a subject or not, and he would 
 know if he understood his mental faculties properly. And i claim 
 that the science of phrenology will enable a man to understand his 
 peculiarities much better than any other system of philosophy or 
 kind of education. When you know the strength of every faculty, 
 the size of every organ, and the relation they bear to each other in 
 their combined and individual action, you can easily see and under- 
 
130 fiUSlNESS SUCCESS AND PAltURE, 
 
 stand why you think as you do on a certain subject, why you havd 
 a desire to do one thing and not another; and then knowing the 
 cause and source of your thoughts, motives and desires, you know 
 whether they are right or wrong; not in every instance and par- 
 ticular but in matters generally. Suppose for instance a man is 
 deficient in concentration or continuity, which is the faculty that 
 gives patience and the disposition to stick to one thing; but has 
 large ambition, which imparts, a desire to go ahead and to be some- 
 thing or somebody, or to do some great thing; what would be the 
 result of such a combination of power and weakness in business or 
 in life? Just this: the individual on going into business would 
 want and expect to do big things right away; he would have no 
 patience to work up by degrees, and if things didn't meet his ex- 
 pectations or go as he wanted them to, he would be restless, dissat- 
 isfied and spasmodic in his efforts and soon give it up and go into 
 something else; turning himself into a sort of business flea, jump- 
 ing about and biting at one thing after another, but never accom- 
 plishing anything; or he would turn his hand to all sorts of things 
 and be jack of all trades and master of none. And this is what 
 thousands of people are doing all over the country. Now, if these 
 people really knew and realized how large ambition and small 
 patience affected them in thought and action, they could and would 
 by force of will and judgment counteract the unnatural tendency to 
 change, and to disconnectedness of thought and purpose, and stick 
 to one thing. Then they would most likely through perseverance 
 eventually succeed; providing they used caution and common 
 sense in starting right to begin with. 
 
 Take another illustration : here is a man well on in years who 
 has done well and accumulated a good sum of money or its equiv- 
 alent in property, more than enough to enable him to live in luxury 
 the remainder of his days, but he sees a chance to speculate and in 
 a moment of excitement he assumes great risks; becomes involved 
 in financial difficulty and finally is a total bankrupt. Like a wealthy 
 banker 1 once heard of, a gray-haired man, who was not content 
 with what he had, even in old age, but must needs invest heavily 
 in some speculative enterprise till he lost everything, even his 
 house and lot, and had not a roof left to cover himself or his family, 
 nor a dollar save about eight or ten which his wife had in her 
 pocketbook. Now, in one sense 1 have Httle sympathy for a man 
 
BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. I3I 
 
 of his years and business experience who, commi^tin^ such a foolish 
 and rash act, leaves himself destitute. It simply goes to show that 
 even old age and vvorlJiy experience is not sufficient to give a man 
 a ktiowledge of himself Had that banker known how unbalanced 
 his mind was, his common sense would have prevented his plunging 
 himself into the terrible financial disaster and ruin which brought 
 sorrow and misery to his declining years. It seems almost incred- 
 ible that a man would risk his last dollar in the hope that he might 
 possibly double it, with nothing more for security than the circum- 
 stances of the case which he might or might not see through or 
 understand, and it seems to me that no person would do it unless 
 blinded by a conceit of his own judgment and ability. And the 
 only way foV a man to prevent himself from running against the 
 rocks that beset his business pathway is to know all the peculiar- 
 ities of his mind, his strong and weak points combined with a gen- 
 eral knowledge of the world and business principles. Selfishness 
 and ambition is so large or strong in some people that it overbal- 
 ances their cautiousness and judgment; hence, they get into busi- 
 ness over their heads, so to speak, and are strangled before they 
 reach the glittering prize. In this way thousands have sank to rise 
 no more, and I suppose thousands more will do the same foolish 
 thing, because there are few men who seem to benefit by the ex- 
 perience of others. They seem to think themselves too smart to 
 be caught in the same trap some other knowing fox was slain in. 
 Like a young man I remember who started in business, backed up 
 with capital by his mother, but who lacked management and busi- 
 ness tact, and was too free and easy in his way. After he had been 
 running the place awhile I ventured to tell him that if he did not 
 look out he would run it into the ground. He was angry at my 
 statement, and remarked in a bragging way that he knew what 
 he was about, but it was not long afterward before he closed up 
 business, or it closed him up, in that place. Let every man and 
 woman take heed to that motto of the ancient Greeks, " Know 
 Thyself," which they wrote over the doors of their temples! 
 
 The next thing to be considered as essential to success in life is 
 suggested in the statement of Pope when he says, "The proper 
 study of mankind is man." Therefore in addition to, and closely 
 connected with, the study and knowledge of ourselves, comes the 
 study ^nd knowledge of pthers. As hunian nature is pretty much 
 
h^ BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 
 
 the same in many respects all over the world, it naturally follows 
 that when we study our own natures we indirectly study others, 
 and studying others helps us in turn to understand ourselves. 
 This kind of knowledge and the time we spend in acquiring it, is a 
 paying investment, and will bring its own reward. No one can af- 
 ford to be ignorant of human nature and character, because it is the 
 pass-key to success, not only in business but in all the walks and 
 callings of life. It is certainly of great importance to every person 
 to know who to trust, who to put confidence in, and who not. Ig- 
 norance of human nature, or the motives and principles that actuate 
 and govern men is the royal road to ruin. And how few there are 
 v\'ho have not lost time, money and property, and experienced 
 considerable trouble, by not knowing the man or men they had to 
 deal with until they found them out by sad experience. A business 
 man ought to study the habits of people and the motives and prin- 
 ciples tliat underlie human actions just as much as he studies his 
 business, and wide-awake, successful men, as a rule, do. 1 have 
 met men professionally, who have told me after examining their 
 heads, that they owed and attributed their success largely to their 
 knowledge of human nature. In order to know how to deal with 
 men, and how to manage them, it is necessary to know their dispo- 
 sition and peculiarities of mind, which can be discerned from the 
 face, conversation, and manner in general. A wholesale clothing 
 man once told me that he knew whether to trust a man with goods 
 or not, by talking with him five minutes and taking a good look at 
 him, and that he hardly ever made a mistake. 
 
 Business men who have intelligent wives or women in their em- 
 ploy, would do well to consult them occasionally as to the charac- 
 ters of men they wish to trust, or enter into partnership with, be- 
 cause women are generally good readers of men's characters and 
 motives. A married lady once told me, just as I had completed an 
 examination of her husband's head, that she had warned her hus- 
 band against going into partnership with a certain man, but heed- 
 less of her advice he did so, and got taken in pretty badly. VVomeii 
 may not be good judges of the value of property and business mat- 
 ters generally, but unquestionably they are good judges of men. 
 A young lady attending a reception room in Philadelphia, was 
 asked by a strange man who stepped in, to change a ten -dollar bill 
 ^hich she 4i4. then he wanted to give back some of the bills fof 
 
BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 1 33 
 
 others she had, and asked her if he could not have one in place of 
 another. " No," said she, emphatically, "you can not have any more." 
 She saw throug^h him; his object was to get the money mixed up 
 and herself confused, and in that way get a two or a five dollar bill 
 extra. For the same man had been in other stores near by and 
 played his game successfully. 
 
 A good salesman is one who understands people and knows how 
 to take them and talk to them; one will sell goods where another 
 will drive a person out of the store. A saleslady in Chicago had 
 gone to her dinner, and while absent an old but excitable customer 
 went to the store and was waited on by another lady who, instead 
 of selling goods had got the customer's temper up boiling hot, and 
 she" was just making her way out of the door as the other lady re- 
 turned from her dinner. She stopped the woman, got her quieted 
 down and pacified, then sold her what she wanted. There was the 
 difference in the two ladies; the one understood human nature the 
 other did not. I heard a traveling salesman speak in a church 
 meeting one evening, and in his remarks stated that eight or nine- 
 tenths of the people he sold goods to in his travels, were those who 
 told him positively when first addressed that they did not want 
 anything. Well, what did he do.? Why just returned to his hotel, 
 studied his man over, then called again and sold him a lot of goods, 
 and the next season when he would call, he would probably see 
 them lying on the shelves unsold and untouched, or the greater 
 part of them, so that he sold him goods he really had no demand 
 for. To some it may not look exactly right for a man to sell or try 
 to sell another what he does not want, but really it is not the drum- 
 mer's or agent's business to study what the merchant wants or can 
 sell, that is for the merchant to study and know himself. The 
 drummer's business is selling and doing all he can for the firm he 
 represents. Again a good salesman can generally tell as soon as a 
 person walks into the store whether he or she wants to buy goods 
 or simply look around for curiosity and pastime, as many women 
 in large cities do who have not much else to do. 
 
 But not only should the man who sells understand human na- 
 ture, but also the man who buys. If he does not he will either get 
 a lot of worthless things palmed off on him, or else he will buy 
 what he cannot sell; that is, by not understanding the tastes and 
 wants of people generdly will buy what they do not want and there- 
 
134 BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 
 
 fore it becomes dead stock on his hands. In my younger day. 
 when I first began business and before I knew inuth about humai. 
 nature and still less about buying, I got caught m botli of these 
 traps. An acquaintance of mine had bought a lot of cheap and 
 worthless perfumery, and judging me, 1 presume, to be an eas> 
 man to sell to, he offered it cheap, at the same time praising it up 
 as Lubin's best perfumes. I thought, greenhorn as I was. that the 
 bait was good, so 1 bit at it and got caught. I perfumed my hand- 
 kerchief and tried to sell it to the ladies who came in; but iht*y 
 were too sweet already or else they knew better than 1 did what 
 good perfumery was. It was no go, and the most I coulti do with 
 it was to perfume my room and give it away. My next experience 
 was in buying pictures. I was always passionately fond of pic- 
 tures, especially portraits, statuary, etc., but 1 was living at the 
 time in a town of about five or six thousand population, where 
 the taste of the people for works of art was not very well devel- 
 oped. But I did not stop to think what the people liked or wanted, 
 so when visiting a large city I saw a lot of beautiful pictures with 
 which I was perfectly delighted, and supposed that other people 
 would be too, and bought about sixty or seventy dollars worth, 
 thinking I was going to make some money out of them; but, alas! 
 I was doomed to disappointment, and all I could do with my pic- 
 tures was to look at them. That taught me a lesson, that when I 
 bought things to sell to others, I must buy what they wanted, 
 buying to please myself and buying to please others are two differ- 
 ent things entirely, and the only way a man can know what others 
 want or will buy is to study their tastes and natures. No doubt 
 the public can be educated to appreciate a certain line or class of 
 goods which they do not like at first; but unless a man has plenty 
 of capital, he cannot afford to wait till he educates the people up to 
 his standard or ideas of things — he must take such steps gradually 
 and carefully. 
 
 If a man has to employ help, the better he understands charac- 
 ter the better will he be able to select his assistants and manage 
 them after he has selected them, and a man's business success 
 often depends upon the kind of help he has to do his work. 
 Teachers could manage their pupils much better and teach them a 
 good deal more if they knew more about them. Preachers would 
 be more successful in the pulpit and the family circle if they wer^ 
 
better judges of human nature, because they would know how tc 
 talk to men and reach their hearts; know how to adapt themselves 
 and their teaching to individual and peculiar cases. 
 
 If you ask me how you are to understand human nature, 1 
 answer there are two ways; one is by experience and reading news- 
 papers and books, the other is by the study of the face and head 
 scientifically; both combined is the best way. Some ignore those 
 valuable sciences, physiognomy and phrenology, and trust to ex- 
 perience; but the trouble in learning by experience is that it is a 
 slow and pretty expensive way, generally, because experience 
 comes too late to prevent misfortune for the time being. What a 
 n an wants is a knowledge that will prevent and protect. After a 
 child has burnt its fingers a few times it learns by experience to 
 keep away from a hot stove, but would it not be better for the child 
 if it could learn without burning its fingers.** A man through neg- 
 lect and indifference loses half of his teeth and learns by regretful 
 experience to take care of the other half, but would it not have 
 been much better to have known enough to have protected and 
 saved the whole of them, which every person could do just as well 
 as not? Hence, I say, learning by experience alone is of no benefit 
 to a person in many instances, because it comes too late. Most 
 people know there are such persons as confidence men, and the 
 granger or countryman, after hearing or reading about some other 
 person being roped in, says with an air of conceit, ** Well, I'll bet 
 they don't fleece me that way," and, perhaps, the very next time he 
 enters the city a confidence man steps up to him in a plausible 
 way, tells him a fine story, makes him believe he is acquainted with 
 a number of his friends and gets his money away from him. Then 
 he learns by experience, when it is too late, in that case at least, to 
 look out for confidence men. But if he had studied physiognomy 
 he might have suspected, by looks and manner, the character of the 
 man and saved himself Almost any man is liable to be taken in 
 by these sharpers, so well do they play their game, if they trust 
 simply to their own experience or sharpness without a practical 
 knowledge of the face. The superintendent of public schools, in 
 one of our large cities, told me how he used to say that he could not 
 see how anybody could be so stupid as to be taken in by a confi- 
 dence man, and boastingly would say he just wished one of those 
 fellows would tackle him, he would like to meet one of them. Well, 
 
136 BUSINESS SUCCESS AND EAIlURE. 
 
 he said, it was not long before his wish was gratified. He had a 
 house and lot he wanted to sell, and one evening while out in his 
 garden a gentlemanly-dressed man walked up to the gate, leading 
 
 a little girl in his hand, and said, "Good evening, Mr. ; I hear 
 
 you want to sell your house and lot." "Well, yes, I do," said the 
 superintendent, at the same time inviting the man inside. After 
 looking the place over inside and out he concluded it was just such 
 a place as he wanted and asked the price of it. The superintendent 
 stated how many thousands he wanted, and the man said he 
 thought that was a fair price, and supposed he wished the cash for 
 it, to which the superintendent replied that he would not be par- 
 ticular about the whole amount in cash, providing he had good 
 security. "O, well," said the buyer, "I have plenty of money and 
 would just as soon pay the whole amount at once." The superin- 
 tendent felt pleased to think he had a cash customer, so easily made 
 a sale, and an arrangement was made to meet the next morning, 
 when the property and deed was to be transferred and the money 
 paid over. By this time, of course, Mr. Superintendent was not 
 only happy but in high spirits over the ready sale at his own figures, 
 being an American; but if he had been a Jew he would have felt 
 the other way, for it makes a Jew m.ad to be taken up at his first 
 offer; because he thinks what a fool he was that he didn't ask 
 more. But the superintendent, being in good humor, was of course 
 in just the frame of mind to be accommodating, so as the buyer and 
 confidence man was about leaving he told the superintendent that 
 he had just temporarily rented some rooms for his family up the 
 street, and that the woman was one of those ignorant kind who 
 didn't know business matters and wanted her rent that evening; 
 and as he couldn't get at his money till morning would he be kind 
 enough to accommodate him with thirty-five dollars, and he would 
 make it all right when he came the next day to pay for the house. 
 "Why, certainly, certainly," said the school man, who knew more 
 about text-books than he did about faces or human nature, so he 
 cheerfully handed him the thirty-five dollars, thinking that a man 
 who had plenty of money and was going to pay cash down for a 
 house and lot was good for it. But, alas ! the superintendent nevei 
 saw his money bird any more; he had played his game, got the 
 money and skipped, and then the superintendent was a wiser man, 
 but not quite so happy because his friends all laughed at him and 
 
fiUS!K€SS success AKn FAtLURli. W 
 
 tedsed hiiti, laying he was the first man they ever heard of wno 
 sold a house and lot and made the first payment on it himself. 
 Still he was only doing what thousands of others are doing, getting 
 a knowledge of human nature by experience at thirty-five dollars a 
 lesson, and that is a good deal cheaper than some pay. 
 
 Another very important thing to insure success in one's business 
 or profession is to thoroughly understand it. The world is so full 
 of botches, quacks and humbugs in all trades, professions and kinds 
 of business, that it is no wonder there are so many who fail and 
 never make a success of anything they take hold of. If a man is 
 going to be a mechanic let him learn his trade so as to be master 
 of it, because a good workman can get a job much quicker than a 
 poor one. If he is going to be a law)er or doctor let him thorough- 
 ly prepare for it, so that he will know the ins and outs, the ups and 
 downs, and many peculiarities incident to his profession. If he is 
 to be a business man let him study his business and learn how to 
 do it before he thinks of starting up for himself. How can any man, 
 even if he is smart, expect to successfully compete with old estab- 
 lished firms, unless by previous experience he is made competent 
 I to manage what he undertakes? Some people seem to think that 
 i all they have to do is just to rent a store and fill it with goods and 
 the money will come rolling in on them. May be it would if there 
 i was no competition, and they kept a line of goods that were in de- 
 mand, but it is one of the hardest things in the world to find a bus- 
 iness and a place where there is no competition. It will pay a man 
 to fully prepare himself lor whatever he intends to engage in. be it 
 business, a profession or mechanism. When two brutes want to 
 get up a prize fight they prepare for the inhuman contest for months, 
 and ought not men and women who are about to engage in the long 
 struggle of life be thoroughly prepared for it.^ Everywhere I go I 
 see men engaged in some business they do not understand, eithei 
 because they never properly learned it or were not fit for it. And 
 I claim that one of the most essential things necessary to enable a 
 man to be master of whatever he undertakes, is that he possess 
 natural talent for it; for a person is not likely to be proficient in 
 what he has little taste or ability to acquire, any more than a stu- 
 dent is likely to be smart and proficient in some study he has no 
 talent and taste for. Hence the first thing for a person to do when 
 choosing a profession or business or trade, is to find out what he is 
 
13^ SOSIHtSS SUCCESS Afm fAttVM, 
 
 best suited for, or whether he is fit for anything more than ordinary 
 labor. People would be a good deal better off financially, phys- 
 ically and mentally, if men and women were only in the right place; 
 as it is, I presume one-half at least are in the wrong place. How, 
 then, can they possibly understand their business and be as suc- 
 cessful in every particular as they ought to be? 
 
 Two things, then, are necessary in regard to business knowl- 
 edge; first, that a man get into the right business, and, secondly, 
 that he understand every branch of it; and without these qualifica- 
 tions he need not expect as large an amount of success as he would 
 otherwise have, because even if a man is fit for the business he 
 chooses, he cannot conduct it properly without understanding it 
 thoroughly. I tried it once but never want to try it again, for if 
 ever a mortal had trouble and up-hill work 1 had, just because I 
 had not properly learned the art of photography. I spent about 
 three months in some man's gallery who did not know much about 
 it himself, and then full of ambition like most of young men, I 
 started for myself; but the chemicals would not work right for me 
 and everything went wrong. Sometimes I would get a picture 
 and sometimes I would not. I did not understand photographic 
 chemistry properly, hence my trouble, and though I learned it by 
 slow experience, it did not pay me to run a gallery and pay rent in 
 order to learn the business. And yet this is what hundreds of 
 thousands of people are doing to-day all over the world in the 
 various professions and trades. I repeat, then, that talent for and 
 knowledge of a business are the two requisites for its successful 
 manipulation. 
 
 The next thing for consideration is location. Having chosen 
 the right business and thoroughly prepared for it, the next impor- 
 tant question is where to do business — in what city and where- 
 abouts in that city, or on what street; because if a man chooses a 
 bad location, his talent and preparation will avail him little. He 
 will be something like a man in the water who is a good swimmer, 
 but is taken with the cramps so that he can neither use his knowl- 
 edge nor his muscles. Barnum, when in London or some other 
 city in England, went into a show, and after looking around and 
 watching and listening to the man exhibiting, got into conversa- 
 tion with him and said: "My friend, you are a good showman, but 
 you have got a poor location," or words to that effect; and that is 
 
BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 139 
 
 the condition of a good many men in business, and all that pre- 
 vents them from doing well. They have opened out or set up in 
 the wrong place. Many a school or college has been located in the 
 wrong place, and in time has fizzled out. Many a house, church, 
 and even town or city has been located in the wrong place. I 
 remember seeing a town somewhere in my travels in which a large 
 sum of money had been expended in laying out streets and blocks 
 with the expectation that the town was going to grow rapidly, but 
 it never grew and probably never will, because it is not the loca- 
 tion, in the present order of things, for a large town or city. So 
 capitalists frequently erect factories, mills and foundries of various 
 kinds where they fail to pay, because badly located. Professional 
 men often choose a poor location for an office, either in the wrong 
 part of the city or the wrong side of the street, or in the wrong 
 kind of a building, or in connection with improper associations. 
 Some men have little taste or refinement about them and get into 
 a building that has a bad entrance or surroundings, or one in 
 which the offices are roughly finished, dirty looking and unfit for 
 the purpose for which they are used. Such men need not expect 
 the better class of people to patronize them in such holes. If men 
 want to do business in refined society, they must present a tasty 
 and respectable appearance, personally as well as in their places of 
 business. When 1 enter a seminary or college to arrange for a lec- 
 ture, I notice the first thing the president or princi-pal does is to 
 scan me from head to foot — that is, in many cases where I happen 
 to be a stranger — and the appearance I present goes a long way 
 with my making an engagement. If a man looks dirty and slovenly 
 it goes against him, but if neat and tasty it speaks in his favor. 
 So far it may be right to judge of a man by his clothes; but this 
 kind of judgment should not be carried too far, because a blackleg 
 may dress fine, and a great many people depend too much upon a 
 man or woman's dress. 
 
 Geography is a valuable study for the business man, and he 
 should be well posted concerning his own country, especially if his 
 business or profession requires him to travel or send out agents. 
 It is a kind of business knowledge he can't afford to dispense with, 
 and the more he studies the map and finds out the locations of 
 towns and cities, what they are noted for, and things or places of 
 interest connected with them, the more practical business knowl- 
 
140 BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 
 
 edge will he possess. What could a general do without a knowl- 
 edge of the country through which he travels to meet the enemy? 
 During the late Franco-Prussian war the leaders of the German 
 army were as familiar with the geography of F'rance as the French 
 were themselves, and that was undoubtedly a prominent cause of 
 their success. When one of Napoleon Bonaparte's generals mis- 
 took the road and marched several miles out of his way, making 
 him too late to render assistance to Napoleon's army, it cost him 
 the battle of Waterloo; at least that is the attributed cause of his 
 failure. And is not a large wholesale merchant or manufacturer 
 equally dependent upon a knowledge of the country and city to 
 know where and how to dispose of his goods at the best prices, as 
 well as where to get his supplies at the lowest figures? And when 
 any man contemplates starting out in life and in business for him- 
 self, it will be well for him, if he can possibly do it, to travel awhile 
 and look around, because where one man can do business success- 
 fully another may not, for the same reason that a show or lecturer 
 that draws well in one city may not in another. A man's ideas, 
 tastes and manner of doing business may be better adapted to one 
 class of people or city than it is to another, and this will necessa- 
 rily win business friends in one place easier and quicker than 
 another. Let him study himself and the customs and taste of the 
 people well before he locates, then he may avoid the necessity of 
 removing to some other place after two or three years' trial and 
 struggle for a business foothold. 
 
 As to the amount of capital necessary to start with, no definite 
 rule can be given, as it depends largely on circumstances, the 
 nature of the business, and the kind of person. One man can pull 
 through and make his business go with less capital than another, 
 and 1 presume lew men begin with everything paid for. It is better 
 for a beginner to start as free from incumbrances as possible. To 
 be all the time close run and not have the means to push a business 
 with, is very apt to terminate in bankruptcy or failure in some way. 
 Better for a man to work on a salary and save up for a few years 
 than to start entirely on credit, as many have done. Then again 
 it is almost as bad for a man to have plenty of money to back him 
 as not enough, because he is very apt to feel independent, less 
 accommodating and less enterprising than he would be if he had 
 nothing but what he made. And with plenty of money he is noorc 
 
BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 14 1 
 
 lavishing and careless in expenses. I remember just such a case. 
 A man who went to Chicago opened out big, got out a small paper 
 and was going to do big things, but it was not more than a year or 
 two before his things were in the hands of his landlord for rent. 
 He had money, but he lacked good judgment and management, 
 and had a poor location besides; hence as soon as his surplus money 
 gave out, he was in a financial ditch and couldn't get out. But, as 
 I have aheady intimated, some kinds of business require plenty of 
 capital to begin with, and could not be started without, while other 
 kinds may be commenced and carried on with a reasonable amount 
 of credit. 
 
 The next thing I wish to discuss as connected with business 
 success and failure is the executive power. There are various 
 elements of character that give a man the abihty and disposition to 
 execute his plans and carry on his business. One of them is Per- 
 severance. Without that he will not surmount and work his way 
 through the many difficulties and discouragements that will beset 
 his career. He will too readily succumb to circumstances, and see 
 a lion in the way at almost every step he takes. One of Grant's 
 chief qualities was dogged perseverance — that nature which 
 prompted him to say he proposed to fight it out if it took all sum- 
 mer, and which made him undertake a military exploit against the 
 judgment of his generals and all military tactics or rules, but which 
 madf iiim in the end a victor, crowned with lasting honors. Many 
 a man ihrough lack of perseverance has dug his own business grave 
 He did not succeed because he would not. There is not much ac- 
 complished in this life without continual and persistent effort, not 
 a spasmodic splurge for a little while, but steady application. The 
 difference between such efforts was forcibly illustrated at the ban)'/ 
 of Waterloo. The French made brilliant charges, but the British 
 held their ground with such unsielding tenacity that they were un- 
 able to break their columns and scjuares sufficient to produce a rout. 
 This is the kind of grit that men want in business or in professions 
 or in scientific pursuits and new enterprises. Where would o'u 
 inventors and discoverers be without perseverance, and how would 
 new countries be opened up and peopled without this important 
 trait of character which laughs at difficulties and surmounts all ob- 
 stacles ^ Be sure you have got the right business and are located 
 in the right place, then persevere with all your might, and sucresB 
 
142 BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 
 
 will eventually crown your labors. But if, like a wolf, you only snap 
 at a thing, then instantly let go, you may keep on snapping till you 
 are gray-headed without accomplishing much. Be a sort of human 
 bull-dog in business affairs — that is, when you bite, hold on. 
 Think of the spider, also, how it toils and spins and re-spins as fast 
 as its threads and web are destroyed. Or be like the Chicago peo- 
 ple after the great fire, who, homeless and penniless, many of them, 
 went to work with a spirit of perseverance and zeal to rebuild their 
 homes and retrieve their fortunes. They did not sit down and 
 fold their arms in a fit of universal despondency and cry like a child 
 over spilled milk, but the motto was, "Up and at it again." I do 
 not mean that they did not feel their loss keenly, but they did not 
 allow their feelings to daunt their courage and paralyze their will- 
 power, and thus settle down in despair and indifference. 
 
 Closely allied to perseverance is energy, push, and go-ahead- 
 ativeness; getting up steam and driving things, pushing the busi- 
 ness and reaching out after, and not waiting for people to come, or 
 something to turn up. For the fact is if a man does not push his 
 business it will never push itself, nor will any one else push it for 
 him, unless they push it to the wall; they will certainly not push it 
 ahead. It is amusing and yet suggestive to see how many ways, 
 means and tricks some resort to in large cities to attract the atten- 
 tion of the public, especially some of the stands on the streets, 
 shows and museums. Going down the Bowery in New York one 
 night I noticed a man with a stick in his hand going through all 
 kinds of antics and pointing to notices on the bulletin boards. His 
 object was, of course, to attract the eye, arrest travel for a moment, 
 and secure attention to the advertisements of the ten cent show, 
 and of course hundreds stopped to see what was going on that 
 would otherwise have passed by and taken no notice. His per- 
 formances were more like those of a crazy man than any other, but 
 that was just the kind to attract a Bowery street crowd, which is 
 generally a mixture of all elements of society, but chiefly the lower 
 and middle classes, good and bad, with a pretty large share of the 
 latter. A gentleman told me that one day while passing along one 
 of the thoroughfares of New York, he noticed a man silently point- 
 ing a stick to some articles on his stand; he naturally looked to see 
 what the man was pointing at, and discovered it was the very thing 
 he wanted to buy, and hardly knew where to look for it. If it had 
 
UtJSlN^SS SUCCftSS ANt FAILUlRfe. t43 
 
 not been for the man pointing with his stick or cane he would have 
 gone by and never seen it. These may seem strange and foolish 
 actions to some people, but they secured business and brought in 
 money, and made the thing a success, so every man has to find 
 some way to push his business; the best way is for him to study 
 out according to the nature of the business and the place he is 
 doing it. A man can sell almost anything if he finds the right 
 place and right way to do it. I once heard of a man who was sell- 
 ing some insignifTcant and almost useless article at small prices on 
 a street corner, when finally a matter-of-fact gentleman came along, 
 and thinking he was wasting his time to no purpose said to him, 
 "Why don't you get something useful to sell that people need and 
 will buy, because nobody but a fool would buy one of those things." 
 "I grant that," said the street peddler, "that nobody but a fool will 
 buy one, but how many fools do you suppose pass by here in the 
 run of a day.?" That was a point the critic had not thought of 
 before. 
 
 Another important characteristic in business is force, execution, 
 the carrying out of one's ideas and plans. Some people are forever 
 planning but never executing or putting into practice their ideas. 
 They are practically day dreamers, have lots of business ideas but 
 seldom make any use of them, and therefore, accomplish little. 
 The successful man is the one who works out his plans, who the 
 moment he has matured an idea makes a practical use or applica- 
 tion of it. Business with him is business, something to be attended 
 to right away ; there is no nonsense with him, no foolishness, no 
 idling of time and loitering around, gossiping and joking. His 
 mottoes are: "Be up and doing while the day lasts — now is the 
 time — strike while the iron is hot — make hay while the sun shines — 
 procrastination is the thief of time — be sure you are right then go 
 ahead." He wants no drones in his employ, but live, active men. 
 He works himself and expects everybody else to do the same. 
 That is the kind of spirit that wins success, because it possesses 
 business industry. This talent (for it is a talent) arises from 
 the organ of destructiveness, and is the backbone of business enter- 
 prise and ability. Energy, which springs from combativeness, 
 makes a man fight difficulties and opposition, but force gives him 
 the impetus to go through it. Force in the individual is what 
 weight and strength are to the locomotive; it is that wherein its 
 
i44 BUSINESS SUCCESS AND PAILURI5. 
 
 force Of power consists, whereas, energy may be compared to it? 
 speed or propelling power. The power to execute is what every 
 man should study and vigorously cultivate who is deficient in it, 
 otherwise he will be swallowed up by opposing forces, unless othei 
 elements in his character help to carry him through. The way to 
 cultivate it is to do your very best to execute your plans and 
 accomplish whatever you undertake. In other words turn youi 
 thoughts into actions or instead of merely thinking about u hat you 
 would like to do, go to work and do it. Stagnated thoughts are 
 as useless and unwholesome as stagnant water. It is liviiT^ 
 thoughts and plans that bring the financial harvest. Hence, the 
 successful man is a live man, not a theorist or visionist whose 
 imagination suspends him half way between earth and heaven. A 
 visionary and imaginative mind is very good where it behjJiL^s, but 
 not good for business management ; that requires a mind more 
 worldly and practical. 
 
 But men not only require perseverance, energy and force, but 
 concentrated effort as well, and where a great many fail is ihrough. 
 a lack of concentration of their talents and energies to the one 
 thing or one business which they have in hand. Too many irons 
 in the fire at once keeps a man in hot water all the time, and the 
 result is he does nothing thoroughly ; he becomes jack of all trades 
 and master of none. When you hear of some big firm g'oing to 
 smash financially, you will be pretty sure to find on investigation 
 that they were dabbling in something outside of their legitimate 
 and prosperous business. They were probably speculators in min- 
 ing stocks or some new and risky enterprise. I am speaking now 
 of firms that have been doing a good paying business, not those 
 who have been battling against adversity and want of business rr(jm 
 the time they commenced till necessity or their creditors compelled 
 them to suspend. One thing at a time is the safest course to pur- 
 sue under ordinary circumstances and with ordinary people. Here 
 and there a man may have branch stores or two or three kinds of 
 business and be successful, but these are exceptions, not the rule. 
 Far better to give your entire mind, energy and time to the study 
 and management of one thing. 
 
 But the thought 1 more particularly wish to bring out untler the 
 head of concentration is sticking to one thing. So many become 
 sort of jumping-jacks from one thing to another all through life 
 
BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. I45 
 
 tliat they never ^et beycMid mediocrity, never become experts at 
 anything, nor reach a point of eminence. A hfe of earnest toil in 
 the pursuit of one thing generally brings reward and success of 
 some kind. Every \ ouiig man and woman should have a definite 
 aim, object or pur[)ose in life. One of the saddest remarks I ever 
 heard made was by a young man who, in company with another, 
 was walking along a street in Chicago just in front of me one 
 evening. They were talking loud, and I heard him say: "Well, 1 
 don't care; I iiave no object in life to live for." And I thoui^ht to 
 myself, then you are ccrtamly an object of great pity. For young 
 men and women to start out in life without any definite object 
 before them as to what they expect to do or intend to be, is to live 
 at least a useless life, and one that may very likely lead to ruin and 
 the penitentiary. Let every person set a mark before them, some- 
 thing beyond their present reach, scope or ability, and then let 
 every move they make and every step they take be toward that 
 point or object. Let them pursue a straight, steady and constant 
 course until they reach the height of a noble ambition, or come as 
 near to it as possible. By concentrating your time and talent upon 
 one thing or purpose all through life, you will accomplish more for 
 yourself, and the world too. Then you will not be dividing and 
 apj)i) ing your talent to two or three things, or changing your occu- 
 pation tliree or four times, in a brief career. The desire for change, 
 mingled with a lack of patience is so strong in people nowadays 
 that the natural tendency is to drift from one thing to another and 
 change from place to place, if business does not loom up on the 
 start as they anticipated. The lack of patience and continuity is 
 the reason why sonie are never thorough in anything they do, 
 never finish up a job thoroughly; begin a thing, then jump off to 
 something else, or hurry over what they are about and leave it in a 
 slovenly, half-finished condition; just as some mechanics half finish 
 their work, and servants who do things half way about the house. 
 They are always cleaning, and yet things are never cleaned, because 
 they do not dwell on a thing long enough to do it properly. And 
 that is the principle on which some men do their business or attend 
 to their professional calling, and then wonder why they are not 
 more successful. I have known men in book and news stores, for 
 instance, to be full of excitement over some new book or paper 
 and try to sell it for a few days, then as sopn ^s the jioyelty died 
 
146 BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 
 
 away their interest would give out, and they would pitch it one 
 side to try something else; whereas, another man with more 
 patience and interest would keep it before the public and sell the 
 same book or article for months or years. How difficult it is to 
 find two or more persons engaged in ordinary conversation stick to 
 the same subject five minutes at a time. One is sure to interrupt 
 the other, who is explaining his views, by asking a question or 
 making a suggestion relative to some other topic or side issue, and 
 then the conversation is instantly turned upon something else, and 
 thus it goes on, changing every minute or two, till in the course of 
 half an hour or more they have talked on all the current affairs of 
 the day without doing justice to any one of them; and when peo- 
 ple allow their thoughts and minds to be so changeable in conver- 
 sation, they are very apt to become so in business, even though 
 they may not perceive it. 
 
 Integrity or square dealing is an important element in the busi- 
 ness and professional man's make-up also. A good many do not 
 beUeve this doctrine, judging from their mean, unprincipled tricks, 
 for they skin everybody they can. Walking out one Sunday after- 
 noon in Washington, D. C, with a little girl, the daughter of a 
 friend of mine, she called my attention to a small confectionery and 
 candy store. Said she: "That woman does not keep open on Sun- 
 days, but she steals enough through the week to make up for it," 
 and then told me how she overcharged her for something she got; 
 took advantage of the girl because she was young, I suppose. So 
 common are these sharp tricks among business men that one has 
 to be on the lookout all the time as though he was watching 
 thieves, or else get imposed upon. Even large stores and firms, 
 where one would suppose they would be above little, mean prac- 
 tices, will bear close watching. These people seem to think that 
 way of doing business pays. Perhaps it does for the time being, 
 but not in the long run. Let a man establish a reputation for 
 honest dealing and he will gain the esteem and confidence of the 
 whole community. Even children are so educated that their minds 
 are imbued with the idea that it shows smartness and originality 
 to take advantage, get the best of a bargain, and make money by 
 mere policy, trickery and cunning. To make money is the chief 
 ambition of men, but as to how they make it is a matter of indif- 
 ference, providing they only get it. But let a man once become 
 
BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 147 
 
 known as a sharper and trickster, and even dishonest people, as 
 those of his own. stripe, will be pretty careful how they deal with 
 him, if at all; and I venture the assertion that a rogue or thief 
 would rather buy goods of an honest than a dishonest man, unless 
 in the latter case it was a matter of friendship or mutual interest. 
 The amount of money a man takes in is not all that constitutes his 
 success. He may steal himself rich, or in some way make a large 
 amount of money by fraud and deception, but I should not apply 
 the term busifiess success to such a person. Business implies an 
 exchange of goods or labor for value received, and that is based 
 upon honesty or square dealing between man and man; hence I 
 '^all that man a success who prospers by straightforward dealing. 
 
 Punctuality is also of the utmost importance in business mat- 
 ♦•ers. To be on time and to keep an engagement at the appointed 
 hour is as necessary as keeping one's word or paying a bill. A few 
 minutes late may make a great difference in results, not only to the 
 person you disappoint but also to yourself I heard of a gentle- 
 man who resided in New York city, I believe, who by misfortune 
 had been thrown out of business, and his friends did their best to 
 help set him on his feet again, and had arranged with some prom- 
 inent business man to meet him for a consultation in reference to 
 an interest in his business which was considered very remunerative 
 and a splendid opportunity. The time and place were arranged 
 and the gentleman in business was at the place sharp at the hour 
 or about five minutes ahead; he waited a few minutes but the un- 
 fortunate man did not appear. Willing to give him a few minutes 
 grace, he waited ten or twenty minutes after the hour mentioned, 
 but he did not come, and so he returned to his own place of busi- 
 ness. Ten or fifteen minutes later the dilatory man put in an ap- 
 pearance only to be disappointed. Another effort was made for a 
 meeting but of no avail, as the prompt business man would not on 
 any consideration take a man into partnership with him who was 
 so negligent, careless and indifferent. Hence, by being a few min- 
 utes late, he lost the best chance in his life. I never could see the 
 sense of a person having a time or appointing a time to do a thing 
 if they did not intend to be punctual. If I were to make an ap- 
 pointment to lecture at eight o'clock and got to the hall at half-past 
 eight or a quarter to nine, I should expect to find empty seats. 
 Neverthelf ssp I have known an audience to be a half hour late in 
 
148 aUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 
 
 getting together, for in some places it is a common habit with thi 
 people to be behind time. I gave a course of lectures in a certair, 
 male and female seminary in the West, and found every eveninj^ 
 the students were late. They seemed to have little regard for 
 exact time, and it did not speak well for the government and influ- 
 ence of the school. Some business men, who employ a large num- 
 ber of hands, have deemed it necessary to adopt a system of fliie^ 
 for late em[)loyes. They had to do this or lose many hours work 
 every day, besides experiencing other losses and mco?iveniences 
 through the careless and indifferent habits of others, it seems a 
 little rigitl at first thought to fine or send an employe home for a 
 quarter or a half a day, but when \'ou take into consideration the 
 confusion and loss of time that would take place where there are 
 from fifty to two or three hundred hands employed, and most of 
 them coming in five, ten or fifteen minutes laf^, it is self-evident 
 th.it rules of punctuality must be enforced. When railroad officials 
 publish a time-table the public ex[)ect the trains to leave at the 
 nnnute advertised, not ten minutes before or after, and when a 
 train hapj)ens to be late, which is often the case, and I suppose 
 cannot be avoided sometimes, the passengers or those waiting are 
 restless, and every minute seems like ten. Speculators dealing in 
 grain or stocks may make or lose heavily in being a few minutes 
 early or late in their arrival and delivery at a certain point. In 
 fact, a man pretending to do business who has no regard for punc- 
 tuality, who is const.mtly promising to do or have a thing done, 
 and as often disappointing, is a public nuisance. Of course, cir- 
 cumstances may prevent the best of men from keeping their prom- 
 ises occasionally, especially in a business that is dependent on the 
 weather, like photography for instance. Hut there are plenty of 
 business men who make promises just to j)iease their customers, 
 and as soon as they are gone forget all about them or wait till a 
 convenient time comes around to attend to them. And there are 
 thousands of people who make engagements without making any 
 effort to keep them, and frequently have no intention of doing so 
 at the time. This sort of thing is very annoying to a business or 
 professional man. People often come to me and make an engage- 
 ment to meet me at my office or hotel and that will be the last I 
 will see of them, or they will perhaps come an hour or day or two 
 later than they agreed. They will do the same thing with a den- 
 
BUSINESS SUCCESS ANt) FAILURE. M9 
 
 tist and other classes, thereby causing a vast amount of iiiluuvc- 
 .n'ence, disappointment and loss of time and money. Though 1 
 iMiderstand that when a person makes a positive engagement for a 
 certain hour, say with a dentist, and he reserves that time for them 
 ind they fail to come, he can collect his pay, and it is only right he 
 •'hould, even from a business point of view. On the same principle 
 if a landlord neglects to call a person up in time to take a train and 
 he fails to meet an engagement and loses money through the fail- 
 ure of the landlord to do his duty, he can collect damages from 
 him. Time is money in more ways than one, and the man who 
 wants to be successful must be punctual and give people to under- 
 stand that when he mentions a definite time he means to be on 
 hand as near as possible to the minute. I remember the principal 
 of a high school in one of our large cities telling me that he was 
 anxious to get an appropriation for a new school building, and one 
 of the influential members of the board he had to see wasadifFcult 
 man to manage, and his success depended largely on how he 
 impressed him. He was a lawyer and a busy man; so one day he 
 called at his office and told him he wanted to talk with him five 
 minutes. "Well," said the lawyer, "go ahead." He briefly and 
 pointedly stated the necessities and reasons for a new building, and 
 after speaking four minutes he stopped. The lawyer, looking at 
 his watch, told him he had another minute. "No," said the prin- 
 cipal, "1 am through," and retired. He got the appropriation for 
 a fine new building. "But," said he, "I believe if I had talked over 
 my time I should not have received his indorsement and influence, 
 and therefore no new building. He saw the principal talked busi- 
 ness in a business way, and meant what he said, and that favorably 
 impressed him. Five minutes too much talk will sometimes do 
 the speaker a great deal of harm. In business matters there is a 
 great deal in knowing what to say, how to say it, when to say it, 
 and how much time to take in doing it. If there is any kind of 
 person a business man detests, it is a bore — one who talks, talks, 
 talks, and never knows when to stop. Say what you have to say, 
 and do what you have to do, in as brief a time as possible; then 
 retire and give others a chance to do the same thing. I have seen 
 men and women hang around and talk mostly for the sake of talk- 
 ing, while others would be impatiently waiting for them to get 
 tlirough. No idea nor regard for time whatever; no concern as to 
 
150 BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURB. ,; 
 
 how much inconvenience they put others to, so long as they have 
 their talk and ask all the useless or unnecessary questions they 
 can think of. I notice this peculiarity about a woman in business 
 matters. When she calls to see a business or professional man, she j 
 wants considerable time and attention given and shown to her, and 
 if she does not get it, she thinks she is not used right; but when a 
 person goes to see a business woman, she generally wants to get i 
 through as quick as possible. 
 
 Again, the successful business man is one who studies and prac- 
 tices economy. He keeps down expenses as far as consistent with 
 the advertising and carrying on of his business. He allows no 
 waste or leakage, no extravagant use of materials, but does his 
 business with as little outlay as possible. In other words, he spends 
 as little and takes in as much as he can. They work on the prin- 
 ciple that a penny saved is a penny earned, and so while they study 
 how to make, they study how to save, also. This is where some 
 men fail; they try to make but are indifferent about saving, and al- 
 low a constant waste or leakage somewhere in their business, which, 
 like a cancer, eventually eats them up. There is such a thing, how- 
 ever, as a man being too saving. I mean, penurious and small in 
 his ideas and expenditures, not liberal enough for his own interest; 
 that is the other extreme. In the former case he loses by careless 
 waste, in the latter by being penny wise and dollar foolish. Gen- 
 erally the men who give largely for benevolent purposes, are very 
 economical in business and in their mode of living. The careless 
 spendthrift and high-living class do not have much to give or else 
 are not that way inclined, so that the economical class, as a rule, do 
 the most good with their money, providing they have enough lib- 
 erality to prevent them from being stingy and mean. Economy 
 which is the medium between two extremes, either of which may 
 lead a man to poverty, is certainly the best thing for a business man 
 to adopt and practice, for it leadeth unto wealth. Cents make dol- 
 lars, and it is the little driblets that some men think too small to 
 notice, that count up and reduce the profits so largely in the course 
 of a year. To be careful over little things is to become master 
 over greater. 
 
 Foresight and calculation must also enter into the business man's 
 composition, that he may guard against unseen dangers and sur- 
 prises of a financial nature. He must be ready to meet emergen* 
 
BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 1 51 
 
 cies. It is a strong point in the qualifications of a good general, 
 that he be not taken by surprise, unawares or unprepared to meet 
 die enemy; and thus it should be with the business man who is 
 liable to be affected by the failure of others, decline of trade or 
 prices, panics, bad weather, and other causes. I knew of a wealthy 
 business man in the West who had a note against him for eighty 
 thousand dollars, and some one or more of his enemies started a 
 rumor that he was likely to fail, or some such story, and of course 
 he was suddenly pressed for the payment of the note, and although 
 It came u[)on him unawares and made him hop around lively to col- 
 lect the money, he managed to meet it and saved himself and his 
 credit. Another case which will illustrate this point, is that of a 
 western merchant who went to New York to buy goods. He 
 wanted to establish his credit and produce a good impression, so he 
 collected all the money he could possibly get together and took it 
 with him or a check for that amount, and on arriving in the city 
 proceeded to the wholesale house he had been doing business with 
 and began selecting goods; after a while the salesman saw he was 
 buying a far heavier stock than he had been in the habit of doing 
 at one time, and as he had always bought on time the salesman 
 quietly informed the proprietor of the fact, who immediately sent 
 for him to come to his office, which was just what he anticipated. As 
 soon as the western merchant stepped in the proprietor said: "Ain't 
 you buying pretty heavy this time.'*" "Well, yes," said he, **I am. 
 1 thought I would buy about twenty thousand dollars worth and here 
 is the check for it." Suffice it to say his credit was good after that, 
 and, I presume, no more questions were asked about how much he 
 was buying. But had he began to buy heavy without anything extra 
 to back him, he would have injured his credit and consequently his 
 business. So men must look ahead and calculate on the cost of 
 their undertakings and make allowances for contingencies, other- 
 wise their golden plans may be nipped in the bud, and the scowl of 
 disappointment darken their brows. If a man intends to build a 
 house he must first sit down and count the cost, and when he buys 
 goods and contracts debts, he must closely figure on the amount, 
 and how he is going to meet his obligations, or the first thing he 
 knows he will be involved in financial difficulties from which he 
 may not be able to extricate himself; all for the want of calculation 
 and foresight. In proportion as men cultivate the habit of looking 
 
152 BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 
 
 ahead will they be able to see their way more clearly and know 
 what is best to do and not to do. It cultivates a sort of pro}>hetic 
 nature, and [jroniincnt. successful business men as well as specula- 
 tors, are those vvhd seem to know beforehand what will pay. Some 
 men hardl) ever t(juch a thing but what it turns into gold, while 
 others seem to meet misfortune in nearly everything they try; it is 
 mostly due to what 1 term foresight and calculation, and if a man 
 wants this talent he must cultivate it constantly by trying to read 
 the signs of the times, tiie course certain events are likely to take, 
 b\' makiiii^ comp.ii isons with past and present conditions and cir- 
 cumstances, lie must also have a good knowledge of the business 
 w<)rld, and human nature, so as to know the motives that actuate 
 men and therefore likely to bring about certain results. 
 
 Closely allied to foresight is intuition or first impressions, which 
 spring from the same faculty that gives one the talent to read 
 human nature or faces at first sight. The organ, phrenologically. 
 is located at the top gnd center of the forehead, and is large in 
 most American heads. And if a man knows how to use this very 
 valuable and self-protecting faculty, it will do more than anything 
 else to carry him safely through life. VVMienever you meet a stran- 
 ger he produces an instantaneous impression upon your mind as to 
 his merits or motives, and in like manner when a man makes a bus- 
 iness pr<>iK)sition or suggestion to you, there will arise in your mind 
 at the moment an impression as to the desirability of accepting or 
 rejecting his proposition, or as to the value and merits of the thing 
 or subject presented, whether it be of a business, social or profes- 
 sional nature. And it is this first impression, as a rule, you should 
 be governed by, and shoidd act upon, providing your faculty of in- 
 tuition is large, which any good phrenologist or physiognomist can 
 easily tell you, or which you can find out by making a few tests or 
 trials of your ability to read people by first impressions. It will 
 require a little experience and observation on your part to know 
 when and how far to be governed by these impressions; but it will 
 pay any man to study and thoroughly understand the workings of 
 his mind in this particular, for a man's success or failure very large- 
 ly depends upon the impressions he acts upon. Choosing which 
 course to pursue in reference to the untried future, is something 
 like a iiavcicr commg to a point where another road branches ofT, 
 ind he ib at a loss to know which to take to reach the desired 
 
BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 1 53 
 
 place. He gets an impression as to which road he ought to take, 
 and upon the correctness or falseness of that impression depends 
 his pursuing the right directi m. He will most likely get up a de- 
 bate in his own mind as to which roacl to take, and is about as like- 
 ly to take the wrong as the right, unless he knows which impression 
 to follow, and it is just so in business. There will be times in a 
 man's life, when he will be puzzled to know which way to turn, or 
 what direction to take, and would it not be worth something to him 
 to kiiovv which of the many impressions that crowd upon his mind 
 to follow? It may not be wise to follow first impressions every 
 time and in every case, and it would be extremely difficult to ex- 
 plain on paper exactly when you should and should not do so, but 
 I will make this suggestion from my own experience for a number 
 of years, and which has never failed. When a sort of prophetic im- 
 pression dawns or flashes upon your mind forti»moment and passes 
 dway ivithout calling up a question as,«^tp*»wlie^rier it will be so or 
 not, that is the one to follow, and things-c-^ll'Jie just as you are im.- 
 pressed. But if the impression so come^^ lliat* you begin to think 
 and reason the matter over, or comes i/p ?ig;iin in your mind a few 
 minutes or hours or days afterwards, ,t^ien it will not take place. 
 On this principle I frequently know things or see things in my 
 mind just as correctly and positively as though they had taken 
 place. The greatest difficulty is in being able to act u[)on them 
 '7-ithout arguing or reasoning about them in one's own mind. Such 
 impressions are higher than reason, and therefore a truer light to 
 follow. They emanate from a faculty or faculties located higher up 
 in the brain, and therefore of greater importance. I say faculties, 
 for I am not sure but the organ of spirituality or faith gives rise to 
 some of these impressions. All people may not, in fact do not, 
 have them so strongly marked, but a great many have, and some 
 few, and only a few, I fear, make good use of them. 1 will give an 
 illustration of how these impressions work and how they may be 
 used. P'or instance: I had an engagement with a gentleman at a 
 certain hour and something was to turn up that he could not or 
 would not be on hand. I should be sure to have a transient im- 
 pression to that effect, but if the impression again came up or lin- 
 gered on my mind so that I began to query and ponder over it as 
 to whether he would come or not, I should know the impression 
 amounted to nothing, and would therefore expect to see him. I 
 
s<P^ 
 
 THE BUSINESS EYE. 
 
 This eye is skarp and shrewd in managing human nature in a business way, and for 
 self-interest. Can tell business lies whenever necessary to gain a point or evade exposing 
 themselves or their plans. I do not regard it as a thievish, dishonest eye, by any means. 
 It generally possesses good judgment and common sense, and seems well adapted to plan 
 and manage. Observe the drooping, hanging layer of flesh over the outer corner, which 
 is the sign of the above description. 
 
 THE HOG EYE. 
 
 Observe the small, flat form of this eye, and the lack of well defined eye-lids. There 
 is nothing noble or spiritual in its expression. It is simply a cunning, animal eye,* almost 
 destitute of soul capacity. 
 
 A' 
 
 Thought, talent and power of mind, combined with pleasure, generosity and consid- 
 erable mirthfulness. The wrinkles running outward and downward from the eye, gener- 
 ally indicate a jolly, laughing nature, or one who can enjoy and appreciate mirth, 
 especially the lines running from the outer corner. 
 
\"> 
 
,50 BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 
 
 frequently know how a person feels, what he thinks and intends to 
 do in reference to a matter before I hear from him, though he may 
 be hundreds of miles away. These may be peculiar impressions, 
 and I do not know how many people have them, but I do know 
 that thousands have what I term first impressions about people, 
 characters and business matters at first sight, and when they act 
 upon them come out all right, and when they do not, are generally 
 sorry for it afterwards. And a great many business men will sub- 
 stantiate this statement. 
 
 Good and regular habits are among the indispensable qualifica- 
 tions of a successful business man. Not but what bad men some- 
 times become wealthy, but it never does them any good, nor any 
 one else, and their apparent success is but for a season; it dies with 
 them and very often before they do. As a rule, a young man who 
 begins life by sowing his wild oats and running into various kinds 
 K^{ dissipation, going out with fast young company and returning 
 home all hours of the night, is not the man who ever amounts to 
 much and becomes, in the general acceptation of the word, a suc- 
 cess. He spends his money too freely; unfits his mind- and brain 
 for business; neglects his duties to himself, his customers, and his 
 office or store; loses self-respect, ambition and energy, without 
 which he must certainly be a failure. Dissipating habits will bring 
 a man to a financial grave about as quick as anything I know of; 
 for just as consumption saps a man's constitution and literally eats 
 him up, so bad habits eat up his business and pocket-bf)ok, and 
 leave him a wreck, and too often an irreparable one. Sometimes 
 men prosper for years and then suddenly collapse, because they 
 have spent their money to gratify some passion, either for drink, 
 women, or an extravagant style of living; or, it may be, to satisfy 
 the passion of a wife for dress. Any one of these evils is «;ufficicnt 
 to ruin a man unless he has millions to fall back upon. It is not 
 every man who can bear rapid prosperity or the inheritance of 
 wealth. It takes a well-balanced mind, with considerable self-con- 
 trol, to guard against the intoxicating, bewildering and exhilarating 
 effects of swift and sudden financial prosperity. The man who 
 gradually makes his money by hard work, knows better how to take 
 care of it, and puts on less airs in the possession of it, than he who 
 gets it in a lump with little or no effort on his own part. The 
 "swells" of society and that class known as "codfish aristocracy,** 
 
BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. t$; 
 
 who make a great display and pretensions at the summer resorts 
 and other places where they can show off, are not the really 
 wealthy class, nor amjoni^ those who, by [)crs()nal toil and industry 
 have climbed to the top of financial success. There seems to be 
 three ways of making money, viz.: by economy, speculation, and 
 trading or general business. The most wealthy men are very 
 economical in their method of conducting business and living 
 expenditures; hence do not pay seven, ten, or fifteen dollars a day 
 at some hotel to feed their stomachs and put on a few airs. 
 
 The last element o( character connected with business success 
 that I wish to notice is a clear, quick, bright, wide-awake mind, 
 which enables its possessor to determine at a glance or moment's 
 reflection whether to do a thing or not, whether to make a certain 
 business move or purchase, or let it alone. Make a business propo- 
 •sition to some men, and they are like some women who, when a 
 man proposes marriage to them, want a week or two to think the 
 matter over, while some men have minds that seem to work like a 
 flash of lightning, and about as soon as a suggestion or proposition 
 is fairly before them, they have their minds made up and are ready 
 to say yes or no. 1 do not mean to say, however, that people 
 sliould not give important questions due consideration, or that it is 
 always a sign of smartness and foresight to hastily decide any and 
 everything. What I mean is that some minds see through a thing 
 quicker and clearer than others, have a keener business perception 
 as to what is right and best; just as some minds can solve and see 
 through a mathematical problem easier than others, and unfold or 
 unravel a metaphysical mystery or puzzle. Such minds are gener- 
 ally free from passion, and possessed of a good degree of intellec- 
 tual vigor, if not physical, as well. They are born bright and sharp, 
 and begin to develop that peculiar gift early in life, and unless very 
 serious obstacles oppose their progress through life, are pretty sure 
 to be successful in business. The clearness of people's minds in 
 general, however, will depend largely upon the condition of their 
 livers and blood; hence whatever kind of food or habits of life tend 
 to derange the liver and blood may also be the means of injuring 
 men in their business career. I received a severe lesson in this 
 respect myself some years ago, which 1 shall never forget. I had 
 arranged to give a lecture on a certain evening, and about a day 
 before the time 1 was taken with a t)iliou§ attack; my liver being 
 
158 
 
 BUSINESS SUCCESS AND FAILURE. 
 
 sluggish in Its action. I was in a dilemma what to do, as it was a 
 special occasion and I did not wish to disappoint my audience, 
 though I knew I was in no condition to speak. I walked up and 
 down the street trying to wear or throw off the stupor of my brain, 
 but did not succeed. The hour came and I attempted to lecture, 
 though my head was more like that of a man drunk than sober. I 
 soon found after I began lecturing, that it was impossible for me to 
 think clearly and intelligently, and I blundered through as best I 
 could. Suffice it to say I spoiled my lecture, made a poor impres- 
 sion upon the audience and 'njured myself in the estimation of the 
 people professionally. Of course I ought not to have lectured, but 
 being sick I did not seem to know what to do, my brain was so 
 muddled. That taught me a lesson. I saw if I was going to lec- 
 ture (for that was in the beginning of my career) I must take care 
 of my liver and have a clear mind. A man should be very careful 
 how he operates in business and what decisions he comes to when 
 his liver is out of order, because not only is his mind befogged, but 
 he feels blue and despondent, and consequently looks on the dark 
 side of the picture, and if his organ of cautiousness is very large he 
 is afraid to move almost for fear of some calamity or misfortune, 
 and is very apt to do the very thing to bring trouble upon him in- 
 stead of avoiding it; just as some people in looking over a deep 
 precipice become so dazed and stupefied that they loose presence of 
 mind and jump over. In the spring of 1881, I met a man at Wat- 
 kins Glen, N. Y., who was visiting one of the gorges there. He had 
 got there ahead of me and wanted to go further up, but there was 
 a narrow stream to step over just above one of the falls. The small 
 boy would have jumped over without a moment's hesitation, but his 
 caution was so large that he was afraid to venture, and would have 
 returned without seeing one-quarter of the gorge if I had not met 
 him and went along with him. In fact, his fear awakened some in 
 myself, for although it was but a simple place to step or jump over, 
 there was danger in one slipping and being washed over the preci- 
 pice. During the summer season the place is fixed up safe for vis- 
 itors, but this was before the season had opened, and the ice and 
 snow during the winter had washed away many of the safeguards. 
 So one nervous, frightened or despondent man in business will often 
 frighten half a dozen others. The best thing for people to do in 
 battling through life is to keep a stiff upper lip, be courageous, calm 
 and hopefulp and keep their minds and brains as clear as possible 
 
FLIRTATION, 
 
 fhe Art of Flirting— What it Springs from— A Soft Flirt— Sunday-School Flirts— Summcf 
 Resort Flirts — Church Flirts — Charge of the Light- Headed Blondes — Two Kinds 
 of Flirtation — A Family of Flirts — Mistaken Ideas of Flirting — Its Effect upon the 
 Affections— Why Flirting is an Evil — Its Impress on the Face — Mental Effects of 
 Flirtation— How it acts upon the Religious Character of Persons — The Influence of 
 the Music Organs — The Conscience of Flirts — A Polite Flirt — High School Flirts 
 — A Green Flirt from the Country and his Experience — Changeableness of Flirts — 
 Poetry — A Theater Flirt — Flirting in Salem, Mass. — Two Sabbath-School Pupils — 
 Men Flirts — Drummers and Agents — Men often Wrongfully Accused of Insulting 
 Ladies on the Street — Half Recognition and Full Recognition of Acquaintances 
 by Ladies — School Girls, and how* one of them Acted — Inherited Tendencies to 
 Flirt— A Funny Little Girl— A Flirt's Letter— Poetry— A Flirt's Diary— Dishonest 
 Flirts— Their Business Qualities — Soft Young Men — An Old Flirt in Chicago — The 
 Kind of Minds that Flirt — Superficial Education — Poetry. 
 
 Flirting is the art of forming acquaintances and carrying on 
 conversation in an improper manner and with improper feehngs; 
 receiving and giving attentions with improper motives. It is the 
 giving out and calling out the affections without being in earnest 
 — the prostitution of the affections — the mere animal impulse 
 similar to that manifested by dogs. It is a sort of social theft — a 
 sneaky, underhand, covert way of enlisting and drawing out the 
 feelings and affections. It springs from a perverted combination of 
 amativeness and mirthfulness, with generally a light, frivolous 
 character; the latter being chiefly produced by novel reading, which 
 makes girls Hght-headed, silly and adventurous, and boys bold, 
 daring and reckless. These two faculties combined give first, a de- 
 sire to talk with and be in the company of the opposite sex, which 
 desire arises from amativeness; ansjl, secondly, a desire for a mys- 
 terious, maneuvering and funny way of making acquaintances and 
 then conversing with and managing them, which desire springs 
 from animal cunning and the organs of human nature and mirthful- 
 ness. This last faculty gives persons a desire to experiment, to try 
 something new, and also imparts a disposition to make fun, as 
 well as the talent to perceive the absurd and the ridiculous. It is 
 
l6o FLIRTATION. 
 
 not simply getting acquainted with people without an introduction 
 that I term flirting, but rather the sly, mysterious, half-ashamed, 
 cunning, unmanly and unwomanly way of doing it; the silly man- 
 ner of talking and acting, as well as the silly and trashy conversa- 
 tion carried on, which is generally more soft and stupid than baby 
 talk. An example of this I saw in a girl going home in the street 
 cars one night, who related in the presence and hearing of all the 
 other passengers what a young man, who had been flirting with her 
 during the day, said to her. 
 
 All flirts, however, are not quite as soft as she was. Many of 
 them have just enough sense and secretiveness to keep things to 
 themselves, especially in public. Flirts never think they are soft, 
 nor are the most of them willing to admit they ever do such a thing. 
 In fact, it makes them mad to be told they flirt, but while they do 
 not like to be accused of it, they like to do it all the same. They 
 remind me of two convicts I talked with in the penitentiary on 
 Blackwell's Island, N. Y., one a woman, the other a man. When I 
 asked the woman what she was there for, she replied, '* O, for a 
 very simple thing: some ladies accused me of stealing, and I was 
 sent here," intimating that she was being wrongfully punished. 
 And when I asked the man what he was there for, he said, "For 
 nothing. I was just walking along the street and a policeman 
 came up and arrested me." There are very few criminals who are 
 willing to own up that they are guilty or justly punished, and that 
 is about the way with flirts; they like the fun of flirting, but not the 
 name. Many of them have not sense enough to see that they are 
 soft, silly and flirty. A young and pretty saleslady in Chicago, fresh 
 from the country, had made the acquaintance of and was flirting 
 with a young man at her stand in the store. When spoken to in 
 a pleasant way about it, she replied, "Why. I don't call thai flirt- 
 ing, to talk with a person I know." "How long have you known 
 him.-*" was the question asked. "Why." said she, "1 have known 
 him two or three weeks!" N. P. Willis, the poet, says a flirt is like 
 a dipper attached to a hydrant; every one is at liberty to drink 
 from it, but no one desires to carry it away. 
 
 Though flirts are generally shallow-brained and ol a low order 
 of intelligence, with some exceptions, of course, they ;ire invariably 
 shrewd and well informed on two points. They know wheic the 
 best place is to flirt, and how to do it; in oth^r wurds, they under- 
 
l^URTATION. lell 
 
 stand their business, and prefer city life to that of the country; and 
 the larger and gayer the city the better. A young woman of a 
 flirty nature, stopping at a boarding-house where I was in I'hila- 
 delphia, said she would rather live in New York than in heaven 
 almost, though she had never seen New York, and if she clings to 
 that sentiment long will probably never see heaven eitiier. As to 
 their ingenious ways of making acquaintances or trying to do so, 
 one or two instances will serve to illustrate. Walking along Fifth 
 Avenue, New York, one winter, I observed three young ladies 
 having a lively time just ahead of me. The middle one, seeing a 
 favorable opiu-)rtunity, slipped and tumbled down on the pavement 
 accidentally on purpose, and as gracefully as a swan glides into the 
 water. She was in no hurry to get up, nor did the others seem to 
 be in a hurry to help her up till I got about up to them, when the 
 other two lazily and laughingly took her by each arm, and as they 
 helped her up she turned her head around and looked at me in an 
 arch and knowing way, as much as to say, "Are you not going to 
 help too?" Another young woman I met in my travels, who was an 
 exception to the rule, and was free to own up that she liked to flirt, 
 told me how she and another girl who were at church one evening 
 wanted to get up a flirtation with the young man who took up 
 the collection. They were puzzled, she said, to know how to begin, 
 but quick as thought almost they discovered a plan. So when he 
 passed around the collection plate they put in some chestnut shells. 
 That made him blush, as he had to pass the plate to others who 
 saw the nut shells. (But what do daring flirts care about making a 
 young man blush; they rather like it, bec?use it goes to show that 
 he is sensitive, tender and fresh in the business.) But that funny 
 little trick told its tale and its effect upon the young man. He took 
 the hint, and when he had turned the miscellaneous collection of 
 money, nut-shells and perhaps a few buttons into the Lord's treas- 
 1 ury, and church was dismissed, he followed the two flirts. They 
 ^erc on the lookout, of course, and saw him coming. Accommo- 
 dating creatures as flirts sometimes are, they must give him a 
 chance to speak and get acquainted without being rude, as he was 
 a church-going young man, hence when he was about up to them 
 one of them slipped down upon the sidewalk in a way that girls 
 know how to do. Gallant young man, only too glad for the chance, 
 stepped forward and picked her up, was thanked, of course, and 
 
i()2 fURTATIOK. 
 
 in return requested the pleasure of seeing her home, which wal 
 readily granted. The other girl seeing how well the slipping bus- 
 iness worked thought she would try it also, in order to attract 
 special attention to herself. Girls, however, who slip down on 
 purpose for young men to slip up (and pick them up), should be 
 careful or they may keep on slipping till they slip down to hell. 
 
 There were two flirts with features fair, 
 And heads adorned with auburn hair; 
 And though they looked so very cute, 
 They were often dull and mute. 
 
 Said one flirt unto the other: 
 «'\Vhat shall we do to catch a feller?" 
 The other said: "To church we'll gol 
 And there perchance we'll catch a beau." 
 
 ''Agreed! 'tis there we'll wend our way; 
 *Tis there we'll speak but never pray; 
 And look so innocent and meek, 
 We'll have a beau within a week." 
 
 So off to the meeting they went, 
 And there to their feelings gave vent; 
 The old folks sighed, the young ones smiled. 
 And the flirts looked modest and mild. 
 
 So beaus they came and beaus they went. 
 Till the winter was nearly spent; 
 But they couldn't get married that way. 
 So they both pack'd up and left one day. 
 
 When lecturing in Muscatine, Iowa, I visited a Sabbath -school 
 in the afternoon, and noticed a rather handsome, well-dressed 
 young lady trying, or rather pretending to teach a ciass of boys, 
 but she was really more interested in flirting with a young man who 
 was sitting in the seat adjoining hers. She had no control over the 
 boys whatever, nor was she making any good impression on their 
 minds. Putting flirts into Sunday-school classes is a great mis- 
 take, and a decided injury to those placed under their charge. 
 
 While stopping at Old Orchard Beach, near Portland, Maine, a 
 young lady, of a thoughtful and devotional turn of mind, concluded 
 she would get the young people of the hotel together and hold a 
 Bible class. She quietly got six or eight seated on the steps facing 
 the ocean. Most of them were inclined to study the Bible with 
 
FLIRTATION. 163 
 
 reverence, but there were two flirts, one particularly, who joined 
 the party just for sport. She would have no Bible, she only wanted 
 to look on and listen, but her ambition seemed to be to make light 
 of every thing said; to laugh and make others laugh; while her 
 conduct was most frivolous and disgusting. Flirts have very little 
 reverence for any day, place, occasion or person. I remember three 
 or four young people who would feel insulted to be considered any- 
 thing short of ladies and gentlemen, who remained to witness the 
 partaking of the Lord's Supper in one of the large churches of 
 Chicago. They were seated among the members of the church, 
 but their irreverent and disrespectful behavior annoyed and pained 
 the hearts of all Christians who were compelled to witness their 
 whisperings and smiling, and their unbecoming actions. I remem- 
 ber another instance where two young ladies (though the word 
 ladies is too good to be applied to such characters) laughed as 
 hard as they could without making a noise, while the choir was 
 singing the Lord's Prayer in a church in Saratoga. This flirtation 
 business in churches has got to a pitch which is almost intolerable. 
 Why, there is a prominent church in the West, where, a few years 
 ago, the young people when inquiring of their acquaintances if they 
 intended going there in the evening, would say: "Are you going 
 to Rev. — — matinee to-night .!^" 
 
 I once attended a church in Haverhill, Mass., where the conduct 
 of half-a-dozen young flirts in front of me was so annoying that I 
 concluded a httle change in the wording of Tennyson's "Charge of 
 the Light Brigade " might be truthfully applied to them. 
 
 CHARGE OF THE LIGHT-HEADED BLONDES. 
 
 Half a league, half a league, 
 
 Half a league onwardi 
 All in the pews of the church 
 Strolled the six flirts. 
 Forward the Light Brigadel 
 Charge for some fun, they said. 
 Into the pews of the church 
 Strolled the six flirts. 
 
 Forward the Light Brigade! 
 Was there a one dismayed? 
 Not though they all well knew 
 
£04 FLIRTATION. 
 
 That they had blundered — 
 Theirs not to pray or cry, 
 Theirs not to reason why, 
 Theirs but to flirt and die — 
 Into the pews of the church 
 Strolled the six flirts. 
 
 Flirts to the right of me — 
 Flirts to the left of me — 
 Flirts in the front of me — 
 Whispered and giggled ; 
 Stormed at with looks and frowitf 
 Boldly they sat like clowns! 
 Into the jaws of death, 
 Into the mouth of hell, 
 Stroll such wicked flirts! 
 
 Flashed all their faces bare — 
 Flashed as they turned in ail 
 Sab'ring the fellows there!. 
 Charging the audience, while 
 
 All around wondered — 
 Plungtd 111 passion's smoke, 
 Right through good manners brokel 
 The church and people 
 Reeled from their daring stroke 
 
 Almost bewildered — 
 As in the pews of the church 
 Sat the six flirts- 
 Flirts to the right of me — 
 Flirts to the left of me— 
 Flirts from behind me — 
 
 Whispered and smiled. 
 Stormed at with looks of shame. 
 While people went and came, 
 They thai had lough t so well 
 With love's bow and arrow. 
 Rushed from their seats in church. 
 All that was left of them— 
 
 Left of those six flirts — 
 
 Those wicked six flirts! 
 
 When can their mem'ry fadeP 
 O, the wild charge they madel 
 
 All around wondered — 
 Shame on the charge they made' 
 Shame on that Light Brigade! 
 Those wicked six flirU. 
 
FLIRTATION. 165 
 
 There are two kinds of flirtation; one is when a lady or gentle- 
 man makes a business of forming the acquaintance of a second 
 party, and keeping such company regularly, perhaps exclusively, 
 for two or three months, and perhaps a year; favoring this party 
 with all the courtesies of courtship, bestowing marks of esteem and 
 tokens of love, then dropping his or her society and playing the 
 same role of endearment with a second, third, and sometimes a 
 dozen different individuals. Sometimes these heartless specimens 
 of humanity will even go so far as to become engaged, frequently 
 to two or three persons at the same time. Such performances are 
 martyrdom to the affections and suicide to the soul! Many a man 
 and woman have been completely broken down in spirit and ruined 
 for life by such unholy and devilish tricks. No person having an 
 ordinary amount of moral principle would be guilty of such a thing. 
 Occasionally experienced flirts try their arts on one another; then 
 it is diamond cut diamond, and they practically say to each other 
 in the language of some writer: 
 
 "In vain you strive with all your art. 
 By turns to fire and freeze my heart." 
 
 I remember a family in which there were three or four young 
 ladies, all of them affected more or less with the flirtation disease. 
 One of them had deceived a young man for over a year; and the 
 second had promised to marry a gentleman who went to the ex- 
 pense of building a house, only to be left a forlorn, broken-hearted 
 man. Such women and men are nothing more nor less than soul- 
 murderers! Death is the penalty for those who murder the body, 
 but they who thus murder the soul are frequently considered 
 smart, winning and captivating. And another statement by N. P. 
 Willis is applicable to the above class of women, when he says: 
 "A coquette is one who tries on hearts like shoes, and throws them 
 away with as little ceremony as misfits of morocco." 
 
 I do not consider it flirtation when a gentleman, through ac- 
 quaintanceship or friendship, calls upon one or more ladies occa- 
 sionally, and takes them out for a walk, to church, to a lecture or 
 some place of amusement, without making any demonstration of 
 love beyond ordinary attachment. Nevertheless, this is what some 
 persons improperly term flirtation. There are many young ladies 
 not satisfied with the occasional call and company of respectable 
 young men, in a social, friendly way, but must have one exclusively^ 
 
1 66 FLIRTATION. 
 
 or none at all. They are of the same mind as a senator's little girl, 
 
 only nine years old, that was listening to some conversation in the 
 parlor about beaus, when she wittingly chimed in: "If I had a beau 
 and he went with any other girl, I would sit down on him." I hold 
 that no young lady or gentleman has any right to the exclusive 
 company of another, unless it be in pure courtship with intention 
 of marriage. Nor is this a matter of mere opinion, bilt it is the 
 teachmg of phrenological science. To be constantly making love 
 just for the fun of the thing, is to prostitute the affections as really 
 as improper sexual intercourse is prostitution of the body; and, 
 moreover, the former is invariably the cause or preparatory step to 
 the latter. Persons do not become prostitutes and libertines until 
 the affections are disturbed, injured, wounded, or made abnormal in 
 some way. 1 maintain, therefore, that it would be far better for 
 young people, morally, socially and intellectually, to mingle in a 
 more general social manner, instead of being on close, intimate 
 terms for brief occasions with different individuals. Such a course 
 of action would do more to break up flirtation than any other 
 means I know of, because one reason for young people flirting is 
 the desire lor the company of the opposite sex. Making love 
 should never be carried on unless one is in earnest about it. The 
 reason why a more general and social mingling between the sexes 
 is preferable to exclusive association for short periods, or where 
 matrimony is not intended, is because the affections are not drawn 
 out, and do not become so intensely active, disturbed or divided, as 
 they are liable to be in exclusive association. Young people want 
 society and must have it; otherwise their social natures will suffer 
 starvation; but they must be careful how they feed them — what 
 kind of social food they take. 
 
 Changing the affections from one person to another produces 
 inconstancy, because it diminishes two organs, which, when large, 
 keep the affections centered and settled upon one object. Continuity 
 and conjugality are the two organs that are injured or diminished 
 in size, and consequently in power, by flirtation. Conscientiousness 
 frequently suffers too, while amativeness becomes more active and 
 grows larger. Hence, the entire social nature is thrown out of bal- 
 ance. I am aware that in the form of flirtation I have been alluding 
 to, the affections, as a rule, are not strong between the parties; nev- 
 ertheless, there is enough love about it to leave an influence behind. 
 
' PLIRTATIOM. 1 6; 
 
 The second kind or form of flirtation is Impfoper promiscuous 
 I acquaintanceship and association; a species of disorderly conduct 
 practiced by persons in all places of public resort. Two persons 
 become partially acquainted for the time being, and hold social 
 intercourse in an unnatural manner and throu^^h unnatural means 
 It is unnatural because it is stealing a march upon the affections and 
 done with improper motives and feelings; a dishonest use and exer- 
 cise of the social nature; a desecration of the most sacred and pow- 
 erful feelings or functions of the human soul. Mence, flirtation and 
 proper unrestrained social intercourse bear the same relation to 
 I each other that policy does to principle, or dishonesty to honesty. 
 I I am not arguing, nor do I believe, that forming acquaintances 
 ^ without an introduction is of itself wrong, or necessarily injurious; 
 on the contrary, some of the strongest and purest friendships on 
 earth have existed and do exist between persons who have acci- 
 dentally and innocently come together without any formal intro- 
 duction. For, after all, introductions are in most cases merely a 
 polite way of initiating persons into each other's society, and not a 
 guarantee of character either morally, socially or intellectually. 
 
 But it is the peculiar manner, the unnatural feelings, and im- 
 proper or unholy thoughts, which flirts must necessarily indulge in, 
 that renders the practice objectionable and evil. Every man and 
 woman who has a live and intelligent conscience, must instinctively 
 feel a sense of guilty shame creeping over and darting through their 
 hearts when in pursuit of such imaginary pleasure. It is a kind of 
 feeling that destroys, in time, the nobility of the soul, and belittles 
 persons even in their own estimation! They cannot entirely divest 
 
 \ themselves of the feeling or idea that they are doing something 
 they ought not to do, or, at least, something of a questionable char- 
 acter. It creates in persons a sly and somewhat double-dealing 
 disposition, and tends to decrease their frankness, truthfulness and 
 uprightness. All flirts (using the term flirt to include both sexes) 
 have the signs of their character plainly written or indelibly en- 
 
 j graved upon their countenance; and these can only be removed by 
 the gradual transformation of their characters. Nor does it require 
 a skilled physiognomist to interpret these signs. Anyone possess- 
 ing fair ability to read human nature will readily detect the language 
 and expression of flirtation, as represented or pictured in the ex- 
 pression of the face. Say not, then, that flirtation is an innocent 
 
168 FURTAT!e!4. 
 
 amusement, for whosoever thus persuades himself or hefself, will 
 assuredly be deceived. 
 
 I will now pass on to treat of the mental effects of flirtation. 
 And in order to make it clear to the mind of the reader, I will first 
 mention the organs mostly exercised by flirts. They are amative- 
 ness and mirthfulness chiefly, with secretiveness generally in addi- 
 tion, and with experts, a mingling of human nature. For the benefit 
 of those not familiar with phrenological language and its meaning, 
 I will define the organs mentioned. Amativeness is love for the 
 opposite sex and a desire for their company. Mirthfulness is a love 
 or a desire for fun, wit, liveliness, experimentiveness, etc. Secre- 
 tiveness is the ability to conceal and restrain one's feelings; to 
 practice tactics, policy, management and evasion. Human nature 
 is the ability to read others by the expression of the countenance; 
 intuitive perception of character and disposition. It also assists 
 persons in knowing how to manage as well as understand others. 
 To exercise two or more of these faculties without the controlling 
 and counteracting influence of the intellectual and moral organs, will 
 tend to make one light-headed, frivolous, sly and suspicious, as all 
 flirts are, more or less. That is, they lack thoughtfulness and solidity 
 of character, and are prone to a kind of mental dissipation, which 
 destroys the essential qualifications of the true man and woman, viz.: 
 common sense, and a practical recognition of the object and duties 
 of life. Amativeness and m.irthfulness being the two principal 
 organs used in flirtation, it follows that the thoughts of flirts are 
 mostly centered upon the opposite sex and upon fun; hence, the)- 
 are entirely unfit for business purposes, or to fill any responsible 
 position in life requiring attention and good judgment. 
 
 The ungoverned action of these two organs likewise prevents 
 all inclination for anything of a serious or religious nature. Chris- 
 tian flirts, or rather flirts belonging to a church, are seldom, if ever, 
 Christian workers. They have no taste or desire for active, earnest 
 labor for the good of others. They are in for a lively time, and the 
 little piety they have serves only to take them to church and mod- 
 ify the action or nature of their feelings. Not a few young people, 
 some of them members and some merely attendants, will carry on 
 their flirtations right in the sanctuary and even at the prayer meet- 
 ings. A church member told a young lady if she wanted to get a 
 beau, to come to the prayer meeting; and I fear that to many, the 
 
FLIRTATION. 169 
 
 faost interesting part of a young people's prayer meeting is the 
 after part. One need not go to a theater to see love scenes; Romeo 
 and Juliet is too often played in the pews and galleries of our 
 churches. So we need no stronger proof of its demoralizing influ- 
 ence upon the character and religious nature of young persons. 
 
 There are two other faculties, however, which tend to lead the 
 young into the practice I refer to. These are the music organs, 
 time and tune, which, when large and connected with an active, 
 lively temperament, render persons very fond of dancing. Hence, 
 with a certain class, dancing and flirtation are connected, and in 
 many instances dancing parties are nothing more nor less than 
 flirtation parties; at least one leads to the other. 
 
 The nature and evil of flirtation thoughts and desires is, that 
 they lower the tone and quality of the mind, heart and spiritual 
 nature. They weaken one's moral principle, and make dormant 
 their ambition. The whole attention is thereby turned toward and 
 set upon the opposite sex. Everything else is of secondary consid- 
 eration, because amativeness controls all the other organs. It 
 makes causality, the reasoning organ, think about and devise ways, 
 plans and schemes for holding intercourse wath the other sex; 
 makes acquisitiveness provide means for mingling in their society; 
 makes approbativeness and ideality absorbed in dressing well and 
 presenting a good external appearance; makes secretiveness resort 
 to shrewdness in tactics and low cunning, in order to secure its 
 object or carry out its designs; makes conscientiousness blind and 
 senseless, so that it sees little or no harm in the practice. When- 
 ever amativeness sits enthroned and propels and controls the action 
 of all the other organs, there will be trouble and degradation in the 
 soul. It is evident, then, that to concentrate the mind on the sexes 
 more than on any other subject, is not only injurious and sinful, but 
 tends to insanity on that subject. 
 
 I Flirts have very little conscience in matters pertaining to social 
 life. They are liars and deceivers, and if they are caught in a lie 
 and brought face to face with it, they will generally tell another 
 lie by denying the first one. That is, they will declare they never 
 made such a statement; they meant something else. They will 
 deceive their best friends by falsehood and a make-believe way of 
 acting; for when a girl deceives her mother, as she often does, she 
 deceives one who will do more for her than any other being on 
 
i;o ftiRTAtloii. 
 
 earth. That girl or boy who does not make a confidant of her or 
 his mother (if she is worthy of the name of mother), is, in plain lan- 
 guage, a fool. In my travels, I one day went into a place of busi- 
 ness where I met a young girl, an entire stranger, who, I at once 
 concluded, was a flirt, and taking her to be an interesting case, I 
 thought I would try her. So I began conversation and found it 
 only required about five minutes' talk to make a conditional en- 
 gagement that if I was in the city over Sunday, to meet her in the 
 evening coming out of one of the churches. She said her folks 
 were away from home, and she had been having a lively time for 
 the last week or two. Her oldest brother was the hardest one co 
 manage, as he watched her closely, **but as far as mother is con- 
 cerned," said she, "I can make her believe anythiii!^." In many 
 respects she was a nice young lady, but in this she was a simpleton, 
 because she would flirt, then lie to deceive her mother. It is really 
 astonishing how such girls play sharp on their mothers and even 
 their fathers, too. Like a girl who wanted to take part in some 
 theatrical performance when she knew her father would decidedly 
 object, so she wrote to her friend as follows: "Jennie, 1 would like 
 to take part ever so much in 'Caste,' but cannot unless you, wait 
 for papa to go away, which will be in the course of two or three 
 weeks, possibly sooner; as for getting mamma's consent I think that 
 can be easily done." (Especially if her mother was anything like 
 herself when young.) 
 
 While calling at the office of a superintendent of public schools. 
 in Indiana, I found him engaged in giving an earnest lecture of 
 reproval to one of the high school pupils, for playing truant. She 
 was evidently a flirt, too, for she carried the signs of it strongly in 
 her face; and that was what she played truant for. She would get 
 her father to write letters to be excused from school, while her 
 mother knew nothing about it; and her father would probably 
 think she was doing errands for her mother. I remember the case 
 of a young man in Iowa, whom I saw one winter day, just out of 
 school at noon. A man was distributing circulars, and as in passing 
 along he offered him one, I noticed he refused it, remarking, as an 
 excuse, it was too cold to take his hands out of his pocket; but I 
 observed it was not too cold for him to stand up, or rather lean 
 against a tree, and wait for a girl to come along. It is never too 
 cold to flirt. 
 
FLIRTATION. 17^ 
 
 Sometimes flirting is rather an expensive kind of business, espe- 
 j ctally when one of the parties is green or has a soft spot somewhere 
 in his brain, h'ke a man who came to visit the Chicago Exposition, 
 and became interested in one of the salesladies who happened to 
 be pleasing and fascinating in her ways, and a sharp flirt. He 
 bought five dollars' worth of things and gave them to her; also, 
 took a nice ring off his finger and gave her that; invited her out to 
 sup[)er, and, in fact, was very kind, attentive and generous. The 
 girl took all he had to give, but as she thought the five dollars 
 ' would be more useful than the goods, she put them in the case 
 again and pocketed the money. I presume that affectionate but 
 sim[)le man expects to hear from his would-be sweet-heart yet, but 
 if I am not much mistaken he will be a sadder and wiser man before 
 that time arrives. Rings and hearts are sometimes given in ex- 
 change, but it is rather a risky, uncertain piece of business to try 
 to ri«ig the heart of a flirt, especially a city flirt; and if you should 
 chance to awaken tender emotions in her treacherous heart, there 
 is no telling how long they will last, for the truth of the matter is, 
 a flirt is very much like a colt, and trying to catch one is like try- 
 ing to harness and drive a spirited, refractory and frisky steed. It 
 takes hard labor to get such an animal tamed down. Thus it is 
 with frisky, flirty young women; they never seem to get tamed 
 down in their nature till they are married and become mothers of 
 two or three children; then a portion of them get sensible, while 
 some of them carry their flirting on as long as they have power to 
 attract attention. 
 
 The lack of continuity, which imparts a desire for change, is 
 another cause of flirtation. Hence, the desire to change from one 
 person to another, like a squirrel or a bird hopping from branch to 
 branch and from tree to tree. In fact, flirts are regular busy-bees; 
 they pass from one person to another, trying to get a little fun and 
 love here, and a little there, and a little all over. Then they are 
 about as changeable as the wind; they smile softly and sweetly on 
 you to-day, and to-morrow they smile again, but not quite as soft 
 or sweet, and by the third day they have changed their tune and 
 smile no more — they have cauglit another fish! 
 
 O for a flirt, a charming flirt. 
 
 With eyes so bright and heart so free; 
 
 Whose love comes out in rapid sports, 
 Amd dies awa? ^o man t» fei. 
 
4f2 FLIRTATION, 
 
 O for a flirt, a lively flirt, 
 
 With pretty nose and under Up, 
 Who never will a victim hurt 
 
 Except to let him gently slip. 
 
 O the sly flirts, those funny flirts, 
 
 With eyes so bright with youthful glee; 
 
 Whose fickle love but roams and flits 
 Like restless birds from tree to tree! 
 
 O the sweet flirts, the dizzy flirts. 
 
 With hearts so soft and brains so small 
 
 They scarce know what to do but flirt, 
 And spend their evenings at some balL 
 
 O the poor flirts, the brazen flirts. 
 
 With wicked hearts and roguish eyes, 
 Whose love bursts out in sudden spurts 
 
 As meteors shoot across the skiesl 
 
 O the wild flirts, the daring flirts. 
 
 With smiling looks and winning ways, 
 Whose souls are full of mirth and tricks 
 
 Until they wilt and pass away. 
 
 O the fair flirts, the naughty flirts. 
 
 Who sometimes wander, sin and fall. 
 Because they always catch a flirt. 
 
 And tell him to be sure and call. 
 
 So crazy with the flirting mania are some young women, that 
 they are not contented when they have the society of a gentleman, 
 Dut must flirt with some other man, even in his presence. I heard 
 of a case of this kind that took place in a theater. A certain young 
 man noticed his lady (with whom he was keeping company) flirting 
 with a man seated in one of the boxes. He did not like that kind of 
 fun, but he was equal to the occasion and circumstances, however, 
 and turning round to his lady he politely asked her if she would 
 like to make his acquaintance. True to her nature, she said yes; 
 so he left his seat and walked over to the man, and asked him if he 
 would like to make the acquaintance of the lady he had been notic- 
 ing. He replied in the affirmative also, and, of course, both being 
 agreed, he invited him over and introduced him to his lady, re- 
 marking, that he could finish it out and take her home. Having 
 accomplished his object, he left the two flirts and the theater, and 
 never spoke to her or called on her afterwards. Served her right I 
 Some flirts carry on this insane business even after they are married, 
 ^nd when husband or mh happ§n§ t9 be away, th§^ are qff wHh 
 
FLIRTATION. 1 73 
 
 some other man or woman for an evening visit or a walk, or to some 
 entertainment. This class are frequently found boarding at hotels, 
 as it is very convenient for them to see and be seen there without 
 any questions being asked. 
 
 When in Salem, Mass., the place where a number of supposed 
 witches were put to death, I was impressed with the remarkable 
 quietness and inactivity of the city. Everything seemed dead, and 
 there was a lack of that enthusiasm which generally marks the cities 
 of the West. The only time I saw a ripple of excitement, which 
 made things and people appear lively, was on the eve of Decoration 
 Day, 1879, when the young people from the factories were let loose. 
 Then there was life and fun by the wholesale, for I saw more flirta- 
 tion in one night there than I ever witnessed before in any city of 
 the Union of any considerable size. One would think that both 
 sexes had been separated and shut up for about a year, and were 
 just let out, so wild were they in their conduct. Roaming and 
 pacing up and down the sidewalks., like hungry lions in search of 
 prey, they marched up and down the streets singly, in pairs, in 
 triplets and quadruples, laughing, jesting and flirting with whom- 
 soever they could. Young men, whom the girls took a fancy to, 
 who didn't come to time and walk up by the side of them quick 
 enough, they would punch in the back, or tickle them in the neck 
 with a little switch. Being a stranger, I was spotted, and received 
 more or less attention, sometimes in anxious and curious looks and 
 occasionally some interesting, short, pithy and spicy remarks were 
 addressed to me, as only flirts know how to make, such as "Halloa, 
 whiskers ! " Walking on a few yards, another pair of saucy lips 
 would shout, "Shoot the hat!" While a third charming creature 
 would say "Good evening, New Yorker!" Two young men e^^i- 
 dently thought they could flirt better if they could manage to get 
 two of the girls off by themselves, so to accomplish their purpose, 
 they were out with horse and buggy, and driving slowly along the 
 street they soon got the attention of two young flirts. Finally, 
 they drove close up to the pavement, and the girls stopped and en- 
 tered into conversation with them. They were coaxing very hard 
 to get the girls into the buggy. One of them wanted to go, the 
 other did not; then they tried to gently pull them in, and to all 
 appearances the girls, or one of them, was about to step in, wher| 
 ^long came a policeman and spoiled their little game« 
 
174 FLIRTATIOH. 
 
 This incident, just mentioned, reminds me of a similar one that 
 occurred in Chicago. Two young ladies, pupils of a large Sabbath- 
 school, and daughters of a deacon, were out walking one afternoon 
 (I think they had been to a matinee, the best place in the world for 
 flirting), and had picked up two young men, with whom they were 
 getting on the street cars, when an acquaintance of the family, 
 seeing what was going on, stepped up and took the young girls 
 away, and sent or escorted them home. Flirting is a dangerous 
 piece of business for anyone, especially for thoughtless young girls 
 who do not seem to have the slightest idea where it will end, or 
 what it will lead them to. 1 sometimes think that large factories 
 are almost as bad as penitentiaries for the morals of young people; 
 they too often become schools of vice, not because labor or the 
 articles manufactured tend to make them so, but because of the 
 lack of moral restraint, the temptations to which they arc exposed, 
 and the low wages and rough, unprincipled element with which 
 they mingle. 
 
 I presume the worst class of men-flirts are to be found among 
 drummers, safe and piano agents, and men of various callings who 
 make their repeated rounds from town to town and city to city. 
 They manage to have a female acquaintance and correspondent in 
 nearly every town they visit. If they do not, it is not their fault, 
 for a large number of them are worthless, reckless and dissipated, 
 hardly fit to cross the threshold of a respectable family. They flirt 
 on the street, in the store, at the railroad depots, in the cars, in the 
 hotels, anywhere and everywhere they can find any woman silly 
 enough to notice them. They insult about every other woman 
 they meet, either by words, actions or lascivious looks, especially 
 chambermaids, waiter-girls and women traveling alone or prom- 
 enading the streets. I do not assert or believe that all traveling 
 men or drummers are of this stamp. Many of them are honorable 
 men, business-like in their manners and worthy the confidence of 
 the best of people. 
 
 Sometimes men, especially strangers, are wrongfully chargcc 
 with insulting ladies on the street, when the fact is, nobody but a 
 rough, drunken or partially-insane man would think of such a thing. 
 Some young men, however, will step up to a lady and speak to her, 
 wishing to escort her home, if they think she is a flirt; and as there 
 ere so many women and young girls on the streets of large cities, 
 
FLIRTATION. ^7S 
 
 always dft the lookout for beaus, such fellows do not always know 
 who is who, until they try them. As a rule, if a young woman will 
 ACt modestly on the street, and walk along without doing anything 
 to attract a gentleman's attention, she will not be troubled with the 
 uninvited attentions of the opposite sex. But if she smiles at a 
 man and turns her head to look after him two or three times, she 
 must expect that most men will respond to such invitations, espe- 
 cially if a man is anxious to find out who she is, or what she means. 
 No lady has any right or business to half recognize a man on the 
 street; if she is acquainted with him or wishes to recognize him, 
 she should bow, or speak, or both; but if she does not wish to make 
 a full recognition, she should take no notice at all, except to glance 
 with the eye. 
 
 With regard to myself it often happens, as in the case of a good 
 many public men, that there are thousands of ladies in the country 
 who know me, but I do not know them; and when they pass me on 
 the street and give partial recognition, smiling looks, or make com- 
 ments to their companions, or nudge one another as I pass, I cannot 
 tell in every case who they are or what they mean; whether I have 
 met them or not, or whether they have simply heard me lecture. 
 School-girls sometimes will watch me for a whole block, as though 
 they had never seen a man before. With many of them it is simply 
 girlish curiosity, and I take it as such and pass on; others among 
 them are evidently flirts, and if a man takes no notice of them, they 
 feel politely repulsed; and if he does and fails to meet their expec- 
 tations, or act in a way to please them, they go home or back to 
 school and make wild and exaggerated statements about him. Not 
 that I have had any serious trouble with school-girls; my relations 
 with them have been of the most pleasant nature in every school 
 where I have lectured — from Wisconsin in the West to Massachu- 
 setts in the East — with one exception. There is no place in the 
 world where I deem it necessary to be more particular and careful 
 in action and conversation than in colleges, seminaries and high- 
 schools. The case to which I have just hinted was caused by my 
 meeting, one Sunday morning as I was going to church, a refined, 
 virtuous, pleasant-looking young lady, by herself, who had heard 
 me lecture a few days previous, and, of course, remembered me, 
 though 1 had not the slightest recollection of her. As she passed 
 she almost recognized me, and gave me a pleasant look, accompa- 
 
J76 FLIRTATION. 
 
 nied with a sweet smile. I was a stranger in the city, and not 
 acquainted with any ladies, was almost opposite the church and 
 therefore not in a locality where one would expect to meet a fast 
 woman, and her face was too innocent as I thought to class her 
 among such characters. The time of the morning, the location, 
 and all the other circumstances, caused her face and conduct to be 
 a puzzle to me, for the thought never occurred to me that she was 
 a school-girl. Without a moment's hesitation I made up my mind 
 to ascertain whether she was a young flirt or some person I had 
 met. Turning suddenly around to step up to her, I saw several 
 yards intervened between us, and I could not reach her without 
 running, as the sidewalk was pretty well filled with people. Then 
 I realized the predicament I was in — that unless I was very careful 
 it would look like a flirting performance. There was a hotel imme- 
 diately opposite, where I was boarding, and men were sitting outside. 
 She had turned her head around once or twice, to see if I was com- 
 ing I suppose, and this made me feel there was probably a little or 
 considerable flirt about her; so I concluded I would let her walk on 
 a block or two, or until she had turned a corner; for if I had turned 
 then and gone into church, people would have begun to think I was 
 half crazy. Meanwhile, the girl evidently did not know what to think 
 of my actions, and misunderstanding my reason and motives prob- 
 ably thought I was infatuated; for when I caught up with her and 
 said ''Good morning," she seemed confused and annoyed, although 
 she acted lady-like, made no objections to my presence, but res- 
 ponded to my salutation and called me by name. I asked her how 
 Bhe knew my name, and thereupon discovered she was a school-girl. 
 As it was only a block or two to the school, I concluded it would 
 look much better to escort her to the seminary than leave her on 
 the corner of the street, which I accordingly did. 
 
 I had met some of the other school-girls a day or two before, 
 and they politely bowed to me, and I remembered them, returned 
 the bow and passed on. Others of their number had also passed, 
 but took no notice of me except to look with an earnest, steady 
 gaze. I also passed them, taking no notice except giving them a 
 glance, without either smiling, staring or bowing. I heard nothing 
 nor saw nothing more of them till about a week afterwards. The 
 lady principal of the school stopped me on the corner of the street 
 and commenced to politely abuse me, wanting to know what I was 
 
FLIRTATION. 1 71 
 
 chasing her girls around the streets for; that my horrid eyes were 
 staring at them wherever they went, and that the teachers and all 
 the girls in the school who at first were very much pleased and fav- 
 orably impressed, now hated me, with much more similar talk. I 
 saw she was in no frame of mind to receive an explanation, nor did 
 I care to make one on the street corners. She could trust her girls 
 on the streets, however, and believe anything they chose to tell 
 her, but told me personally, the very day I lectured in her school, 
 that although the mothers of her girls had told her she could trust 
 them with gentlemen visitors in the parlor, she never allowed them 
 to close the parlor doors. "Yes," said she, "I can trust them only 
 by watching them." She could not allow them to be in her own 
 parlor alone, nor believe their mothers, but, strange to say, she 
 could believe anything they said about a stranger, and trust them 
 alone on the street. Then, again, she had most likely taught the 
 girls everything but how to act on the street, and when and how 
 to recognize gentlemen. 
 
 I have no desire to speak harshly or unkindly of school-girls; 
 they are mostly young and inexperienced and as full of mischief 
 and fun as a lot of young kittens. But I want to say that the ten- 
 dency among school-girls to flirt when they get a chance, and to 
 see if a stranger will take any notice of them, is pretty strong. I 
 lemember while at a depot one morning waiting for the train, four 
 or five school girls passed along the platform on their way to the 
 school where I had lectured the previous day. They laughingly 
 made some rem.arks as they passed me, and when they got to the 
 end of the platform spoke to me again and put their fingers to their 
 lips and threw kisses at me. I neither did nor said the least thing 
 to attract those girls* attention, nor was it necessary for them to go 
 through the depot to get to the school; hence I might have gone 
 with the same propriety, if I had chosen to take that view of it, to 
 the principal of the school and asked him what right his young 
 ladies had to speak to me, what they were following me around 
 town and trying to kiss me for, or tempting me to kiss them .? If 
 those young ladies had passed by quietly with sedate countenances, 
 and I had made some remark to them in fun or jest, and then 
 thrown kisses at them, it would have been circulated all through 
 the school and city in magnified form, and made to appear that I 
 had insulted the girls and actually kissed them, or tried to do so. 
 
178 FLIRTATION. 
 
 On another occasion, when I had called on the president of a Normal 
 School about business, in returning from his office 1 had to pass the 
 boarding-house of the young ladies who were preparing themselves 
 to be teachers. A group of them were out on the roof of the ve- 
 randa, and as I neared the house they began their antics to attract 
 my attention, and as I passed they would walk to the edge of the 
 roof, peep over, then go back again; in fact, seemed to do every- 
 thing they could, without really speaking, to get me to say some- 
 thing to them. 
 
 The disposition to flirt is very often, in fact, I may say, gener- 
 ally, born in people; and the symptoms of it can be seen in children 
 three years old. To illustrate: in a place where I was once board- 
 ing, was a little girl about three years of age, and a gentleman in 
 the house would occasionally take her on his knee, talk to her and 
 kiss her. The first time he kissed her she submitted quietly and 
 said nothing. The second time she began to act a little funny, and 
 the third time she was still more funny over it, commenced to gig- 
 gle and hold her head down and pretend she didn't like it. (And 
 from all I can learn, there are quite a number of large girls who 
 will act that way, too.) Then her secretiveness, mirthfulness and 
 amativeness came into action. She really wanted to be kissed, but 
 girl-like, she must make a fuss over it, and so she said to the gen- 
 tleman as soon as he had kissed her: "Shame on you! teaching 
 little girls to hug and kiss! I'll tell my big sister on you !" Now 
 what put such ideas and language into that child's head, unless she 
 had seen or heard more than she ought to have heard from that big 
 sister of hers, and had also inherited a flirting disposition.^ Show 
 me a little girl or boy that acts and talks that way, at that age, and 
 I will show you a child who has a flirting nature; though such 
 aatures may be changed, as they grow up, by proper education. 
 
 It may be somewhat interesting to the reader if I give a sample 
 >f the average letters written by one girl to another, and though I 
 •:annot say positively that the author of the following epistle was a 
 lirt, I judge by the style of her language she was not far from it. 
 She was evidently well posted on the ways of other flirts and was 
 .nuch interested in their maneuvers. It also illustrates how freely 
 yjtis tell one another what men say and do to them, and how much 
 I'egard some of them have for parental authority. When a girl 
 makes up her mind to have her own way, and go when and where 
 
FLIftTAtlOJr. ifo 
 
 she pleases, you may be pretty sure she has got the flirtation com- 
 plaint or is desperately in love with somebody her parents do not 
 like. If the reader is curious to know where I got this letter, let 
 me say I picked it up in the Chicago Exposition, and though the 
 cover had been torn and the letter somewhat mutilated, I managed 
 to make out the most of it, and as I shall omit all names, it will do 
 nobody harm, nor will any person be the wiser as to who wrote 
 it or where it came from. 
 
 •• Sept. 1879. 
 
 ** Dear : Your letter was received a few days ago. Am glad you are enjoy- 
 ing yourself so well. Wish I could have a little fun up here, but what is the use of wishing. 
 We had something going on yesterday — it was a smash up, about six miles below here. 
 Two freight trains ran together. [What a consolation that there was something to pro?- 
 duce a little excitement. Girls seem to think everything is fun, unless their fellows happen 
 to get killed.] I wanted to go down on the train in the afternoon and see the wreck, but 
 father would not let me. Next time I will know enough to go without asking, you bet 
 
 Tell your mamma we have not any preserves. I do not correspond with Mr. , he ia a 
 
 flirt, I can tell you. [She wanted him all to herself; girls like to have two or three beau$, 
 
 but they do not want them to have but one girl.] It is real mean of not to introduce 
 
 you. He tried to kiss me one night at the gate, but he did not come it — I slapped him 
 right square in the mouth. [And yet she was anxious that this •* gate-kisser" should be 
 introduced to the friend she was writing to. She must have thought that anything would 
 do for her friend, or else that he was a nice young man, even if he did flirt. It is so char- 
 itable to give to others what we do not want ourselves.] What kind of a hat did you say 
 you had? I did not understand you. Do they wear a kind of sailor hats in Chicago? 
 [Yes, flirts or girls with masculine tendencies do.] I have a black one that turns up all 
 around. Tell me all about what you have this fall. There was a nic-e runner in town the 
 other day, and I saw him a number of times on the street, but ke did not do anything but 
 look, [What a piiy'.] In the afternoon, as I was coming home, he followed me as far as 
 the feed store, and watched me until I got home. [She must have given him some anxious 
 looks or he would not have followed her, because he was a nice runner, and he would not 
 have done such a thing otherwise.] In the evening, he came over this way, and I hap- 
 pened to be at the gate. [Not intentionally, of course; what a wonderful gate that was; 
 in fact, many important events of a girl's life seem to happen there. Gates are convenient 
 
 things for flirts, more so than the parlor.] I went to the bridge with , [her young 
 
 brother, I suppose. Brothers and bridges are necessary evils sometimes in flirting with 
 nice runners,] and when I was coming back I met him; [all accidental, of course,] he 
 
 said, 'Is this Miss ?' [Nice runners and bummers generally manage to find out a 
 
 young lady's name before they speak, it is much more pleasant to address even strangers 
 by their name. ] I said, •! do not think it is.' [She told a white lie.] I also said, 'Do 
 you want to see her? ' and he said, 'O, no, it was nothing in particular;' so I slipped home 
 as fast as I could [after she had just slipped out to see if he would notice her, and have a 
 
 square look at him]. He went over town [broken-hearted, no doubt]. I have seen » 
 
 once since you were here, but did not have anything to do with him. He is a horrid old 
 thing. [I suppose the trouble with him was that he never tried to kiss her; girls— I mean 
 ftdventurous flirts^Uke g man to try it occasionally, eyen if they do not come it, just to shov 
 iMif wiUingsessi Ills 90 pU»ss8g to s giii to koow that i sua wftiita to Itisa )s«r| evt« 
 
if she does noi allow it.] has been awful sick, not expected to live. She was tL^iraf 
 
 Bome place, and they sent for her mother. I cannot imagine what the trouble was, can 
 
 you ? I expect to see [another man, and more to follow,] next month, I am going to 
 
 try and have a conversation with him, too. [Poor girl ! her male acquaintances seem to 
 
 be deserters.] What shall I tell him for you? I have not seen since I wrote you 
 
 about my stopping and talking to him. is as cool as a cucumber, and I expect she 
 
 will continue to be [unless she gives back the young man she probably robbed her of]. I 
 
 have not had a chance to tell what you wanted me to. [Too bad I] Write soon. 
 
 ♦'From your friend, ** " 
 
 F/irt— 
 
 O, for a runner, fresh and nice, 
 
 To meet me when I take a walk, 
 And when I pass him twice or thrice 
 
 Will step right up and try to talk. 
 
 Runngr — 
 
 O, for a girl that's soft and nice, 
 
 Who, standing at the garden gate, 
 With powder' d face, as white as rice, 
 
 In flirting smiles will meet my gaze. 
 
 How friendly and confiding two girls can be, especially flirts, 
 when it is to each other's interest to be so, but let a young man 
 come along that both want, and you will see two as cool as cucum- 
 bers, and they will backbite and tell all the nasty little things they 
 can think of about each other. Judging from the writing and the 
 letter, as a whole, it appears to me that the young lady who wrote 
 the above, has had a fair education, probably at the high school, 
 but it is a great pity she did not learn to write more sense and less 
 nonsense. 
 
 The reader may also be interested in reading and learning what 
 an interesting diary a flirt can write. And as I was fortunate 
 enough to get a copy of one written by a gushing young flirt, just 
 bordering on sweet sixteen, I insert it here as a sample of the weak- 
 minded sentimentalism, romantic day-dreaming, unrestrained love 
 and nonsense that pervades the heart and mind of an ardent flirt: 
 
 I have seen the hero of my dreams. 
 
 April 6/"^.— Met a gentleman, and he is coming here to board; wont we have some 
 nice times, though? I don't know his name yet, but he is a perfect blonde. I wonder 
 what made him look so hard at me; I guess because I had Willie in my arms. 
 
 April 6th. — Nothing of any note has transpired; been house-cleaning; have not seen 
 by ideal since. 
 
 April 7M.— Him and his friend have made arrangements to board. I am to gU4 
 Oiat I can think of nothing but him; those laughing blue eyes haunt me yet. 
 
FLTRTATTOIT, i8l 
 
 April %th — He coiftes to-night; 1 wonder if he will ever care for me as much u I do 
 even now for him? I am afraid not. How I wish that I was beautiful or wealthy; T never 
 wbhed for money before in my life, but if I only had it now may be I could win him; but 
 no, how I have wronged him; he is too noble to ever marry for money. I used to think 
 that there was not a man on earth whom I could ever love, but I have found out very 
 different; for here is a strange man, I don't even know his name, and I am in love 
 with him; will he ever encourage it? 
 
 April ()th. — O, I am so very happy; he was home to dinner to-day, for the first time, 
 and staid till three o'clock. I wonder what he thinks of me? I have always said that 1 
 would never trust a man, but I would trust him with everything on earth. Will he ever 
 I like me as I do him? 
 
 \\ Nothing has transpired of note; like my new friend more and more. Am going to 
 
 i see the parade. Have just known him a little more than a week. I put on his hat before 
 I dinner; he says there must be a forfeit paid, shall I let him? Yes, why not? I will trust 
 I him, for he is too honorable to ever tell his wife anything about it; I say this for I have 
 I not the slightest hope of ever being able to win him. O for beauty enough to captivate 
 
 I him, and I would be happy. What is the day of the month? Mr. , poor man, is to 
 
 I be buried; how very sad! I can't help comparing his wife and myself, only a block apart; 
 I so happy, her so miserable. Well, if I am going out, I will have to stop and dress 
 myself. 
 
 We got back all right; sat in the park ever so long waiting for the procession to 
 come. We had some nice lemon pie when we got back; we enjoyed it so much; wonder 
 if he thinks it was made expressly for him? We went in the back parlor, on the sofa, 
 and h — k — m — s — t — ; O h — s — w — h — k — t — m — . Does he think any the less of 
 me for it? although he is the first man I ever kissed. He must care for me, or he would 
 never have done as he did. [There is just where girls make a mistake; when they are in 
 love with a man they seem to think he must be with them, which is not always the case. 
 The average man will play with a girl's heart as though it was a foot-ball, unless he too 
 ^ is in love, then he will act noble and true. And the average man will give and take all 
 the kisses he can get without meaning it as any special demonstration of affection to the 
 one he kisses.] Would he deceive me? No, he is too honorable. [When a girl is in 
 love with a man, especially a silly flirt, she always thinks he is true and honorable, even 
 if he should be the biggest flirt and rascal in the country.] 
 
 A week has passed, and I have not touched this; I find no time to write; the house 
 is in such an uproar; I never want to move again. When he came to dinner yesterday, I 
 was cleaning silver, and did not get to speak to him; but if I get to look at him it satis- 
 fies. I laugh at myself sometimes; me, that used to be such an awful flirt, caught at last. 
 [Not with the right kind of a hook, though.] He stays at home so much I wonder if he 
 likes my society or if he wants to flirt? But no, he wouldn't flirt with anyone as young 
 as I; he is too noble and true-hearted. It is so pleasant to love one, and put perfect trust 
 in them. 
 
 I have not picked this up for a month or more, and I am much changed, but how? 
 If I loved him first I worship him now. But he says he is going away; how very mis- 
 erable I will be till he gets back; how I wish he wouldn't go. He wants my picture to 
 take with him (O for beauty, so that he would be proud of it). My wishes are vain; be 
 content, he is not engaged; he has pledged his word, and that is enough for me to be 
 sure that he is not. But whenever I think of his going away my heart gets so heavy 
 that it nearly kills me. What would I do if he was to come back engaged? But I mast 
 •top tlunkinf tbst way, for he has not been home so long be most want to see mother kbA 
 
t^2 I^IRfATlOir. 
 
 •Uten, fo I should be glad that he can go; but reason as t will, I cartU be gftad, t aid 
 so selfish; I never was so before, because I never loved before. O! I am so happy; he 
 has said that he is afraid he cannot go; if he could wait till next summer how nice 
 it would be. 
 
 I have been so busy that a week has gone by without my making any note of it, and 
 last night he told me he was going home — he mus/ go. Well, I will trust hiin, but it will 
 be hard to do without him; he is our ray of sunshine. The house will be very dull with 
 out him, but we will have to stand it for one month; how fearfully long. 
 
 To day he goes; he will not go to work to day, he has promised to be home at three 
 o'clock. He has gone; my head aches and I am nearly sick from it; he told me to be of 
 good cheer, he would write soon. 
 
 He has been gone a week and not a line; what is the matter with him, has he for 
 gotten me so soon as this? I cannot bear to think that, but how do I know he will not 
 forget me? Ol darling one, if you but knew what I think of you there would be no 
 more need of words for either. [No, they would just unite and melt and simmer down 
 into one condensed sugar-plum.] I am so miserable; how soon happiness can be turned 
 to misery. Only one week ago to-day I was the happiest creature alive; excepting for 
 the pang of parting I could not have been happier. Am not going to pick this up 
 while he is gone, for my thoughts are too miserable for me to write. Suppose he should 
 come home engaged and should not tell me, and 1 should keep on loving him, and should 
 even let him see this; no, that would never do. 
 
 August 3^. — Have been true to my word; have not looked in this for three weeks He 
 got home to night; we were rehearsing our opera, [flirts generally have a natural love for 
 operas and theaters, but never for a prayer-meeting] but that made no difference; I rushed 
 in the hall before I knew it, and had to go up stairs to see him; he kissed me at his door; 
 how happy! but there seems to be some restraint on him; what can it be? May be he will 
 say to-morrow what it is. I so dread it. 
 
 He has been home two weeks to-night, and what a difference. I wish I was dead^ for 
 I am too miserable to live. We went out walking last night, and he told me that he was 
 engaged. Am I dreaming, or is it stern reality?. My first love-dream to end so miser- 
 ably 1 Does he love the girl he is engaged to? No; I have heard that he loves her 
 because she has money, but my idol could not stoop to such a thing, he whom I think 
 is the noblest man on earth. Mamma and auntie try to make me think he is not worth 
 one of my tears [the old folks were probably about right, for if he had been such a noble 
 man as her love — imagination — pictured him, she never would have fallen in love with 
 him. Like loves like] but I cannot. I have been sick all day; it will be weeks before I 
 fully recover. O! my darling, my idol! to find you only clay, is killing me day by day. 
 [She survived, however, for I saw her. She was a sort of strawberry-blonde; in other 
 words, slightly on the sandy hair color, with florid face. A genuine blonde is of too 
 cold a nature to be so yearning and impulsive in love affairs. ] 
 
 I cannot bear to see this now where all my joys have been written. He offers me now 
 A brother's love, and I have to give him a sister's love; but such is life. I cannot under- 
 itand myself; me who was always so proud, cold, and indifferent to gentlemen who loved 
 me, can I not summon up pride enough to make him think I love another; but no, I can- 
 not, that would be acting deceitful, and I hate deceit above all things on earth. [There 
 U where she is mistaken again, and does not know her own heart; for a flirt is a bundle 
 pf deceit; no girl cm be a good flirt without being deceitful.] I am not ashamed that 1 
 leve HifR) I «tn rather proud of it. I would rather have bit friendship than the love of 
 Cfciir oUiei ASM §a €4rtik It m»^ mf htm tchc te tit Un wriUngi I oncf thoHf hi 
 
FLIRTATION. I83 
 
 I would never write inything in here but my joys, but if I did that the rest of the book 
 would be blank, for I never expect to have another joy on earth. I had laid off grand 
 times for my sixteenth birthday, but my hopes are dashed to the ground. Such is life. 
 Will I ever open this again? may be not, and yet I may; but it is so hawi to write about 
 one you love that belongs to another. If I never open it, why I will say Good by. 
 
 October. — Two months have passed, and not a line in this; I love him more than ever. 
 O, how 1 wish that I could break off that love, it is killing me— this trying to keep a 
 cheerful face when one feels so fearfully miserable; but no one 5us]tects but what I am as 
 happy as ever. How can I look so well when, every night of my life, I cry one half of 
 the night? I must stop this, it kills me to write. [That is generally the way with sweet 
 sixteen flirts, they laugh one half the time and cry the other half.] 
 
 (^ darling, may you and your chosen one ever be as happy as 1 am miserable. Him 
 and his friend niu.^t part, and I am afraid he will get married. Well, it has got to come; 
 it might as well be now as later. It is tc-rrible to think of his engagement, but it nearly 
 kilk me to think of his marriage. My only lovel may God be very merciful to you and 
 yours, is always my prayer. 
 
 To-day I have been looking over this, and it looks so foolish for me to write such things, 
 but no one knows. [When ignorance is bliss 'tis folly to be wise; at least so says the world.] 
 
 Flirts will not only lie and deceive, but they will sometimes go 
 so far as to steal when placed in positions of trust. Not all of them 
 will do this, but a certain class will. They all steal hearts, and a 
 part of them will take anything they can lay hands on. Sharp 
 tricks and dishonorable conduct seems like second nature to them. 
 Like the young ladies of a certain seminary, who were out walking 
 one afternoon, as was their custom, with one of the teachers or 
 professors leading the beautiful procession. As they passed by a 
 grocery store they saw a basket of apples on the sidewalk, to which 
 they all helped themselves, leaving an empty basket, without any 
 money to pay for them. I would not say that every one of those 
 girls were flirts, but I do say that every one that took an apple did 
 a small, dishonest trick. It was just such an act and just such mis- 
 chief as you may look for among flirts. There are also cases where 
 flirts (I mean men as well as women) will help themselves to their 
 employer's money or goods. 
 
 Another evil arising from flirtation is that it develops a charac- 
 ter that is peculiarly fickle and inconsistent. It makes one too 
 changeable, unreliable and notional. In fact, it entirely counteracts 
 every influence wkich tends to mold a perfect and lovable charac- 
 ter. The soul cannot revel in unnatural and unsatisfied desires, 
 which it is nevertheless longing to have gratified, without recoiling 
 and shrinking back upon itself. Flirts are constantly craving for 
 pleasures of an amative niit>ar?; they are sqidofB \^ ever satisfied. 
 
1 84 FLIRTATION. 
 
 Hence, there is a hankering, an abnormal condition of mind, a per- 
 verted taste and a gnawing appetite, similar to that of a dyspeptic's 
 stomach. The more they have the more they want, and the more 
 they get the less are they satisfied. Things of genuine merit, 
 objects of great importance, do not interest them, for their fettered 
 imagination cannot soar so high. Their attention is attracted only 
 by that which is sentimental, vain, silly and disgusting to anyone 
 possessing a fair amount of common sense and sound judgment. 
 
 Flirts dislike work, especially if it requires continued application. 
 Said one girl in a letter to another: "P.S. — I have finished all but 
 two of papa's shirts, then I shall look out for a man that does not 
 wear shirts," and exclaims, "a kingdom, a kingdom for a man with- 
 out a shirt." But, then, it is hardly to be expected that a girl of that 
 stamp could do anything else but flirt. One business is enough for 
 a smart man to attend to, and how can it be expected that a brain- 
 less flirt would attend to work or business and flirting too.. 
 
 Nowhere are the short-comings and fickle-mindedness of flirts 
 more apparent than in business affairs. Employers can place no 
 reliance on them. They are a worthless class even in the ordinary 
 position of attending a reception room or as saleslady. Perhaps 
 the place such women could fill to the best advantage would be 
 behind a cigar-stand, because there they could flirt to their heart's 
 content and have all the variety they could desire. They would 
 have new subjects to operate upon every few minutes. But sup- 
 pose such persons do, by tact, secure good and respectable places 
 (for they are sharp enough, or, at least, manage to use their wits 
 long enough to do that sometimes), their employer would find it 
 exceedingly difficult, yea, impossible, in eight cases out of ten, to 
 get them to apply their minds and energies to the interest of the 
 business, or to use the same amount of shrewdness for the benefit 
 of their employer, that they would to secure a new victim, unless 
 the person employing them gets up a flirtation with them himself; 
 then they would set the world on fire to accomplish a purpose, and 
 things would go as merrily as the chimes of a marriage bell. But 
 let him act toward them and treat them in a strictly business way, 
 and their indifference and want of interest are at once apparent. 
 They cannot or will not endure the correction of a fault, or in any 
 way be rebuked; nor will some of them even permit, with a good 
 grace, their employers to tell them bow to do their work, that is, if 
 
FLIRTATION. 185 
 
 he does it in at firm, decided tone. They may condescend to toler- 
 ate it if he does it in a sweet, gentle and half-coaxing way, as if he 
 was asking them to do a favor; but to be commanded with author- 
 ity, seems abhorrent to their nature. Poor things ! they want 
 nothing but smiles, kind, or rather soft, honeyed words and winning 
 looks; and they are filled with surprise and indignation to think 
 that their employers can have the audacity to speak to them or use 
 them in any other way than as equals or superiors. Such persons 
 have no definite idea of what life is, or ought to be, and when stern 
 reahties meet them they are unprepared to grapple with them. 
 They are, in many respects, just like babies in their disposition, and 
 desire to be petted and used in a similar way; but are unlike babies 
 as far as submission and innocence are concerned. They are over- 
 grown and spoiled children, and they can cry and make just as 
 much fuss when they cannot have their own way, or have what they 
 want, as any child can. 
 
 Young men are just as bad, only in a different way. They be- 
 come (if they are not naturally so) regular sap-heads, and the thing 
 they are smartest at, and seem to succeed in most, is making the 
 acquaintance of young girls. I have seen full grown, mature men 
 talking in a very loving manner, and getting up a flirtation with 
 girls from twelve to fourteen years of age. I know of an old man, 
 sixty or seventy years of age, who visits the Chicago Exposition 
 every fall to talk and flirt with young ladies at the stands, and he 
 is as persistent in his efforts as any young man. Such actions are 
 beneath the dignity of a man ! They buy presents and bestow 
 many little favors and tokens of regard upon girls; will talk by the 
 hour to them; will tax their ingenuity, if they have any, and exer- 
 cise their deficient, inferior brains to the utmost, in order to interest 
 and make a favorable impression upon the minds and hearts of 
 girls who are silly enough to talk back with them. Is it not high 
 time that parents trained up their children to entertain a higher 
 and better appreciation of themselves.? To have them use their 
 intellectual faculties and think more, that they may see what the 
 grand object of life is, and realize that it consists in something more 
 than the indulgence of amative thoughts and the gratification of 
 amative desires.? Intelligent, thinking minds do not resort to 
 flirtation. They have other and better means of entertaining and 
 interesting themselves. It is chiefly common, inferior, uneducated 
 
1 86 FLIRTATION. 
 
 minds that resort to such actions, because, being unable to amnse 
 or content themseJves, they depend upon others to do it for them 
 Hence, the natural taste of such persons for all kinds of amusement, 
 but for nothing of a serious or intellectual nature. Not that proper 
 amusement is wrong, but that flirts have little mind for anything 
 else. The conversation of flirts never rises above the common 
 chit-chat of household affairs or incidents of every-day life; and if 
 you were to listen to the conversation of two flirts for an hour, I 
 venture to assert, you would not hear an idea advanced or suggested 
 of any practical importance. It would be simply nonsense from be- 
 ginning to end. To counteract flirtation, then, with all its attendant 
 evils, let the intellect be educated in a practical, common-sense 
 manner, and let parents strive to imbue their sons and daughters 
 with a spirit of noble ambition to accomplish some purpose or 
 object in life. Then they will aim for something higher than child- 
 ish talk and mere amative pleasures. Nor will common school 
 education do this; it requires personal labor and direct special 
 training on this point. Just so long as parents leave this special, 
 practical and parental work to public schools and Sunday-school 
 teachers, they must expect a large proportion of the young people 
 to engage in flirtation. Neither the Sunday-school nor a public 
 school was organized to teach young people what is the special 
 work of parents, viz.: how to develop themselves into perfect or 
 complete men and women. Schools simply impart secular and 
 religious education, but the manner or way in which they make 
 use of knowledge thus acquired, is another form of education which 
 parents ought to attend to personally. It is this education of edu- 
 cation that is so badly neglected in the rising generation, and all 
 because parents were themselves neglected in early life, and are 
 therefore deficient in this respect. Parents who were once flirts 
 are very apt to let their children do the same; and so the thing 
 goes on and will until a movement is made to educate children, and 
 parents also, in a more practical and scientific way. 
 
 The great difficulty is, that the education of the present da)- is 
 too superficial and fashionable. That which teaches them concern- 
 ing the laws of mind and body seems to be ignored, hence, parents, 
 as well as children, are ignorant concernmg the very things they 
 ought to be best informed upon and most familiar with. People 
 know what they like, what they desire, and what they do not, and 
 
rtiiiTAtioR jS; 
 
 flow fflucli they difl"er from others in these respects; but the reason 
 of their h'kes and dislikes, preferences and differences, they seldom 
 study into or investigate. For instance: here are two children of 
 the same family, both fond of play; the one will leave her play at 
 the first call of either parent, but the other will keep on playing as 
 long as it can, and have to be almost whipj)cd away from it. But 
 neither the children nor the parents know why this difference exists. 
 How, then, can parents train their children aright, when they do not 
 understand the laws of mind that cause these marked differences 
 in children.^ And how can they save them from the various forms 
 of sexual dissipation, where they do not understand the mental and 
 physical laws governing the sexual organs? The solution of the 
 great problem of life, as well as the future greatness and glory cf 
 the American people, lies in a correct knowledge of the laws that 
 govern mind and body; or, to put it in a more simple phrase, in 
 understanding ourselves mentally and physically. Lei knowledg;e 
 increase and crime will proportionately diminish. To teach men 
 what they are and how to control themselves, will do more to close 
 the penitentiaries and empty the jails than all the laws that have 
 ever been enacted, or all the police forces in the country could 
 ever hope to do. Prevention is better than cure. 
 
 If pretty flirts you wish to cure, 
 
 And save them from a life that's fast. 
 Just make them work and look demure: 
 
 The toil and care will dn>wn the past 
 
 If thoughtless flirts you wish to cure, 
 
 And save them all from worthless lives, 
 Improve their minds, and then be sure 
 
 To teach them how to make good wives. 
 
 If pious flirts you wish to cure, 
 
 Just put them in the elders' pew; 
 Long-fac'd deacons they can't endure, 
 
 And their number will soon be few. 
 
 If roguish flirts you wish to cure 
 
 From running on the streets at night. 
 Keep them at home till you are sure 
 
 They can go out and act all right. 
 
 If wicked flirts you wish to cure, 
 
 Who play with hearts, as cats with mice, 
 TeU thcfB how many, once fair and pursj 
 
 Fn^^esi 4ie like podr chur^b mist. 
 
SHAM MODESTY. 
 
 What it is — Its Cause — What Young People Do and Read — How it Ruins Young Peoplt 
 — Ignorance — Art Galleries — Civilization — Two Girls in the Washington, D. C, 
 Art Gallery — Dress and Prostitution — Fancy Pictures — Statuary — What Regulate* 
 Taste — Where Immodesty Exists — Arts of Women — What Excites Amativeness — 
 Sentimental Sham Modesty — A Lecturer's Observations — A Kind of Sham Modesty 
 Peculiar to Ministers — How the Public are Affected by it — Mock Modesty with 
 Church Members — How it Prevents the Truth Being Spoken — False Modesty the 
 Mother of Ignorance — The Cure for Sham Modesty — Sham Modesty in the Use o\ 
 Words and Expressions —Personal Experiences — False Modesty in Society — Sham 
 Modesty in its Relation to Kissing — Who and How to Kiss and Who Not— Kissing 
 Among Women — Kissing Games at Picnics — What the Schools do not Teach. 
 
 Modesty is one of the most charming virtues in female charac- 
 ter, but sham or assumed modesty is one of the most disgusting 
 things in human nature, and yet the world is full of it. It has 
 become so common in all ranks of society that it is sometimes 
 difficult to determine the genuine from the imitation. It is caused 
 through the perverted action of some of the sentimental faculties 
 and animal propensities, such as secretiveness, amativeness, appro- 
 bativeness, agreeableness and ideality. It is a kind of policy used 
 to impress people with a false idea of the motives of the mind and 
 desires of the heart. It is a sort of whitewash some people make 
 use of to conceal the corrupt and blackened character within — a 
 lie to spread over the countenance, coloring the language used, and 
 varnishing the actions. It is a name without existence, a thing 
 which seems to be, but is not. It cannot endure temptation or trial, 
 and Rust not be subjected to any severe test. Sham modesty is 
 easil)' shocked, because it is often the outgrowth of ignorance. It 
 makes a mountain out of a mole hill, and is very sensitive to criti- 
 cism, and whoever shakes hands with it must have gloves on. It 
 will never come in bare contact with the naked truth; it has no 
 affinity for such a thing. It recoils at first sight, and like a tortoise, 
 hides itself in its shelL 
 
SWAM MOMStY: i^c) 
 
 Sham modesty arises principally from a perverted use of appro- 
 bativeness and amativeness. Sometimes it is caused through a 
 want of education on certain things, and sometimes it is acquired 
 or assumed through the example and influence of others. There is 
 also a large amount of shame-facedness which is akin to sham mod- 
 esty, caused through the private sin of self-abuse. Such persons 
 are generally afraid or opposed to having their heads examined, 
 especially young people with the organs of approbativeness and 
 cautiousness large. People are not shocked nor do they blush and 
 wonder at things they often see and become familiar with. Re- 
 peated observation and study dispel surprise from the mind. Hence 
 I regard ignorance or want of education of certain faculties and 
 natures on certain subjects as the general cause of all species of 
 mock modesty. 
 
 When conversing with a clergyman on one occasion in reference 
 to this subject, and the dangers to which youth are exposed from 
 the evil habit to which I have just alluded, he told me that he bought 
 his son a medical book and told him to read and study it that he 
 might understand his own body from head to foot, and thereby 
 keep himself from falling into a snare as so many thousands of boys 
 and girls were constantly doing. One day the daughter of one of 
 his deacons came to his house on a visit, and saw his son with this 
 book. She went home and told her father that the pastor's son had 
 a bad book; that she had seen him reading it, and probably saw 
 some of the illustrations. The righteous but over-modest soul ol 
 the deacon was aroused, and he waxed warm. He went to his 
 pastor's house and told him he thought it was his duty to let him 
 know that his son was in the habit of reading vile books. "Well, 
 now," said the minister, "I do not believe it. I know my boy too 
 well, and am sure he would not read such a book, and certainly not 
 without my knowledge." " But," said the deacon, emphatically, "he 
 has been seen with such a book." "Well, who is your authority ?" 
 asked the preacher, to which the deacon did not care to reply. So 
 walking over to his library he took down the medical work in ques- 
 tion, and handing it to the deacon, said, "There, I suppose that is 
 the book my son was seen reading." "Do not know, perhaps it is," 
 said the deacon. Then a long discussion ensued between pastor and 
 deacon as to the propriety of letting young people read such works, 
 and after an hour's conversation on the subject, the deacon went 
 
tgO SHAM MODESTT. 
 
 home converted in his views and convinced that the pastor was 
 
 right. 
 
 There is a large proportion of young people who will read the 
 most exciting love stories they can get, and will think about such 
 things day and night, until their imagination runs wild, and they 
 show their amorous thoughts in their very looks; but think it silly 
 to talk about love affairs, and they would blush behind their ears, 
 or try to do it, if they heard a little plain talk of a sexual nature. 
 Now, if these parties would only talk more and read less, it would 
 have a wholesome effect upon their minds, and they would be better 
 informed on these subjects, and would not make such fools of 
 themselves. Sexual sham modesty springs either from downright 
 ignorance on such matters, or else from self-abuse, or both. 
 
 Sham modesty has ruined many a bright young man and woman, 
 because their parents were too nice and particular about many things 
 to teach them in early life what it was absolutely necessary for them 
 to know. On the other hand, this kind of feeling keeps young 
 persons from conversing freely on some matters, which in many 
 instances, causes them much physical injury and inconvenience. I 
 remember hearing of a young woman who lost her life through ig- 
 norance of physiological laws, because her stupid mother had never 
 instructed her. And I fear there are some mothers who do not 
 know as much as their daughters. They probably learned more 
 about flirting in their younger days than they did about their bodies 
 or their offspring. Yes, there are plenty of women calling them- 
 selves mothers who are as green as unripe pumpkins. Thus, sham 
 modesty erects a partition between parents and children, and cuts 
 off communication on the most important subjects connected with 
 their happiness and prosperity on earth, and it may be hereafter. 
 The amount of ignorance that prevails in reference to the organism 
 of the body is almost incredible. Three or four women had assem- 
 bled rather early one evening, for the weekly prayer meeting, and 
 were sitting around the stove, talking about their pastor's sickness. 
 One of them asked what was the matter with him, when another 
 answered by saying she did not know, but thought he had a spine 
 in his back. A Christian mother told me she knew of a young 
 married couple who were in great anxiety and distress of mind a 
 few months after they were married, because they both thought the 
 fonng mother would have to be dissected to give birth to her child, 
 
SHAM MODESTY. IQI 
 
 I claim that a couple so ignorant of their bodies as that, are not fit to 
 be parents or even to marry. Young people ought to be thoroughly 
 informed on all such subjects before taking the vows of marriage 
 upon themselves. How can they protect and bring healthy off- 
 spring into the world when more ignorant on such subjects than 
 the wild animals that inhabit the jungles of India? 
 
 Sham or false modesty, which arises from ignorance, is most 
 apparent in regard to works of art. People who have no taste for 
 that which is beautiful and perfect in form, do not study or interest 
 themselves in art; hence, statuary, or any picture representing the 
 female form, excites in them no admiration, but rather disgust, or 
 licentious thoughts. They view such things simply from an animal 
 standpoint, and the more corrupt their own moral nature, the more 
 wicked their thoughts. Any person having large ideality, form, 
 amativeness and human nature, cannot help admiring a beautiful 
 figure, while those deficient in two or more of the above faculties, 
 fail to see anything lovely in the human form; in fact, it is objec- 
 tionable to them. Such persons should study art and visit art 
 galleries. If people were more familiar with chaste paintings of 
 the human form and with statuary, there would not be such a mor- 
 bid, crazy, sly desire to see a living person in that condition, at 
 times and under circumstances which are forbidden. And if they 
 should chance to see a nude person, they would not be so easily 
 shocked and excited over it. 
 
 There is no better sign or proof of civilization in a nation than 
 the cultivation and appreciation of the arts and sciences. Those 
 men and women who cannot look upon a beautiful, chaste and 
 gracefully-posed picture of the human figure, without feeling 
 shocked, should censure themselves, and not the picture. A sense 
 of shame and sin go together; therefore, let those who feel ashamed 
 when looking upon works of art, purify their amative nature — then 
 they will see nothing objectionable. Adam and Eve were not 
 ashamed till they sinned. Sin brought shame, and shame was the 
 cause of dressing, which commenced with fig-leaves, covering only 
 the middle part of the body. While visiting the art gallery in 
 Washington City, I noticed two girls looking at the statue of a 
 male figure. Their eyes hardly caught sight of it before they began 
 to nudge one another and whisper and giggle, as though there was 
 something awful funny about it. They had impure minds and 
 
192 SHAM MODESTY. 
 
 thoughts, caused by a low, organic, irreligious nature, with a mix- 
 ture of mirthfulness, amativeness and cunning. In like manner I 
 observed three women in the art gallery of the Chicago Exposition, 
 who were curiously scanning a beautiful oil painting of a female 
 figure, and were pointing, whispering and tittering to each other, 
 till some men came along, when their attention and position was 
 suddenly turned toward some other picture, as though they were 
 looking at or doing something they were ashamed of Nowadays, 
 people glory in extravagant dressing; hence, they glory in their 
 shame. Our first parents wanted no dressing till they prostituted 
 themselves. Dressing commenced with prostitution, and prostitu- 
 tion and dress generally go together. That is, many persons will 
 prostitute themselves in order to dress well, so that, after all, the 
 necessity of having to dress, is no sign of purity nor credit to 
 humanity. Let persons of false modesty therefore remember that 
 if it had not been for sin, there would have been no necessity for 
 dress — that is, as long as Eden existed. 
 
 God rtever made anything impure or immodest. Immodesty 
 exists in the mind, not the body. All human sin originates in the 
 soul or heart; the body simply shows the effect of it. But there 
 are thousands of persons who object to see a lady expose her neck 
 and shoulders in a low-necked dress. Such persons manifest one 
 or more of three things: either ignorance, pretense, or lack of taste 
 and amativeness. And they seem to think that women who so 
 dress, are a little off the track, morally. Hence, persons who are 
 not virtuous, are frequently the strongest opposers to low-neck 
 dressing, in order to make believe and throw off suspicion from 
 themselves. Some object to this style of dressing through jealousy. 
 Having poor figures themselves, they think they cannot dress in 
 that way, and so dislike to see others; just the same as one woman 
 will envy another who surpasses her in dressing. There are men, 
 even ministers, who will wear a black vest, buttoned close up to the 
 throat, so as not to show a particle of the shirt-front, who are op- 
 posed to the showing of the female form, but would be as delighted 
 and interested as any one, to secretly look at the face and figure of 
 a beautiful woman. 
 
 Women who dress in black, especially half-mourning, and strong- 
 ly object to exposing their form, by way of low-necked dresses, are 
 often more to be suspected than those who dress just the opposite. 
 
SHAM MODESTY, 1 93 
 
 There afe plenty of men and women who will turn up their 
 noses at art representations of the human form, whose private 
 character would not bear close inspection. They would not have 
 a picture of themselves, exposing their bust, for anything. Why, 
 what would their mothers and friends say if they had such a pic- 
 ture.i* But, strange to say, they will do things ten times worse, and 
 their father and mother are left out of consideration, and know 
 nothing about it, unless they chance to get into trouble. 
 
 There is a class of persons who object to pictures in low-necked 
 dresses, but admire statuary showing the whole figure nude. Now, 
 what is the moral difference, as far as the pictures and what they 
 represent are concerned, whether they are taken from life or from 
 statuary.? because every sculptor gets his models from life in the 
 first place, and perhaps selects from fifty to a hundred women 
 before he can form his ideal statue. Taking a leg from one, an 
 arm from another, a bust from the third, a hand or foot from the 
 fourth, and parts of the features from others, and so on — no one 
 woman being perfect in all parts of the body. One of the greatest 
 works of antiquity, "The Birth of Venus," was taken from Phryne 
 of Thespia, in Baeotia, then a courtesan of Athens. Apelles and 
 Praxiteles were both upon the seashore, and saw her splendid form 
 coming out of the water. 
 
 It is evident that the real objection with people is not against 
 exposing the human form at all, but rather against the individual 
 who does it. They do not object to statuary, because it is not sup- 
 posed to be a likeness of any person; whereas, if a woman was to 
 be a subject for such a thing, this feeling of sham modesty in per- 
 sons, combined with suspicions and a lack of charity, would at once 
 consider her a prostitute, when she might be as innocent as a child; 
 for virtuous women frequently become models for artists. 
 
 Fashion and habit have much to do in regulating a person's taste 
 and ideas about these things. It is so customary for women to 
 cover their persons from head to foot, that when one does step out 
 of the ordinary mode of dressing, and show either the breast or a 
 limb, it creates surprise and excites curiosity; whereas, if it was the 
 custom to dress that way all the time, no notice would be taken. 
 Is there, or can there be, any more licentiousness among the sav- 
 ages, who have little or no clothing on them, than there is among 
 civilized nations, with all their dressing and apparent morality? I 
 
194 SHAM MODESTY. 
 
 venture to assert, that the fascinating styles of dressing haV6 done 
 more to excite men's amative nature, than all the fancy and nude 
 pictures could ever do; because a nude figure is complete in itself, 
 and leaves nothing for the imagination to work upon; whereas, a 
 picture or person partially draped or exposed, tends only to excite 
 the imagination and create a desire to see more. Though, of 
 course, I am not advocating that people should go improperly 
 dressed, but merely seeking to show that the artful, sudden and 
 momentary exposure of the limbs or bosom tends to excite the 
 passions more than the nude figure would, or the permanent ex- 
 posure of any part of the body. Women understand this, and 
 dress and act accordingly. Why all this padding, stuffing and 
 trimming of dresses, if not to add to the charms of the wearer, and 
 give the appearance of a good figure, which the wearers would 
 never be without? Why wear long skirts on the streets if not to 
 be compelled to raise them and attract the attention of passers-by 
 to a pair of pretty ankles or limbs, made more exciting by the 
 white and embroidered under-clothing? The bare figure would 
 never excite the passions as these devices of women do. Go out 
 any day upon the principal streets of the city when they are 
 muddy, and you will see plenty of men on the corners, who make 
 a business of watching ladies passing over the crossings; and yet 
 the forms of many of them are not much better than a broom- 
 handle. I heard of a man who used to take the hose and water 
 the sidewalk in front of his store every morning, so as to make the 
 ladies raise their dresses. Some women are either not particular 
 or else are not conscious how high they do raise their dresses; and 
 whenever you meet a woman who makes it convenient to cross her 
 legs, and make a liberal display of one or both of them, at the 
 moment she knows you are about to enter the room (if you are a 
 gentleman), you may conclude she is fast, or far from being as 
 modest and virtuous as she ought to be. The female form, there- 
 fore, partially exposed in rich, embroidered drapery, is far more 
 exciting and tempting than the nude figure. 
 
 But, as I have stated, I am not advocating immodesty in dress, 
 but wish to confute the idea of evil attending the exhibition of the 
 human figure in a modest position. And I wish persons of false 
 modesty, especially those connected with churches, to remember 
 they need to exercise genuine modesty in regard to dressing, as 
 
SHAM MODESTY. ^95 
 
 well as their persons; and that the passion for extravag^ant dressing 
 has ruined men and women by the thousand. Such persons are 
 very modest about some things, but not modest enough in their 
 demands to live within their means, particularly in high life. 
 
 But not only does the modern and fashionable style of dressing 
 excite the amativeness of men, but also their imagination. The 
 summer mode of dressing — in low waist, covered with black or 
 white gauze — is adopted by many who would be too modest to 
 expose the bare shoulders, and yet the gauze style draws mostly on 
 the imaginations of men. I am not criticising or finding any fault 
 with the styles or quality of dressing, but rather the disposition and 
 feeling people manifest in their choice of dressing. There seems 
 to be such a strong desire in human nature to cover up and conceal 
 the motives. If a thing can be done secretly, and on the sly, so 
 that no one will know or suspect the intentions, it is all right. 
 Principle, and the right or wrong of a thing, the good or evil of it, 
 after all, do not enter into the consideration. It is: What will 
 people say or think about such a thing.'* This is what I call sham 
 modesty; because such people are governed and influenced more 
 by human opinion than they are by God and principle. They lack 
 independence of mind, and are slaves to what others think and say. 
 The fact that physiology was never taught more in the past, is 
 partly attributable to false modesty. Why, a lady teacher in a 
 public school was discharged not long ago, for lecturing the girls 
 about tight lacing and its evil effects; and while lecturing, myself, 
 in a young ladies' seminary in Washington, I noticed the young 
 women became very uneasy, and the principal was also anxious to 
 have me get through as soon as possible, when I alluded to the 
 same injurious effects of tight lacing. Truth and criticism were not 
 a palatable thing to those fashionable, party-going young ladies. 
 But I noticed, as soon as I changed the subject of my remarks, both 
 teacher and scholars were contented to listen as long as I wanted 
 to talk. And if there is any branch of education in the world that 
 people need to understand, it is a knowledge of their own physical 
 organization. But society is so refined and polished nowadays, that 
 young people would feel themselves defiled to even mention the 
 names of some of the physiological organs. Then, again, the study 
 of physiology would be dry, and not half so interesting as a nice 
 novel, that will exeite their imagination until they perhaps abus^ 
 
196 SHAM MODESTY. 
 
 themselves, and fall into habits the physiological effects of which 
 they know nothing about. 
 
 The cure for sham modesty lies in educating people in the arts 
 and sciences. To study the laws of their own being is to acquire 
 higher and nobler conceptions of their own nature and destiny. It 
 will dispel the idea so common in ignorant minds, that their bodies 
 are mere machines, and their physiological organs simply instru- 
 ments for sexual pleasure. If young people were as familiar with 
 physiology as they are with pianos and the fashions, there would 
 be less false modesty. And if they studied art more, and visited 
 picture galleries oftener, they would not be shocked at statuary. 
 Let such persons who are in the habit of blushing at trifles, learn 
 rather to feel ashamed of their evil thoughts and besetting sins, for 
 they have certainly more need to blush at the pictures painted by 
 their own imagination, than at those executed by the cultivated 
 skill of an artist. 
 
 There are prominent publishing houses which would not print 
 a book that in plain, unvarnished language, exposed the evils of 
 society, and the underlying motives of human character. But 
 these same firms will fill their stores and flood the whole country 
 with miserable, trashy, sentimental literature, that instills into the 
 minds of people, especially the young, artful and cunning ideas of 
 refined wickedness; books that prematurely excite the imagination, 
 kindle the love passions, and fill the mind with rosy and over- 
 drawn pictures of life. May the Lord have mercy on those men 
 who use their brains and money chiefly to picture to the world 
 only the light, funny and frivolous side of human life! 
 
 Occasionally a sham-modest woman opens a school for fashion- 
 able young ladies, and takes great pains to teach them all that 
 pertains to their sphere of life, but would vigorously oppose the 
 introduction of a book that would open their eyes to what the 
 world is, what they are themselves by nature, and what they are 
 not by grace. In other words, a book that would give them a little 
 plain common-sense advice, which unfortunately those sham-modest 
 school-ma'ams never learned themselves, and partially for that rea- 
 son object to it. I have met just such women in my travels, and 
 particularly one who had a fashionable school in a partially eastern 
 and southern city. I lectured before her school, and three or four 
 of ker young ladies ordered a copy of my book (the first ^nd smftUf r 
 
SHAM MODESTY. 197 
 
 edition of this work), while the principal took the only copy I had 
 with me herself. I saw, or at least thought, she was one of the 
 sham-modest kind, and requested her to read the book through 
 from the beginning, and not take isolated paragraphs, which such 
 people are most sure to do. ''She did just the opposite, however; 
 glanced over the chapters she had evidently prejudged in her mind 
 to be improper for her dear, sweet, innocent girls to read, and sent 
 the girls' books back with a note, saying she was glad she had 
 looked at the book before the young ladies got theirs; that she 
 should never have forgiven herself if they had read those books; 
 putting ideas and information into their minds concerning things 
 which might exist, but, old as she was, she had never heard of 
 When I related this incident to two other prominent educators, 
 one a lady, the other a gentleman (the latter having a national 
 reputation), and who had read my book, they were surprised, and 
 laughed at the absurdity and ignorance of that fashionable school- 
 mistress. As to the pure-mindedness and innocence of her pupils, 
 which she claimed would be a sin to disturb or corrupt with the 
 information on certain subjects my book contained, and the kind of 
 training she was giving her girls by neglecting to talk to them on 
 the very subjects which they most needed to know, I leave the 
 reader to imagine, while I relate some of her girls' performances, 
 which she, being so modest or indifferent, or confiding as to their 
 natural and inherited goodness, was unaware of. Just before leaving 
 the city, I was asked by a lady to examine the head of her daugh- 
 ter, a young lady about fifteen years of age. She said she thought 
 of sending her to some seminary but hardly knew where; and then, 
 without any suggestions on my part, alluded to the school I have 
 been speaking of, saying she would not send her there, for that was 
 a sort of fashionable and flirting school, where young men met 
 some of the girls as they came out of school and escorted them 
 home; and that one day, as she was passing along the street, she 
 happened to look up at the windows, and saw two of those girls 
 with their heads outside, throwing kisses to some gentlemen Dn 
 the street. Of course, it would be a great pity to corrupt the 
 pure minds of such flirts as they were, by letting them read a book 
 that would give them a little wholesome advice. That was one 
 of the leading schools in a city of over three hundred thousand 
 
iqS sham modesty. 
 
 A g^entleman of high culture and refinement, connected with 
 educational work in the same city, who bought and read my work, 
 expressed himself one day, as I met him on the street, as highly 
 pleased with it; stating he had been reading it with much interest 
 to his family. In another city, a clergyman, who was a graduate of 
 Harvard College, expressed himself in a similar way. I merely 
 mention these individuals just referred to, in order to prove to the 
 reader, if possible, that what this seminary lady turned up her nose 
 at in my book, was simply plain, practical, common-sense truth, 
 which wounded her mock-modesty. 
 
 I remember meeting another of those over-modest, fastidious, 
 delicate, half-educated seminary principals, in Massachusetts, who 
 went so far as to tell me she did not think young ladies shouid 
 know anything about physiognomy; it was not a proper thing for 
 them to know. 1 presume the fact of the matter was, she knew 
 nothing about physiognomy herself, and, therefore, had just as 
 absurd ideas about it as some men I have met in places where I 
 have given public lectures, who would stop me on the street, or in 
 a store, and quietly ask me if my lecture on physiognomy was a fit 
 place to take a lady to. 
 
 When I think of these things I do not wonder at the bold re- 
 mark the principal of a high-school once made to me, when he said 
 that young ladies' boarding-schools were cesspools of iniquity. 
 While I should not put it quite so strong as that, yet I do b'-Jieve 
 that the starting point to a life of worthlessness, ruin or ill-health, 
 is often begun in such institutions, because girls are not taught 
 physiology as it should be, nor taught the nature of their own 
 organism. The result is, that through the reading of exciting 
 novels, they fall into habits of self-indulgence and abuse. In one 
 seminary where I lectured, a girl had found her way to the lunatic 
 asylum through lying in bed until two and three o'clock in the 
 morning reading novels. The principal had upbraided her several 
 times for not having her lessons, but she grew worse and worse 
 until her father was finally sent for to take her home, and from there 
 she went to the insane asylum. In another school where I lectured, 
 a young woman had been coaxed away by a young man, taken to 
 another city, seduced, and left in a house of prostitution. Oh! 
 these seminary young ladies are all innocent, pure-minded girls, 
 are they? Some of theip no doubt are in public and in private, and 
 
SttAM MODEStV. 1 90 
 
 Would continue so if left to themselves; but the old saying is too 
 true: "One bad sheep will spoil a whole flock." And when one or 
 two flirty, mischievous, artful, cunning, licentious girls get into a 
 school, they generally hoodwink their confiding, simple-minded, 
 know-nothing kind of teachers, and just raise the devil when they 
 are alone. They are all pretty good when under the eyes and 
 fingers of their teachers in the class-rooms. They put on a sober 
 face and look as meek and innocent as young chickens or lambs; 
 but let them get off by themselves and your chicken becomes an 
 old hen pretty quick. I would not be misunderstood, however, and 
 place all seminaries and all principals of such institutions in the 
 same category. There are a good many common-sense men and 
 women at the head of such institutions, who are pretty well versed 
 in human nature, and know how to manage lazy, cunning, thought- 
 less and wayward girls. Neither have I said what I have through 
 any feelings of prejudice or spite, for my relations with such 
 schools — and I have lectured in a great many of them — have 
 always been pleasant and agreeable. In fact, there are no schools 
 where my lectures are more heartily enjoyed than in young ladies* 
 seminaries. The chief difficulty I experience is, in sometimes 
 getting the principals to see the importance of such a lecture; and 
 the chief complaint 1 have against such schools, and, in fact, against 
 all schools is, that they do not pursue the right method of instruc- 
 tion and discipline; hence the vast amount of sham modesty with 
 all its attendant evils that exists in all classes of society. 
 
 I have thus far spoken of what may be termed sexual sham 
 modesty. There is another kind, which I propose to call sentimen- 
 tal sham modesty. I remember a lecturer telling the following 
 story some years ago: At a place where he dined, he was seated 
 opposite a young lady, who was so extremely delicate and modest 
 that she could not put a whole pea in her mouth at once, but must 
 needs cut it in two first. That was too much for the lecturer, and 
 feeling satisfied that there was more pretended than real modesty, 
 he resolved to watch her after dinner was over. He did so, and it 
 was not long before she made her way to the pantry, and, imagin- 
 ing herself secluded from observation, she commenced to finish her 
 dinner. She did not wait to cut the peas in two this time, but with 
 a tablespoon actually shoveled them down. This is but one illus- 
 tration of what takes place in every seminary where ladies and 
 
200 SHAM MODESTV. 
 
 gentlemen board, and eat at the same table. The ladies eat ffl 
 such a mincing manner that. they do not get more than half enough, 
 and so are always running to the pantry between meals (that is, 
 where the management is not too stingy to allow them enough to 
 eat, as is the case in some boarding schools). Would it not be 
 better for them to dispense with a little of their modest foolery, and 
 eat enough at the proper time? And would it not be more bene- 
 ficial if their instructors would give them a lecture on the absurdity 
 of such conduct, and the violation of physiological laws in regard 
 to eating, instead of lecturing them for speaking to the gentlemen 
 students on the streets, when they are allowed to converse with 
 them at the table ? 
 
 We occasionally meet persons who have a habit of pretending 
 they do not want an object or a position when they do, with the 
 expectation that it will be more freely given to them. Many an 
 office-seeker will not say he wants such a position — in fact, he 
 would hardly accept it if tendered to him; at the same time he is 
 just aching for it. Some persons will, for a time, loudly proclaim 
 against being the recipient of any presents or donations, but, finally, 
 their modesty gives way, and when a favorable opportunity is offered 
 they will take all they can get. Others will not mention their trials 
 and poverty till some other person speaks of them first, so as to 
 receive all the more sympathy when it is known. Though I do not 
 believe every person who refrains from speaking of his or her pov- 
 erty or sufferings has such a motive. 
 
 Some ministers, when they do not receive their salaries promptly, 
 or see a chance to get a larger one, inform their congregations that 
 they are very sorry duty calls them to leave, but they feel that some 
 other man would be more successful among them than they have 
 been, and that they think the Lord has called them to another and 
 more useful field of labor. The truth of the matter is, that the Lord 
 never called such men at all. Men who preach for salaries are 
 hirelings, who care more for their pockets, for the loaves and fishes, 
 than for the souls of men. They are in for a fat office, and they do 
 as fat men do, and say to themselves, "Soul, take thine ease." Just 
 as soon as ministers get fat salaries, they are spoiled for their work. 
 When men have all they want, they are not generally interested in 
 the wants of others. When a business man is hard up, he is the 
 most accommodating and neighborly man you wish to meet. But 
 
SHAM MODESTY. 201 
 
 as fioon as he gfets rich, or tn easy circumstances, he is independent 
 and indifferent; and just so it is with ministers. They hold up 
 Paul as an illustrious example, next to Christ in the grandeur of his 
 character, but very few of them think of imitating him in regard to 
 making their living. 
 
 I do not consider a minister should be allowed to want, or b*^ 
 troubled with financial embarrassment, nor do I believe God wiU 
 allow a man whom he has called to preach tlie gospel, to lack for 
 either bread or clothing. But when ministers become speculators 
 in real estate, or when a panic is sweeping over the land, and 
 church members are in straitened circumstances, they say to the 
 church, *'Pay me my salary, or 1 will leave," it is evident they arc 
 not loyal to the cause they jjrofess to advocate; and yet their false 
 modesty will manufacture some other excuse for their leaving. 
 Churches are about as much to blame as ministers in this respect, 
 for they offer tempting and immoderate salaries and inducements 
 to get an able man away from some other church, and if he accepts 
 their call, the wealthy members begin to lavish presents upon him, 
 as a sort of bribe, in order to be special favorites, till his brain is 
 turned upside down. The worst thing that can befall a minister, 
 with the exception of something criminal, is to become pastor of a 
 church that pays him a large salary, or else pets and idolizes him 
 till they make him a baby. There is a vast difference between 
 Christian love, which is modest and enduring in its manifestations, 
 and the excited outburst of feeling and admiration, which is 
 generally immodest in manner, corrupting in its effects, and as 
 changeable as the climate of Chicago; for no sooner does an 
 idolized pastor leave, than most of their ardor is withdrawn to be 
 concentrated on the one who takes his place. I was amused one 
 Sunday morning at a preacher in Worcester, Mass. He was begging 
 hard from his congregation for a certain sum of money, and they 
 were holding back just as hard as he was begging. Their responses 
 were few and slow, but his sham modesty would not let him talk to 
 them as they deserved, and no doubt he felt in his heart like doing 
 so. He mildly requested them not to be too modest in responding. 
 He ought to have told them not to be too stingy, for that is what 
 really ailed them. 
 
 I firmly believe, that to this false modesty or lack of mora) 
 courage, so prevalent among the clergy of the present day, may be 
 
'^(M ^MAM MODfeStV. 
 
 attnbuted much of the frivolity, sentimentalism, flirtative, fashion- 
 able foolery and irreligious tendency that exists in society. I 
 remember a clergyman, in whose pulpit I delivered a discourse one 
 evening, who refused to read a part of a chapter I had selected in 
 Proverbs, bearing on my subject. And it is nothing but ignorance 
 and sham modesty that prevents a large proportion of rehgious 
 people from being willing to hear or receive plain truth. When i 
 think of the army of preachers all over this continent who seem far 
 more willing to discuss some doctrinal point, or wander into the 
 fields of theological and metaphysical speculation, or interest them- 
 selves in delivering polished and sensational sermons, so as to draw 
 large audiences, than they are in preaching on those more vital and 
 every-day questions that pertain to the moral and social nature 
 from which springs man's present and future character, I say shame 
 on that kind of preaching. 
 
 There are some members, who, through that kind of feeling 
 which arises from sham modesty, are constantly asserting that they 
 do not feel conscious of having accomplished anything of them- 
 selves — the Lord has done it all; when, in reality, they are trying 
 through their remarks to draw people's attention to the work they 
 have done. Or, perhaps, they will say they consider themselves 
 the least among God's children, when, if some other member was to 
 tell them that, they would not have pleasant recollections of that 
 individual this side of the grave. If they meant and felt just what 
 they said, they would not be offended at another person telling 
 them what they regarded as the truth; hence, the sham modesty 
 of their remarks is apparent. 
 
 False modesty prevents men from declaring the truth as it ought 
 to be; induces them to keep back things or ideas they consider too 
 delicate to mention, but which ought to be known; prevents per- 
 sons from calling things by their plain Saxon names, like the girl 
 in school, who pronounced the word legacy liinbacy, because her 
 sister told her she should say limb instead of leg. 
 
 There is a tendency in the literature of the present day to be 
 over-nice and choice in their use of words. The idea is often lost in 
 the delicate network of fine, polished and agreeable language with 
 which it is clothed. I love prose poetry as much as any man, but ii 
 has its use and abuse like everything else. There is a time and place 
 for it, and there are times and subjects where it is inappropriate. 
 
SHAM MODESTY. 203 
 
 This literary species of sham modesty affects conversation as well 
 and rriiders some persons so fastidious in that art, th.it for fear ot 
 inele^aTice in their expressions they make social conversation a 
 task; are more cautions as to what they say and how they say it, chan 
 they would be in getting married. Public speakers are too often 
 affected in this way also, and the hesitating, studied and laborious 
 manner in which they speak is so clearly impressed upon their 
 audiences, that it robs their discourses of one half of their effect and 
 power. I would rather hear a man make a grammatical blunder or 
 use a common-place expression occasionally and go right along 
 with his discourse, speaking from the heart to the heart, than to 
 have him stop and mentally chew his words over two or three times 
 before he could make up his mind how to express himself; because 
 my attention is at once drawn from the idea to the language he 
 uses. I care not how well educated a man is, he is liable to make 
 grammatical mistakes in preaching or lecturing, especially if he 
 speaks extempore as every public speaker ought to do. I was once 
 criticised by a public school principal in Chicago, for using before 
 his pupils an ungrammatical expression. My m;nd was so ii tent 
 on the subject 1 was illustrating that I did not think about the best 
 choice of words. He told the principal of one of the other schools 
 where I was going to lecture about it, and that intelligent dignitary 
 wrote a note to me declining my services. But if he had been as 
 modest about how words are written as he was about how they are 
 spoken, he would have got one of his scholars to have wi itten the 
 note for him. For it was the worst specimen of penmanship for a 
 high school principal I ever saw, and when I alluded to the matter 
 to the superintendent, he remarked he did not think writing of 
 much importance as a qualification for a piincipal, or words to that 
 effect. I always thought that reading, writing, spelling and arith- 
 metic were the four principal branches of a public school education. 
 But I presume in these days of refinement that Latin, German, 
 drawing, elocution and music are more essential to nine-tenths of 
 public school children who have to make their living in some 
 industrial pursuit. One of the most amusing and ridiculous gram- 
 matical blunders I ever heard was by the principal of a high school 
 while giving a lesson in English grammar to all the teachers of the 
 various schools in the city. For if there is any class of persons 
 upon whoiij tlie duty qf using correct English is mgre urgent thil) 
 
204 SHAM MODESTY. 
 
 others, it is teachers, especially when giving a lesson on that art. 
 He had been writing sentences on the blackboard to illustrate his 
 subject, and in the course of his explanatory remarks made use of 
 the expression, '* away down below the bottom." Of course the 
 man knew better, it being simply a thoughtless slip of the tongue, 
 and that is the way with public speakers (generally. Something 
 like a Vassar College young lady, whose mother was boarding at 
 the same house where I stopped for a short time in Poughkeepsie. 
 She came to see her mother one Saturday and took dinner with us. 
 She was bright and lively as a squirrel, and one of their best 
 students. During her conversation at the table, she had occasion 
 to refer to a rain storm, and to emphasize the way those heavenly 
 drops descended upon her intelligent head, she used a common but 
 unmeaning expression," It rained like pitch-forks." Her pious moth- 
 er winked and smiled over it. Everybody at the table knew there 
 was no sense in such a remark, and the young lady herself also knew 
 it was not proper. But it served to create a little mirth and pro- 
 duced more animation and interest in what she said than if she 
 had put on a sober face and in a cold, precise way said it rained 
 very hard or very fast. It was also a relief to her mind to get out 
 of college talk for a few hours, into common-place, social talk. 
 I do not recommend, however, that people should make a free use 
 of slang phrases. 
 
 False modesty prevents free and social intercourse between the 
 sexes. That is, they do not act and feel at ease when in conversa- 
 tion in each other's company, unless quite familiar. Their whole 
 manner is restrained and constrained, just because they assume a 
 character that does not belong to them. It is unnatural. They 
 act differently when alone at home. It is astonishing how sham 
 modesty will make its victims suffer. Go to any sociable or party, 
 and there you will see it active in nearly every person you meet. 
 Some of them are so modest they v.re afraid to speak, for fear 
 they will do or say something not exactly modest. Poor creatures! 
 If they were to see their country cousins romping over fields, and 
 climbing fences, they would be shocked speechless; and yet coun- 
 try girls love and enjoy health, freedom and pleasure, which city 
 girls are too modest to enjoy. It is to be hoped that the day is not 
 far distant, when men and women can converse on any subject 
 without the blush of guilty shame mantling their cheeks. False 
 
SHAM MODESTY. 20$ 
 
 modesty is the mother of sexual ignorance, and the indirect cause 
 of a vast amount of sin and suffering. It is a thick vail thrown 
 over human nature, confining ignorance, excluding knowledge, and 
 rendering it impossible to look within. 
 
 1 have frequently been amused at the manner in which some 
 persons represent their business or mode of living, in order to 
 ap[)ear as high-toned and stylish as possible. They do not like tc 
 state their exact condition, and so represent their business relations 
 in a different light from what they are. There are numerous cases 
 in large cities, especially Chicago, where families in good society, 
 finding it difficult to meet their expenses, will take two or three 
 select boarders, but to prevent the name of "boarding-house" 
 being applied to them (as though that was anything to be ashamed 
 of) they tell their acquaintances that they have more room than 
 they need, and it is so much pleasanter to have a few friends living 
 with them ! 
 
 Centuries ago, men and women were grosser in thought and 
 feeling and the expression of their sentiments, than the present 
 generation is. Nowadays, people go to the other extreme, and are 
 altogether too nice and sentimental. If works were published, 
 containing language similar to that used by writers in past ages, 
 and suggestive of impure thoughts, their authors would be exe- 
 crated, if not imprisoned; and yet the objectionable portion of the 
 poetical works of such writers as Byron and Shakespeare are re- 
 tain<!d and perused at the present day. So I consider sham modesty 
 to be partially an outgrowth of sentimentalism. 
 
 The temper of society seems to warrant the impression that 
 persons, especially men. may be as wicked as they like (except in 
 criminal acts), providing thc\' are smart and shrewd enough to do 
 it in a secret manner, so that their deeds are not conspicuous 
 enough to cause them to lose their good name or become the 
 subjects of conversation in that respect. A man may dissipate as 
 much as he pleases, and then by straightening his course, and 
 regulating his habits anu general conduct, can marry one of the 
 best and finest of young ladies. But let a young woman do the 
 same thing, and her good name is lost, her conduct severely criti- 
 cised, and her reputation is objectionable to all who know her. 
 The young man can find his way back into society, but the young 
 lady may find her way out as quick as possible. And, in many 
 
2o6 SHAM MODESTY. 
 
 instances, these very men who have been sowing their wild oats, 
 are the first to speak against the character of a similar class of 
 young ladies, which their reckless life has been the means of bring- 
 ing them in contact with; yea, the probability is, that they are the 
 individuals whose influence has been the chief cause of their mis- 
 demeanor. Thus, false modesty in society virtually says: "Young 
 man, go ahead; be as full of the devil as you please, for a time; 
 then sober down and marry a good woman, and society will respect 
 and receive you with outstretched arms." But its language to a 
 woman is somewhat different. It practically says to her: **If you 
 once step off the Irack, or even do anything that will cause suspi- 
 cion, your fate i? sealed, and there is no more room for you in 
 social gatherin;j-j ' 
 
 Sham modesty has even interfered with the practice of kissing. 
 In older, tip'ies it was customary to salute one another in that 
 manner; ?>nd the Apostle Paul, in closing most of his epistles, 
 particularly enjoined upon the churches to greet one another with 
 a holy kiss. So it is evident that either Judas must have rendered 
 kissing objectionable, or else Christians nowadays have not love 
 and friendship enough for one another to do so. 
 
 A kiss ought to be one of the purest and sweetest things in the 
 world. But it would be rather difficult to get a sweet kiss from a 
 great many men, who seem to think tobacco is much sweeter, and 
 so render their mouths and lips more disgusting than that of a hog. 
 And there are plenty of women from whom a kiss would not be 
 very sweet either, judging from the odor of their breath. 
 
 There is considerable kissing between women, however, prac- 
 ticed through mere politeness, habit, affectation or fashion. And 
 it has considerable of the Judas taint about it, for young women 
 will kiss each other when, perhaps, they have more hate than love 
 in their hearts. They will kiss on the streets, at parties, in public 
 assemblies, in the sanctuary, in fact, anywhere and everywhere, and 
 then go off and back-bite, and tell each other's secrets and confi- 
 dences. They would not kiss a gentleman on any condition, unless 
 engaged to him. It would not be modest to do so, but they deem 
 it quite modest to kiss an acquaintance of their own sex, out of 
 mere pretense, just to show off, and at the same time preach a 
 short sermon to the gentlemen, viz.: "Whatever ye would th^t 
 others shoyld dp unto you, do ye evep so yntp them," 
 
SHAM MODESTY. ^^1 
 
 According to a newspaper statement, a certain female lecturer 
 stated to her audience that a younf^ lady should not kiss a gentle- 
 man, unless she was engaged to him, and then not oftener than 
 once a month. That seems to me too much like reducing kissing 
 to a mathematical science; and as the affections are the farthest 
 removed from, and most unlike mathematics of anything in the 
 world, I decidedly object to reducing that fine and delightful art 
 to any such arbitrary rules. I feel as though I would like to say 
 something on this important and much-abused subject, but writing 
 on kissing is something like writing on love. Some years ago, I 
 thought I would write some verses on that sweet, soothing, precious 
 article called love; but after I had written one verse, I concluded I 
 had an elephant on my hands, and gave it up in despair. There 
 are a few thoughts, however, I would like to offer on the subject 
 of kissing. In the first place, kissing is both an art and a science 
 (social science). There is an art in doing it, and a science in the 
 cause or nature and use of kisses. I question if there are more 
 than two or three men out of fifty who know how to kiss, but 
 there are plenty who know how to slobber. Women are by far the 
 sweetest, prettiest and most graceful kissers, especially when their 
 hearts are in tune with their lips. Rut the average man drops 
 down on a woman's mouth and snatches a kiss as though he were 
 trying to catch a chicken or grab a frog. Kissing is something like 
 eating in one respect: it should never be done in a hurry. Smack- 
 ing is not kissing; there is no soul-magnetism, no rushing oi the 
 two spirits together, in catching a woman schoolboy-fashion, and 
 stealing it in any way you can get it. There may be some fun and 
 exercise about such performances, as usually occur on picnic days, 
 but there is no soul satisfaction about it. 
 
 Tony, sham-modest persons who go to picnics, will stand by 
 and watch the partici[)ants of a kissing game with a sort of jealous 
 contempt, but would have no objections if they could kiss or be 
 kissed on the sly, behind the door, in the corner, or in some room 
 secluded from the gaze of others. As to the view taken by some, 
 that a young lady should never i?idulge in kissing until married, or 
 at least engaged, I consider it a species of false modesty, or false 
 teaching at any rate, for it is contrary to the law of nature. Where 
 the affections are well developed, kissing is as natural as breathing; 
 and if the moral character is good, and the social nature has been 
 
208 SHAM MODESTY. 
 
 properly educated, should be as pure as the air we breathe. What 
 is kissing but the breathing of the affections of the heart? The 
 lips are really the lungs of the affections. Tennyson beautifully 
 expresses that when he says: 
 
 "And our spirits rushed together 
 At the touching of the lips." 
 
 But there are some people with cold natures, or rigid, cast-iron 
 ideas, who would have us believe that kissing is an act that should 
 be regulated by marriage laws, just the same as passion is; but the 
 desire for kissing is a higher and nobler impulse than passion. It 
 occupies a higher place in the affections, because tiie desire for or 
 love of it springs from the organ of conjugality, which is higher 
 up in the brain than amativeness. If the feelings of pcoj)le were 
 properly educated on this subject, and there was no sham moilcsty 
 existing, kissing might be more generally practiced with far less 
 harm than it often is. The idea that women can kiss cat«5 and dogs 
 (as I have seen them do), but not men, seems to me rather absurd. 
 And the woman who can lavish her affections and kisses on the 
 rat-catching mouth of a cat is hardly fit to kiss a decent man .iny- 
 how. Such actions go to show the natural impulse and desire 
 there is in human nature to kiss whatever object it likes, like the 
 small, bright, affectionate little boy I saw at the seashore, who was 
 just running over with animal spirits, and picking up the cat one 
 day, he said: "I want to kiss her right square in the mouth." Now 
 to say that a boy with an affectionate nature as he had, after he 
 becomes a young man, is not fit to kiss a young lady unless en- 
 gaged to her, is something like trying to smother a man to death 
 before his time comes to die. It is just such nonsensical -society 
 rules as this, that make young girls and men with warm n.itures 
 in such a desperate hurry to get married. And I have no doubt 
 but young men have become engaged to these prudish young 
 women, who will neither kiss nor be kissed until a promise of mar- 
 riage is made, just for the sake of more social freedom, without 
 ever intending to fulfill their promises. Some men who have easy 
 consciences, are very accommodating to young women with old- 
 maidish notions; and if it was necessary to get engaged to have 
 full social enjoyment with such an one, they would do so. ami then 
 break it off and leave the woman heart-broken, whenever ihey saw 
 another woman they really wanted to marry. 
 
ST!AM MODESTY. 20C 
 
 If kissing^ girls, however, was not attended with more pleasure 
 than I received when trying it several years ago, there would not 
 be much of it done. I was acquainted with a good-looking young 
 lady, having beautiful eyes and lips; and in my youthful day- 
 dreams I thought to myself that the bliss of kissing those ruby lips 
 would be almost equal to passing through the gates of Paradise. 
 So with her consent I tried it, but I can assure my reader one or 
 two applications were quite sufficient. Her breath was too strong, 
 I could not stand it. The sense of smell overcame the sense of 
 feeling. There was no rushing together of spirits, as Tennyson 
 ex])resses it; my spirit rushed back to its inner chamber and very 
 soon cooled down. Pretty soon afterward, she wanted to know 
 what made me so cool, and why I did not talk more. I replied, *'I 
 do not feel like talking." She insisted on knowing what the matter 
 was. I told her I did not like to tell her; but she would not take 
 No for an answer. Said I: "Will you promise me faithfully you 
 will not take offense if I do." No, she certainly would not. "Well," 
 said I, "your breath is strong enough to knock a man over." She 
 said her mother had told her that her breath was not as sweet as it 
 might be; but notwithstanding her mother and I agreed, she broke 
 her promise, became mad and mortified, and took the first street- 
 car for home. A day or two afterward she sent me a note, stating 
 she thought it was time for our acquaintance to cease (no engage- 
 ment 04- even courtship in this case), and that I was not half as nice 
 as she thought I was. That was just what I thought about her, 
 and 1 was very glad to get such a note. But she soon changed 
 her mind, went to the dentist and had her teeth pulled out, but not 
 her bad breath, and then came round again. But I felt I had had 
 enough. I w^as something like the preacher who had rabbit at a 
 certain place so often for dinner that he was completely sick of it. 
 So one day, being asked to say grace, he responded in language 
 similar to the following: "We thank thee. Lord, for the bounties 
 of thy Providence, and for all the blessings we receive; but for 
 rabbits hot and rabbits cold, for rabbits young and rabbits old, 
 for rabbits tender and rabbits tough, we think, O Lord, we've 
 had enough." 
 
 My next experience in kissing was with a young lady who had 
 painted her lips. They looked so red and tempting that I felt 
 constrained to try it once more. Juffis"^ it to say it wi^ ^^e most 
 
210 SHAM MODESTY. 
 
 tasty kiss I ever had, for I could taste it and smell it an hour or 
 two afterward. In fact, I could not get rid of it till I went and 
 washed my face. Then I thought of the experience of a lady in a 
 boarding-house in Philadelphia, and the description she gave of a 
 young lady friend of Hers, who was in the habit (as many are) of 
 painting her lips. She said that whenever she kissed her she 
 could taste the coloring afterward; and, said she, "You ought to 
 see her eat oysters." Then opening her mouth and raising her 
 hand, she showed how the girl would twist an Oyster round to get 
 it in without touching her painted lips. Finally I began to wonder 
 why it was I had such unpleasant experiences and bad luck in 
 kissing, for even the poor oysters seemed to be more fortunate in 
 gliding round a woman's lips than I was. It was a perplexing 
 puz^zle to me, and I never could solve the question till I went into 
 a lunatic asylum some years afterward, and a crazy colored woman 
 told me, or remarked as I passed by, that I was too sweet for any- 
 thing! I began to think there was more truth than poetry in that 
 remark, and that probably I had been a little too aesthetic in my taste 
 — had been looking for an angel to kiss, and had forgotten there were 
 no angels in this world in human form. But all at once the advice- 
 of a female lecturer to a portion of her audience flashed across my 
 mind. Said she: "Get married, young men, get married; do not 
 wait for the girls to be angels. You would look well beside angels, 
 wouldn't you, you brutes!" So I concluded it was folly to be too 
 particular in this sin-cursed world, and the next time I took a 
 young lady friend home, I made up my mind to have one more 
 trial; for I had been taught in my childhood the old adage, "If at 
 first you do n't succeed, try, try again," and I saw no reason why 
 it should not be applied to kissing as well as to anything else. I 
 was determined, however, not to be fooled with bad breath and 
 painted lips any more. Because I do not believe in kissing for the 
 same reason the old Romans did, who never kissed their wives 
 except as an excuse to smell their breath and ascertain if they had 
 been drinking. Hence, being positive my lady friend had a sweet 
 breath and clean lips, I congratulated myself on the pleasure of a 
 sweet, good-night kiss; so arriving at the house and entering the 
 hall, I asked her if she was ready to receive the good-night bene- 
 diction. She said she did not exactly understand what that was. 
 '*Well/' said I, "will you periDJt me to instruct you?" She coolly 
 
SHAM MODESTY. 211 
 
 4ssented, and I made the attempt to bestow the blessing, but the 
 light in the hall had gone out, and I could not see very well, and 
 her lips were so thin and her mouth so small (which accounted for 
 her being so cool) that I could not for the life of me tell where to 
 kiss, and just went bobbing and gliding around her face from one 
 place to another, like a hungry mosquito trying to find out where 
 to bite. At last I cried out in despair, "Susan, have you not got any 
 lips?" "Not for kissing," said she. I believed her, and started for 
 home, having no desire to give thanks and ask for another, as the 
 over-modest preacher did who had been courting a lady some 
 years and had never ventured to kiss her. He was an exception, 
 of course, to the average preacher, but eventually he remarked one 
 evening to his sweetheart that he had learned that young people who 
 were keeping company occasionally kissed each other, and would she 
 have any objection. <* "Certainly not," was the prompt reply (for I pre- 
 sume the poor creature had been waiting for and expecting it two 
 or three years). Then saluting her in true Christian fashion, and 
 remembering his calling at the same time, and that all acts should 
 be accompaniejd with prayer, and receive the sanction of heaven, 
 said he, "Let us return thanks, and take another." But, alas, I 
 could not conscientiously do that, because I received nothing to 
 return thanks for. I did not get even the shadow of a kiss, and as 
 I walked home I felt more like praying, "Lord, make women with 
 mouths fit to kiss, or else remodel me." My advice in a condensed 
 form to all who wish to kiss or be kissed in a proper manner is, be 
 sure you find a person with a sweet breath, and lips that are clean 
 and healthy, and full enough to receive the impression. For I can 
 assure the reader that there are a large number of people in the 
 world who do not enjoy kissing, and a still greater number who 
 are neither fit to kiss nor be kissed. 
 
 Another absurd and unhealthy habit of kissing with women, 
 which is even worse and more stupid than the cat and dog business, 
 is the kissing of dead folks. What possible pleasure can there be 
 to a living person to perform such an act.? and as far as the dead 
 are concerned, they might as well kiss a bed-post; and as far as 
 their own health is concerned, it would be much better for them to 
 do so. I heard of one woman who got the small-pox by kissing a 
 man who died with it. She was probably more anxious to kiss him 
 after he was dead than when he was living. I cannot speak posi- 
 
^v2 mAU uomsn, 
 
 lively, but 1 believe there are plenty of marrfed people who do tioi 
 kiss each other from one year's end to the other. Where there is 
 little love there is little kissing; but where there is much love there 
 will be proportionately much kissing. And I should certainly think 
 it a little more sensible to kiss living men than corpses, cats, dogs, 
 and persons of their own sex, as the women do, just for pretense and 
 display. And that man or woman who has no taste or desire to 
 kiss or be kissed, is lacking in the development of the affectional 
 nature; such a person is not well balanced in the social character, is 
 deficient in the organ of conjugality and a warm, confiding nature. 
 
 But the trouble is, the social nature of young people is not 
 properly educated. We have schools and colleges to tea^h almost 
 everything else, but none to properly instruct young men and 
 women how to use, develop, give vent to or restrain the natural 
 promptings of the heart. Were this done, most of the flirtation, 
 prostitution and dissipation, yea, even crimes, that now ^:urse the 
 world, would not exist. The affections are like rivers, and you 
 cannot dam them up. And if they do not empty into the ocean 
 of life through the right channel, they will, most assure(>^f, »un in 
 the wrong channel 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS. GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 Oppctsites ■ Law of Nature— This tame Law Applies to Haman Spirits — Kindred Spirits 
 Flock Together and Corrupt each other- What a Man Soweth that shall he also 
 Reap — Incident to Illustrate the Fear of Guilt — Three Things to Notice in Connec- 
 tion with Spirits— Their Uirth, Looks and Doings — Evil Hereditary in a Large 
 Measure— Some Spirits are Born Bad — Some Become Bad through Evil Association 
 —Some through Defective Education — Low Theaters — Filthy Conversation — Bad 
 Company — The Case of a Young Lady in Canada — Good Spirits are Born and 
 Raised through Good Parents and the right kind of Education — The Trouble with 
 the Majority of Schools — Evil Spirits are Forever Doing Something to Curse Man- 
 kind — Three ways of Showing up Character — By Action, Voice and Expression — 
 The Influence of a Selfish Nature does not last long— Every Man the Architect of 
 his own Character- Hot Sinners and Cold Sinners — Illustrations of both Kinds — 
 Young Lady in California — Piano Tuner — How to tell whether one's own Spirit is 
 Good or Bad— A Man's Face the Picture of his Soul Different Kinds of Wicked 
 ness Produce Different Kinds of F'acial Expression — Good and Bad Souls can be 
 Felt as well as Seen — The Triune Method of Reading Character— Phrenology, 
 Physiognomy and Psychology — The Electrical Power Thrown off by Persons and 
 Audiences — Illustrations of this — How Bad Spirits can be Detected — Blonde and 
 Brunette Wickedness or Goodness — The Human Family, as a whole. Resembles 
 the St&rry FirmamenL 
 
 There sie some spirits, sweet and pare. 
 
 Whose holy fragrance fills the earth. 
 While others seem but to allure, 
 
 With subtle arts to sin and death. 
 
 Opposites seem to be a law of nature, and in the moral world 
 there are two great opposites, the good and the bad. In regard to 
 the philosophy of evil, its origin, and the reason why it was permit- 
 ted to show its hideous form in this beautiful world of ours, I shall 
 not attempt to offer any theories; but proceed to draw a contrast 
 between the two forces, good and evil, as manifested in their modi- 
 fied forms in human life and conduct. 
 
 It is not many years after birth before the spirit of an individual 
 gives signs and evidences of its natural character and tendencies. 
 The very looks, as well as language and actions of children, reveal 
 what is within them. Water will run no higher than its own level, 
 tifikus forced, neither will the soul rise above its natural mornl 
 
214 mm An sFfRrfs. aood ajt© bab. 
 
 level, unless it be lifted up by the power of external Influence and 
 education. For this reason, children, not bein^ inwardly restrained 
 or constrained by that kind of knowledge which comes from years 
 of experience and instruction, generally give vent to their feelings 
 and impulses, and if left to themselves, they will act out their 
 natural or inherited dispositions. 
 
 The diversity of dispositions in youth must be apparent to every 
 observer, and they can easily be divided into two classes, the good 
 and the bad. School teachers soon learn the bent of a pupil's mind: 
 one is full of mischief and nonsense; another is perverse and disa- 
 greeable, hard to manage, or to do anything with; another is lazy 
 and indifferent; while still another is docile, amiable, and thoughtful 
 — the teacher's pride and joy. 
 
 The good spirit in childhood is easily controlled and readily 
 responds to good and higher influences. The bad spirit is not only 
 troublesome, but a constant burden to whosoever has the training 
 of it; and like as the twig is bent, will the tree be formed, so as the 
 youthful mind is inclined, will the character be fixed, unless changed 
 by culture. As the snowball gathers and enlarges as it is pushed 
 along the path, so spirits good and bad grow better or worse, as 
 the years of their existence roll on. What seemed but a little mole- 
 hill of sin in the child, becomes a mountain of iniquity in the adult. 
 Silently but surely the forces of evil corrupt the passions and trans- 
 form the soul from good to bad, and from the image of its Creator 
 to that of its master, the Devil. Spirits good and bad surround us 
 on every hand; they gaze into our faces wherever we go, and im- 
 press us with their good or evil influences and motives. The one 
 inspires us with noble thoughts and desires, the other insinuates 
 distrust and unholy thoughts; the one soothes and comforts us, the 
 other suggests and bewilders; the one is like an aroma of sweetness, 
 the other is like an offensive effluvia; the one we love, the other we 
 dislike. Our likes and dislikes, however, will depend upon what 
 we are ourselves; if our own spirits are good, we will love the good; 
 but if evil we will love the bad. Birds of a feather flock together, 
 and kindred spirits will be attracted to each other, whether good 
 or bad. Society runs in classes and cliques, from that of the boot- 
 black to that of the president or king upon his throne. No matter 
 bow cold the day boot-blacks in our large cities will congregate on 
 the corners of the priocipal streets in groups from two upwards, 
 
xS'y 
 
 PETER COOPER. 
 
 An honest face, and a plain, unassuming, practical, common-sense, good-natured soul. 
 He has the oblong face. The eye expresses goodness, tenderness of feeling and sympathy. 
 The mouth expresses a pleasant disposition, an affectionate nature. His successful busi« 
 ness career, and unselfish, generous nature, has made his name a household word. The 
 expression of the face, as a whole, is a good illustration of what I call Religious Nature' 
 which is defined among the phrenological organs in the latter part of this book. 
 
<.v^ 
 
 An American General, whose name I do not know — one of the early Indian fighters. 
 Observe how high the fore part of the head is, and its sloping toward the back, which 
 ipdicates a sympathetic nature and strong liberal sentiments, that frequently incline a 
 man to the Universalist or Unitarian belief. When the head is much higher in the rear 
 than in the top part, the individual is more inclined to a set, stationary and orthodox form 
 of religion; that is, providing he or she becomes religious. The whole face is expressive 
 of kindness and goodness, with a fine and energetic mind. 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD ANi> BAD. 2\J 
 
 even though they may wrangle and quarrel half the time. There 
 seems to be a common bond of union that instinctively draws them 
 together, however much they may oppose each other in their busi- 
 ness or feelings. They become kindred spirits in their mode of life, 
 aims, tastes, and desires. In like manner there is a sympathy be- 
 tween wicked spirits, because their natures are similar, even though 
 they may dislike each other in some respects; and they will even 
 love a wicked place better than a good place, because it is more 
 congenial. Like loves like. 
 
 Whoever heard of a bad man or woman enjoying a prayer-meet- 
 ing I Talk about hell! It would be hell on earth to a really bad 
 man to compel him to go to a prayer-meeting. Five minutes in 
 such a place would seem Ifke five hours. He could sit on a picket 
 fence and watch a game of base-ball or a horse-race for a whole 
 hour, much easier than he could sit on a cushioned seat in a prayer- 
 meeting for a few minutes. Yes, he could be contented in an 
 uncomfortable seat watching some worldly sport, but sit him down 
 to listen to something sacred, or perhaps condemnatory of his life 
 and character, and he would wriggle all over the seat — the most 
 uneasy and restless mortal you ever saw. Like a young man I 
 remember, who boarded where I did once. He was nice and 
 attractive in some respects, but decidedly fast. He was anxious 
 to get me into a billiard hall and similar places, and I was equally 
 as anxious to get him into a Sunday-school. One Sabbath after- 
 noon I succeeded in getting him to go to a Sabbath-schooL I 
 managed to keep him there long enough to listen to the singing 
 of the opening exercises; but he was out of his sphere and social 
 element, and would, no doubt, have felt more at home in a pen- 
 itentiary. 
 
 Bad people cannot endure the society of good people in this life 
 and world; the two cannot associate and form companionships any 
 more than oil and water can be united. Yet, strange to say, bad 
 people all expect or hope to get to heaven where the good, whose 
 society the wicked cannot endure on earth, alone can go. What 
 kind of a heaven or hell would that be with a mixture of good and 
 evil spirits through the ceaseless ages of eternity ? 
 
 The life and character of a person is determined to a great 
 extent by the kind of spirits he has come in contact with, and been 
 influenced by, especially in his youthful days. Mind acts upon 
 
2iS HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 mind, either for good or evil, and we are so marvelously suscepti- 
 ble to mental impressions, that unconsciously we become psychol- 
 ogised or soul-influenced even by individuals of little power and 
 capacity. It becomes us, therefore, to know for our own good and 
 protection the character of the spirits that seek to impress us, or 
 become our acquaintances and associates. We cannot afford to be 
 spiritually blind, either to our own spiritual nature or that of others; 
 for not merely the present, but eternal life and happiness hang upon 
 this question of soul-influence. To know and discern the good and 
 the bad, then, is the paramount duty of all; and to aid us in dis- 
 criminating between the two, the Almighty has portrayed and fixed 
 the character of every soul upon its physical form, especially the 
 face. In other words, he has given to us the science of physiog- 
 nomy which, like a mirror, faithfully reflects the likeness or charac- 
 ter that is thrown upon it. Thoughts first stamp themselves upon 
 the soul,, which is more sensitive than the body, and are not at first 
 fixed upon the countenance; but as some writer has said, "Time 
 at length makes all things even," so the thoughts that are oft re- 
 peated and cherished in the heart grow into mental rivers and form 
 for themselves channels, which constantly coursing through the 
 soul, begin through the electricity of the body to act upon the brain 
 cells and nervous system, and which in turn acts upon the muscles 
 and through them reaches the exterior of the body, and become 
 visible to the naked eye. Thus the immaterial is brought to light 
 through the material, and all earthly spirits are made to reveal their 
 hidden characters. As there are wicked and ugly souls, so there 
 are wicked and ugly faces which become all the more hideous as 
 age creeps over them. They never ascend, but always descend in 
 their character and appearance. It is not in the nature of bad and 
 ugly things to improve or progress, but rather to deteriorate and 
 go down, down, down I There are good and lovely souls accompa- 
 nied by good and lovable forms. The one never misrepresents the 
 other, for figs do not grow on thorns and thistles; neither do pure, 
 good looking faces grow on polluted souls. Nature never lies; she 
 is ever true to herself. A man's tongue may lie, but his face never, 
 no, never ! 
 
 " Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap,** is as true 
 of his facial expression as of his rewards and punishment. Sad 
 thought for the evil-doer, but bright and joyous for the pure io 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. '2ig 
 
 heart. To be known to our fellow creatures as well as to our 
 Creator, and to carry on our faces our own recommendations, is a 
 comfort and a blessing to all right thinking and acting people. But 
 as men love darkness rather than light, so they love ignorance 
 rather than knowledge; and it is this class of people who would fain 
 hide their faces, or rather the language written on them. To be 
 known to others as they know themselves, horrifies and enrages 
 them, and they naturally shrink from the acceptance of phrenolog- 
 ical or physiognomical truth as a thief shrinks from the camera of a 
 photographer. 
 
 Evil-doers do not like even their actions criticised or observed, 
 much less their faces. To be watched, annoys and aggravates them 
 beyond endurance. Like a group of young men I noticed on a 
 street corner in Chicago, one night. Their manner indicated some- 
 thing wrong as to their characters and motives, so I stood on the 
 opposite corner and watched them for a minute or two, which so 
 excited and enraged them that they gave vent to threatening lan- 
 guage. This at once confirmed my opinion of them, because if they 
 had been good and peaceable citizens, they would have taken no 
 notice of me, and would not even have imagined themselves being 
 watched. But the conscience of evil-doers, designers, plotters, 
 and schemers (that is, if it is not dead) terrifies them, and makes 
 them suspicious and afraid almost of their own shadows; "for the 
 wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are as bold 
 as a lion." 
 
 A pick-pocket was standing on the corner of a prominent 
 street in Philadelphia, one morning, waiting, I suppose, for a vic- 
 tim, as a gentleman who used to be a detective and myself passed 
 along on the other side of the street. My friend, the ex-detective, 
 noticed him and instantly stopped and gave him a sharp and search- 
 ing look. That was enough. The thief saw him, and quietly but 
 quickly made his way down the street. My acquaintance remarked 
 afterwards that he could easily pick out those characters, and 
 frighten them off And why, let me ask, could he so readily recog- 
 nize those characters from others without personally knowing them.? 
 1 reply, because there was something in their looks and actions that 
 indicated just what they were. There was no other earthly way by 
 which he or anybody else could distinguish them from others but 
 by their manner and appeiyraace. 
 
r/0 mmAf9 snnm, aoet) Afm baa. 
 
 It was the external manifestation of their character that made 
 
 them conspicuous, and it is this visible manifestation of character 
 in face, form, and manner, that makes us all like or dislike every 
 stranger we meet; and if it were not for this fact that every soul 
 reveals its character through the body, I do not see why everybody 
 should not look alike or very nearly so (because it is a law in 
 nature that the more perfect any species is, the greater its variety). 
 We find as great a variety of dispositions and characters, as we 
 do bodies and faces; and wherever we find similar forms we also 
 discover characters which are similar; thus form and character are 
 inseparably connected, the one cannot exist without the other. 
 
 There are three things I wish to notice and contrast in good 
 and bad spirits, viz.: their birth, looks and doings. Bad spirits are 
 begotten through the bad thoughts and habits of their parents, and 
 good spirits through the good thoughts and habits of their parents. 
 Like begets like; purity produces^ purity; love excites love; and 
 wickedness brings forth nothing but wickedness. And as murder 
 will out, or come to light; as love will reveal itself like the light of 
 the sun, so evil natures will be made manifest in succeeding gener- 
 ations. The rising generation is the moral photograph of the 
 preceding one; it is the past reflected on the horizon of the future, 
 and the great mistake of mankind is in living only for themselves 
 and the present, thoughtless of the future, and the generation to 
 come after them. Self-gratification is the great adversary of future 
 happiness; it deals only with the present, being indifferent to the 
 past and unconscious about the future; hence it is that men rush 
 heedlessly along the pathway of life, and plunge into matrimonial 
 relationship with never a thought as to what will be the result of 
 their conduct. Then blinded by passion and lust they rock their 
 sinful souls in the cradle of self-indulgence, and when in after years 
 the living objects of their folly stare them in the face, they are 
 startled, and in wonder and amazement ask. How can these things 
 be? The middle-aged as well as young men and women who sow 
 their wild oats, may rest assured that their sins will find them out. 
 They may keep and cherish their evil thoughts and purposes to 
 themselves, and conce^il from their neighbors their bad practices, 
 but nature will some day stamp them on the souls of their children, 
 and engrave them upon their faces. The guilty shall not go un- 
 oimished; they and their cbildreo will bear the mark of sin upon 
 
tfiem, just as surely a§ did Cain and the descendants of Mam. The 
 Almighty has declared that he will visit the iniquities of the fathers 
 upon the children unto the third and fourth generations. Do you 
 ask me for proof? Look around you and all over the land, and 
 behold the diseased, enfeebled, suffering, sin-cursed specimens of 
 humanity that abound everywhere ! Then look into the faces of the 
 thousands you meet, and observe the dull, stupid, ignorant, idiotic, 
 insane, fast, licentious, and God-forsaken look that many of them 
 hang out upon their countenances, and tell me if the soul does not 
 cast its image upon the face, and the parent transmit his character 
 to the unborn child. I assert and think the world proves it, that a 
 large proportion, perhaps the largest, of unclean spirits that infest 
 society, have inherited their evil natures from their parents or 
 great grand parents; that they are born into this world with a 
 polluted, corrupted, and devilish nature — one that is extremely 
 susceptible to evil, but not to good; and one that will gradually 
 develop itself with the growth of the child. Not a few, however, 
 »vho would naturally incline to the good side of life, were their 
 associations good, have become bad through the influence of evil 
 suggestions, companions and temptations that have constantly 
 beset them on every hand. Separated perhaps from home and 
 moral restraint, they have gradually weakened and yielded to the 
 pressure brought to bear upon them, till they have finally gone 
 down into the slums of iniquity; these are they of whom there is 
 strong hope of recovery or reclamation when brought under good 
 influence. But I have seen mere children, and plenty of boys and 
 girls show such depraved traits in their characters, that it seemed 
 to me no kind of influence or training, however pernicious, could 
 have developed it in their brief life-time. They are the children 
 who, as they grow up, give their parents a world of trouble, and 
 perhaps eventually bring their gray hairs in sorrow to the grave 
 years before their natural time. Think of the boys and girls who 
 run away from home that they may avoid all restraint and dive 
 headlong into sin, or what they consider freedom and pleasure; of 
 the army of young criminals that are brought into the police court; 
 of young girls, mere children, accosting men on the streets and 
 off*ering to fornicate with them for money I I was requested by a 
 mother to examine the head of her little girl, who possessed a spirit 
 quite different from those I have just described. She had been 
 
222 HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 living in a block where other families resided, and her girl had seen 
 and heard things from other children that shocked her modesty, 
 and were offensive to her purer and more sensitive nature, and it 
 was with great difficulty her mother could prevail on her to state 
 to herself what she had seen and heard. She told of one little girl 
 in particular, living opposite to her, who had been telling about her 
 adventures the night before, and expressed herself in some such 
 language as the following: "Didn't I mash the fellows, though?** 
 Here, then, were two opposite natures, and the little girl whom the 
 mother brought to me illustrates what I have already expressed: 
 that a pure-minded child would be repelled, disgusted and frightened 
 at the mere suggestion or sight of anything sensual. 
 
 The tendency to lie, deceive, cheat, steal, flirt and murder is 
 also hereditary, and will be manifested early in life. The awful 
 tempers that some children are cursed with could not possibly have 
 been developed in their short existence. It is not a very rare thing 
 to hear of one boy shooting, stabbing or killing another. While 
 visiting a police court one morning, a small boy was brought before 
 the magistrate for unmercifully thrashing another; and as he was 
 so very small and young, the judge was perplexed to know what to 
 do with him; so he sent him to his cell till the afternoon in order 
 to have time to consider his case. I suggested to the judge that I 
 would like to see the boy and examine his head. "Very well," said 
 he, "the captain shall bring him up to you." I examined the boy and 
 on returning to the court room the magistrate asked me what I 
 thought of him. Said I, "Judge, the trouble with that boy is he 
 was never born right, and his parents are to blame for what he is." 
 On another occasion there were two boys and girls brought in from 
 a bad place, all found in bed together by the police officer, though the 
 girls stoutly denied it. They were too young to have lost all their 
 modesty and developed that bad nature unless licentiousness had 
 been born in them, and modesty left out of them. Their very looks 
 betrayed them; not only of the girls, but also of the boys. I fear, 
 however, many people of over-modest and reserved natures who 
 have never studied, seen, or in any way come in contact with the 
 moral corruption that exists in all classes and ages of society, will 
 think I am stating things too strongly and coloring them too high. 
 But I am not. I have only stated the bare facts without the slight- 
 est exaggeration. There is enough truth and reality pertaining to 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 223 
 
 the subject I am writing on without drawing on my imagination to 
 fill out the picture, and the reader may rest assured that throughout 
 all my writings he will find no picture, no exaggerated statements. 
 There is too much fiction in the world already, and that is one 
 reason why people do not take more interest in facts, and know 
 more of what is going on around them in every-day life. To live 
 as thousands do in a world of sentimentalism, and ignore the stern 
 realities that meet them and stare them in the face wherever they 
 go, is a sad mistake, and one of the reasons why so much evil 
 abounds and so many evil spirits are left to pursue, unmolested in 
 many cases, their devilish deeds. 
 
 I have already intimated that good spirits may become bad 
 through the force of circumstances and improper education. There 
 are good parents who are really doing the very thing to make their 
 children bad. Many a son and daughter have been driven from his 
 or her home by the cold, rigid, formal, exacting and over-religious 
 discipline of parental authority, which has made their lives as miser- 
 able as though they were shut up in a penitentiary. And when they 
 do break loose from home restraint, and breathe the air of freedom, 
 many of them, not knowing how to use what they have never had, 
 but often wished for, run into dissipation and perhaps do something 
 to put them under the restraint of the law. Then, having once 
 been humiliated by arrest and imprisonment, they lose self-respect 
 and feel that nobody cares for them, but rather that everybody is 
 against them. Then, in a fit of mental depression and desperation, 
 they fall into a life of worthlessness, dissipation and crime. That 
 is about the course a young man would be apt to take; while a 
 young woman would elope or marry the first man she could; or 
 still worse, find her way to a house whose steps take hold on helL 
 Some parents are constantly opposing the desires, tastes and am- 
 bition of their children. They want to do one thing, and their 
 parents insist on their doing something else; and thus oppose, 
 I hinder and keep them back in the accomplishment of their purpose 
 ; in life. What an army of young men have had their prospects and 
 \ chances in life blasted by the injudicious and stubborn opposition 
 of their parents; or it may be their unwillingness to assist them 
 financially in preparing themselves to start on the road to pros- 
 perity. The unperverted taste of young people will go a long way 
 j to assist them in determining their true sphere in life; but the folly 
 
224 HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 of parents often steps in and hinders or throws a stumbling block in 
 their way. Their pride and vanity may want their son to do some- 
 thing he has no taste or talent for; or, if they are poor, they may 
 be anxious to have him work at something to bring inji few dollars, 
 thereby depriving him of an ordinary education, and forcing him 
 into an insignificant position the remainder of his days. It is true 
 that occasionally men of genius surmount all obstacles and reach 
 the goal of their ambition, but they are the exception and not the 
 rule. It is also true that many of these young persons, thwarted 
 in their plans to pursue a calling in life they naturally love, become 
 crushed in spirit, careless in habits, and destitute of enterprise and 
 energy; and when they reach that point they are as likely to fall 
 into an evil life as a good one; for he who has no object or aim in 
 life has really little or nothing to live for, and if he has nothing to 
 live for, he grows indifferent to his own welfare, physically, men- 
 tally and morally. A defective education, leaving a weak point in 
 the character, may be the means of turning him from the path of 
 rectitude and life, to ruin and death. That weak point will sooner 
 or later be exposed to temptation or trial, and ,unless protected in 
 some way he will wince and succumb. I care not how strong a 
 man may be in other parts of his body, if his lungs are weak he is 
 in danger of colds and consumption, which may carry him off unless 
 he takes precaution to strengthen his lungs and ward off colds, or 
 suddenly break them up. A house or public building may have a 
 solid foundation and be strongly erected; nevertheless, if it has a 
 defective chimney it is in great danger of being destroyed by fire. 
 A fort may be well supplied with war material, and soldiers well 
 officered, but if there is a weak spot in its structure the enemy will 
 soon demolish or take it. It does not pay to send young people 
 out into the world with flaws in their education; still it is being 
 done every day. The fashionable schools of education, especially 
 female seminaries, where they seem to aim to fit young ladies to 
 shine in society, and nowhere else, are doing just this kind of 
 defective work. They train them theoretically but not practically; 
 give them a smattering of music, French, drawing, painting, his- 
 tory, etc.; and then conclude that they are educated, when the 
 practical part that fits them to come in contact with the world and 
 human nature, has been entirely left out. The most these girls 
 know about men's character, and I am not sur? but that ef their 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 22 q 
 
 own sex, also, Is what they have gleaned over the midnight lamp 
 from some highly-colored novel. The result is, that these girls, 
 when they graduate in all their finery and pomposity, are as green 
 as grass on the very things they ought to study and learn at school. 
 And many of the things they have learned they will make no use 
 of and forget in less than six months after they leave school. 
 
 This is true, more or less, of all schools of learning. The mere 
 theoretical is crammed into them, and the practical left out. I 
 hardly know who is to blame; whether it is the parents who send 
 them and put up with such an education, or really want it, or the 
 teachers and principals who give that kind of training. Think of 
 a father or mother spending hundreds or thousands of dollars edu- 
 cating a daughter at a fashionable boarding-school, and then have 
 her come home and throw herself away on some worthless fellow, 
 or elope with the hired man, and finally drift into a lost life, which 
 she would have more sense to do had she been rightly educated. 
 While I was lecturing in West Virginia, one season, I heard of a 
 girl who was taken out of a female seminary in some other state, 
 by a young man, seduced and left in a house of prostitution. She 
 probably knew more about French, music and grammar, than she 
 did about men and human nature. Being acquainted with the 
 young man, and possessing a confiding and affectionate nature, her 
 ruin was easily accomplished. She came in contact with a bad 
 spirit in the form of a bad man; but she had never been taught 
 anything about such individuals, and, like Eve, knew not the 
 tempter until she had sinned, and it was too late. Tell me, reader, 
 what good was her education to herself or anybody else.^ Was it 
 not defective somewhere.? Was not a good spirit transformed into 
 a bad spirit by her innocence of the motives of the man she sup- 
 posed to be her friend.? O but you say, "If she had been a good 
 girl she would have returned to her home." That is easier said 
 than done; for in the first place, she felt ashamed to go home; that 
 kind of sin always brings a sense of deep shame when committed 
 the first time. It was so with our first parents; they went and hid 
 themselves. And so young women naturally want to hide them- 
 selves from their parents, whom they fear, just as much as Adam 
 and Eve did from the Almighty. In the next place, she was left 
 in a strange city without any money (because it is not necessary 
 for a lady to carry money with her when escorted anywhere by a 
 
226 HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 gentleman), and, therefore, had no means to get home with, unless 
 she made her case known. In the third place, the keeper of the 
 house of ill-fame in which she was left and deserted by her seducer, 
 would use the utmost of her influence and power — if not force — to 
 keep her there until she became reconciled to her fate. Thus, you 
 see how hard it is for a poor girl, when once deceived and seduced. 
 to return to a life of purity and to her home. For this reason, I 
 urge the necessity of a change in the public and private systems 
 of education, which leaves character so deficient in discipline, so 
 weak in its power to resist evil, and so deficient in a general 
 knowledge of human nature. 
 
 Bad spirits are frequently developed through bad companion- 
 ship, filthy conversation and immodest sights. Let a young person 
 of good tendencies fall into the society of one just the opposite, 
 and keep his or her company, the chances are that the evil one 
 will corrupt the other, unless wonderfully fortified in moral strength, 
 principle and courage. Men cannot witness immoral scenes, nor 
 gaze on licentious persons, or pictures of them, without injuring 
 their souls, any more than they can contract a loathsome disease 
 without injuring their bodies. That which appeals to men's pas- 
 sions through the sense of sight, is a powerful tempter; because it 
 not only arouses the passions for the time being, but lingers in the 
 mind when the vision has passed away. The senses of feeling and 
 hearing are momentary as compared with that of sight. A picture 
 of anything may be kept constantly before the eyes. Hence, the 
 sense of sight paints its images and impressions much stronger on 
 the mind than any other of the five senses. The man who keeps 
 before his sight an obscene picture, or goes to shows where they 
 dance or perform other lewd acts, is murdering his own soul. It 
 is a common sight in any large city to see men of all ages hur- 
 rying and rushing to the ticket office of a variety theater, with all 
 the intensity and eagerness of their natures, and almost push one 
 another away in their anxiety to get tickets first, and secure the 
 best seats. They imagine they are going to have a good time and 
 a luxurious feast of sight-seeing. Well, perhaps they do, judging 
 from their own perverted taste; because what these men seem to 
 enjoy the most, is to smoke, chew, spit, drink and liste n to coarse : 
 lewd, far-fetched jokes, and gaze on half-dressed women daubed \x\ i 
 with powder and paint till they look more like fiends than womea> 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 22/ 
 
 But, of course, the frequenters of these places never seem to think 
 it does them any injury. It feeds their baser passions, while the 
 clog-dancing and low, rough, comical acting of the men, excites 
 their mirthfulness; so they go home pleased, and think that they 
 are better prepared for business the next day. They have had a 
 good laugh, and they say that a good laugh cheers them up after a 
 hard day's work with the cares of business. You can tell almost 
 every business man who visits these haunts of iniquity. You will 
 find his windows half-full of the show-bills and pictures of actresses 
 at these theaters. He will cover up half of his goods providing he 
 can get a few tickets for it, not only of the low theaters, but all 
 classes of shows and theaters. Saloons, cigar-stores, clothing- 
 stores, hat-stores and drug-stores, are generally filled up with that 
 kind of rubbish (not the first-class clothing and drug stores, but 
 the middle and cheaper class). 
 
 The fallacy of this method of a certain class of business men as 
 well as the laboring class to cheer up their depressed spirits, must 
 be apparent to any reflecting mind that takes cognizance of cause 
 and effect. It blunts their moral sensibihties, and destroys all taste 
 for anything of a spiritual, religious, or scientific nature. It lowers 
 their organic tone, creates depraved sentiments that can appreciate 
 nothing unless it smacks of immorality and lowness, and worst of 
 all destroys their sense of right and wrong, and totally blinds their 
 moral eye-sight so that they cannot see the cess-pool of iniquity 
 and filth into which they have dragged their souls. In other words, 
 they cannot, nor have they any desire to, see the condition of their 
 own hearts; for they have become variety-show maniacs, and have 
 consequently, slowly but surely, developed bad spirits. I grant, 
 however, that a large number of them only become negative bcid 
 spirits, that is, though they have contaminated their own souls, 
 they do not seek to contaminate others; but unfortunately some of 
 them become positive bad spirits — that is, those who are not satis- 
 fied with having defiled themselves, but try to defile others: like a 
 young man who took a young lad to a variety show in Chicago one 
 night where there was a cancan dance at the close. As a student 
 of human nature, I was anxious to drop into one of those dens and 
 study the faces of the frequenters of such places, as well as the 
 actors and actresses (if they may be called such) who gave such 
 perforo^aiices, ^d the character of th© entertainment. The boy I 
 
228 HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 was just alludrng to, was sitting behind me, and when the French 
 cancan came on, I watched the boy's countenance to see what effect 
 it would have upon him. If ever I felt sorry for the welfare of any- 
 body it was for that poor boy. He blushed and fairly quivered with 
 excitement. It was no doubt the first performance of the kind he 
 had ever seen, but I fear not the last; for his sexual passion was 
 evidently aroused and excited beyond boyish control. I not only 
 watched the boy's face but listened to the conversation, for I could 
 not help hearing it they were so close to me. The man remarked: 
 ** Pretty good show, is it not, Johnny, for ten cents .•*" "Yes," said 
 the trembling boy. "Well," said the man, "whenever you want to 
 come down here again, just let me know and I'll bring you." Tliese 
 are the kind of bad spirits that I wish to refer to in this essay — 
 the positive and not the negative kind — those who corrupt and 
 ruin others as well as themselves. 
 
 As to how many souls have been ruined through filthy conver- 
 sation in the way of smutty sexual stories, w^hich never had any 
 foundation save in the foul and licentious imagination of the origi- 
 nator, I have no means of knowing. But I do know that some of 
 the smuttiest stories I have ever heard, and that made a deeper 
 and more lasting impression on my mind than any others, were 
 related in my youthful years by church members — men who were 
 active members, supposed to be seeking and trying to save souls 
 instead of trying to ruin them. If I were to live a thousand years 
 I could never forget stories that a clergyman told in his own parlor, 
 and in the presence and hearing of his daughters (young women 
 from seventeen to twenty years of age). One of them went into the 
 next room and the other remained, reclining on the lounge, laugh- 
 ing at the scene and individual described. I was thunderstruck 
 and bewildered, not knowing what to say, nor which way to look; 
 and if I had not heard the man preach and knew positively where 
 I was, I should have suspected that I was in a house of ill-fame, 
 instead of in a minister's residence and family. True, there was 
 nothing bad in the words used, or the act described, but it was 
 suggestive of evil, especially in the presence of his daughters, and 
 therefore tended, whether it was so meant or not, to arouse the 
 amative feelings. 1 do not say the clergyman was a bad man. He 
 was very sociable and had other good characteristics; but he was 
 certainly very indiscreet and careless in his conversation, and fai 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 229 
 
 more particular and zealous about his church creed than he was 
 concerning the moral effect of what he said. It is bad enough to 
 hear licentious stories from men of the world, but when they come 
 from professing Christians (whether that profession is real or not) 
 they are apt to have a greater influence upon a young man's mind. 
 He naturally reasons to himself thus: Well, it is wrong, no doubt, to 
 indulge in sexual intercourse before marriage, but there is no harm 
 in thinking, talking and joking about it. That is a sad mistake 
 which many young men and women make, and the starting point 
 from which springs many an evil and ruined life. Bad thoughts 
 ripen into bad actions; it is the strongest and most subtle weapon 
 the devil has; it is a sort of mental wedge that enters the mind so 
 softly and imperceptibly that the soul is lulled into sinful desires 
 before it realizes the change that is taking place. And let me tell 
 you, young man, or woman, or whosoever may peruse these pages, 
 that when once the old serpent of sexual lust has coiled itself 
 around your heart, I would not give much for your soul, unless the 
 Almighty comes to your assistance. That awful passion will hold 
 you with an iron grasp, from v/hich it is extremely difficult to 
 break away. 
 
 That was the mistake which innocent Eve first made in reference 
 to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. She looked at it, thought 
 about it, and Hstened to evil suggestions from the tempter, and 
 finally her thoughts led to an action which was sinful, and so sin 
 led on to death. Let no one demoralize you with impure language. 
 One bad word and evil thought may counteract a dozen good ones, 
 and to harbor an evil thought in your soul is like carrying a venom- 
 ous reptile in your naked bosom. We are not to blame for having 
 bad thoughts in this world of sin and depravity; we shall always be 
 troubled with them. But we are to blame and responsible for 
 cherishing them like a sweet morsel and nursing them in our souls, 
 day and night, till they finally nurse us. Says the scriptures, "Who- 
 soever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed 
 adultery in his heart." This implies a two-fold act on the part of 
 the individual before he sins. First of all he looks; but the mere 
 act of looking is not what constitutes the sin. He next thinks; but 
 thinking of itself is not sin, but rather what he thinks about. He 
 first sees the woman; then instead of thinking about her as a moral, 
 jpiritual or intellectual being, he thinks of her simply as a beautiful 
 
230 HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 animal capable of producing in hinn sensations of pleasure, and 
 immediately desires to experience those sen'sations and enjoy the 
 consequent pleasure. This is lust and sin. It is the carnalization 
 of sight and thought, if I may so express it, which always tends to 
 degenerate the soul; whereas, spiritual and intellectual thought 
 elevates it and makes it God-like. The desire for sexual intercourse 
 is right at the proper time, and when associated with spiritual 
 and exclusive love. Pure spirituaHzed love that is concentrated 
 upon one person, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in evil works. 
 It imparts an exalted and refined tone of feeling, purifies the actions, 
 and lifts the soul far above whatsoever is gross and sensual. When 
 a man starts on a journey to a distant city, it is very necessary that 
 he should select the right road, or he may never get there; and it is 
 just as important that the love-feeling should be properly awakened; 
 for, if improperly and prematurely excited by bad sights, conversa- 
 tion, or reading, it may eventually develop into a bad spirit instead 
 of a good one. A little thing in the form of an obstruction on the 
 hill or mountain side, has changed the course of great rivers. So 
 there are many souls that might have taken a different course had 
 not some immoral obstruction changed the current of their thoughts 
 in early life; for like as the perpetual gliding stream forms the bed 
 of the river, so perpetual evil thoughts mold and fix the character. 
 I have seen boys in some of the disreputable streets of New 
 York, standing in front of the low dens of infamy, eagerly gazing 
 into the faces and bare bosoms of those polluted creatures, while 
 they were trying their best to frighten or drive them away. Bad 
 as these women were, they seemed to have more sense than the 
 thoughtless mothers who allowed their boys to run the streets 
 alone. Parents make a great ado about their girls, and seem to 
 think [{ one of them goes out of the house after dark alone, her 
 chastity is in great danger; whereas, the boys are frequently 
 allowed to go and do just as they please. There is just where 
 they make a mistake. Let all parents take care of the boys and 
 young men, and keep them out of mischief; then they need not 
 fret themselves about their daughters. The girls cannot do much 
 harm to the boys, but the boys can do a good deal of harm to them. 
 Young women are naturally retiring and modest (unless they are 
 flirts), but the young men are bold, cheeky and adventurous; and, 
 Ibtrefores need to be restr^ned and guarded (juitc ^ much, if no| 
 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 23 1 
 
 more, than the girls. Hence, it is easy to see how and why so 
 many young- lads become bad and develop into criminals when 
 exposed to the powerful and constant temptations that abound in 
 every large city. People need not wonder that so large a propor- 
 tion of every generation turn out bad, and become a curse and 
 burden to the country and their families. It would be a greater 
 wonder if they did not. 
 
 The next and final step in the complete development of a bad 
 spirit is, evil companionship. Having listened to bad conversation, 
 seen demoralizing pictures, or the wanton exhibition of the human 
 form, and indulged in evil thoughts, there necessarily springs up a 
 desire in the impassioned and excited soul for questionable society. 
 There is a secret longing for the company of those who have 
 thrown off moral restraint. When this point in the downward 
 career of the wayward youth is reached, the voice of conscience is 
 soon hushed; the timidity and backwardness v/ith which he before 
 committed sin soon passes away, and he emerges into the uncon- 
 scious moral state of a free sinner; and then it is that he becomes 
 in reality a bad spirit. Men and women may resist the temptation 
 of evil thoughts, sights and conversation, but when in connection 
 with or in addition to all these, there comes the direct influence of 
 a wicked person, truly the net-work of sin is completely woven 
 and fastened around the soul; and the power to resist is almost as 
 feeble as that of the exhausted and struggling fly in the spider's 
 web. Let no man boast of his moral strength, his will-power, and 
 ability to stop when and where he pleases; to go thus far and no 
 farther. Sin is a very deceptive thing, and a very dangerous toy 
 to play with. It is something like the river Cheat, running down 
 the Alleghany mountains: it looks in some places to be about three 
 feet deep, but were you to jump in you would find it over your 
 head. So it is with sin: it looks shallow, and appears harmless and 
 innocent in some of its powers at least, but plunge in, my friend,' 
 and you will find it sufficiently deep and treacherous to drown your 
 soul. You may flatter yourself that you have a mind of your own 
 that no companion can control. Perhaps you have, but remember, 
 like begets like; and when your taste is so perverted that you love 
 what your wicked companion loves, you are unconsciously con- 
 trolled, and under his influence just as long as you follow his ways, 
 go where he goes, and do what he does. 
 
232 HUMAN SPmiTS. GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 One fncident will illustrate the powerful influence of evil assd- 
 ciations. A beautiful young lady in Canada, had a brother who 
 was a fast young man, and he of course had for his companions 
 other fast young men; though the most of them, I presume, be- 
 longed to nice families. As one acquaintance generally leads to 
 another, the young man's sister, pure and lovely as she then was, 
 became introduced into the society of the other fast young men, 
 though she probably knew little of their motives or private charac- 
 ters. Introductions led to acquaintanceship, and from that friend- 
 ships were formed. Then came parties, evening walks, balls, etc., 
 and the rest of her history' I need not write. It was the old story 
 of sin and shame and ruin. Here let the curtain drop upon the lost 
 life of one who was once the joy of her home, the beautiful flower 
 of the family, and the pride of her parents. The incident just 
 related is a picture of what bad company does for young women, 
 while young men are exposed to and led on not only to the same 
 vice but to others of a kindred nature — for vices generally run in 
 a sort of family. Drinking, gambling, and prostitution, with their 
 accessories, such as horse-racing, theaters, pawn-shops, and sports 
 in general, are a nest of evils all contributary to each other. Hence, 
 the foolish young man who selects a bad spirit for a companion is 
 pretty sure to be caught in one of these traps, and when caught in 
 one is most likely to be led into another, till finally he acquires a 
 taste or love for such evils and eventually becomes himself corrupt, 
 and then a corrupter of others. 
 
 Having noticed the causes that make bad spirits, it is hardly 
 necessary to dwell on the birth and origin of good spirits; because 
 in preventing the evil you must use the very means and principles 
 that develop the good. If you ask me why I speak of the dark and 
 objectionable side of human life and conduct, I answer, no individ- 
 ual or community can avoid or exterminate evils without first know- 
 ing of their existence and their nature. So long as people see thes« 
 evils, and simply wink at them, dodge around or take no notice of 
 them, just so long will they curse the human race. It is of no usfi 
 for sensitive and over-modest people to hold up their self-righteou.s 
 handkerchiefs to their moral noses and say, "I do not want to see, 
 hear or know anything about such things." That is just what a- 
 large number of citizens do in regard to politics. They dislike the 
 corruptions and vices of political parties, and the bull-dozing at 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 233 
 
 elections, so they determine to have little or nothing tc do with 
 politics or politicians; and so leave the elections to be managed by 
 the worst elements of society, who send men to the Legislature to 
 make laws in their own interest. Thus do these over-nice but cold- 
 hearted people leave the weeds of sin to grow up ail around, and in 
 the very midst of their pious flower-gardens, absorbing the light, 
 warmth, and nutrition in themselves, and then wonder why many 
 of their choicest plants and flowers wither and die. You may sow 
 your seeds, water and care for your sensitive plants, day and night, 
 but if you do not keep the weeds down and give the flowers a chance 
 to grow, you will find your labor all in vain. You may send your 
 sons and daughters to the best schools in the land, and keep them 
 as ignorant as you please of bad people and their practices, and 
 content yourself that they are growing up with good, bright, and 
 noble spirits as many of them will, no doubt, while others, as history 
 shows and every-day events prove, will hasten their gray haired 
 parents in sorrow to the grave. Not knowing sin or its appearance, 
 these young people allow the weeds of immorality to grow up in 
 their souls. They cherish them and care for them tenderly, until 
 good thoughts and resolutions give way to evil ones. 
 
 Thus many a soul that might have grown up good, has grown 
 up bad; because their exceedingly modest parents believed that 
 ignorance was bliss. Well, if ignorance is bliss, why send young 
 people to school at all.? Oh! but you say, it is the good we want 
 them to learn; only that and nothing more. Yes, but let me ask 
 you, how in the name of common sense is a young man or woman, 
 or a child, especially, to distinguish between good and evil.? Many 
 a child has eaten a poisonous plant and lost its life, which it would 
 not have done had it known the dangerous character of the plant. 
 Well, you say again, we will teach them the good and watch them 
 that they do not come in contact with any thing or person that is 
 bad. I reply. Nonsense; can you or anybody else watch every act, 
 every step, and know everything about your child, by day and by 
 night? You know that such a thing is impossible; and the best 
 thing you can do for your children is to exercise the same common 
 sense that every bird and animal in creation does for their young. 
 Warn them of danger, teach them what and who is their enemy, 
 and then rely upon their true manliness and womanliness, and the 
 spirit of self-protection to save and not destroy themselves. Chil- 
 
234 lltJlfAN SHKiTS, GOOD AND BAd. 
 
 dren are not tools (if some of their parents are), and when once 
 thoroughly impressed with the fact that a certain thing or act is 
 injurious, they will most likely keep clear of it; that is, if they 
 know it from childhood up; but let them once get soiled with bad 
 thoughts or habits, and of course you will have more difficulty in 
 keeping them from sin. The best way to induce young folks to do 
 what is right and abhor that which is evil, is to make them love 
 you; for by so doing you win their confidence and obedience, and 
 it would pain them to displease you; but if you seek to control 
 them by making them chiefly fear you through a rigid, strict, 
 long-faced-piety sort of training, they at once feel their liberty 
 suppressed, and their obedience, if rendered, is that of slavery. 
 
 I remember a seminary where both sexes attended, that was 
 conducted on strict discipline style. Instead of putting the young 
 folks on their dignity to act as ladies and gentlemen, they were 
 treated as so many children incapable of taking care of themselves. 
 Every night, or once a week, am not positive which, the girls were 
 obliged to confess to the matron, or rather were expected to do 
 so, whether they had been speaking to any gentleman, and what 
 was the result of it. A few of them probably told the truth, but 
 the sharp ones would not hesitate to tell what they call a white 
 lie; because if a girl will flirt or break the rules, she will lie to get 
 clear of punishment. So their system of discipline was a capital 
 one to teach young people to lie; and if there had been more social 
 freedom in that school the boys and girls would not have played 
 post-office in the classes, by passing notes to each other right 
 under the eyes of the teacher. As a rule, I think those schools 
 that have the strictest government, have the most trouble; where 
 reasonable liberty is curbed, there you have the most sly mischief. 
 The boy or girl who learns to play sharp tricks at school, is being 
 educated to play them — in a different way, perhaps — in after life. 
 Nor is the evil remedied by educating the sexes separately; all the 
 difference in that case is, that you have less of one kind of mischief 
 and more of another. Like some seminary girls who went to see 
 the Cotton Exposition, in Atlanta, Ga., and were prevented by the 
 principal from having the kind of fun they wanted while at the 
 hotel, and so got together in a quiet part of the hall and smoked 
 cigarettes, rubbed their gums with snuff and spit around like so 
 many men chewing tobacco. The married lady in the house, who 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD, 235 
 
 related the fact to me. said they were snuff-dippers, and carried 
 their outfit in their pockets: consisting of cigarettes, a box of 
 snuff, and a small stick or piece of wood fringed out at one end, to 
 serve as a sort of brush to rub the snuff around their gums with. 
 Good spirits, then, are born and raised through good parents and 
 the right kind of education. Bad spirits are born and raised through 
 bad or ignorant parents, or defective or improper education. 
 
 I shall now discuss the second division of this subject — the 
 doings of good and bad spirits. Everything that lives in our world 
 at least must work, or die of starvation. Nothing can exist without 
 work of some kind, and this is particularly true of good and bad 
 spirits. Inactivity belongs to dead things, not living, organized 
 bodies or spirits. The devil works, and that continually; if he did 
 not he would soon lose his hold on the human family; and all evil 
 spirits are forever doing something to curse mankind. When the 
 spirits of bad men and women can work iniquity no longer, and 
 they pass from time into eternity, they leave their shadow of un- 
 holy influence behind them. They have tainted the moral atmos- 
 phere in which they lived with the effluvia of hell itself, and time 
 alone can blot out the effect of their lives. The good spirits are 
 the salt of the earth and the stars of the moral world. They reflect 
 the light of him who is the light of the world, and thereby illumine 
 the dark places of the earth. Their works go up before the creator 
 as sweet-smelling savors, and " their ways are ways of pleasantness 
 and all their paths are peace." In life, they scatter blessings and 
 sunshine wherever they go; and after death, they leave an aroma 
 of sweetness behind them which the rising generations inhale, that 
 they may go forth and breathe the same spirit. The deeds of a 
 good man are not confined to his present life; he leaves an influ- 
 ence that will extend far and wide and go down to generations 
 unborn. The fragrance of good spirits sweeten the souls of others 
 and incites them to a noble life. It turns the world into a heaven 
 of peace, joy and love; soothes the troubled heart, and instills a 
 feeling of confidence and trust in others without which no soul can 
 be happy. Bad spirits make men envious, distrustful, and hateful 
 toward each other, and turns this fair earth into one grand theater 
 of crime and misery. They make wounds which they never heal, 
 and aching hearts which they never comfort. They set men at 
 v^l^ce with one another, stir up strife^ destroy the peace %vA 
 
236 HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 happiness of families, beguile the youth, and lead astray the unsus- 
 pecting. Theirs is but to do and die, regardless of the future and 
 the rights of others; selfishness in them reigns supreme, and the 
 pursuit of worldly pleasure, and the gratification of their passions 
 and appetites is the one object of their lives. They live for self and 
 self only; whereas, good spirits live for others as well as them- 
 selves. Theirs is a life of self-denial and self-sacrifice; they keep 
 down the animal nature that the spiritual may predominate. But 
 the wicked keep in subjection the spiritual that the animal may 
 predominate; the good aspire,^ the bad desire only, and the one 
 loves what the other hates. Thus do their characters differ and 
 their pathways diverge; the one leading up to life and happiness 
 eternal; the other down to death and punishment. 
 
 All spirits impress their true characters upon others. They 
 cannot hide them because the magnetism of one person acts upon 
 the magnetism of another, without any effort on the part of either. 
 Through this subtle agency the mind of one person, be it good or 
 bad, is brought into communication with the minds of others. 
 Hence, it is not always necessary for any one to act or speak 
 wickedly to impress it upon others, the very looks and thoughts 
 are often sufficient to convey and reveal the general character. 
 
 There are three ways of transmitting and evincing character, 
 viz.: by action, voice and expression. The latter, particularly, 
 manifesting the feelings, and the two former the thoughts; in other 
 words, if I may make this metaphysical distinction, men and women 
 express their thoughts, of whatever character they may be, either 
 in conversation or by actions. But their feelings, which seem to 
 spring into action before thought and are prompted by the physi- 
 cal condition of the individual, are most readily and easily portrayed 
 in the countenance. Some good people show their goodness in 
 benevolent acts, others in kind words and pure, thoughtful conver- 
 sation or talk; while a third class show it in their quiet but 
 expressive and influential lives and books. On the other hand, the 
 bad likewise have three ways of exhibiting their wickedness : by 
 licentious actions, filthy conversation and insinuating or suggestive 
 looks. The noble acts of men like George Peabody, Peter Cooper 
 and Henry Bergh, will be remembered for generations after they 
 have passed away, and their good deeds will likewise continue to 
 Ma^ humanity. So women like Florence Nightingale, Lucrstia 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 237 
 
 Mott and others have left through their commendable acts, not 
 merely fragrant characters, but noble examples to all future gener- 
 ations, and they stand out like brilliant fixed planets, winning the 
 attention and admiration of the whole civilized world. These are 
 the kind of men and women who make the world better, and to 
 whom society is indebted; because they act as human elevators; 
 they raise people out of their cold, narrow, selfish sphere up to a 
 higher plane of moral life. They deny themselves, that they 
 may live and labor for others and the God who made them, and in 
 so doing they crush out selfishness, which is the fundamental prin- 
 ciple of all sin; and there lies the secret of their power. 
 
 A selfish nature may be influential and powerful for a time, but 
 it does not last long. Selfish natures rnay make fortunes which 
 rising generations often squander; for such persons seldom leave 
 their money in a way to do much good. They generally hand it 
 down to their family connections, their sons perhaps, who turn out 
 to be fast young men, and run it through in a few years. Like a 
 young man I once heard of who, having a fortune left him, found 
 himself in possession of far more money than brains or common 
 sense; and so to show off how flush he was in the presence of 
 others, would take out a five-dollar bill to light his cigar with. I 
 suppose I need not tell you he lived, as all such fools do, to see the 
 day of want and destitution. How truly do riches take to them- 
 selves wings and fly away when in the hands of such selfish, un- 
 principled and Godless characters. Money always burns a hole in 
 the pockets of bad spirits. Generous natures study how they can 
 leave their money to do the most good, and the least harm; how 
 they can throw in their mite to benefit the poor, and help to 
 elevate the race; and when they die humanity allows them to rest in 
 peace. Even thieves and body-snatchers have too much respect 
 for them to violate the sanctity of their graves or tombs. But 
 when a selfish, miserly man dies and leaves his* money in a lump to 
 two or three relatives, then come family contentions and law- 
 suits, to which there is almost no end; and, perhaps, the evil spirits 
 of speculating thieves dig up his carcass, and hide it away in the 
 hope of a rich reward for its recovery. Nobody has any profound 
 or reverential feelings of respect for the spirits, or even the bodies, 
 of selfish, rich, worldly men, and when dead they are forgotten, or 
 tfeglr names serve only ^s by- words of shame ^nd reproach. That 
 
238 HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 which is good will live forever; but that which is bad will pass 
 away in its own corruption. Bad spirits are never contented unless 
 they are into some mischief, either doing injury to others or them- 
 selves. Good spirits are never so happy as when they are doing 
 something to benefit mankind; "their delight is in the law of the 
 Lord, and in his law do they meditate day and night." The 
 wicked are a law unto themselves; for they hate moral restraint 
 above all things else. Free indulgence of the passions — eat, drink 
 and be merry, the right to do as they please, and every man for 
 himself, are some of their choicest mottoes. 
 
 The line of distinction can be clearly drawn between the good 
 and the bad. Yes, reader, you can figure it out for yourself math- 
 ematically if you want to. Suppose there are forty faculties in 
 your mind, and twenty-five of them you use in a normal and 
 healthy manner, and they control the other fifteen; then your 
 spirit on the whole is good, even though the fifteen may be im- 
 properly used. If, however, the fifteen, or even ten, of your facul- 
 ties are large and intensely active, bringing into subjection and 
 controlling the twenty-five, which, though greater in number, may, 
 nevertheless, be weaker in power, then your spirit is bad, and will 
 take a downward instead of an upward course. We are not to 
 blame for having passions. We would be of little use in this world, 
 nor could the race be perpetuated without them; but we are to 
 blame for allowing our passions to have the mastery over our con- 
 science, will and intellect, and allowing ourselves to become the 
 slaves of any passion, be it for money, women, drink, food, pleasure 
 or anything else. We are to blame for allowing our minds to 
 become unbalanced, whereby we develop odd and deformed char- 
 acters, having diseased and unnatural appetites, which eat up the 
 very soul itself We are not responsible for the way we were born 
 and brought into the world — for the bodies and characters our 
 parents gave us. But we are responsible and accountable for the 
 use we make of our bodies and the characters we develop in them 
 by our thoughts and habits. 
 
 Socrates had a low, coarse, passional nature, with a giant intel- 
 lect. He had it in his power to allow his animal nature to control 
 his intellect and make it minister to the gratification of his pas- 
 sions; or to make his intellect hold in subjection and direct in 
 tbe ri^ht channel, his passions. He wisel^r chose the letter, m4 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 239 
 
 blessed the world with his good qualities instead of evil; and the 
 world in return has honored and blessed him with respectful re- 
 membrance. 
 
 Some one has said that every man is the architect of his own 
 fortune. I certainly think that every man is the architect of his 
 own character, and can make of himself just what he pleases as far 
 as good and bad is concerned. It may be hard, up-hill work, 
 especially at first, but wliere there is a will there is a way. And if 
 a man will only persist, he will come out the victor in the end. As 
 a rule a man is just as good as he wants to be. The builder may 
 not be responsible for the quality or kind of material he has to 
 build a house with, but he is responsible for the manner in which 
 he puts it together. Every man has it in his power if he will, to 
 improve and make more perfect and beautiful his soul and body, 
 instead of degrading them. Among bad spirits we find two gen- 
 eral classes — hot sinners and cold sinners. The former falls into 
 vices that are licentious, passional and exciting; the latter into acts 
 that are mean, selfish and retaliative. A few incidents will illus- 
 trate both classes. Beginning with the cold or mean class: a 
 widow and her two daughters, in Chicago, had rented two or three 
 rooms in some block, for living purposes, and being poor, and strug- 
 gling hard to get along, had rented some furniture, or what was 
 the next thing to it, had bought it to be paid for in installments. 
 If the monthly payments are not paid punctually, the owner can 
 take the furniture away, leaving the purchaser to lose what he has 
 already paid; just like foreclosing a mortgage on a house. Now, 
 it happened in the course of time, that the widow incurred the dis- 
 pleasure of some other woman in the building rooming next to her, 
 who was very anxious to get her out of the place. So her feminine 
 Ingenuity devised a mean and contemptible way of doing it; for a 
 woman is generally a woman's worst enemy when the fire of hatred 
 has been once kindled. Learning that the widow and her daugh- 
 ters were going to be out one morning, she put the poor woman's 
 furniture out in the hall, and then hurried off to tell the storekeeper 
 who had sold her the things, that she was packing up and going to 
 leave, and that she intended to take the furniture with her. The 
 furniture dealer went to the house, found the things in the hall, 
 and of course believed the mean woman's story, and so took them 
 away — leaving the poor widow homeless. No amount of talk or 
 
240 HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 explanation would disabuse the man's mind of her intention to take 
 the goods away. 
 
 There is room for sympathy for a man or woman whose burning 
 passion leads them into sin, and perhaps into the clutches of the 
 law; but it seems to me to be the height of real deviltry, and so 
 inexcusable, for any man or woman to deliberately take advantage 
 of another unawares, and that in a mean, sneaking, underhanded 
 way. Like another case I remember, where two men (crm the 
 subject of illustration. They were partners; one furnishing the 
 capital chiefly, the other experience in a business partly estublished. 
 The moneyed man soon made up his mind that he wcjM like to 
 sell out, or get control of the whole thing himself, to neither of 
 which propositions his partner would agree. Seeing uo other way 
 of breaking up the partnership (after consulting a lawyer as unprin- 
 cipled as himself) he managed to have the rent run behind about a 
 month, and then slyly and stealthily as a cat, went to the landlord 
 and refused to pay any more rent so as to give him a pretext to 
 issue a distress warrant for his rent, and thereby force the termi- 
 nation of partnership or the selling out of the business. No good 
 spirit would ever stoop to such a mean trick. One more illustra- 
 tion of this class: A store-keeper finds himself in straitened cir- 
 cumstances, and wants to raise or borrow a thousand dollars which 
 he never intends to make any special effort or sacrifice to pay 
 back. He knows a young man who has just started in business 
 with a fair amount of capital to back him, which he had received 
 from his parents, or could have by asking for it. But the question 
 is, How shall he influence him to loan it without good security, 
 which he could not give.? He discovers that the young business 
 man is fond of ladies; is good-natured, free and easy, with not very 
 sharp business ideas, and below him in social circles. He also re- 
 members that he has a young lady relative (daughter or niece, no 
 matter which) in his store. So he gets her to be very pleasant and 
 agreeable to him, receive his attentions, politely flatter him, and go 
 with him to entertainments. The young man feels complimented; 
 and the way to his heart and pocket-book is soon opened — he 
 loans the thousand dollars; then the attentions and ardor of his 
 lady-love soon cools, and he finds himself minus of both girl and 
 money. I call such a trick as that, a regular confidence game of the 
 worst and lowest kind on the part of the man, and a species of pros- 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 24 1 
 
 citution on the part of the woman; for she prostituted her feminine 
 charms and attentions for a base purpose, and that is about as bad, 
 morally speaking, as prostituting her body. It was a trick artfully 
 and deceitfully played through the combined wits of both man and 
 woman upon an unsuspecting man; because he supposed the bor- 
 rower was perfectly good, having wealthy relatives, and simply 
 wished, as he represented, to be accommodated a short time. Well, 
 it was a short time in one sense, for he failed soon afterwards. 
 
 A young lady in California wishes to get back to her home in 
 Pennsylvania, but neither she nor her relatives have the money 
 necessary. She is acquainted with a young man in Pennsylvania 
 of a good heart and unsuspecting nature, with whom she corres- 
 ponds in a friendly way, and who thinks considerable of her, which 
 she knows or soon finds out by the letters that are exchanged. 
 She makes believe that she loves him, and he thinks his prospects 
 for marriage good; but of course she does not like to travel all that 
 way alone. Lovingly he goes to California after her, and brings 
 her back at his own expense, only to find he has spent his time and 
 money for nothing. She soon loves another or at any rate not him; 
 she loved him just long enough to get home — mean, treacherous 
 wretch ! These are some of the doings of the cold-hearted class 
 of bad spirits, while those of the hot class are entirely of a dif- 
 ferent nature — more immoral in the estimation of the world, and 
 therefore held up to greater censure; though, after all, there is a 
 secret love with a large number of people for the very sins they 
 publicly denounce. If it were not so, scandals and light, trashy 
 literature, to say nothing of the objectionable kind, would not find 
 such a large class of readers, and such liberal patronage. While in 
 Virginia one season, lecturing, I called on a clergyman who, during 
 our conversation regarding light literature and the general taste of 
 people, said : Some time ago a student who was preparing himself 
 for the ministry, wished to make a Httle money during the vacation 
 to help him along. So he started out to canvass for a good book, 
 one of a high moral or religious character, among the members of 
 the pastor's church and congregation. But he met with far more 
 discouragement than encouragement; the lady and mother of one 
 of the church families on whom he called, told him that she did not 
 care about a dry book like that, but would willingly subscribe if he 
 had been taking orders for the Police Gazette, She was more 
 
242 HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 willing to read and introduce into the family a paper devoted to the 
 interest of the fast and sporting classes, than she was a good book. 
 Nevertheless, if some day one of her daughters or sons should turn 
 out bad, she will be unable to account for it — would never have 
 dreamt or thought of such a thing, and will get her neighbors and 
 the whole church to pray for the conversion of the wayward child. 
 
 It is the bad spirits that write smut on the walls and doors of 
 public buildings. One can scarcely enter the halls of any public 
 place, without seeing the walls scribbled over with the breathings 
 of foul spirits, very often with rude attempts at poetry, and fre- 
 quently accompanied with obscene drawings. I presume that is 
 the only way some low specimens of humanity have of leaving 
 their mark or name behind them. I have seen the walls of colleges, 
 especially medical schools, most shockingly defaced with licen- 
 tious writing, and yet these foul-mouthed, dirty brutes are being 
 educated (or stuffed with text-book knowledge) to practice medi- 
 cine in the homes of respectable families, to examine and attend 
 the mothers and their daughters of whatever sphere of society they 
 may chance to curse with their presence. And the faculties of 
 many colleges seem to be quite indifferent as regards this species 
 of immorality among the students; they look at it with one eye 
 and wink at it with the other. In one college that I entered, 
 which was devoted to general education, I noticed smut written on 
 the bulletin-board in the most conspicuous place in the building, 
 just inside of the front-door entrance, and immediately opposite 
 the president's room. I called on him to see if I could arrange to 
 lecture before the students. But he was one of those indifferent 
 sort of individuals who never want anything that they really do 
 want, and hence he coolly informed me that they had no place or 
 time for any lectures. Still, I could not help thinking in my own 
 mind, that both he and his students needed a lecture very badly 
 on morals, if on no other subject. 
 
 The men, boys and girls who write smut on walls, have licen- 
 tious, corrupt and generally hot natures; and if teachers under- 
 stood human nature and their business better than they do, they 
 would try and form better characters, and instill pure thoughts and 
 ideas into them, as well as cram their brains with a lot of theoreti- 
 cal trash. But there are two difficulties in the way of teachers and 
 professors doing what they ought to do, One in the universal 
 
titJUAN SrtRltS, G60i> Afft tAt. Mi 
 
 pfevalence of a false system of education which, to a ^reat extent, 
 leaves the morals and private thoughts and habits of tiie students 
 and pupils uncared for; the other is, that some teachers are no 
 better at heart, if as good, as their scholars. 
 
 In one of the cities of New York, a piano-tuner was sent for to 
 call at some house to tune a piano. On his arrival, he was asked 
 by the lady, if he kTiew he was in a house of assignation, and 
 whether it would make any difference? He replied, it would not; 
 that he was there simply to attend to his business and get his 
 money for it. While in conversation, a woman stepped in the side 
 or hall door, and catching sight of him in the parlor, instantly 
 turned and darted out or into another room; but the man recog- 
 nized her at a glance. She was the teacher of his own daughter in 
 a school just out of the city. Then to save herself, she threatened 
 to blackmail the piano-tuner; but he politely told her that he could 
 explain his business there, and unless she could do the same, she 
 had better leave the school. The next day she left. 
 
 It IS true, that strong passions may sometimes make a man or 
 woman do an indiscreet and improper thing; but they feel sorry 
 and ashamed afterwards, and hardly come under the head of bad 
 spirits. Others again are unprincipled, careless and indifferent as 
 to the result or consequences of their actions, and are going about 
 seeking whom they maydevour to satisfy their lustful natures. These 
 are the kind of teachers who care little for the moral culture of 
 children, or even what they do. Some person who may chance to read 
 these pages, may doubt my statement in reference to girls writing 
 smut on the walls of buildings. All I have to say in reply is, that 
 a principal of a public school told me that the worst writing he 
 ever saw or read was written by two girls; for when it was discov- 
 ered, it caused considerable excitement, and a thorough examina- 
 tion and investigation was made which resulted in fixing the deed 
 where it belonged; one of the girls, I believe, owned up To sum 
 up the future of those two girls: one of them turned out a prosti- 
 tute, the other married a business man who was doing well, which 
 undoubtedly saved her. Boys and girls have different ways of 
 manifesting the evil spirit that lurks within them; each choosing a 
 way and opportunity peculiar to their sex. Hoys and men stand on 
 the corners of the street, in the door- ways, and passage-ways of all 
 public pl4c§8, and wherever they can find a chance to cast their 
 
244 HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 lascivious, brazen and impudent looks into the faces of the fair sesi 
 
 At the churches they block up the sidewalk and door-ways, watch^ 
 ing the ladies coming down stairs; every good-looking or dressy 
 woman is scrutinized from head to foot. Hence, with this class oj 
 young men the coming out of church is a regular show, which to 
 them is the most interesting part of the religious services, and il 
 you were to keep the women out of church, there would not be 
 many men there. I rem.ember three brazen young men who were 
 standing at the street entrance of a commercial college. As I 
 came down stairs, there were two young ladies about to ascend the 
 stairs, and I saw that they were embarrassed, and hardly knew 
 what to do, as their feminine instinct told them what the young 
 men were waiting for. There they stood, laughing, staring and 
 passing remarks as the girls ascended the stairs, demonstrating how 
 much of the rowdy and how little of the true gentleman was in 
 them. At picnics, this class of boys will most hkely refrain from 
 taking part in a general game between the sexes, and sneak around 
 to some convenient spot where they can lie down and look at the 
 girls, and feast their insinuating eyes on female charms; especially 
 if the game is one where a girl might happen to tumble down or 
 in some way expose her limbs. The presence, actions and influence 
 of such boys are demoralizing, and they should be run off the picnic 
 grounds; because, if there are any girls present like themselves, 
 they are quick to take advantage of every opportunity, and act out 
 their part of the deviltry. 
 
 If, reader, you are anxious to know whether your spirit is good 
 or bad, all you have to do is to examine your thoughts, feelings, 
 desires and actions. And if you find yourself harboring and cher- 
 ishing vile thoughts, and allowing your feelings to prompt unholy 
 desires which constantly terminate in evil actions, whenever you 
 have the opportunity to commit such acts; or, in other words, 
 when you allow your impulses to evil to go unchecked, and cast 
 aside the reins of moral and self control, then you may safely con- 
 clude that you have a bad spirit. But if you discover yourself 
 fighting against the natural temptation to evil which affects the 
 human soul, and are always yearning after a higher and purer life, 
 even though you may be troubled with bad thoughts and desires, 
 and occasionally do evil, then you have a good spirit; not good in 
 the sense of being pure and perfect, but good because you arc 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 245 
 
 trying to be good and do better. It is not so much the act that 
 determines a man's guilt, as his intent, purpose and desire; so that 
 the man whose desire and aim is to do good is, comparatively 
 speaking, good; whereas, he whose purpose and efforts are to do 
 evil, is bad, even though he may not do anything very wicked for 
 the want of a favorable opportunity, or because of some restraining 
 influence which he cannot counteract. The bad man is a hiw unto 
 himself; the good man recognizes a higher lavv% to which he bows 
 in submission and strives to obey. 
 
 There is yet another way of knowing and determining your 
 moral or immoral state, and that is by the twin sciences, physiog- 
 nomy and phrenology. This leads me to the third and last division 
 of my subject — what or how good and bad spirits look; for each 
 character or spirit has its appropriate facial expression, and they 
 are no more alike than chalk is like cheese. Be not deceived; the 
 language of the soul is clearly written in the face, but whether you 
 ; re expert enough to read it or not, is another question. If you are 
 I ot, allow me to ask you not to be so foolish as to deny the exist- 
 ence of what you cannot see, read or understand; because that 
 would be acting on the same principle as the atheist, who, because 
 he cannot, through his limited knowledge, see, find out, or com- 
 prehend the Almighty, conceitedly or egotistically but unreason- 
 ably asserts there is no such being. There is no such thing as 
 hiding life or character; as well try to vail the noonday sun. 
 Whatever is, must be, and is made manifest in some way. Can you 
 conceive of the existence of a thing without a place for it.? And 
 granting that character exists in the soul or spirit, then it must be 
 made nr.anifest somewhere; because the spirit has life and we cannot 
 conceive of life without action; and inasmuch as the spirit is con- 
 fined and exists, moves and acts in the body, is it not self-evident 
 that the workings of the soul, the inner man, must be made mani- 
 fest on the surface of the body, the outer man.'' For after all what 
 is the body but the house or outer covering of the soul.'* I believe 
 that every thought or motive is registered somewhere in the body, 
 and further, I am incHned to believe that at the judgment day when 
 everyone will be judged for the deeds done in the body, that the 
 naked spirit or a manifestation of it through its accompanying body, 
 will be the open book from which the Almighty will judge every 
 soul; or in other words, that the character of every spirit will u. 
 
546 ntmAti §fi%tn, Goot Ant) bab. 
 
 some way be read by its respective phyLiugnomy. Like begets 
 like; and just as the character of the parents at the time of coition 
 is transmitted to the child, so the character of the soul is transmit- 
 ted by nerve-force and magnetism to the face. The brain, by 
 means of nerves, has communication with every part of the body, 
 and as thought is evolved by the workings of the brain, without 
 which there is no thought, it stands to reason that the effect and 
 influence of the operations of the brain will be registered and dis- 
 cernible on the face, even more than on any other part of the body, 
 because of its closer connection with the brain, and also because it 
 is partly the outer covering of the brain and designed to register 
 its workings. 
 
 A man's face, then, is the picture or likeness of his soul. In- 
 stinct teaches that and everybody unconsciously admits it, else 
 why look into the faces of our friends when conversing with them, 
 especially their eyes, which are really the windows of the soul, for 
 it to look out of and others to look into. If there is no mind or 
 character in the face and eyes, why not look at and talk to the back 
 of a man's head, or at his ear, for he would certainly hear much 
 easier in that way? Again, if there is no character, no mind, no 
 nothing, either good or bad expressed in the human face, why do 
 people have preferences; why like one person at first sight and dis- 
 like another; why trust one person and not another, and why is 
 not a black man or an Indian, Chinaman or a Hottentot just as 
 good, as lovable, and marriageable to a white man as any other? 
 True, there is a difference in color, but their colors are in harmony 
 with their respective characters; and. after all, the objection the 
 white man has to the various races, respects not so much their color 
 as their forms, looks and the character he immediately and instinc- 
 tively associates with them. The question of color certainly could 
 not form part of his objection, dislike, judgment or favoritism 
 toward those of his own class, kindred or race. Hence, it is really 
 the character of every person we meet that we are impressed by, 
 and at once admire or despise. 
 
 We shall attract and be attracted by those whose minds, tastes 
 and characters are in harmony with our own. If we are good, we 
 shjiU like the faces of those who are good, and dislike those who 
 have bad expressions. If we are bad, we shall most likely have a 
 secret, if noi open admiration or love for tho^e persons whose facei 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 24/ 
 
 express that kind of wickedness which is a reflection of our own 
 sins. For instance: a sensual, voluptuous and amorous person 
 would be naturally attracted toward another of a similar nature; 
 whereas, a refined, modest, and intelligent individual, would not 
 only dish'ke such a person but also the facial expression of such a 
 character; but love and admire those whose faces revealed charac- 
 ters and minds like unto their own. A man's face never lies; his 
 tongue may, because it is simply an organ of communication to 
 verbally express ideas, but not character, whereas the face is just 
 the opposite: it is a silent time-piece that tells the story of the 
 inner life, and just as a man forms his character will he mold the 
 form of his face and fix its expression; and in proportion as the 
 character changes for the better or worse, so will the countenance 
 be improved or injured, for the Bible says, "The countenance is a 
 sign of the changing of the heart." Therefore, when the heart 
 grows wicked, rest assured that the face will share the same fate 
 and soon tell the sad story; but when the heart becomes purified, 
 it will cast that image upon the countenance, and make it more 
 beautiful and lovely. On this principle, then, can we readily with 
 practice and natural talent distinguish good spirits from bad 
 spirits; for the facial expression of the two are just as diverse as 
 their characters. How the face of Moses shone when he came down 
 from the mountain after being in communion with his Maker. The 
 spirit of God had so invigorated and electrified his spirit with 
 heavenly influence, that it beamed through his eyes, and lit up his 
 countenance with a divine halo that the Jews had never before seen. 
 The face of the Almighty is so awfully grand, its expression so 
 glorious, and its psychological effect so terribly penetrating, that 
 the Lord could not permit Moses to behold his face; for said he, 
 *'No man can see my face and live." Hence, the good old patriarch 
 was permitted to see only the trail or back part of Jehovah. And 
 if the Christians of to-day, and especially the clergymen, were to 
 live in closer and more constant communion with their Master, they 
 would not only have better and purer-looking faces, but possess 
 greater influence in winning souls to Christ. A spiritual and 
 heavenly-minded face goes a long way in convincing the ungodly 
 of the sincerity of its owner, and the truthfulness of the doctrine 
 he advocates. I would almost as soon see a monkey in a pulpit as 
 one of these bare- faced; hair- shingled, fashionably ^d worldly- 
 
248 HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 looking specimens of preachers, whose very looks are sufficient to 
 keep men out of the kingdom of heaven, and in whose face one can 
 plainly read, *' I preach for pay." And in like manner do the faces 
 of a large proportion of so-called Christians reveal their worldly- 
 minded and hypocritical natures. What a contrast there must have 
 been between the faces of Moses and Elijah and those of that class 
 of Jews in the time of Christ, of whom it is said that "He perceived 
 their wickedness." Not through his divine knowledge, because 
 that could hardly be called perception; but as a man, he looked into 
 their faces and read their characters and motives. 
 
 Different kinds of wickedness produce different kinds of facial 
 expressions. A thief does not look or act just like a mean old 
 miser; nor does a regular thief or miser look like a libertine or a 
 drunkard. Each sin writes its own likeness on the countenance, 
 and so does each virtue. Faith, Hope and Charity, each give a 
 different expression to the face. Their language is not the same; 
 each has a charm of its own that will help to beautify the face, but 
 all combined will make the face more God-like and lovely. One 
 kind of vice will also mar the face; but two or three vices in the 
 same person will disfigure the countenance still more, and make it 
 look devilish. And the man or woman, whether Christian or sin- 
 ner, who wants to make me or anyone else believe that there is no 
 difference in the expression on or through the face between virtue 
 and vice, saint or sinner, may as w^ell tell me that there is no differ- 
 ence between the Devil and the Almighty; that the former looks 
 just as good as the latter; that the angels of heaven would be just 
 as pleased to look at the countenance of Satan as the Lord; in fact, 
 that angels and fiends all look about alike anyhow; the only differ- 
 ence being in character and place of residence. 
 
 The existence of good and bad spirits in persons can be felt as 
 well as seen. Any one with a sensitive nature, who makes use of 
 and cultivates that sensibility, can discern by the mere presence of 
 another person, to say nothing about the face, whether that indi- 
 vidual has a good or evil nature. The impressibility and influence 
 of one mind upon another is more powerful than most people sup- 
 pose or im.agine; and it is on this principle that the moral state of 
 every spirit is made manifest, whether it be through the sense 
 of sight or feeling; that is, whether we see it manifested through 
 the face or feel it through nerve-force or sensation. Through the 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 249 
 
 subtle agency of human electricity or magnetrsm every spirit throws 
 oflfits emanations. Or, in other words, spirits breatlie like bodies, 
 and as we can smell the breath that emanates from the lungs 
 (pretty bad in some persons) and thereby determine the condition 
 of the physical life, wliich is in the blood, so through the nerve- 
 force or electricity of the body we can feel and determine the health 
 or m.oral life of the soul. This is where the majority of people 
 make mistakes in judging of the character of strangers, and some- 
 times acquaintances; yea, even their own relatives. They fail to 
 feel and read these spirit emanations which are constantly passing 
 from the body and flashing from the eyes; for, I wish the reader to 
 remember, it is not simply the form of the features and face that I 
 term physiognomy, but the cast of the countenance; that indes- 
 cribable something that seems to dart like lightning from the eyes, 
 particularly, and the face, as a whole, leaving its impress upon 
 the mind o( the observer. To illustrate: Two gentlemen in my 
 travels have met me and requested the privilege of looking steadily 
 irsio my eyes for a few seconds, which I granted; and from that 
 brief but searching glance, they accurately described my character 
 arid physical condition. To give this art and method of reading 
 character a distinct name. I suppose it would more properly come 
 under the head of psychology than physiognomy, and it certainly 
 does not belong to phrenology. 
 
 Here, then, is the triune and triangular method of reading char- 
 acter, through the combined systems of phrenology, physiognomy 
 and psychology, which reduces it to a positive and accurate science. 
 Phrenology is the lowest form or system of character reading, be- 
 cause it deals only with the body or skull; though none the less 
 important since it is the basis, the foundation of the whole man; it 
 is the lowest only in position, in the same sense that the feet are 
 the lowest members of the body. Physiognomy is a step higher, 
 because it relates to the features with their accompanying expres- 
 sions and therefore dovetails into phrenology and psychology, just 
 the same as the trunk of the body is the central part connecting 
 limbs and head. Psychology is the highest method, because it 
 deals directly with the spirit, and is the only science through which 
 one soul can commune, see and read the soul of another. The 
 religion of Jesus Christ takes in this science of psychology, or is 
 based upon thi? science, whichever way you choose to put it la 
 
250 HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 phrenology, we have three general divisions of the brain: the animal 
 or lower organs; the intellectual organs, and the moral or spiritual; 
 so in this perfect or eclectic science of character-reading. Phre- 
 nology treats of man's physical condition and talents — that is, his 
 health, temperaments and adaptation to a particular calling in life. 
 Physiognomy reveals his disposition, cast of mind and texture, 
 while psychology unfolds the moral state of the soul and its rela- 
 tions to a higher and future life. What a science! How complete 
 and far reaching, and who with as much brains as a Hottentot does 
 not desire to know something about it? 
 
 I believe that each faculty of the mind has a psychological power 
 which it emits through its appropriate organ in the brain. Just 
 how the brain and nervous system throws off these mind emana- 
 tions and impressions, I cannot tell, but, I have had sufficient proof, 
 by way of experience, to know that it is done. Frequently I have 
 found it almost impossible to speak with any degree of freedom 
 or clearness when I have been lecturing to an audience, when one 
 or more persons sitting near me were not in sympathy with me, 
 but in their own minds working against me. Or if a portion of the 
 audience were indifferent, restless and unsusceptible, so that I could 
 not awaken any interest. It would be twice as hard to talk, and 
 far more exhausting to my brain. I can talk two hours to a large, 
 appreciative audience, that is thoroughly en rapport with me and my 
 subject, with more ease and far greater effect than I can speak one 
 hour to a small, inattentive and disrespectful audience. Nothing 
 is so exhausting to a sensitive lecturer, as to speak to a whispering, 
 restless, noisy going-in-and-out kind of an audience. No public 
 speaker can be a success either in the pulpit or on the rostrum, 
 unless he has the respectful and quiet attention of his audience, 
 and their minds are working in harmony with his own, or at least 
 are in a submissive condition. Nor can an audience receive much 
 good from the speaker, unless they remain passive and allow him 
 to be positive. That is why some men never receive much good 
 from either lectures or sermons; they are too positive, conceited 
 and self-opinionated, and therefore resist all impressions and influ- 
 ence emanating from the speaker. Neither will the speaker have 
 much influence over the minds and hearts of his hearers, unless he 
 possesses a good degree of this psychological power ; nor is a 
 person deficient in it really fit to be a public speaker, especially a 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, 0000 AV© BaO. 2$ I 
 
 ftiinlster. Psychological influence is the secret of many a great and 
 successful man's power. The ability to warm, move and charm the 
 hardened hearts of sin-stricken humanity, requires something more 
 than a mere fine rhetorical and mechanical combination of words. 
 The soul must speak to the soul, and heart touch heart, ere the will 
 can be conquered, or the intellect convinced; and this indescribable 
 power that draws, fascinates and subdues the hearts of an audience 
 into a teachable and docile mood, is that subtle mind-influence 
 which we see and feel radiating from the face and person of the 
 speaker, or whomsoever we may come in contact with possessing 
 a similar nature. 1 believe all persons possess some psychological 
 power, be it ever so small, though they may not be conscious of it; 
 others, however, know it, and use it to their advantage all through 
 life. Like a lady who told me that she had often on entering a 
 room where there were strangers, experienced a disagreeable 
 influence or impression, and immediately turned and passed out 
 without saying a word. Some few are a sort of psychological bat- 
 tery that charge almost every person they come in contact with; 
 especially those who are susceptible to that influence. And the 
 psychological influence of a really great, good and heaven-born 
 spirit, seems to permeate not only the hearts of the people and a 
 community, but the very atmosphere, even after they are dead and 
 buried, I mean they leave an influence behind them that does not 
 soon pass away. The life and character of Roger Williams is felt 
 in New England to-day; and so with hundreds of illustrious men 
 and women of all ages and in all countries. But, alas! that this 
 same God-given power should be perverted and made to defeat its 
 own object when used by wicked, bad, designing men and women; 
 for many a bad spirit has this power as well as the good, and they 
 are not long in discovering it either, and using it to accomplish 
 their evil purposes and gratify their passions. I believe many a 
 young woman has been tempted to sin, and led on to ruin, by some 
 scoundrel possessing this power, and I positively believe that there 
 are just such characters roaming about like hungry lions and scour- 
 ing the country for the sole purpose of seducing young women; 
 men who are probably sent out and backed in money by the keep- 
 ers of houses of prostitution, as well as those who do it to gratify 
 their own lust. And I also believe many an honest, upright young 
 has been in like manner led into the coils of a sharp, designing 
 
252 HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 woman possessing this psychological power; so that he who was 
 
 once the pride and joy of his parents and an ornament to society, 
 has been compelled to flee to other and unknown parts of the world 
 or find his way to the penitentiary. Even children are controlled 
 very largely by psychological influence, and in some respects far 
 more so than adults; and it is really the best and most successful 
 means that one can use in their training and education. Blessed, 
 happy children, ever ready to give and receive; confiding, cheerful, 
 frolicsome and innocent natures ! Who, possessing as much or 
 rather as little conscience as a heathen, could even seek to harm 
 them? Yet there are some of the JDevil's imps of both sexes, and 
 souls polluted with lust and dyed with crime, who lie in wait for 
 youthful virtue and innocence. I know that the hot passions of 
 human nature, made hotter by the secret habits that both sexes 
 fall into, may and do often produce a mental disorder or sort of 
 insanity that may cause even good persons, in other respects, to 
 corrupt or tempt the young; and I fear that many of the rapes 
 committed, especially upon children, are by men who have become 
 crazed with passion through the awful soul-destroying habit of self- 
 abuse. But God pity the fiends and wretches who prowl around 
 like cats in search of mice, seeking to corrupt and ruin the youth 
 of the country, either by personal contact or by disseminating vile 
 literature. A clergyman who had been connected with public 
 schools, told me that they feared something was going on in the 
 school of an immoral nature, and began an investigation; when they 
 discovered that a number of the scholars were subscribers for an 
 obscene illustrated paper, bad enough to excite the passions of 
 every boy or girl in the school, and the way such things would get 
 into a school would be by a female agent going through the school, 
 taking orders for some spicy story-paper, and then picking out one or 
 two girls of a voluptuous and licentious nature, make them special 
 and private agents for the whole school. Such agents are generally 
 sharp and good readers of human nature, so that they can readily 
 pick out such boys and girls. In female seminaries this kind of 
 literature has been introduced through circulars sent to the names 
 published in the school catalogue. Young people exercise this 
 psychological power also over one another; like in the case of a 
 little girl whose parents I am acquainted with. A boy had been 
 going out for walks with her to whom the father objected, and 
 
HV^Atf SPIRITS, GOOD AND ^AD. -'53 
 
 Strictly forbade her going again, especially on a c rtain occasion. 
 But the boy or young man came around, saw her at the gate, and 
 after a few minutes' talk, persuaded the girl to go again. After she 
 returned, her father gave her a good whipping, and asked her why 
 she persisted in going when he had just told her and requested her 
 not to go? "Well," said she, "papa, he asked me to go." "Well," 
 said her father, "did I not ask you not to go, and how is it that you 
 follow his wishes instead of mine.-*" "Why, because I could not help 
 going; " and her father told me that he did not believe the girl could 
 refuse him. I claim, therefore, that the psychological power of the 
 soul is manifested or comes to us in two ways, viz.: by the sense of 
 feeling, and the sense of sight. Thus, if two persons of a sensitive 
 nature are sitting or standing near each other, the nature and influ- 
 ence of each soul will be impressed upon the other; they can really 
 feel the character of each other, and that is one reason why the 
 spirit of attraction and repulsion often springs up between persons 
 when perhaps not a word has passed from either; only that they 
 have come near each other, perhaps accidentally or in some social 
 capacity. 
 
 I have noticed this frequently when traveling on the cars where 
 circumstances have thrown me in close proximity to strangers of 
 both sexes. Some I would never think of speaking to, unless for 
 some special reason; while with others I would instantly feel a con- 
 geniality of nature, that there was something pleasant, sociable and 
 free in their manner, and would accordingly enter into conversation 
 with them without the least difficulty. And this is the experience 
 of a great many others as well as myself But the sense of sight is the 
 most ready and sure way of interpreting the nature and character 
 of others, because the soul speaks through the eyes in unmistaka- 
 ble signs, and the very thoughts and emotions are psychologically 
 written there, and it is chiefly by this means that people win 
 and control one another. The teacher unconsciously controls the 
 pupil by it; the business man his employes; the husband the wife' 
 the wife the husband; the parent the child, and I am not sure but 
 in some cases the child does the parents. By its magic power the 
 good spirit wins and saves others, and by it also the bad allure and 
 ruin the wayward and unsuspecting innocents. And this influence 
 is simply character acting upon character; mind upon mind; spirit 
 upon spirit. Like the case of a young man in a penitentiary, wh« 
 
^S4 H0MAN S^tl^IfS, GdOt) AfW tA^. 
 
 could not be controlled by any officer in the building, nor could he 
 even control himself. Finally, a new officer came in charg-e who 
 subdued and completely controlled him, and did it purely by psy- 
 chological influence. All he had to do was to look at him, when 
 he would drop his head, and cover his eyes with his hands a few 
 seconds. No character can influence another unless in some way 
 manifested, as in the manner already described. Is it not self-evi- 
 dent, then, that the character can be read and known through the 
 face and nervous sensation or magnetic impressibility.^ Good 
 spirits must then necessarily make a good expression or magnetic 
 influence; and bad spirits a bad expression and influence, both of 
 which can readily be seen and felt whether for good or evil on first 
 approach, and thousands of people can bear testimony to this fact. 
 When brought in social contact with some persons, I feel a pure 
 influence and good inspiration; with others, I feel their influence is 
 for evil and their society to me would be demoralizing. Such per- 
 sons should be left severely alone, unless one has sufficient positive 
 force to render them negative and harmless, and even then it is a 
 dangerous experiment unless you are right in the pathway of duty. 
 It has not been my aim or desire to give a list of the different 
 kinds of bad spirits, nor to go too far into the details of their evil 
 doings; because I do not consider it good for the moral health of 
 individuals or the public to dwell too long or too much on the dark 
 side of human nature — to become too familiar with its corruption 
 — lest they become contaminated and poisoned thereby. Never- 
 theless, it is absolutely necessary that we should all know what 
 human nature is, its underlying principles — the desires of men's 
 hearts, and the motives that actuate them — and the good and evil 
 that exists in the world; else how can we distinguish between the 
 two? How defend the right and oppose the wrong — how protect 
 innocence from vice, in its various forms, if we do not know of its 
 prevalence.? And how can we choose our society, or know in whom 
 to place confidence, if we cannot tell the good from the bad without 
 waiting to find out by long, sad, and often too late, experience.^ 
 We must, therefore, call to our assistance every legitimate means 
 of reading character we know of. We cannot look directly into 
 the naked heart or soul as the Almighty does, so we must do the 
 next best thing — do as the doctors do when they cannot look 
 inside of a living man to see what the matter Is — examine the 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 255 
 
 outside of him to discover the symptoms of his malady. In like 
 manner, we can discover from the outer man, symptoms of the 
 moral condition of the inner man — the soul. But, like the doctors, 
 we must understand our business; study and know exactly what 
 certain signs, actions, looks, impressions, and influences mean, or 
 we shall make sad mistakes, as thousands do every day of their 
 lives. Bad spirits generally have a bad look to their eyes; a sort 
 of dull, black or smutty appearance; not that clear, transparent, 
 innocent look, we see in the faces and eyes of children. Not that 
 we should expect to see in any adult the exact expression of a 
 child; there will be more mind and character in the face of the 
 former than in the latter, but there should be a pure expression 
 that will produce a pure impression upon the mind of the observer. 
 Be careful, however, that you do not confound the signs of a sick 
 and diseased body, with those of a diseased soul. Catarrh and a 
 diseased liver will very much affect the color and expression of the 
 eyes and their surroundings, and take away the clear and bright 
 expression that belong to healthy eyes. But the expressions im- 
 parted to the eyes by a sick body and a sin-sick soul are not the 
 same by any means, and can readily be distinguished by an expe- 
 rienced eye and a careful observer. The souls of good men and 
 women so shine through their faces that their goodness and sin- 
 cerity can be easily seen, read and felt. They give no uncertain 
 signs, are not two-faced nor enigmatical, but have a plain, simple, 
 frank and open countenance. Good spirits do not look nor act like 
 cunning foxes, cats and wolves; they resemble more the innocent, 
 harmless lamb, deer or rabbit; and the physiognomies of good and 
 bad men are just as diverse as those of the two classes of animals 
 I have just mentioned. And as the savage and cunning animals all 
 have different faces, according as they differ in their propensities, 
 so wicked men have different looks according to the kind of wick- 
 edness and private sins they indulge in. And in like manner, as 
 the good and docile animals also have diverse appearances, so will 
 good people present different expressions of countenance, accord- 
 ing to the good qualities and Christian graces that abound in their 
 hearts and permeate their entire being. Thus, there is a diversity 
 of good faces and looks, and a diversity of bad faces and looks; and 
 it is for you and I, reader, to study them and know them for our own 
 benefit and protection, both for this life and the life to come. 
 
25D HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 There is a striking difference in the looks and manifestations of 
 the same kind of wickedness or goodness in blondes or brunettes. 
 Wickedness in the brunette presents a more bewildering, fascinating, 
 insinuating and devilish expression, though often coy and reserved 
 in its manifestations; whereas, in the blonde, it is more bold, open, 
 brazen, voluptuous, dazzling, captivating and funny in its manifes- 
 tations. The latter seems to please, tempt and allure, like the 
 pleasures of a gay city. The former seems to take you by subtlety 
 — to overpower by the silent force of its own passions — to stupefy 
 and draw you within its deadly coil and grasp, as the serpent does 
 its victim. In the bad brunette you will find more artfulness and 
 treachery; in the blonde more secretiveness and common-place 
 deceptions, full of little tricks and maneuvers, strategy, or [)olicy 
 if you please, to accom.plish its purpose. In other words, the bru- 
 nette is the deeper and more unfathomable in design, roguery and 
 cunning; quicker and more repulsive in action; more spiteful and 
 hateful, retaliative and revengeful; acting out the old motto: "An 
 eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." The blonde is less passionate, 
 less revengeful, but more shallow; and, therefore, in the end the 
 most dangerous. The brunette being deeper and more subtle, and 
 at the same time hot and impulsive, would naturally hold back part 
 of the time in its manifestations of deviltry; while on other occa- 
 sions, they may strike their deadly poisons instantly, their dark, 
 forbidding appearance may make some afraid of them, and there- 
 fore keep at a respectable or harmless distance. But the blonde 
 being more open and inviting in expression, would draw the unsus- 
 pecting victim closer; and being more cool and less demonstrative, 
 would finally allure them into more deadly peril. 
 
 I do not know a clearer or better way of illustrating the differ- 
 ence between these two classes of wicked spirits, than by calling 
 your attention to the difference in the manner and effect of the bite 
 of r^'.ttlesnakes; the black and yellow rattlesnakes, corresponding 
 to the brunette and blonde characters I have described. The 
 black snake will shake its rattle but once and then bite, showing 
 its hatefulness and impulsiveness; but the yellow snake, a colder 
 and less impulsive nature, will shake twice before it bites, but the 
 bite is more poisonous. And I would like to know if wicked spirits 
 are not like rattlesnakes, biting and poisoning the victims who 
 chance to cross their pathway, unless they speedily get out of the 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 25/ 
 
 way? And to tell me it is not necessary for a young man or woman 
 to be able to tell a good person from a bad person, is to tell me it 
 does not matter about their knowing the difference in looks or 
 character between a harmless milk-snake and a venomous rattle- 
 snake; especially if they were living in regions where such reptiles 
 abound. Another reason why wicked blondes are the most dan- 
 gerous, is because of their excessive proneness to a gay, fast and 
 merry life, and because. they the more readily break down the 
 barriers of modesty, self-control and restraint, that they may bask 
 in the fields of wicked pleasure; hence, there are more blonde pros- 
 titutes than brunettes. There is a difference also in the magnetism 
 of blondes and brunettes. I consider the latter the most powerful, 
 and with a wicked spirit the most irritating to one's mind and body, 
 especially where that kind of magnetism does not emanate from a 
 healthy body. I remember a young lady clerk I once had in my 
 employ, of the brunette type, but not very healthy. She was a 
 regular battery, and I could feel her presence in the room, and it 
 produced in me through her bad magnetism, the most peculiar feel- 
 ings I ever had; and her influence was irritating and bad, for she 
 proved to be a bad or questionable character, and I afterwards 
 discharged her. Her eyes were so fascinating that on one occasion 
 when a lady and her husband called at my office on business, she 
 got the woman mad with jealousy because she had drawn her hus- 
 band out in conversation while waiting for her, and the remark her 
 jealousy prompted her to make was, "that a young lady with such 
 a pair of eyes as she has never ought to be in a reception room." 
 The magnetism of a blonde is more soothing and healthy, and I 
 think better adapted for healing purposes, especially when they are 
 healthy and a little on the sandy complexion and pure in character; 
 but of course the magnetism of no bad body or soul can be healthy 
 or good in its influence. 
 
 There are plenty of women whose voluptuous and amorous 
 nature is so forcibly thrown off through their magnetism, that they 
 excite the passions of men the m.oment they come near or in sight 
 of them; and there are plenty of men who act the same way on 
 women. 
 
 There are other men and women whose influence over the op- 
 posite sex is just the opposite, and a woman of this kind will always 
 command the respectful behavior and reverence of men, wherever 
 
258 HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 she g-oes among civilized people, and will restrain instead of excite 
 the passions of men. One half the alleged insults and advances 
 that men make toward women, is due to themselves; something in 
 their manner, looks or magnetism, excites the men and causes them 
 to think themselves safe in making such advances. 
 
 Many women are so born and constituted that their sex-nature 
 stands out conspicuously, and that is the first thing to attract the 
 eye and attention of the observer, and not a few make it a study 
 and practice to help the matter along. They resort to all the h'ttle 
 arts, accomplishments and fascinations they can devise to keep 
 their sex in front — bang their hair down to their eyebrows till they 
 look like flirts and monkeys, in order to hide the intellect, and 
 thereby heighten the charms of the amative and mere animal love- 
 expression. Whereas, the true and noble woman whose character 
 is lit up with intelligence and spirituality, keeps her sex behind, 
 and impresses the observer with her brightness, goodness and 
 golden graces, and thereby inspires him with purer sentiments than 
 to think of her as a lump of nicely formed flesh or a mere machine 
 to gratify his lust. Such women shine on men as angels of light 
 and heavenly purity, refining their love and restraining their pas- 
 sions. They command the attention and respect of men through 
 their minds rather than their bodies (for there is sex in mind also), 
 and do not let themselves down to the low and cunning tricks of 
 common, fashionable and coquettish life. Happy day for the world, 
 when the women rise to a more dignified and exalted standard of 
 intelligence and spirituality; then, and not till then, will the men 
 rise also, because women are our mothers. The stream cannot rise 
 higher than its fountain-head. The men are what the women 
 make them — they mold their characters before they are born. 
 
 The chief distinction, then, in reference to magnetism or human 
 electricity, that ! would make between the dark and light or sandy 
 complexioned people is, that in the sandy the magnetism is hotter, 
 more healthy and soothing, and in the dark, more fascinating, pow- 
 erful and sometimes irritable. There are also shades of difference 
 in the characters of good blondes and brunettes. The good bru- 
 nette's spirit is more positive in character than the other, and 
 controls by power and psychological influence. The blonde wins 
 and controls by its warmth, geniality, sociability and affability — 
 it draws by gentleness and sweetness; the brunette by inherent 
 
HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 259 
 
 attraction and persuasive force, which it makes but little effort to 
 impart. Personally considered, the brunette is the greatest sinner 
 and the greatest saint. Her character is so deep, so powerful and 
 so unfathomable, that when she sins she drinks deep of the cup of 
 iniquity, and when a saint she climbs high up the ladder of piety 
 and fame. 
 
 I have thought how much the human family resembles the 
 starry firmament; for as we lift our eyes and gaze into the heavens, 
 we cannot but observe how each star sheds its own light (or it so 
 appears to us), and how they all differ in size and brilliancy; so this 
 earth is dotted all over with human souls, differing in capacity and 
 power, and each imparting an individual influence. Tlien, again, 
 each soul is a world in miniature, because made up of a number of 
 faculties which differ in size or capacity, thus presenting a variety 
 of characteristics; and I apprehend that each faculty through its 
 appropriate organ in the brain, throws off its own nerve-force. 
 Hence, whatever organs are the largest and most exercised will 
 emit the strongest influence, and like as that organ is properly or 
 improperly used by its faculty, will its influence be good or bad; 
 and just in proportion as the most of the organs and faculties are 
 rightly or wrongly used, that is, pure or impure in their actions and 
 manifestations, will the expression of the eyes be good or bad; 
 because, I believe all the faculties of the mind when active look out 
 of the eyes or are expressed there, especially the affections, feelings 
 and sentiments, though it may require an educated psychological 
 vision, as it were, to read and detect their different meanings. 
 There is no eye so pure, no expression so lovely, as that coming 
 from a soul in constant communion with its Creator. No eye so 
 insinuating, nor expression so wicked, as the one under the influ- 
 ence of his Satanic Majesty. 
 
 The spirits that are pure with God commune> 
 Spirits that are vile with the Devil are in tune. 
 
 I do not say or wish to be understood as asserting, that no souls 
 are good except those who are Christians; nor that all professing 
 Christians have good souls. A Christian is not saved by his own 
 righteousness, but by his faith and obedience in and toward a Divine 
 substitute. True, if he lives a consistent life, he will in time develop 
 % good soul. §0 ^ man may be, generallv speaking, good, though 
 
26o HUMAN SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD. 
 
 not a Christian; that is, good toward his neighbors, friends, and the 
 world at large, though not good in his moral obligations toward his 
 Maker. But the soul which has naturally good qualities, is large- 
 hearted and disposed to live and do right; and in addition to all 
 these inherited good qualities, lives in constant communion with 
 its Creator, will be the sweetest, the purest and most angelic in its 
 facial expression and psychological influence. Whereas, the soul 
 that is conceived in lust and born in sin, and lives and indulges 
 in lustful pleasures, if it grows and develops all through life, un- 
 checked by any moral restraint or Divine influence, will write its 
 blackened character upon the never-lying face, and psychologically 
 impress its unholy and irritating influence upon all who come or 
 pass within its range or circle. 
 
^^" 
 
 AN ACTRESS. 
 
 A pretty face, but with more worldly than spiritual beauty. The large, open eyeis, 
 express large and inherited soul capacity. Has the round, plump form and a lively, 
 happy nature. The round-pointed nose indicates her to be peacefully inclined, and not a 
 scolding disposition. 
 
'2.t'2' 
 
 TWO FORCES. 
 
 1 Tlie Two Force* of Nature— The Meaning of the Term Past— Two Classes Represented— 
 Appetite Created in the One leads to the Other — Abuse of Free will — What Sin is— 
 Inherent Principles of the Soul — Action — Lore of Freedom — Desire— Love of Oppo- 
 sites — Curiosity — Acquisitiveness — Two Things Necessary to Cause a Past Life- 
 Temptation of Christ and Eve — Phrenological Characteristics of Past Men and 
 Women — Hereditary Causes — External Causes of a Past Life: Attraction, Repulsion 
 Evil Suggestions, Novel-Reading— How Novels are Purnished — Public Libraries — A 
 Laundry Girl — Scandals — Parents Responsible for the Dissipation of their Children — 
 Evil of Advising them to Marry against their Will — How Elders of the Church fail 
 to do their Duty — Heathen Caste — Long-faced Christians — What Christ Meant when 
 He said to Peter, "Feed my Lambs" — Fallen Women — How they get into the Palace 
 of Sin and why they seldom return to a Life of Purity — Sad Case of two Women in 
 Washington Jail — Why there are so many Prostitutes — Assignation Houses — The 
 Tricks of Women to Excite Men's Curiosity and Amativeness — Women their own 
 Seducers — King Solomon's Opinion Concerning them — Some Prostitutes make good 
 Wives— Why Woman is Woman's Worst Enemy — Sly Past Women — How they Oper- 
 Jtte — ^Restaurant Waiters — The Undercurrent of Society— A Class of Married Women 
 who are too Liberal in their Sentiments— What Constitutes a Fast Character— Fast 
 Men— Causes of their being so. 
 
 THE GREATER THE PLEASURE THE GREATER THE TEMPTATION. 
 
 There are two forces wHcli keep the earth in its orbit, known 
 
 as the centripetal and centrifugal; and these forces seem applica- 
 ble to human beings. There is a path or line in which the soul is 
 destined to travel bj its Creator, and to fly oiF in either direction 
 involves ruin. Had men no other object or desire but to be good, 
 worship God and devote their whole time and energy to their re- 
 ligious nature, or the exclusive use of the religious faculties, they 
 would be yielding to the centripetal force, and men would fail to 
 accomplish their missions on earth. 
 
 When, on the other hand, men entirely negject religious exercise 
 and the development of these faculties, they yield to the other 
 force or law, known to the astronomers as the centrifugal. It 
 is the yielding to this latter mental force in man's nature that 
 leads, or rather carries, men and women into a fast life — or, if not 
 fast, then a life inconsistent in some other respect. 
 
 In treating of this subject, my principal aim will not be to 
 mention particular or personal instances, but rather the class 
 that enters most largely into that kind of life, and the circmn- 
 stances, conditions and motives that lead persons into it. 
 
 To be fast does not necessarily imply sexual immorality, 
 though a fast life often, if not generally, leads to that. There- 
 
264- TWO FORCES. 
 
 fore the word fast may be considered to represent two classes; at 
 
 least, 1 propose so to usejt in^the present^ treatise. 
 
 Fast, in its mildest and most limited meaning, may be ap- 
 plied to that class of men and women, and especially the latter, 
 who are gay, light-headed, inconsiderate, dashing, extravagant 
 in money, dress, manner and ideas; given to worldly amusements 
 and prone to high living, excess of pleasure and dissipation; but 
 who are not vicious in their habits, nor given to vices, such as 
 drunkenness and prostitution. 
 
 The second and more extensive sense of the word includes the 
 latter class, who do not *'go so far, and no farther" but let the 
 reins of their passions loose, and throw off moral and modest 
 restraint. They are in for what they call a good time, regardless 
 of the consequences . They adopt the m^ottoes, ** A short life and 
 a merry one/' *Xet us eat, drink and be merry, fv.r to-morrow 
 we die.'* Sometimes persons will practice fast life number one 
 without falling into number two, because circumstances check or 
 prevent them from going any farther; and sometimes persons 
 through misfortune or willful determination, will rush into num- 
 ber two fast life, without ever practicing the first. But, generally 
 speaking, those who enter the first, find their way into the sec- 
 ond. The appetite created in the first for that exciting kind of 
 life and pleasure is never satisfied, but craves for more and more, 
 until it leads its victim into the hell of the second. 
 
 The abuse of what is called free-will or free agency is the 
 avenue to a fast life. Free-will does not consist in persons doing 
 just what they please, only so far as their actions aiid choice is in 
 harmony wath law and order and does not conflict or intrude 
 upon or injure the rights of others. No one individual, except 
 the Divine Being, has, or in the nature of things can have, unlim- 
 ited and unrestrained free-will. In one sense man has freedom to 
 do whatever he has the power and ability to do— in the same 
 sense that our first parents could and did eat the forbidden fruit. 
 They exercised that unlicensed freedom by interfering with the 
 free-will and law of their Maker. That kind of free-will is self- 
 destroying, because it brings the individual who practices it into 
 a state of bondage greater than their freedom. No created being 
 of intelligence can possibly have the right of absolute free-will. 
 Superiority rules over subordination. 
 
 Sin, then, is unlimited and unrestrained free-will, which con- 
 flict» wit^ -^^/^ — ^^ority and rights of others, or is injurio?" ^ 
 
TWO FORCES. 263 
 
 the physical and mental nature of the one who exercises it. 
 Therefore, fast men and women sin against themselves by 
 overstejjping the boundaries of free-will, and bringing themselves 
 into bondage, really destroying that very condition of mind they 
 are exercising. To seek pleasure at the expense of principle is 
 poor policy; to make the pursuit of worldly happiness the grand 
 aim of life is to prostitute the powers of the mind and intoxicate 
 the soul with infatuation and deluvsions, so that life is but a 
 romantic dream. 
 
 There are certain inherent principles in the soul, which, im- 
 properly influenced and exercised, are incentives or causes of a 
 fast life. First: Action, perpetual motion, unrest. There is a 
 restive desire in human nature to be continualU^ active, either 
 mentalh' or ph^^sically. There is no such thing as perfect rest — 
 that w^ould be death. Men must do something; if not good, then 
 evil. Second: Love of freedom, pride, prudence, choice; an in- 
 clination to think and act as they please without restramt; to go 
 wdiere they like, and to do as they like; love of liberty; a dislike to 
 prohibition. If you tell a person or a child not to do a thing, 
 immediate^ there springs up a desire to do it, stronger than it 
 was before being forbidden. It was the love of freedom that in- 
 spired the early American settlers to leave their native land; 
 hence the outgrowths cf frceccm, pcrscrally, religiously and in. 
 tellectualh', in this country. Third: A desire for whatever 
 pleases the senses or fancy; desire for knowdedge; that kind of 
 feeling which longs lor more, and is never satisfied, so that, no 
 matter how much the mind acquires, of whatever nature it may 
 be, desire remains the same, and makes men progressive. Its 
 manifestations are seen in earh^ life; show^ a child, old enough to 
 observe anything, that which pleases its fancy, and immediateh^ 
 desire prompts the child to take to it. or cry for it. The fact that 
 the human mind is never satisfied with present knowledge, but 
 always seeking for more — constantl^^ desiring a change and some- 
 thing new — is proof that we are progressive beings, created and 
 designed as such, and we shall go on investigating the universe 
 for ages yet nntold. If we had not a spirit or soul, w^e w^ould 
 not desire to know or investigate things of a spiritual na- 
 ture. Our natures could not crave to know something about a 
 thing that does not exist, any more than our stomachs could 
 crave for lood if it did not exist. Where there is want or desire 
 on^' t)ait ^^ ^-^^^ thi^ - ' -, there ^t, of necessity, be 
 
266 two FORCES. 
 
 something to satisfy it in some part of the universe. Fourth: 
 Love of diversity and opposites causes young persons brought 
 up in a strict, severe and rigid manner to wish for a life and as- 
 sociations just the opposite — makes beautiful and refmcd women 
 admire and fall in love w^ith men just the reverse physically and 
 in many of their mental characteristics, such as bravery, energ^^ 
 boldness of the right kind, and all those conditions belonging to 
 a masculine nature; imparts a love for change, contrasts, and 
 whatever gives a sort of variety in life. Fifth: Curiosity- — that 
 disposition to pry and peep into things, experiment, and try new 
 objects of interest; to know^ all about w^hatever appears strange 
 or funny; to become acquainted and familiar w^th whoever suits 
 the idea and taste of the individual. The morbid desire to see 
 noted criminals and the persons connected with great scandals 
 and sensations, arises from the feeling of curiosity= Some one 
 has said in reference to the enjo3^ment people seem to get out of 
 scandals that, '^half their enjoyment is in w^itnessing the distress 
 of the party charged wath the offense. If he show^s no annoj^- 
 ance people soon tire, and there is nothing more brief ard 
 evanescent than a popular memory," Sixth: Acquisition — the 
 desire to receive and own wdiatever the affections love and the 
 soul delights in. It is the selfish feeling. 
 
 All these innate conditions of the mind are acted upon by ex- 
 ternal influences and circumstances in a variet\^ of w^a^'S, some 
 for good, some for evil. All these are the external conditions 
 which predispose men to a fast life. 
 
 What I wnsh to have distinctly understood is that there are 
 tw^o things necessary to make a man or w^oman fast. First, there 
 must be something in their nature capable of being influenced 
 and corrupted; and, second, there must be something of an ex- 
 ternal nature to produce that influence. 
 
 If an individual having no sin in his nature was kept free 
 from all sinful influences, and never saw^ or heard anything evil, 
 nor w^as subjected to an^^ tempter, he w^ould remain holy. If, on 
 the other hand, a pure person w^as subjected to all kinds and 
 forms of sinful influence, and there was no element in his nature, 
 tio desire or passion in the soul that could be tempted, he w^ould 
 remain pure likewise. The Devil cotdd not tempt Christ, because 
 there w^as nothing in him to tempt, but he did tempt Eve, through 
 one or both of two reasons. Eithei sht was ignorant of the 
 
TWO FORCES. 267 
 
 character of the Devil and sin, or there was some element in her 
 nature he could act upon, such as desire, curiosity or freedom. 1 
 am inclined to think it was a little of both. She was persuaded 
 that the fruit was good for food (and it does not require much 
 talk or influence to persuade some women). It looked pleasant 
 and tempting to her eyes, and she thought it would make her 
 wise. This created desire, and she took it. That she did not 
 j&now the character and artful design oi the serpent is evident 
 iTom her excuse for sinning, "The serpent beguiled me, and I did 
 eat." 
 
 Now, if there had been nothing in Eve's nature to tempt, the 
 serpent could not have deceived her. Because, if she did not know 
 Satan, she knew God, and must certainly have had enough intel- 
 ligence to know she was disobej'ing his commands, and that the 
 statements of God and the serpent were contradictor \^; and that, 
 therefore, one must be v^^rong. On the other hand, if Eve had 
 not been tempted b^^ external influence, \ve have no reason to 
 suppose she would have sinned. Christ was free from both in- 
 ternal and external conditions. He knew Satan and himself, and 
 was perfecth' pure, so that sin could not possibh^ touch him. The 
 xack of self-knowledge is the stumbling-block over w^hich thou- 
 sands of people fall. The^^ do not know hovv^ far a bad habit or 
 a mistake or error will lead them astray. 
 
 I shall now proceed to mention the classes and phrenological 
 characteristics of fast men and women. Phrenologically, fast 
 persons, or those prone to that kind of life, lack strength and 
 depth of char cter. They are shallow, easily carried aw^ay by 
 the current of feeling and impulse; have a craving for light liter- 
 ature, dancing and amusements; are airj, light-headed, and lack 
 a solid, practical kind of character. They have generally strong 
 passions of some kind. In men, it is either for drink, or women, 
 or both; in women, for dress, jewelry, theater-going, fun, and 
 sometimes strong passions for men. Approba.tiveness, ideality, 
 amativeness, and mirthfulness are the principal organs, -with 
 only average veneration, organic quality and religious nature. 
 
 It is the peculiar temperamental conditions that mostly de- 
 termine their character. Persons with large organic quality 
 generally rise above a fast life, no matter what the organs or 
 temperaments are. But when the passional, caloric and bilious 
 temperaments are largely developed, the temptation to a life of 
 dissipation and sin is ir " ""ig, and that indivir"^"*' 
 
268 I'WO FORCED. 
 
 who, with such an organization lives a pure and Godly life, is a 
 moral hero. There is very lie tie honor due to some persons for 
 living a virtuous life; because, possessing a cold nature and Aveak 
 propensities, there is very little desire for the gratification of the 
 passions and appetites. A¥hen there is strong love for fun, the 
 comic and the exciting scenes of merrj^ life as is found in the 
 blonde t^^pe of character, there is also a great danger of falling 
 into an evil life. Education has much to do with developing one's 
 character. I mean by education in this description, that kind of 
 knoAvledge obtained by everA^-day life and contact with individ- 
 uals and society. In this ^va^^ the character is silenth^, but 
 gradualh', molded hj surrounding associations. 
 
 But perhaps the principal agency which determines character 
 is hereditary. Parents \vho live fast or reckless lives must expect 
 their children to follow in their footsteps. Mental as well as 
 pln^sicai conditions are transmitted to offspring, and the reason 
 why children of the same famih^ differ so in appearance and dis- 
 position , is because their parents were in different moods, sur- 
 rounded hj din'erent asociations, influenced by different circum- 
 stances, thought and acted differently, and were actuated b^^ 
 different motives and desires — were not in precise^ the same 
 condition, either mentalh^ phj^sically, or circumstantially, previ- 
 ous to the birth of each child. It is not even necessar\^ that 
 parents should actually live a fast life to impart that desire to 
 their children. , Let their thoughts and desires be in that direc- 
 tion — let their minds be given up to a craving for that fictitious 
 kind of life, and just as surely will similar impressions mold the 
 minds of the children, and incline them to a fast life, as rivers are 
 inclined to a downward, instead of an upward course. 
 
 That the fundamental cause of a fast life or disposition is 
 hereditar-\^ onh' requires a little close stud^^ and observation of 
 such persons to convince any one having ability- to perceive men- 
 tal and physiological conditions by the appearance. 
 
 Fast persons show it in their physiognomies, their actions, 
 and their manner of conversation, and that at an early age, be- 
 fore they are out of their teens; so that it is evident that they 
 have not had time to form such a character. But there are some 
 in w^hom the disposition to a fast life is not internal or born in 
 them; they acquire it from external pressure brought to bear 
 iir»r»n them-rforce of circumstances; are led into it, step by step, 
 
TWO FORCES, 269 
 
 and especially by the example, influence, and persuasion of 
 others. 
 
 The external causes of a fast life are two-fold. One class of 
 causes, b}^ the power of attraction, draws persons into it; the 
 other, b^^ repulsion, forces and drives them into it. The fascina- 
 tions of a gay, merry, exciting, pleasure-seeking life, with scarcely 
 any work, are too strong for minds having any affinity for such 
 tilings to bear; hence, they become intoxicated, lose their mental 
 equilibrium, neglect the plain, practical duties of life, and drift 
 into the current of dissipation. The difficulty with such individ- 
 uals is, that they have not enough of that ]jenetrating, perceiv- 
 ing, investigating and ana^h'tical cast of mind to see into the 
 vanitA', emptiness, and unsatisfAnng nature of these alluring, 
 superficial pleasures and amusements. The fashions of society 
 and the st\^le exhibited in high life excite the organs of appro- 
 ba.ivencss and ideality, and, if the^- are the largest and most 
 active organs in the brain, they draw all the others into subjec- 
 tion, so that such a person is entirely controlled by the action of 
 these two organs. For such an one to be out of the fashion is to 
 be out of the world, and, in many instances, she will do almost 
 anything to be stylish and gain a position in fashionable society. 
 Her thirst for outside dis ilay and an easy, merry life knows no 
 bounds and some will go so far as to sacrifice virtue and princi- 
 ple to obtain what the^^ desire. Especially is this the case with 
 that clpcss whose income is not sufficient for expensive living and 
 dressing. Fast persmis are captivated and carried away by ap- 
 pearances; they go by the senses and not the judgment; they for- 
 get that all that glitters is not gold. 
 
 External appearances and internal reality are two things 
 very often as widely different as daylight and darkness. Many 
 people go through the world with their e^xs wide open, and see 
 nothing biit wdiat is on the surface — never investigating facts 
 and causes, never looking behind the veil that separates reputa- 
 tion from character. The^^ are like bus}^ bees in one particular— 
 they flit from flower to flower, gathering enough honey for pres- 
 ent use; but they have no honeycomb in ^Affiich to st re up for 
 future use. They enjoy the bright, genial daA^s of summer, and 
 trust to what thcA^ call luck for the chilh^ months of winter. 
 Pluck is unknown in such characters. Th^j can not, or do not 
 like to face and encounter difficulties and obstacles that beset the 
 pathway of persons of unwavering principle and perseverance. 
 
270 TWO FORCES. 
 
 They are human butterflies, whose chief dehght is to look pretty 
 and bask in pleasure. The reason why this class is so influenced 
 and attracted by worldly fascinations is because of the tendenc}^ 
 of human nature to live in the exercise of the physical senses, 
 appetites and passions more than in the spiritual or higher na- 
 ture, and so, having a slight inclination that way, :hey readily 
 yield instead of resisting and figuring against the incHnations of 
 the flesh. Self control seems to be one of the hardest things lor 
 human beings to master and practice. KeA-^ertheless that is the 
 onlywaA^to virtue and success— to conquer self is to save self 
 and make self. 
 
 The ways of sin are generally enticing. The enchanting sights 
 which men behold are pleasing to the e^^e and agreeable to the 
 senses. They steal upon the mind, inflame the affections, injure 
 the intellect, create morbid desires, and Aveaken the whole moral 
 character. The aYentics of sin and places of ammsement are very 
 inviting in their appearance. They are designed and arrar ged 
 for the very purpose of attracting. No expense is spared to 
 make them alwaj^s agreeable to the serse of sight and sound. 
 But it is not those things most conspicuous to the senses that do 
 the most mischief. The silent and unseen forces of nature are 
 more powerful than those perceptible to the senses. 
 
 What put evil in the mind of Eve? Not the sight of the fruit, 
 but the suggestion and insinuation of the Devil, in a gentle, art- 
 ful manner. What puts the first evil thoughts and desires into 
 the minds of our youth? W'^hat gives them their first inclinations 
 toward a fast life? What makes them anxious to see things and 
 places of a questionable character? Nothing but the ideas that 
 have been suggested to them in some manner, either by conversa- 
 tion or reading, which aroused their curiosity, set them to think- 
 ing, created restlessness, awakened a desire to see and hear, led 
 them to feel that they were not free and independent like others, 
 to go and do just as the^^ pleased, till they longed for a different 
 life — one opposite in its nature and character to their present 
 mode of living. 
 
 Novel-reading is the curse of the country; for, if it does not 
 instill an 3^ positive evil idea, it robs the youth of their solid, prac- 
 tical nature, power and strength of mind. They read excessively ' 
 and think very little, so they become mental babies, feeding on 
 nothing but imagination. They never become independent think- 
 
two FORCES. 271 
 
 ers — ^in fact, they do not know how to think. They ke^p on feed- 
 ing, or rather sucking, but never stop to digest. They craro 
 their mental stomach so full that it cannot hold any more, and 
 finally impair their memories seriouslj^ How much better oft 
 they would be if they would only read less and think more( What 
 are persons fit for who have been reading something to please 
 their fancy during that period of life when they are forming their 
 characters? These exciting love stories, highly colored hj the 
 vivid imagination of the writer, have been preparing the mind oi 
 the reader to enter upon a fast life. And all that is necessary to 
 cause such an one to rush into that kind of life are certain kinds 
 of temptations and circumstances. 
 
 Where do they obtain these novels to read? Why, our public 
 libraries and Sunday-school libraries kindly furnish them, helping 
 to make them weak-minded, worthless, and immoral citizens, and 
 useless, contaminating members of the church. Any library that 
 furnishes novels or light literature is a public curse. I asked the 
 librarian of one ol our large city libraries what class oi books 
 were taken out the most; "W^hy," said he, "novels, novels; it it 
 were not for novels w^e could not keep our library open. Old 
 gi ay -headed men call for them, and the more trashy thej are the 
 better the^" like them." Still I would not in a wholesale way 
 condemn every novel and every kind of fiction, but the bulk oi it 
 is much better fitted to make a good bonfire, than to build agood, 
 thoughtful, practical character, and even the best and most pious 
 of novels if read constantly will so excite the imagination and 
 draw on the sympathetic nature, as to throw the mind out of 
 balance. They should be read on the same principle that a per- 
 son eats any kind of luxury or takes medicine. Watch the school- 
 girls and employes in our city, and you will find- that a librarF- 
 book is their most intimate companion. They carry them to 
 school, to the workshop, and even to their meals. I remember 
 two girls who were daughters of a ladj I once boarded with, the 
 eldest of wdiom did little else but read novels, and v^henever she 
 would be walking around the house, she would have one under 
 her arm or in her hand ready for the first leisure moment. W^hat 
 good is such a girl for a wife and as a mother? She is only fit to 
 raise up a family of weak-minded flirts. The younger girl on re- 
 turning from Sunday-school one morning, brought home two 
 library books; one of them w^as about Humpty Dumpty, and the 
 other. Tweedledum and Tweedledee, or some such title— nice 
 
272 TWO FOftCE^. 
 
 books for a Sunday-school to give out for the spiritual edification 
 
 of the children! 
 
 I met a lady once who said she had read a thousand novels; 
 if so, she certainly did not have time to read much else, and I 
 judge she had not, for there was a novel look on her face. What 
 people read, as well as what they see and hear, help to fashion 
 their minds and faces. Great men have traced the starting or 
 turning point in their career of usefulness and greatness, to the 
 thoughts and silent influence of some books the\' read in early 
 life. And a good man3^ blighted lives of bad men and women can 
 trace the beginning of their downw^ard career to novel-reading. 
 The chief objection to novels is, they poison the mind and destroy 
 the taste for anything sensible and serious or scientific. Like a 
 girl I saw in a laundr^^ one da^^ She was reading trash^^ litera- 
 ture when 1 called, and in a pleasant wa\^ I said to her, "Is that 
 the kind of stuff you read?" "Oh, yes," said she, in a t alf-laugh- 
 ing way, "I have to read something to pass the time away." 
 "Well," said I, in order to test its effect upon her mind, "do 3"OU 
 not think it vy."ould be better for you to read the Bible occasion- 
 alh^?" "O. pshaw!" she repliedj with an air of ridicule, "that's 
 too dry; 1 would go to sleep over that." And that is about the 
 effect light literature has on the majority of persons who have a 
 craving for that kind of reading. True, there are some who read 
 both Bible and novels, but most of them are like another girl I 
 met, who was quite a church and Sunda^^-school attendant but 
 likewise a novel-reader; and knowing she had a passion for such 
 books, T asked her one day when I sa\v het reading the Bible, 
 how she could get her mind on that. "O, I often read the Bible/' 
 she said, "but 1 like novels the best." Yes, there are plenty of 
 such who like to read the Bible for a change, or for curiosity-. But 
 I w^ould like to see or hear of a single person, male or female, who 
 is an inveterate novel-reader, v^dio prefers to read the Bible or 
 scientific works in preference to novels. 
 
 There is another kmd of reading which corrupts the mind of 
 all classes, old as well as young. I refer to the reading of scan- 
 dals and reports of criminal acts in the daily newspapers. If 
 there is any crime committed, all the horrible details of it are 
 printed, so that ever^- boy and girl in the country can become as 
 familiar with sin theoretically as any adult; and in many in- 
 staiice&» it is n*jt long before they become practical performers of 
 
TWO FORCES. 273 
 
 what they liave read. The principal evil] in the publication of 
 these scandals and criiiijs is, that pc^ople becorae so famifiar, as it 
 were, with sin, that they lose a portion of their abhorrence. And 
 so crimes are looked upon as every-day occurrenccSj and little 
 notice is taken of them; that is, the\^ fail to shock the moral na- 
 ture of people as they would if they were less frequent. For no 
 matter how much we abhor a thing or an idea at first, the 
 oftener we come in contact with it, the less objectionable it 
 becomes to us. 
 
 Some persons become fast, not so much hj the power of at- 
 traction, but rather b\^ being driven into it, either through severe 
 treatment or straitened circumstances Parents are often respon- 
 sible for the dissipation of their children. They make home feel 
 to them a sort of prison-house from which they are glad to get 
 away, and then they feel like birds let out of a cage, and are 
 liable to run to excess in the use of their liberty. Restraint being 
 thrown off, they are anxious and eager to see and know what 
 the world is. They seek the societj^ of those whose character is 
 questionable, are influenced by them, and gradualh^ lose self- 
 control, and in time are led astray. Whereas, if their homes had 
 been a little heaven below to them, [they would not have sought 
 corrupting associations. When parents make their sons and 
 daughters feel that they love them dearly, and let them have all 
 the innocent fun they want at home, ruling them in such a man- 
 ner that thev will not be afraid to speak or move for fear of being 
 corrected, they will love their homes, and be contented to remain 
 there till dutv calls them away, or until they have a home of 
 their own. Young people are continually told what theymust 
 not do, and where the\^ ought not to go, but are seldom told 
 what they may do, or where they may go; and they finally get 
 aggravated and discontented, and are bound to have their own 
 way, whether right or wrong. 
 
 Parents advising and compelling their children to marry 
 against their will is the worst kind of legalized prostitution. 
 Imagine such individuals begetting children when they have little 
 or no love for each other. When parents beget children they 
 ought to be red-hot with love for each other. No wonder there 
 are so many in the world with mean, unloving dispositions— per- 
 sons who seem to have neither heart nor soul' 
 
274 TWO FORCES. 
 
 The older members of cliurclies fail to do their duty towards 
 young people, and so they wander into forbidden paths, through 
 the neglect of those who ought to be more interested in them, 
 Young people connected with churches and their congregations, 
 would not seek evil amusements so much if the worthy elders 
 would help to provide some innocent and real social kind of 
 amusement for them, either in the church building, or at their 
 houses, or some other conYcnient place; but the trouble is, there 
 is a. sort of heathen caste existing among the wealthiest class of 
 church members, and of course it would defile their homes to 
 have the poor members cross their thresholds, and so thcA^ are 
 shut out to enjoy themselves as best they can. 
 
 Then there is another class, who are not wealthy, out put on 
 more airs than rich people ever thought of. They, b}- their 
 actions, say to others whom they consider beneath them, but are 
 really superior so far as piety and ccmm.on eense are concerned, 
 ^*You do not belong to our clique, and aax won't associate with 
 you." There is a third class that are remarkably pious in their 
 own estimation, and if they see a young person even emile within 
 a hundred yards of the church, they frown and draw on a face as 
 long as a mule's ear. 
 
 These three classes destroy Christian sociaoility in all our 
 large churches, especiallj^ city churches. Hence, quite a number 
 are liable to seek amusement where they ought not to, and asso- 
 ciate with persons who have no regard for Christianity-. There 
 are those in churches who would do this under an}- circumstances, 
 but the number would be leesened if the church exercivSed more 
 real, and less assumed love and friendship. I remember hearing a 
 minister preach on the duty of young people to the church, to the 
 state and to society, but I never heard him preach on the duty of 
 the church to young peoi:)le. 
 
 Christ said to Peter, "If you love me, feed nn- lambs," but 
 ministers say, "Young people, feed the church, and the Lord will 
 feed you." 
 
 Nowhere in the New Testament have we any account of 
 Christ putting so much stress on an\^thing he said, b^- repeating 
 it the third time, as when he said, 'Tf you love me, feed my 
 lambs." It was not the love of Peter he had in mind, so much as- 
 it was the feeding of his lambs. Christ knew that Peter loved 
 
 .7 
 
TWO FORCES. 275 
 
 him, and Peter knew it also. But he was not aware Avfiat Christ 
 wanted him to do till he thorotighh^ impressed it upon him by 
 appealing to the strongest power of his nature. And so I have 
 often thought that the church has failed to comprehend as j^et 
 w^hat its duty is toward ^^oung people, and toward those who 
 unforttinateh' have stepped be^^ond the borders of moral society-, 
 and upon a fast life. Churches and ministers make a great effort 
 to save the moral class of society, but turn the cold shoulder to 
 those who most need a helping hadd. Wh^^ mam- of our church 
 women would shun a fast woman as though she were a vi-oer, in- 
 stead of taking her by the hand and talking kindly to her. The 
 outcasts of society are the vcr^; ones Christ was most interested 
 in, and he always treated them with peculiar kindness and gen- 
 tleness. And, there is really more hope of saving one of them 
 than a self-righteous, fashionable woman, who thinks herself too 
 good to be lost. It is the uncharitableness of the church and so- 
 ciety that prevents many a fallen woman from returning to a life 
 of purity, actually keeping them in the position they condemn, 
 because thcj will not visit them, nor receive them back into so- 
 ciety. It often helps to drive them there, then to keep them there, 
 and finally arrests i:hem for being there. It is not to be supposed 
 that all women would, if the\^ could, return to good societ^^ or 
 improve their condition; but there are thousands that would, 
 who are disgusted with that kind of life, but remain in it because 
 they see no chance of bettering their condition financially. I re- 
 member a case where a lady, acting as city missionar^^ among 
 that: class of women, had succeeded in reclaiming, as she thought, 
 one of the most desperate of those characters. She took the 
 woman to her own home, and as long as she was cared for and 
 protected vrith Christian influence, she behaved herself pretty 
 well, but when the missionary could not keep her any longer, and 
 the woman could not find a horn e and nothing but a cold world 
 and poverty staring her in the face, she gradually fell back into 
 hei old life, from which it is not likely she will ever return. I met 
 this woman at the close of a lecture I gave in one of the Bethel 
 Homes. I had arranged with the missionary and a clergy-man to 
 speak to an audience composed of sailors, and men and women 
 from the rougher elements of societj^. After the lecture, this 
 woman, of whom I knew nothing, was sent up to the platform 
 
 I 
 
276 TWO I^BJCBd. 
 
 to be publically examined. I described her as having targe Ten- 
 eration and a strong devotional nature, but, at the same time, 
 verj^ combative, and such was her character. She could pray, 
 or fight Hke a tiger, and had been through more than one battle 
 w^ith tlie police, making it prett^^ lively work for them to arrest 
 her. Many of them have never been brought up to work, or 
 taught anything by v^hich they can make their living. Their 
 parents w^ere afraid they w^ould soil their hands and be spoiled 
 for pirno purposes, or for appearance in society, so the3^ were 
 brought up vrith a silver spoon. But, unfortunately, the sun of 
 prosperity ceased to shine on them — adversity came — pOA'crty 
 stared them in the face — and so they adopted the life of a prosti- 
 tute. 
 
 In the Washington, D. C. jail, was a young w^oman of good 
 appearance, who expressed a desire to reform. A lady who was 
 interested in the reform of criminals and labored for that purpose 
 was sent for. She talked to the v.^oman and arranged to take 
 her to her own home. But, alas! she could not control herself, 
 much less the fallen girl. She had not long been in the lady's 
 house before that old, devilish, green-ei^ed monster, jealousy, took 
 possession of her heart, all because her husband, a good man, 
 occasionally talked in a social way to the woman, before his wife, 
 in order to make her feel at homic and contented. So she turned 
 the girl out of the house, who, being discouraged and evidently 
 losing confidence in ever^^body, soon found her way back to jail 
 again» The reform ladj'- really did the young woman an injury- 
 making her last career worse than the first. Jealous people need 
 «iome pOAver to reform them, before they begin to doctor the souls 
 of others. 
 
 Sometimes parents drive their own children into disreput- 
 aole lives, or help keep them there when they are in it. Like 
 tne case of another jo\mg lady in a Washington jail. Her 
 sister had died, and she was permitted to go to her home 
 and see her. Her father had been a drinking man, but for a 
 year had quit. The occasion was sad, the scene affecting, as 
 over the dead body of her sister she faithfulh^ promised 
 Der mother she w^ould make one more effort to reform 
 and become reconciled to her father, when she got clear 
 oi the difficulty she was then in, *'But, she added, **if ever 
 
father throws my past life tip to me again, as he has done before, 
 I will leave and never return!" That is what' keeps many a 
 woman from reforming; the frequent allusion to and censuring 
 for past offenses, either by her parents or acquaintances. That is 
 what makes it so hard and almost impossible for such a person to 
 reform in the town or city where she was brought up, because, 
 even if no person says anything to her, she naturalh^ thinks that 
 every person she meets looks upon her as a prostitute or thief, or 
 whatever she has been guily of, just as the guilty conscience of a 
 criminal at largemakes him imagine ever\^little bush on the road- 
 side is a policeman. Hence the best thing for a fallen woman to 
 do (or man either) when she leaves a jail or house of prostitu- 
 tion, and wishes to mend her ways, is to start off immediately to 
 some distant place where she is not known. 
 
 And it is in such cases that the mean, low, selfish, unfeeling, 
 yea, fiendish nature of some men come to light. For these very 
 men, and society young-bloods who boast of their famih^ con- 
 nections, and have often been the cause of the downfall of respect- 
 able young women, are the ver^^ first to stigmatize and point the 
 finger of guilty recognition at her "when they see her trying to 
 find her way back into society. Instead of trying to help the one 
 they have ruined, or give her a chance to help herself back to the 
 path of virtue, they do all they can to push her on to destruction. 
 
 Some enter the place of sin on account of matrimonial diffi- 
 culties, either through disagreement or desertion. A large num- 
 ber find their way there through seduction and disappointment. 
 They loved their enemies better than themselves or their owm 
 virtue. These classes are deserving of pit^^ for two reasons: First, 
 they are the victims of misplaced confidence; and, second, it is the 
 nature of women to lean or depend upon man for support, and 
 they have little courage or pluck to go out into the world and 
 make their way through every conceivable difficulty that they 
 have never before encountered. Then there is a natural shame 
 ielt in facing their friends and acquaintances after they have once 
 fallen and it has become known; and so, as a man takes to drink 
 to drov^n his troubles, they take to a life of prostitution, or else 
 live v^ith some man who v^ill keep them. They likewise look upon 
 that kind of life as the easiest way to make a living; and the in- 
 ducements held out to them by the keepers of these house» are 
 
278 TWO FORCES. 
 
 very strong and tempting, and so the\^ leap into the dark uncer- 
 tainty. But the greatest inducement and temptation to a fast 
 life is money. There is a large class of women, as well as men, 
 who will do almost anything for money and dress. They will 
 part with honor, virtue and principle for an easy, stylish and vol- 
 uptuous kind of life. For this class there is very little hope. They 
 have no inclination to reform, because they make it a business — 
 and generally a paying one, so far as money is concerned. It 
 could not be otherwise than paying when the business men of the 
 city, and mostly the married ones, liberalh^ support them. 
 
 One woman in Chicago took in eleven thousand dollars, by 
 keeping an assignation house, the first year she opened. And 
 some of the high-toned houses of ill-fame are the most elegantly 
 furnished in the city. So, if it v/ere not for the mone^^ made by 
 prostitution, there would not be half the number in the business. 
 There are a few who become sporting women through passion 
 and a natural desire to lead a fast w^oman's life. But they are 
 exceptions, and not the rule; for it must not be supposed that 
 fast women are so passionately fond of men as to cause them to 
 seek such a life for sexual pleasure and gratification. The amat- 
 ive passion is not so strong in women as it is in men; hence 
 women are naturally more virtuous than men and less passion- 
 ate. Hence, also, one cause of prostitution is the excessive de- 
 m.ands of men, through their unrestrained amativeness and the 
 jdelding disposition of women, and their desire for dress and 
 money. But, as I have said, there are women who have a large 
 amount of amativeness — more than they know hoAV to take care 
 of— and finalh^ it leads them to ruin. There has been more than 
 one Cleopatra in the world, and it is quite likelj^ there will be a 
 great many more. Fortunately for the moral welfare of the race, 
 nature or the God of nature has provided a means in the organi- 
 zation of woman, b^^ which her sexual impulses are kept in sub- 
 jection without resorting to carnal intercourse v^4th men. 
 
 Women are very often their own seducers. Thej^ tempt men 
 by their facinations, look, manner and actions, in the house, and 
 even on the streets, sometimes just for fun or to see how much in- 
 fluence they have; but their fun often terminates in a sad realit}-. 
 Women are mental seducers, and men the physical; for a desire or 
 conception in the mind alwa3^s precedes the physical act. That 
 is, in any kind of seduction, the amative feeling in man is excited 
 
TWO FORCES. 279 
 
 by the woman; and it makes no difference whether it is done con- 
 sciously or intentionally, or otherwise, the effect is all the same, 
 it is evident that, in many cases, they try to w^ork on the amative 
 natures of men by their shrewd, cunning arts of bewitchery; and 
 they generally do it in such a manner that no one would suspect 
 them of intentionally doing it — at any rate, chat is the impres- 
 sion they wish to convey to the minds of men. 
 
 I have noticed at summer resorts, especially a fashionale 
 watering place like Long Branch, a tendency on the part of some 
 women to wash and dress themselves with their v/indows or 
 doors partly open or so fixed that an^- person passing could 
 hardly help seeing inside. I remember at one of the large hotels 
 there, a woman whose room was on the ground floor facing the 
 front piazza, where everybod\^ promenaded up and down, who, 
 every afternoon from three to four o'clock, when she had or made 
 occasion to change her dress and vv^ash, would leave her shutters 
 so that outsiders could see in. In one sense there was no harm in 
 it, in another there was. As far as the mere exposing of her arms 
 and shoulders, that of itself was harmless; but it was the sudden, 
 artful way in which it was done; it flashed upon the eje of the 
 observer as a surprise, and at once aroused his curiosity and de- 
 sire to see more. It was privacy and public. I have no doubt 
 but some of them do this innocently and thoughtlessly; that is, 
 without any desire to attract or work upon the feelings a,nd im- 
 pulses of men. But there are others who do it on purpose with a 
 motive behind the act; either through a spirit of vanity to partly 
 show their forms, or to excite the curiosity and passions of men. 
 Just as in the case of another woman at Long Branch, who I 
 ventured to speak to on the subject, and finally asked her if she 
 did not think some of them did so intentionally. ^'Why," said 
 she, "certainl^^; I was taking a sponge bath one afternoon in my 
 room, with the shuttrs closed but the slats open, when two gen- 
 tlemen drove b^^ and looked up and caught a glance of me. They 
 arove on a few yards, then wheeled around and drove past again; 
 but just before they got opposite my window I closed the slats.'* 
 T asked her why she closed them after leaving them open in the 
 first place. " Wh3%" said she, '*to make them all the more crazy." 
 i remember a married lady in Saratoga, who was rooming on 
 the same floor with myself; her husband was away most of the 
 
280 two FORCES, 
 
 time. I had to pass her room in going to my own, and I became 
 
 at last reall}^ annoyed in finding her always closing her door just 
 as I passed it, though she could hear mj footsteps on the stairs 
 in plenty of time to have closed it before I passed. Sometimes 
 she would leave her door ajar and be standing in her night-dress. 
 Finally, I asked another married lad_v in the house if she could 
 give any reason why such a person alwa3^s shut her door as I 
 passed; said I, there must be something ^vrong. ''O," said she, 
 "you are too observing; women do not think anything about 
 such things." But I judged afterw^ards that somebody did think 
 on the subject, for there w^as no more manceuvering w^th the 
 door; and, w^hat was greatly to my surprise, the two women be- 
 came suddenly intimate, w^ent out walking together and w^ere 
 fast friends. Well may Macaule^^ remark: "History' proves that 
 although woman possesses noble impulses and approaches the 
 angels, yet when yielding to a master passion she is capable of a 
 refinement of wickedness which men never attain." 
 
 And -t has been said that all the great good things in relig- 
 ion, politics and art that have been produced in France for the 
 last hundred years, have been inspired b3^ a woman. 
 
 Some women want to be seduced. A A^oung girl, about fifteen 
 or sixteen 3^ears of age, on being asked how^ she came to be se- 
 duced, replied, ''Because, I w^anted to be." Another, in speaking 
 about the man who employed her before she became fast, said, 
 •'I used to hate him, because he didn't take liberties with me and 
 try to seduce me." I mention these facts not out of any disre- 
 spect for w^omen^ or because I believe this to be the general or 
 natural character of women, but to shov^ that men are not al- 
 w^a^'S to blame for the seduction and ruin of 3^oung w^omen, and 
 ruin of 3 oung women, and because there are some persons in the 
 world who w^ould have the public believe that woman is the 
 most abused creature on earth — that she is an angel, and man a 
 villain, so far as the sexual question is concerned. 
 
 Solomon charges women with being seducers rather than 
 men; and he certainl3^ ought to know; that is, if experience and 
 acquaintance wdth persons, things and subjects has an3^thing to 
 do with adding to one's knowdedge. 
 
 Prostitutes w^ho have not dissipated too much occasionally 
 make good wives, because, having sinned, they are not easily led 
 
TWO FORCES. iSl 
 
 astray again, and they arc contented to have a quiet home of 
 their own. In fact, many would be happy to marry a respectablt 
 man, and forever bid adieu to their fast life, which has been so 
 repugnant to them. The keeper of one of the low concert halls 
 of New York Cit3^, married one of the girls of his place. She not 
 only reformed herself, but made a much better man of him. The 
 woman of Samaria had a better heart and disposition than 
 many others whose moral characters were better than hers. So 
 long as a woman does not drink there is a chance to reform her, 
 but when she becomes a regular drunkard her case is hopeless. A 
 gentleman connected with the House of Industry and Reform, at 
 the Five Points, in New York, told me he never knew of a drunk- 
 en woman being permanently reformed. Do what you may, they 
 will sooner or later fall back to their old habits, and take to 
 drink like a thirsty stag to the water. 
 
 There are different grades of sporting women* they are not 
 all low and vulgar. Some of them come from the best families in 
 the land, are well educated, and are perfect ladies in every other 
 respect They are there through misfortune of some kind, and 
 very often unknown to their family and friends. Many a woman 
 leaves her hom-e and gives her friends to understand she is visit- 
 ing some acquaintance in another place, or engaged in some re- 
 spectable business; when, in reality, she is board ng at a house of 
 ill-fame, or has rented a room where she can receive company, or 
 is living for a time with a strange man. After a while she returns 
 home, and conducts herself as usual, none being any the wiser. 
 But she soon feels like visiting again, or getting another situa- 
 tion, and so continues coming and going till her actions excite 
 suspicion, and she becomes the subject of general talk. Still none 
 can make a positive charge against her, and she becomes bold, 
 defiant and indifierent, till finally she throws off the vail, and 
 appears before society in her true colors. 
 
 Occasionally the young girls, in large cities, will make-believe 
 and deceive their friends, bj^ not leaving the city at ail. They 
 take the cars, but get off at the first station, and return on the 
 next train, and then get lodgings in some other portion of the 
 city, and it is difficult for their friends to find them, because the 
 person they live with, or rent rooms of, are not likely to answer 
 any questions that would lead to their discovery. 
 
 So far as this vice is concerned, woman is her bitterest enemy. 
 
282 TWO FORCES. 
 
 Those in the better class of society look down tipon those who 
 
 have fallen with utter contempt, rather than with a spirit of 
 charit}' and pity. Some regard them with a sort of righteous 
 indignation, which, to a certain extent, is right. But I suppose 
 the reason some women feel so intenselj^ bitter against prosti- 
 tutes is, because thQy think, or perhaps know, that their hus- 
 bands or friends visit these women. Then there is a sort of jeal- 
 ous feeling, because they cannot occasional!}^ step off the track, 
 and do as other fast women do, and go where fast men go, with- 
 out exposing themselves; though some break through this bar- 
 rier and run the risk, and then ill-feeling to ward this class becomes 
 modified. 
 
 A crusade 'was waged against the houses of prostitutisn in 
 New York, some years ago, if I remember right, and, after the 
 work was fairly inaugurated, it suddenly stopped, for the reason 
 that the women met their ov^m husbands or sons in these places, 
 and of course their tongues were sealed. A city missionary^ lady 
 told me that, on calling at one of these houses one day to teilk to 
 the inmates, she read a list of the names of the board of man- 
 agers of the organization she represented. She had only read the 
 second or third before one of the girls spoke up, *'We know him." 
 The missionary blushed and hesitated for a moment, then began 
 to read some more names; in a moment another girl spoke up, 
 **We know him, too." Suffice to say she did not save many eouls 
 in that house. On another occasion in another citj she called at 
 a high-toned house, and the landlady met her in the hall or par- 
 lor and :old her that she need not come there to talk to her girls 
 about religion when one of the leading church women in the city 
 and her daughter came to her house when the^^ wanted to make 
 a little money. These are sad and serious statements to make, 
 but they are true, nevertheless. 
 
 Fast women on the sl\^ abound in all classes of society-, from 
 the servant girl up to the wf althy mistress, with the church not 
 excepted. Single women of this stamp, in ordinary circumstan- 
 ces, generally obtain pi sitions in some light, respectable employ- 
 ment, either in offices as clerks or copyists, or as salesladies in 
 some dry goods or notion stores. Wages, to this class, are not 
 so much an object as some respectable em plo^anent, to take away 
 all suspicion. ThQj in time form an acquaintance with gentle- 
 men iristting for business purposes, and so »iake appointm^tits 
 
-^ 
 
 This may be considered a modified form of the Grecian nose. The original Grecian 
 nose comes from or resembles the Egyptian, and differs chieHy from tliis in tliat it forms a 
 straight line with the forehead; whereas, in the above cut, t'.iere is a break or depression 
 between the upper pa t of the nose and the frontal sinus, which makes it more graceful 
 and beautiful. An c>.\sthetical nature is generally found witli the above form of nose, and 
 is what I consider a perfect form for the female nose. Tiie accompanying eye is also 
 beautiful and modest in its expression. 
 
dntside. These parties can generally give the vefy best kmd of 
 
 references from good society, such as business men, chnrch mem- 
 bers and ministers. They either make a ])iisiness of getting ac- 
 quainted and associating with first-chiss society, or else, as is 
 often the case, they were connect with it before they became fast; 
 hence they either borrow or retain their repntation and good 
 name from other persons, and many of them are so deep and 
 shrewd that it is almost impossible to find them out. They find 
 their way into the most fashionable society in the oitj, A gen- 
 tleman giving a grand party at his residence on one of the princi- 
 pal avenues of Chicago, received among his guests one of this 
 class, though, I presume unknown to him. They visit the best 
 hotels in the city, take rooms there, and carry on their business 
 whenever convenient; or the^^ w411 visit gentlemen at their rooms 
 in these hotels by driving there in carriages. 
 
 It is an indisputable fact that many of the finest and most 
 prominent buildings in the business portion of Chicago have 
 more or less of these women in them, and they invariably give 
 first-class references when they apyh^ or, what is often the case, 
 room with a man, and pass as his wife. Indeed, a stranger 
 hardly knows now-a-daA^s into what kind of a place he is going 
 when he takes a room or board. I boarded for two or three 
 weeks with a fine old eastern lady who prided herself on having 
 very nice people in her house, but I discovered before I left that 
 two of her female boarders were questionable characters, and t y 
 reasons for so judging them ^^as their immodest actions and ex- 
 posure of the person of one of them in a public place. On an- 
 other occasion I wanted to lay over for a month and prepare 
 some manuscript. I was a stranger in the cit^^ and after trying 
 one of the hotels and finding it was little better than an assigna- 
 tion house, I inquired for aboarding house and w^as recommended 
 to one. I engaged room and board, and thought I was going to 
 be comfortable and happy. I saw there was a number of lady 
 boarders when I went into the dining room. On making in- 
 quiries, I was informed that three or four of them were married, 
 one wa.s divorced, and the others had husbands away. A few 
 days passed and I began to think the husband story was a 
 doubtful one. A pretty little blonde roomed immediately oppo- 
 site to me, and from a remark she made I began to investigate 
 matters. I noticed she had a doctor who called every three or 
 
286 TWO FORCES. 
 
 four days. The second time he came I concluded he was a pecul- 
 
 iar kind of doctor, and notwithstanding she had a medicine 
 bottle in the dining room from which she took a dose before 
 eating, I concluded the doctor business was all a blind — a mere 
 make-believe. A little further investigation proved beyond a pos- 
 sible doubt that she was a sly fast Tsroman, and probably two or 
 three of the others also. Still further inquiries revealed the fact 
 that the landlady ivas living with a man unlawfully, and had 
 one child by him ivhich was in the house. 
 
 Sly married women can be found anywhere and everywhere, 
 in all classes and circles of society, but especially among the 
 upper classes who live in affluence and ease, and whose husbands 
 bestow part of their affections and vital force on other women, 
 Such women often suffer matrimonial starvation, and it is no 
 wonder they become last, if they have a good share of amative- 
 ness and a desire for pleasure. On the other hand, men marr^^ 
 women who are worthless as wives, and their strong amative 
 natures incline them to form improper acquaintance with other 
 women. They gradually Vx^eaken in their attachment, become 
 cool and indifferent, and spend their evenings away from home. 
 The wife becomes lonesome, and concludes that she will trj^ the 
 same thing. She finds a companion, either male or female, and 
 w^hen her husband goes away for a day or two she improves the 
 opportunity. She visits places of public resort, high-toned res- 
 tt^urants and drinking places, goes to the matinee, gets up a flir- 
 tation with the fast j^oung man she fancies, gives him a few hints, 
 and if she finds he is sharp enough to take them v^dll drop him a 
 note stating the day and time he can call at her residence or some 
 other place. These high-toned women will flirt with the waiters 
 of some public place of resort, and invite tiiem to, their elegant 
 homes. These young men, being poor, are less afraid of being 
 exposed by them, because they feel some^vhat complimented and 
 flattered, and do not mingle in the same kind of societ}^ as the 
 ladies do; and if there was likely to be anj- trouble a few dollars 
 would buy them up all right, so that they would be deaf and 
 dumb on that subject. 
 
 The actual state and undercurrent of society is not discernible 
 at first sight, or by outward appearances. One must be a dose 
 cbsei-\^er of every thing and person around him; must become 
 
TWO FORCES. 287 
 
 familiar with the life and habits of different classes, good and 
 bad, rich and poor, the learned and unlearned; must make him- 
 self a kind of detective, and notice people in all conditions, cir- 
 cumstances and places; must know how and where they spend 
 most of their time by day and by night, Sundays and week-days. 
 Do this four or five years and you will begin to realize what the 
 true condition of society is'. Never take the reputation or pro- 
 fession of a person as a guaranty of his or her true character. 
 There are plenty of men and women vsrho are either members or 
 regular attendants of the church, who can put on a pious aprjear- 
 ance as they sit in their pewb, and mingle in church society, 
 whose private life and character is fast and immoral. I am 
 speaking now of that unprincipled class who seem to make re- 
 ligion and the church a sort of a cloak, under which they can 
 pass for a great more than they are — those who have no con- 
 scientious scruples about their actions, and are influenced by the 
 selfish sentiments; those who take a greater interest in dressuig 
 up and parading the prominent streets in the afternoons, than 
 they do in home duties or work of benevolence. 
 
 There are others, who, through some strong passion in their 
 nature, have besetting sins that occasionally lead them astray, 
 but they are loyal in heart and honest in motive, and do not 
 belpng to the list of fast men and ivomen. 
 
 There is another class, who are not exactly fast, in any sense 
 of the term, but who are extremely free and liberal in their senti- 
 ments on the marriage question. They ere contented and happy 
 so long as their husband's pocket-books are well lined and every- 
 thing goes nicely. But when misfortune or an^^ kind of trouble 
 comes along their smiles give way to frowns. The following in- 
 cident will illustrate this class: A prominent member of the 
 church in speaking about elopements between married persons, 
 remarked, ''Well, I have a poor stick of a husband, but when I 
 can't get along with him, I'll get a. divorce.'* Those persons w^ho 
 never, have any trials and difficulties in life are not properly 
 disciplined. There is too much of the squash and pumpkin na- 
 ture in such people. The3^ lack solidity, strength, and force of 
 character, and when adverse circumstances suddenly overtake 
 them, they know wnat to do, because they have never been 
 tempered with the difficulties and hardships of life's battle-fisld. 
 
288 TWO FORCES. 
 
 This is the reason why so many men and women who have lived 
 in ease and affluence all their lives, become drunkards and prosti- 
 tutes when misfortune overtakes tl:cm because, not being disci- 
 plined or familiar with adversity, they cannot or will not en- 
 counter it. So, married women, when they have been flattered 
 and petted in their youthful days, cannot endure a cross word or 
 look from their husbands, and become discontented because their 
 lives are not all hone3^ 
 
 The old-maidish way in which many bring up their sons and 
 daughters, so that they never see or know an^^thing has a tend- 
 enc3^ to cause them to go to the other extreme when the}- have 
 a chance -^o see what is going on in the world. 
 
 A fast person i^ one in whom desire is unchecked, or nearly so 
 —in whom the reins of self-control hang loose, and there are 
 three things that go to make up a fast character. First, the 
 passions and appetites; second, the desire to see, know and ex- 
 amine what the passions and appetites are interested in; and 
 third, the contin^ial thinking about such things until the will and 
 judgment become paralyzed. If young people v^-ould onh' con- 
 trol their thoughts, there would be no difficult^' in controlling 
 their actions, and it v^^ould saA^e them from a multitude of sins in 
 after life. Rich and extravagant living is also connected with a 
 fast life. And manv^ 3^oung men shorten their existence and a 
 useful career by rich and excessive quantities c;f food. A surfeited 
 stomach deranges the whole system, and stimulating kinds of 
 food and drink excite the animal passions. High living is a 
 dangerous thing. It has taken man^^ a prominent man from a 
 useful and honored position in society, and laid him in his grave, 
 and then his friends bring lots of beautiful bouquets, and honor 
 his death more than his life, and say, "What a pity! he Avas such 
 a nice, good-hearted and generous fellow!" Yes, he was too gen- 
 erous for his own good and the good of his friends; in fact he 
 was too generous to live. A fast life means an earl}^ death. 
 
 While taking a Turkish bath in one of the eastern cities, I saw^ 
 a man there who handled about a thousand car lo ids of grain a 
 week. He had been married two months and spent onlv two 
 Avecks of the time at home \vith his wife. He had spent most of 
 the time in carousing and general dissipation, and had come there 
 in a hack to take a bath and sweat the whiskey out of him. The 
 
TWO FORCES. 289 
 
 driver had to wait on him and dress him like a child. The poor 
 horses had been standing outside from eight a. m. to one p. m., 
 and I presume had been out all night beside, for the hackman was 
 tired and sleep3% taking naps \vhile he was in the sweating room. 
 The condition this newl^^ married debaucher was in can be im- 
 agined when his foul whiskey breath was so strong that it made 
 the man who gave him the bath sick at the stomach. I once met 
 a street car driver in Jersey City, N. J., who told me he used to 
 own property and had considerable mone\',but he wanted to put 
 on as much style as others possessed of means; fell into licentious 
 habits, drove fast horses, and finallj/ became so reduced he had to 
 drive horses for a street car company, and support a wife and 
 mother besides. A fast life always ends badly; bad for the soul, 
 bad for the body, and generally for the pocket also. 
 
 There are two causes which produce fast men, besides their 
 natural tendencies. One is large salaries. So long as they have 
 moderate incomes— just enough to live comfortablr, with econ- 
 om^' — they are not so likely to spend money foolishlj^ or become 
 extravagant but when thej have abundance, there is a tempta- 
 tion to spend it in some manner, and, as their taste inclines them 
 to a life of pleasure, they freely spend it for such purposes, and 
 the appetite, once sharpened, continues to crave for more. The 
 other cause is physical and mental laziness. There is not so much 
 danger of money leading a man into a fast life if he is kept hard 
 at work of somic kind. Hence business men are not so prone to 
 dissipation as their employes are, because they have a great deal 
 of mental, if not physical labor. They use their intellect more — 
 also acquisitiveness; so that the faculties that lead one into dis- 
 sipation are not so active. The most active organs always draw 
 the largest quantity of blood, lea \dng the others in a weakened 
 condition. Now their emploj^es have less thinking to do, less 
 care and anxiety, and, if thejv^ have not the mental temperament 
 and some object in life set before them to bring out their energy, 
 they spend their spare hours in an unprofitable, if not a reckless, 
 manner. Yoimg micn having lucrative positions in stores, ofiices 
 and banks, are prone to this kind of life, and their past gidd3^ life 
 sometimes places them in very embarrassing circumstances, as 
 w^as the case with some young men in a bank when a fashionable 
 sporting woman called one day and presented a check to be 
 
290 TWO FORCES. 
 
 cashed. The cashier informed her she would have to be identi- 
 fied. *'0,'' said she, ''any of these gentlemen inside can identify 
 me." There was a general stampede and consternation among 
 the sinful clerks. They got behind the desk and hid their heads 
 under the counter, till the manager perceiving the condition of 
 things, and the awkward position of the clerks, stepped up to 
 the paying teller and informed him that ''he was not personally 
 acquainted \vith the lady, but he knew it was all right, and he 
 could pay her the money." It was well for the bank there were 
 one or two Yirtuous souls in it. Of all classes of men I regard 
 college professors as the purest on the ^^oman sex feeling. The 
 large amount of intellectual brain work they have to do, offsets 
 and cools down the passions. 
 
 Every man and woman y^dio wishes to make the most of 
 themselves and x3rotect their moral characters, should have some 
 special aim and object in life, and v\^ork for the accomplishment 
 of it. I remember a remark I heard a young man make to his 
 companion one night on the street as they were walking along 
 immediately in front of me. "Well," said he, *T do not care, I 
 have no object in life to live for." I thought that was one of the 
 saddest remarks I ever heard. It is the adoption of just such a 
 sentiment as that v^diich leads many a person to ruin or suicide. 
 The fast 3'oung men atid licentious husbands and fathers who 
 lavish their money and strength on fast women, should study 
 and practice economy. Let them pause, think and figure up how 
 much of their money they spend in the run of a month or a year, 
 leaving out what they occasionally pay to regular physicians, or 
 more frequently quack doctors who financially bleed them, and 
 they will be astonished. Why, if they had to give one-quarter of 
 T\rhat thej^ spend in bad habits to the church or missionary cause, 
 they would consider themselves robbed and ruined. Oh, how sin 
 makes its poor victims pay for their imaginary- pleasures! A 
 noble object in life, the exercise of the intellect in liter arv^ and 
 scientific studies, combined with habits of economy- and industry, 
 is the royal road to a moral life. 
 
 The artful and ingenious wav^ that fast women sometimes re- 
 sort to as a means of advertising themselves is really astonish- 
 ing. When in Saratoga one summer, I had been to the Congress 
 Spring for a glass of x^ater some time during the day, and just 
 
TWO FORCES. 291 
 
 as I turned and left the spring, a small colored boy neatly dressed 
 stepped up to me, .and, in a modest, innocent way said, "Do you 
 know Miss Lucy?" Surprised and bewildered for a moment at 
 the abrupt and peculiar question, I tried to get at the sense of it, 
 and whether I knew any person by that name. I could not re- 
 member such a person, especially with only the given name, and 
 beginning to have a slight sus^Dicion as to the kind of person 
 meant, I said "No,'' to the boy. I asked him who Miss Lucy was. 
 
 "Don't know," said he, "only she lives at No. Washington 
 
 street." I was satisfied then that the boy was quietly advertis- 
 ing a house of prostitution, and the next time I had occasion to 
 pass that waj^, for it was on one of the principal streets of the 
 city, I noticed a plate on the door with "Aliss Lucy'' engraved 
 on it. On another occasion when in Chicago, I had avertised for 
 help, and among the many applicants were two j^oung ladies 
 who complained before leaving the office, that they had been in- 
 sulted by the elevator man. I thought it very strange that such 
 should be the case, and on making inquiries I found there w^as 
 nothing in it, the girls were fast and said what they did by way 
 of advertising. 
 
CONFIDENCE-MEN AND BLACK-MAILERS. 
 
 Confidence-Men and Women: The Phrenology of them— Manifestation of the Fac 
 ulties — The Education of them — Definition of a Black-mailer — The kind of Society 
 in which the worst Class is Found — Two general Classes of Confidence-Men — How 
 the Papers fail to Expose them — Incident Illus trating a Game Practiced upon an 
 old Man one Sabbath Morning: How it was Accomplished — Country People and 
 City People — How both Clases Suifer — Seducton a Species of Confidence-game — s 
 Mock-auction Sales, and the Tricks that are Praticed there — Professional Burglars 
 — The Panel Game — How it is Worked and by what Class — Dead Beats — How 
 Clerks and Book-keeper are Frequently Confidence-Men — The Society Confidence- 
 Man — Story Illustrating the latter Class — How Confidence-Men try to gain the 
 Sympathy of Persons — How two Young Ladies kept up Personal Appearance when 
 in Straitened Circumstances — How Ladies Play the Confidence-game — The Girls 
 who wanted a new pair of Gloves — How a Wealthy Man was Confidenced by a 
 Fast Woman — The Arts and Tricks of Women to Excite the Curiosity and Passions 
 of Men — The Ingenious Devices of Bad Women to Raise Money and Advertice 
 themselTCS. 
 Black-Mailing: Two Forms, and Causes of it — A Story Explaining one of the Forms- 
 A case of Adultery — The Demand for Money — How^ a Doctor and his Associate 
 Extorted Money from a Young Man — How Business Men are the Victims of Female 
 Operators — Other kinds of Black-mailing — That done through Spite and Retalia' 
 tion — An Illustration of it— -How two Y^oung Ladies Managed to Dress Elegantly-^ 
 Black-mail practiced on Educational Institutions — How Men Black-mail W'omen— 
 How to Resist and Counteract Black-mailers. 
 
 CONFID3NCE-MEN. 
 
 ^r must not be supposed that these two classes have any 
 great phrenological differences from the more honorable class. 
 Thcj may have some faculties which are large and some that art 
 deficient, that adapt thern peculiarly to their nefarious business. 
 Just the same as certain combinations of faculties adapt men for 
 mechanics, lawyers, jcurralists,etc. but the general configura- 
 tion of the head wall be the same as in other people. The princi- 
 pal difference between them lies in the education of these faculties 
 and the organic tone. A faculty ma3^ be educated in whatever 
 direction one pleases. Veneration will worship whatever ihe ir;- 
 telect leaches it to w^orship, and will be gross or refined in its 
 worship, according to the propensities or moral sentiments 
 
 il 
 
CONFIDENCE-MEN AND BLACK-MAILERS. 293 
 
 Conscience will adhere to what it has been taught is right, but 
 it never teaches what is right or wrong; it is simply a monitor 
 or prompter to do what other faculties teach one is right. So 
 our judgment of right or wrong will depend on our training or 
 education. Circumstantial education has much to do with 
 molding the conscience. It is likewise necessary that we should 
 reason correctly, and in order to do that we must have positive 
 and correct facts as data to reason from. Then our conscience 
 will guide us in the right direction. Otherwise it will not, no 
 matter how large the faculty of conscientiousness ma3^ be. 
 
 Combativeness will light in whatever direction the other fac- 
 ulties call it into action. It w411 light for ideas and theories, for 
 moral and religious principles, or in a phj^sical way, in self-defense 
 or to settle some dispu ::e. It will dispute anythmg it is inter- 
 ested in. 
 
 Spirituality will believe the truth or superstition. Its office 
 is to believe, and not to determine what it will believCo 
 
 All religious people exercise faith but their faith is as varied 
 and different as the colors of the rainbow, because the faith of 
 each has been educated differentl3^ It matters not, for present 
 consideration, how or by what means that education has been 
 accomplished — whether by sectarian influence, or by a process of 
 reasoning, or by absence of either. Benevolence will give to 
 whatever object it is taught or impressed is in need of help. It 
 makes no discrimination whether the object is worthy or not. 
 Its office is to give, not to investigate; that is the work of other 
 faculties. Firmness stands its ground — is determined, unyielding; 
 vsrill not give in; it makes no difterence whether it be right or 
 w^rong; it leaves that for the reason to decide. Hence some per- 
 sons persist in a thing that is entirel}^ wrong, because their edu- 
 cation or reason is at fault. Ideality, or imagination, will con- 
 ceive ideas, images and pictures of beauty that are pure and 
 elevating or impure and degrading, according as it has been edu- 
 cated and exercised. These illustrations are sufficient to show 
 that human nature depends almost or quite as much upon the 
 education of the faculties as upon their size and development. 
 And the sooner people fully comprehend this fact and act upon it, 
 the better it will be for the public generally. The word education 
 is used here in the broadest sense, meaning any kind of discipline, 
 
294 CONFIDENCE-MEN AND BLACr-MAILERS. 
 
 training or influence brought to bear upon a faculty, ^^hettier 
 good or evil, riglit or wrong. 
 
 Thus 1 conclude that confidence-men, black mailers and gam- 
 blers become so through some kind of education of the facultiies, 
 either circumstantial, hereditary, or personal, and not merely 
 through a particular organization of the brain, though that may 
 be a part of the cause. A confidence game is that in which one 
 person prevails upon another to put faith and trust in him, in 
 order to afford a more favorable opportunity for him to rob, 
 steal, impose upon, or in some way injure, or take advantage of, 
 the confiding party. A black-mailer is one who extorts money, 
 valuables, and favors hj threatening false reports of a scandal- 
 ous nature, or in some way injuring the good name and moral 
 character of the individual attacked. The practice of these in- 
 famous tricks upon innocent persons is not confined to the rough, 
 and what is generally considered the dangerous class, of society. 
 Those who would be least suspected, those w^ho move in refined 
 circles of societ^^ and pass as ladies and gentlemen, are to be 
 found among these contemptible human wolves and alligators. 
 The higher the grade of society in which sueh persons are found) 
 the greater and more extensive will be their operations and im- 
 positions. It w^ould be difficult to classify the different kinds of 
 confidence-men and w^omen, as thej^ change their mode of opera- 
 tion to suit the time, place and circumstances. I might, how- 
 ever^ name two divisions of them — those who operate upon 
 strangers, and those who operate upon acquaintances. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary for me to mention circumstances illus- 
 trating the manner in which this class of men plaj^ their gamefe' 
 Virith strangers, as they have been so frequently exposed by the 
 daily papers; although I think the papers generally fail to do 
 their duty in one respect. While they inform the public that such 
 and such a person has been confidenced out of his money, they 
 do not state clearh^ the mental process b^- which the good will 
 and confidence of the stranger were enlisted. Hence the \varning 
 given to the public is of very little use, because they have not 
 learned just how these men approach and converse with their 
 victims. 
 
 As this book may fall into the hands of many persons whoi 
 do not read the city papers, or only occasionally, I will relate 
 
CONFIDENCK-MEN AND BLACK-MAILERS. 295 
 
 two incidents that came under m^^ own observation, one of them 
 on a Sabbath morning: I had been to breakfast, and was just 
 returning to my room located in a large block in the central por- 
 tion of the business part of the cit_v. As I ascended the stairs, I 
 met a man coming do\Yn, far advanced in life, and almost craz}^ 
 with excitement. He stopped and asked me if there w^as an^^ 
 business office in the building. I told him there were several, 
 though they w^ere not open, the daj^ being Sunda}-, Then he 
 burst out into some such exclamation as, *'0h, dear me! I am 
 fleeced, I am fleeced!" And showing me a twenty-dollar gold 
 piece, asked if it w^as not counterfeit. The weight and sound of 
 it w^ere sufficient proof that there w^as very little gold about it. I 
 took him to the office of the chief of police, to see if anj-^thing 
 could be done for him. But he w^as informed that nothing could 
 be done unless he could find and identify the man. A policeman 
 told him it served him right for being foolish enough to hand over 
 his mone^^ to a stranger when he w^ould not let his neighbor have 
 even a dollar wdthout security-. After he became self-composed, 
 he told me that he had been cheated as follows: He w^ as going 
 farther w^est, on a visit to his son, but stopped over at Chicago a 
 few days to see the cit^^, and the Fall exhibition then open. He 
 had a large satchel wnth him, and was accosted hj a well-dressed 
 man in front of the block already described. By some means the 
 confidence-man had found out a few^ things about the old gentle- 
 man's place of residence, either b3'' hearing him converse with 
 some other person just before, or else an accomplice confidant, 
 living wdiere he came from, had sent the other one w^ord of his 
 coming, and a few particulars besides. Then the old gentleman, 
 finding he knew so much, told him w^here he w^as going, about 
 his son, etc. Of course the confidence-man was well acquainted 
 with his son, and was going on to the same place, and w^ould 
 like to accompany him. But he had to step up in the building 
 and get a ticket first, and as they w^ould not allow the premium 
 on gold, w^ould he (the old man) be kind enough to let him have 
 greenbacks, and he would deposit his gold with him. till he could 
 get it exchanged. The old man consented, and he deposited three 
 worthless twenty-dollar gold pieces, for w^hich he received nearly 
 that amount in good greenbacks. The building being located on 
 a corner, was so constructed that it had tw^o entrances, one from 
 
 I 
 
296 CONI^IDBHCS-MEK AND BLACft-M FILERS. 
 
 each street. So the confidence- man going up one stairway, pass- 
 ed through the hall, and down the other, leaving the poor old 
 granger penniless, waiting for his return, while he made his es- 
 cape up the other street. 
 
 But why w^as this man so easily imposed upon? Because he 
 was a countr3^ green-horn? Not exacth-; he had heard about 
 confidence-men, thieves, gamblers, etc., and probably made up his 
 mind he would never be taken in b}^ them, just as many others 
 have done, and some of them shrewd men. But he was undoubt- 
 edly ignorant of the peculiar and various wa3'S they have of ap- 
 proaching and addressing a stranger. Our wise cit^^ people 
 would be just as ignorant about these things as their country 
 cousins if it were not that they are living right in the midst of 
 them, and hear of their tricks every day, and sometimes business 
 men well posted in the wa\^s of these men are taken in. Another 
 thing that saves city people is the fact that this class of confi- 
 dence-men do not, and dare not, risk themselves on their own 
 fellow- citizens. They would be more liable to be recognized and 
 arrested some time, whereas country people and transients from 
 other cities would lose double the amount through loss of time 
 and the extra expense of staying in the city. But city people are 
 really greater victims and losers b^^ confidence-games than coun- 
 try people, which I shall show further on. 
 
 Partial ignorance, then, was the cause of the granger's mis- 
 fortune. The next question to be considered and answered is: 
 How and w^hy did the confidence-man make a favorable impres- 
 sion upon the granger's mind? In the first place, he was mentally 
 in the most favorable condition possible to be acted upon. He 
 was in a negative relation to the confidence man, and the very 
 faculties that produce caution, prudence, foresight, suspicion, and 
 closeness in regard to money matters, were not active, being 
 away from business on a pleasure trip; new objects and surround- 
 ings called other faculties into action, so that the man was en- 
 tirely- off his guard when thus approached. Then the whole thing 
 was done so suddenW, that he did not think what he was doing, 
 till it was all over and too late. Had the confidence-man made 
 the proposition and left him a short time to consider about it, he 
 probably would not have done it; or, had the favor been asked oi 
 
60k^lbfiNCE-MGN AND BLaCK-MaILK'RS. 29? 
 
 Wtii at hts own home, he wotild most likely have acted more 
 wisely. 
 
 The confidence-man gained his point by first selecting a favor- 
 able place and opportunity; second, he met him in a very cordial, 
 pleasing manner; and, third, he deceived him and gained his con- 
 fidence by telling him he knew his son; and then, by shrewd and 
 quick manoeuvering, got his mind in a sort of enchanted, bewild- 
 ered state, which blinded his natural perception and judgment for 
 the time being. His memory was likewise inactive or stupid, and 
 failed to remind him how others had been imposed upon. The 
 case is very similar to that of a respectable young lady, v^^ho be- 
 comes acquainted with a worthless, unprincipled character, but 
 not being a good reader of human nature she does not perceive 
 his true character, and allows his winning ways and manners to 
 gain her affections. But, as she is a very moral young lady, hav- 
 ing much respect for her honor and good name, he finds that 
 improper advances would be instantly repelled. So he plaj^s the 
 I confidence-game on her, declares he loves her above all others, 
 and wins not only her heart, but her hand, in the promise of mar- 
 riage. Then, being in love, and engaged, she places implicit confi- 
 dence in her betrothed, and, though she does not at first yield to 
 his amorous demands, she onlj^ gently remonstrates. But he 
 urges and pleads his case like a lawyer, and talks with the earn- 
 est eloquence of a silver-toned orator (at least it seems so in her 
 ears), and he finally succeeds in making her see and believe that 
 black is white, and the deluded and deceived girl, in a moment of 
 excitement, yields to his sexual embrace. The rest of the story is 
 soon told. Having accomplished his base object, he leaves her to 
 her unenviable fate, a sadder, but wiser woman. She had no 
 doubt heard of several w^ho had been deceived in the same man- 
 ner; still, she does not heed the warning, but listens to the flatter- 
 ing talk of her seducer, tastes the forbidden fruit, and becomes an 
 outcast from the garden of innocence. 
 
 The second incident I wish to notice took place in New York. 
 I v^as strolling along the street one night, looking at the sights 
 and people, when a well-dressed man, apparently walking by in 
 a hurry, suddenly stopped and stepping up to me commenced to 
 shake hands in a very cordial manner, as they always do, remark- 
 ing, **I believe I met you in our store to-day," said he, **my name 
 
298 CONFIDSNCE-MEN and fiLACk-MAlLERS. 
 
 is so-and-so, and I am in M clothing store just above here.** 
 
 **Well,'* I said, ''you are mistaken. I have not been in that 
 store." "Well," said he, "may I ask your name and where you 
 are from?" "My name is Willis, from Chicago," I replied. 
 "Well, "said he, "I see I am mistaken, but there is no harm done." 
 "O, no," I remarked, as he politely and gracefully bid me good 
 evening. Now, I thought to myself, I shall not go far before I 
 shall meet another of those fellows, because I supposed that is 
 what he wanted my name for, to give to his accomplice, he acting 
 merely as a sort of an advance agent. I walked on about a hun- 
 dred 3^ards, when another man stopped and accosted me in the 
 usual warm hearted way, as though he was an old friend, and 
 pretending surprise at seeing me in New York, said: "Why, how 
 do you do, Willis! When did you leave Chicago." "O," I re- 
 plied, "I left last November." "Ah, indeed; well I have not seen 
 you for a long time. I have just come on here to take my sister 
 back, and expect to leave in a few days." After listening to that 
 kind of talk a few moments, I told him "I did not remember ever 
 meeting him." "You don't! " said he, assuming astonishment at 
 m^^ forgetfulness, "well, now 3^ou think." 1 did; but still I could 
 not think of ever having seen him. "Well," said he, "I have met 
 you several times." I asked him where he had met me, or if he 
 had been living in Chicago. Then he mentioned one of the lead, 
 ing hotels and some other places; still I could not remember him 
 "That is strange," said he, as he shook hands again and was 
 about leaving me, when he suddenly turned and invited me to 
 step across the road and take a drink. I told him I never drank. 
 '*Well, won't you take a cigar, then." I replied, "I never smoke 
 either." Then finding he could do nothing with me, he bid me 
 good night and walked away. His game w^as to get on the 
 social side of me by treating; then he would probably have pro- 
 posed a walk or visit to some store or gambling place, when most 
 likely another accomplice would have put in appearance and 
 wanted to change some money, or get the loan of some for a few 
 minutes; some kind of trick would have been resorted to in order 
 to get my money and skip out. 
 
 As there are thousands of people visiting cities who step into 
 an auction room, never dreaming of the trap that is set for them, 
 it mav not be amiss to warn the reader of the class of confidence- 
 
CONFIDENCE-MEN AND BLACK-MAILERS. 299 
 
 men connected with them, and their mode of operation. I refer 
 no\v to mock-auction rooms, not the genuine. But strangers, not 
 knowing the difference, are as hable to get into the dishonorable, 
 as the honorable places. I will briefl}^ mention two of their 
 games: In one case, one of the gang will dress up in a country- 
 man's attire, and watch his chance. When he sees severa 
 strangers in the room who are liable to bid, he walks in and asks 
 what his commission is for selling a watch. He further informs 
 him that he is very hard up, and must sell his watch to get some 
 moncA^ stating how much he paid for it (perhaps a hundred dol- 
 lars or more), and if he can get so much for it, he will sell it. The 
 auctioneer replies he cannot sell it on those terms; he will sell it 
 for what he can get, but cannot be limited. Well, as he is in 
 pressing need of money, he will sell it, bring what it may, and 
 hands it over to be sold. They bid on it, and some stranger buys 
 it for twenty or thirty dollars, and finds out it is a mere imita- 
 tion, worth about four or five dollars, The other game is man- 
 aged by the auctioneer. He puts up a bogus article for sale, and 
 eyeing a countryman, calls him up, and in a w^hispering tone asks 
 him to be kind enough to bid it in for him, as he does not wash to 
 sell it for w^hat it w411 bring; or he is particularly desirous to 
 have it himself. The visitor, to be accommodating, bids it in. 
 Then the autioneer asks him to leave a deposit of five or six dol- 
 lars, so the crowd will not suspect the buying in, and he w ill re- 
 fund it as soon as the sale is over. So he pays the deposit, and 
 when the sale is over, steps up to get the money he advanced. 
 The auctioneer, assuming an air of indifference, tells him that if 
 he will pay so much more, he can have the article. Of course he 
 remonstrates, but to no purpose. If he threatens to have him 
 arrested, and calls in the aid of a policeman, another auctioneer 
 has taken the place of the former, and of course knows nothing 
 about the affair, and cannot be held accountable for the trans- 
 action; so the stranger has to lose the money he deposited, as it 
 would cost him twice or five times as much more to look up the 
 guilty man. The safest plan is not to invest unless 3^ou are sure 
 what kind of a place you are in, what you are buying, and what 
 it is w^orth. 
 
 It w^ould take a book of itself to give anything like a full 
 description, with the details of the different ways confidence- 
 games are practiced upon people by professional humbugs, 
 
300 CONFIDENCE-MEN AND BLACK-MAILERS. 
 
 gamblers, burglars, whisky rings, political rings, bunko-ropers, 
 faro-bank steerers, and the panel-game manipulators. 
 
 Professional burglars are well dressed, and operate mostly on 
 banks, or wherever they can get large sums of money. They 
 never break into ordinary stores, or risk themselves at common 
 small jobs; they go in for a big haul, or none at all. As for 
 bunko-ropers and faro-bank steerers, I have only to say that if a 
 man is foolish enough to have anything to do with lotteries and 
 betting on games, it serves him right if he does get bitten. 
 
 The panel-game is worked by a low, thieving class of prosti- 
 tutes, who pick up their company on the streets, and take them 
 to their rooms. The victim undresses, and leaves his clothes on 
 a chair intentionalh^ placed beside a partition in which there is a 
 sliding panel, or small door, that can be opened without attract- 
 ing his attention, and, by the time he is ready to dress, his pock- 
 ets have all been emptied of whatever is deemed valuable. 
 
 There is a large class of confidence-men who come under the 
 head of dead-beats. They make it a point to get into the good 
 graces of persons far enough to receive favors they cannot obtain 
 otherwise, and will even contract debts they have no idea of pay- 
 ing, unless compelled to do so. They take advantage of ac- 
 quaintanceship for selfish purposes, even if it is at the expense 
 and inconvenience of the person acquainted with. But some of 
 them play their cards a little differently. They get what they 
 want without paying for it, by an evasive, dodging way of 
 doing business. They will try every scheme they can think of, 
 and make all sorts of excuses, to obtain possession of goods 
 without paying anj^thing, and then the owner may v^^histle for 
 his mone}^ and, in some cases, ^vvill never see or hear of the indi- 
 vidual any more. 
 
 Some of the mean, stingy, fashionable ^^omen in Philadelphia, 
 have been known to send their servants to a florist or hair store 
 for samples, just before an evening part^^ would take place at 
 their house, make use of them for the evening to adorn their 
 toilet or rooms, and then return them in the morning; or, per- 
 haps, for looks' sake, buy a small or cheap article. If the mer- 
 chant should send after his goods before the party has taken 
 place, these fashionable liars would send w^ord to the door that 
 they were not in, or could not be seen, and to call in the morning. 
 One merchant knowing of their tricks determined he would not 
 
CONFIDENCE-MEN AND BLACK-MAILERS. 301 
 
 be imposed upon, and sent his assistant back again with a posi- 
 tive demand for the goods, and he got them. If such people had 
 2. little more self-esteem or dignity, and less approbativeness or 
 vanity, they would never let themselves down to such small, un- 
 womanly^ actions; for it is realh^ a polite way of stealing, or get- 
 ting the use of the goods under false pretenses. 
 
 Another class of confidence-men are found among employes, 
 such as clerks and book-keepers for firms doing a large cash busi- 
 ness. They will attend strictly to business, and work very hard 
 apparentl^^ for the interest of the firm, so as to gain their entire 
 confidence, and therebj^ a more favorable opportunity to ab- 
 stract money in small quantities, or make a large haul of it. 
 
 Then there is the society confidence-man. He generalh^ comes 
 from the class I have just spoken of, and is sometimes a combina- 
 tion of both . He wants to find his w^ay into fashionable or re- 
 fined society. He is not acquainted, and has probably neither 
 money nor culture to put him there. But he is determined to be 
 a society man. So he attempts, and generally manages through 
 a little stratagem, to form the acquaintance and gain the good 
 will of a society gentleman. He prevails on him to make a visit 
 to some nice family, w^here there are young ladies, and introduce 
 him. Or, he may, by attending a grand ball, be introduced, in 
 an accidental manner, through politeness or courtesy. Anywa3% 
 providing he can obtain two or three introductions to first-class 
 families, and receive invitations to call upon them, then by play- 
 ing the role of a polite and entertaining gentleman, he works his 
 way YGry gradualh^, but surely, into the upper class of society. 
 
 I have in my mind an individual w^ho will fairly represent the 
 two classes I have just mentioned. Several years ago, before 1 
 was engaged in my present profession, there came to my office a 
 man in the prime of life, looking for a situation. I was busy at 
 the time, and did not make am^ close observation of his appear 
 ance, more than in a general w^ay, as to w^hat I thought his abil- 
 ities w^ere, w^hich I concluded w^ere good. He seemed to be, so 
 far as business was concerned, just the man T wanted; and he 
 proved to be the best person for the position I ever had or expect 
 to get. He had his hat on all the time, so I did not get the out- 
 line of his head, and his mouth was covered with a light, sand^^ 
 mustache; so there was not much to be observed without making 
 
302 CONFIDENCE-MEN AND BLACK-MAILERS. 
 
 a close examination. As to what his actual charater might be, ' 
 it did not occur to me at the time, for I had not made a special 
 study of the features at that time, and 1 never ask a person for 
 references, because the worst characters can often furnish the 
 best references, especialh^ in Chicago. A sporting woman rented 
 two rooms in one of the finest blocks in the city, and gave the 
 landlord's agent better references than an^^ other tenant in the 
 building. And the meanest (and I suppose I might say w^orst) 
 woman I ever had in m3^ employ was one whogaA^e me the names 
 of a prominent minister and one of his la3^men as references. So 
 I left the analyzing of the gentleman's chai acter until a more 
 favorable opportunity was afforded to study him; for I wish the 
 reader to bear in remembrance that the faculties alone do not de- 
 termine the character, but rather the education of them, and a 
 phrenologist cannot alwa3^s tell just how the faculties have been 
 educated. He cannot tell w^hether a man has been converted or 
 not, neither can he answer positively the foolish question so often 
 asked, w^hether a man or w^oman is married, although he may do 
 it in some instances. But he had not been with me many days 
 before I obser^'cd traits of character that w^ere objectionable — 
 that is, little things that caused me to be somewhat suspicious; 
 because, being in his company a few da^^s,! had a chance to study 
 him more thoroughl3% could stud^^ his actions as well as his 
 looks. Still, I had heard nothing concerning him or his past 
 character, nor was there an3^thmg in his present actions of a seri- 
 ous nature. He had a very annoying w^ay of rolling his eyes to 
 one side, and staring a person out of countenance during conver- 
 sation, as if to make them 34eld to some power or influence he 
 was tr3'ing to impress upon them. His mustache covered w^hat 
 would otherwise have been a disgusting-looking mouth, so that 
 he could not have been called a handsome man. Nevertheless, 
 there was more than one female heart that succumbed to his 
 fascinating manner, for it could not be expected the3^ w^ould look: 
 underneath his mustache. Women only look at the outside of a 
 man — I mean as a rule. He was a regular heart-smasher, and 
 could manage to pla3^ a tune on more than one heart at the same 
 time. Then he had two diamond studs, which alwa3's produce a 
 wondrous effect upon minds not properl3^ educated, and their 
 beauty made up for what was deficient in his ugly mouth and 
 
CONPIDKNCE^MEN AND BLACK-MAILERS. 303 
 
 wicked eyes. But he had another qualification — the gift of gab. 
 He was an excessive talker, and knew how to do it to make a 
 favorable impression. He likewise had some ability for vocal 
 and instrumental music; so that putting all these lit tie gifts to- 
 gether, he could wind a certain class of women right around his 
 little finger. Not only had he a peculiar influence with women, 
 but his pleasing way gained him many gentlemen friends and 
 accommodations among business men, which gave him an oppor- 
 tunity to contract debts. Phrenologicall}'^, he had large agree- 
 ableness, human nature, secretiveness, approbativeness and 
 amativeness. Hence he was fond of the women, fond of display, 
 fond of exaggeration, fond of flattery and playing the agreeable, 
 inclined to misrepresent and lie, oiling people all over in order to 
 swallow them; and, having an insight into human nature, he 
 knew just how to take the people and deal with them. lu order 
 to get a stronger hold upon the people, he joined one of the 
 largest churches in Chicago — represented himself as being related 
 to persons he was not related to, and as being a graduate of a 
 university he had never attended; in iact, sailed under false colors. 
 Thus matters went on until his extravagant assertions aroused 
 the suspicion of one of his lady acquaintances; and she, relating 
 her misgivings to f)ne of her relatives caused an investigation of 
 his character. Information was rece,ved that he had robbed an 
 express company, for which crime hie had served a term in the 
 penitentiary; had likewise robbed and swindled a former employ- 
 er; had borrowed diamonds from a jeweler to wear to a party, 
 wnich he had never returned; and had left two or three wdves, one 
 of them with a baby in her arms, and without a penny^to help 
 herself. He was brought before a deacons' meeting, when he was 
 at first defiant and reticent, until he saw they had positive proof 
 of his iniquity. Then he tried the part of a grief-stricken, humble 
 penitent, though his tears v^ere not very copious. But the 
 deacons were not much affected by the dry-tear business, and al- 
 lowed a reporter to write him up in one of the daily papers. 
 They failed, however, to give a proper description of his appear- 
 ance, so that publishing the affair did very little good to the pub- 
 lic or harm to him, for he only ^went a few blocks from where he 
 had previously been employed, before he found a position as 
 porter or clerk in one of the leading hotels, when, after a brief 
 stay, he managed to get away with two thousand eight htmdred 
 
^04 OONPIDENCE-MEH AND BLACk-MAlLBRS. 
 
 dollars; was atrested aild again served a term in the Illinois Pen- 
 itentiary, at Joliet. 
 
 Confidence-men will sometimes weep, or try to do so, to ac- 
 complish their purpose. Like a man who went to an artist to 
 have a picture of his mother, who was dead, enlarged and 
 finished in India ink. Every time he called to see it he would 
 weep. Finallj^, the picture was finished, and watching an oppor- 
 tunity while the artist stepped into another room for a few- 
 seconds, he carried the picture oif without -psLjing for it. What 
 kind of a man can that be who will steal his own mother's 
 picture, and what must be his feelings when he remembers the 
 dishonest manner in which he obtained it ! There are so many 
 ways and devices which men and women resort to, who are con- 
 nected with good society as well as bad, to obtain goods and 
 presents b^^ unfair means, even though they may not be all 
 offenses against the law, that I think it but proper to allude to 
 some of them in this chapter. I will mention two or three inci- 
 dents to show how prostitutes practice it \vhen they -want 
 money. A certain prominent and wealthy man in a certain city, 
 ^^ho was on intimate terms with the mistress of a fashionable 
 house of ill-fame, and was also fond of the social glass, was con. 
 fidenced out of hundreds of dollars in a single night. She made 
 up her mind to have some of his monej^, and she got it, because a 
 fool and his money is soon parted. One night when he visited 
 her house, she made herself entertaining, got him to playing 
 cards and drinking wine until he got boozy, and lost his common 
 sense. Then she began to coax and tease him for money, and 
 drew out a check for one or two hundred dollars, and prevailed 
 on him without an^^ difficulty to sgn it; then she would talk 
 with him awhile and tell him he haid not given her that check 
 yet; and, of course, being drunk his memory was drunk too, so 
 that he did not kiow \Nrhat he had done, and, hence, could keep 
 on signing as man^- checks at intervals as sbe chose to draw up. 
 And this is about the way such women secure mone^- from their 
 wealthy visitors, or else by threatening to expose them 
 
 Another case is that of a young woman who was living with 
 a young man, but instead of he keeping her, she kept him. On 
 one occasion when her lover wanted a new suit of clothes, and 
 neither of them had the money, she padded herself around the 
 abdomen so as to look encientCt and went around calling on 
 
CONFIDENCE MEN AND BLACK-MAILERvS. 305 
 
 ladies and at the business places of gentlemen, stating she was 
 about to be confined and was in urgent need of some money. Of 
 course some gentlemen, as well as ladies, would readily give her 
 a dollar or two, to get her out of the way as quickly as possible: 
 and in that way she collected enough in a single day to buy her 
 lover a splendid suit of clothes. And I got the fact from one of 
 the contributors, who accidentally dropped into the room where 
 they were staying, in a business block, and saw both of them, he 
 -with his new suit on. 
 
 My third illustration, which will show to what extent and 
 how low a sporting woman's conscience, if she has any, will let 
 her sink, is of a woman who called on a former acquaintance, 
 and stated in a sorrowful way, that her sister had just died and 
 she had no money to bury her w^ith. The lady took compassion 
 on her and gave her fifteen dollars. A few weeks passed awaj^, 
 when as she was passing down the street one day, she was 
 amazed and bewildered to meet the supposed dead sister. 
 
 Two prepossessing young ladies, whose father was m re- 
 duced circumstances, desired to keep up their personal appear- 
 ance, and live as usual. How to get the necessary money was 
 the question of the day with them; and among the various dis- 
 reputable ways which high-toned, poverty-stricken people resort 
 to, rather than to honest labor, they chose the one they evidently 
 considered had the most show of respectability. They did not 
 like to steal outright, so, assuming a sanctimonious air, they 
 went around the city collecting for some charitable institution. 
 But remembering the old saying, charity begins at home, they 
 put the collections in their own pockets instead of handing the 
 money over to the institution; and were only discovered in their 
 fraud and imposition upon the public by calling on a generous 
 giver once too often. 
 
 Young ladies in good society ^who aim to put on more style 
 than they have means to do it with, occasionally resort to a 
 species of confidence-game. For instance, a gentleman invites a 
 lady to attend a theater or other place of amusement, and she 
 accepts the invitation. But she wants a nev^ pair of kid gloves, 
 which she is bound to have, though she has no money to buy 
 them with. She devises a novel v^ay of getting them. She waits 
 till her escort arrives, dresses herself, and is ready to go, with the 
 exception of putting on her gloves; but, much to her annoyance 
 
306 CONFIDENCE-MEN AND BLACK-MAILERS. 
 
 when they are ready to start, she cannot find them. She searches 
 the room all over, but they are not to be found. Dear mamma 
 looks too, but in vain. What is to be done? She settles the 
 matter by emphatically declaring she will not go without gloves. 
 The gentleman, seeing the situation of things, is almost com- 
 pelled to go and buy a pair of gloves, Thus she receives them, 
 without having to -pay or even ask for them in a direct mrnner. 
 Or perhaps she wants a nice handkerchief. In that case she 
 manages to leave home without one, but takes good care to dis- 
 cover the absence of it and make it known before arriving at the 
 place of entertainment. No gentleman would like to feel so small 
 as to return to her home, if there was a dr3^ goods store any- 
 where near, and she generally attends to that part of the busi- 
 ness. So he buys her a handkerchief, and, to appear gallant, he 
 must needs purchase a silk handkerchief. 
 
 But a more common way of extorting presents by young 
 ladies having more cheek than modest)^ is, to deliberate!}^ ask for 
 them about Christmas and New Year. I met one of those charm- 
 ing young creatures at a boarding house in New York, one season. 
 I had stopped at the house at short intervals once or twice before, 
 and on this occasion happened to get there just before Christ- 
 mas. I had scarceh^ got inside the house before this j^oung lady 
 w^ho had been to a female boarding-school on the Hudson, rushed 
 into the parlor, exclaiming, "You are just in time to give me a 
 Christmas present!" Then seating herself beside me on the sofa 
 (because girls and women are very sweet and sociable when they 
 want anything) , she said: "Do j^ou know what j^ou can bu}^ for 
 me?" I responded I did not. "Well," said she, "ten j-ards of 
 black velvet will do." I replied in a half joking way that that 
 would make a poor man of me. "O," said she, "I would not 
 give a cent for a fellow w^ho could not stand that." 
 
 Thus there are a thousand ways by w^hich people gain favors 
 and presents, by winning the confidence or taking advantage of 
 their friends. And these little tricks are practiced more or less 
 among all classes of society. One person will do another a favor, 
 not out of a pure, unselfish spirit, but because he expects the 
 party favored to return the compliment on a larger scale. That 
 class of persons who are alwa3^s fishing for presents are not slow- 
 to let one friend know what another one has given, and they in- 
 
 I 
 
CONFIDENCE-MEN AND BLACK-MAILERS. 307 
 
 variably do it in such a genteel way as to make it a polite hint 
 for the hearer to do the same thing. 
 
 BLACK-MAILING. 
 
 There are two forms or causes of black-mailing, one spring- 
 ing from an inordinate desire for mone3% and the other from a 
 mean disposition and a spirit of retaliation. 
 
 Desire for money is generally the cause, but occasionally a 
 person who has been foiled in his designs will seek to get even by 
 exercising spite and revenge, in some way damaging to the repu- 
 tation of the individual disliked, and likewise make a demand for 
 money. The case of Joseph and his mistress, mentioned in the 
 Bible, fairly illustrates the latter class, with the exception of the 
 money part. Some writer has said, *'Hell hath no fury like a 
 woman scorned." Certain it is that he who bluntly or scorn- 
 fully rejects a woman's love, will change that love into the bit- 
 terest hate, that knows no bounds or limits; and he who sternly 
 resists a woman's amative impulse may expect his fair name to 
 be shadowed with the black clouds of scandal. Poor Joseph got 
 into trouble and jail by resisting the amative impulse of his 
 master's wife, and John the Baptist lost his head through stir- 
 ring up the animosity of Herod's paramour. And the reason of 
 such intense feeling in rebuking a woman is because her vanity or 
 the faculty that produces it is wounded, which is always the 
 strongest element in female character. Perhaps the best way I 
 can explain black-mailing will be to cite instances which illus- 
 trate the mode of operations. While there are plenty of men 
 ready to play such games, it is likewise extensively practiced by 
 women. And in proportion to the advantages and opportunities 
 that come within the knowledge and power of both sexes, there 
 are probably more w^omen who resort to this practice than men. 
 
 Some time ago two wealthy persons, living in one of the 
 largest cities in the United States (the one a gentleman, the 
 other a lady) were on the most intimate terms, but of an im- 
 moral nature A third party, a gentleman, was aware of this 
 fact, being well acquainted ^th both. He had a fine residence, 
 but not much money. His wife went away on a visit, and he 
 immediately resolved on a plan of making money. Meeting the 
 other gentleman one day, he told him that if he wanted to meet 
 his lady friend at his house, he might do so, his wife being away. 
 His offer was accepted, and a tixm appointed when h# would be 
 
308 CONFIDENCE-MEN AND BLACK-MAILERS. 
 
 there. Meanwhile the owner of the house had the hinges on the 
 outside bedroom doors oiled so that they could be opened with- 
 out the slightest noise. He also made arrangements with two 
 persons to act as policeman and detective, and to put in their ap- 
 pearance about the proper time. He left the outside door un- 
 locked, and vacated the house himself after the arrival of the 
 two unsuspecting parties. They proceeded to the bedroom, and 
 closed the door, but did not lock it, making the work of their 
 adversaries comparatively easy. The detective and sham police- 
 man waited till thej^ thought sufficient time had elapsed, and 
 then quietly opened the door of the bedroom — finding them in 
 an embarassing predicament. Then came the tug of war. 
 Twenty-four hundred dollars was the price demanded, to save all 
 trouble and scandal — four hundred dollars down, eight hundred 
 in a few days, and twelve hundred at some further date. They 
 got the four hundred on the spot, by both man and woman 
 handing over all they had, both of money and jewelry. During 
 the intervening days before the eight hundred was to be paid, 
 they sought the aid of a good lawyer, ^who perceived it to be a 
 case of black -mail, and so saved his clients from being duped any 
 farther. Although this case is narrated to show the base and 
 underhand trickery of black-mailing, it likewise shows that com- 
 mitting adultery may be attended with more trouble than 
 pleasure, and prove to be a rather costly affair, especially where 
 the parties place themslves at the mercy of other people. 
 
 A similar trick was played by a doctor on a young man 
 clerking in a prominent jewelry store. The ph3^sician had a lady 
 assistant in his office, the wife of another man, between whom 
 the moral relationship was not such as it ought to have been. In 
 his practice of medicine the doctor had become acquainted with 
 the family of this man in the jewelry store. The clerk also had a 
 lady friend whom he sustained immoral relations with, Avhich 
 the doctor was aware of; as he wanted money, the woman and 
 he decided on a plan to raise it. They gave the clerk a pass-key 
 so that he could take his young lady to their room or office when 
 convenient. Once in their power they fastened the cords of evil 
 influence around him thick and fast, and pretty soon came the 
 demand for money — he had none to give. ''Well," said they, 
 *'you can get some jewelry out of the store, then, we must have 
 money." What was he to do? He did not want to steal, but 
 
CONFIDENCE-MEN AND BLACK-MAILERS. 309 
 
 the combined power of his passion for women and the strong 
 pressure brought to bear upon him by the two black-mailers, 
 was too strong for his poor conscience, which finally gave Avay, 
 and he began a system of thieving from his employers. Gold 
 watches, chains, rings and other valuables \vere taken and given 
 to the doctor and his associate, who either disposed of them for 
 money, or made personal use of them. Finalh^ the losses of the 
 firm were discovered, and the young man arrested. He \vas con- 
 nected with a fine family, and, by the advice of a personal friend 
 of his father's made a full confession, which led to the arrest of 
 the black-mailers as well. 
 
 Business men are frequently the victims of female operators, 
 who aim to make money. They visit their ofiices, and endeavor 
 to hold private interviews, presumably on business. This point 
 being gained, they proceed to make their demands, threatening 
 to charge them with criminal offense with some person, and 
 thereafter to make it public, unless they hand over a certain sum 
 of mone\\ A merchant in Chicago was trapped in just that way. 
 He was a man having a family and a good name, and, being 
 sensitive and jealous of his reputation, feared that, if such a re- 
 port as the woman threatened ^^as circulated, many would 
 believe it, even though there was not a word of truth in it. So, 
 to stop the woman's talk, he thought it best to give her the 
 money she asked, it being a moderate amount. He did so; she 
 was pacified for the time being, but it was not long before she 
 returned for more money. He remonstrated, but without avail. 
 She had broken the ice by extorting the first payment, and w^ould 
 have the second — though nothing was said by her, nor did he ex- 
 pect that she would want anymore at the time the first money 
 was paid. He supposed that would end the matter, and that 
 ^was why he gave it to her. But she had a different idea in re- 
 gard to the affair; and so, whenever she wanted money, she 
 w^ould go for twenty dollars, as she felt disposed. Thus for years 
 he^sras compelled to pay out money for nothing, or involve 
 himself and lamily in an unpleasant scandal. Had he refused the 
 first payment, he could have saved himself; but, having given her 
 money, she had him fast, because, in the case of a trial or investi- 
 gation, the question would naturally be asked: If there is no 
 truth in the charges, w^hy did 3^011 pay her the first mone^^? 
 
 There is a kind of black-mailing connected with politics, 
 
310 CONFIDENCE-MEN AND BLACK-MAILERS. 
 
 where political leaders extort money, dividends or a percentage 
 from applicants to whom they choose to grant offices, positions 
 and contracts. But there are no threats of v«lander, or anything 
 said or done to intentionally damage the character of either 
 party. The political and business world is so full of transactions 
 of this kind — where men compromise each other, bu}' and sell 
 each other, and bestow favors in order to receive gifts, that the 
 public is quite familiar with this kind of corruption. Though 
 such operations may, in the nature of things, blacken the char- 
 acter of those who participate in them, still this is not their in- 
 tention personally toward each other, and therefore these things 
 do not properly come under the head of black-mailing. 
 
 I will now mention one instance to illustrate the kind of 
 black-mailing that is done through spite, retaliation, or for the 
 purpose of controlling and keeping one or more individuals under 
 the influence of another, against his or her will. Or, to put it in 
 other words, A. v^^ants certain favors, privileges and liberties 
 which B. is not willing to grant. A. gets angry over the matter, 
 and endeavors to comer or place B. in such a relation or position 
 that he w^ill be compe.led to yield, through fear of injury to his 
 person or reputation. In a Western cit}^ of the United States 
 lived a young lady of more than ordinary intellectual capacity 
 and culture. One of her most intimate and special friends was a 
 man of rather hard-looking physiognomy^, having a family and a 
 remunerative position. They seemed to take a peculiar and re- 
 markable interest in each other, considering they were not rela- 
 tions and the fact that there was so wide a difference in their 
 ages. Now it happened that a certain man in the city advertised 
 for a lady to assist in his place of business as clerk, cashier, etc. 
 This lady answered, and obtained the situation, giving first-class 
 recommendations. But she soon proved herself to be worthless 
 as far as business was concerned. Her wa^^s were dark and 
 mysterious. She was harder to understand than a Chinese 
 puzzle, and more difficult to solve than a mathematical problem. 
 It was soon discovered that she had another dear gentleman 
 friend, a jovir\g man. She would rise at five o'clock on a summer 
 morning, and go out walking w4th him. He would generally 
 escort her to her place of business. The other one would occa- 
 sionally take her home, or perhaps meet her at the noon hour in 
 some restaurant. Thus rratters went on until her employer be- 
 
CONFIDENCE-MEN AND BLACK-MAILERS. 311 
 
 came disgusted with her conduct and manner of attending to 
 business, and was about to discharge her; but her tears and en- 
 treaties excited his sympathy, and he resolved to give her another 
 trial. But there was no improvement, and she had evidently de- 
 termined to get even with her emplo3^er by humiliating him, if 
 she possibly could. With the assistance of two other parties, 
 and by endeavoring to misconstrue a statement, she managed to 
 make a little disturbance, for which she was peremptorily dis- 
 charged. Her old friend was much displeased; it was such a con- 
 venient place for her and all parties concerned. It was a. respect- 
 able place, and he must be made to take her back. A plan is 
 devised. He goes to the office of her employer, jerks off his top 
 coat, and struts around like a prize-hghter. But the employer 
 had large firmness and good combativeness, and was not so 
 easily frightened. Then the wrathy man threatened to publish a 
 scandalous lie about him in the daily papers, if he did not rein- 
 state his beloved in her position. But the employer was firm as 
 a rock, informed him he could not play any game on him, and 
 further told him, in a positive, decided tone, to leave, and not 
 show his face there again. He left, and concluded, not to do any 
 publishing either. Now if that employer had taken her back to 
 work, he would have been compelled to keep her as long as she or 
 her friends washed her to remain, or be the subject of a scandal, 
 
 Tw^o 3^oung ladies in the State of New York filled their pock- 
 ets and dressed elegantly in the following manner. They would 
 go out a few- miles from some railway depot, situated in a well- 
 settled countrj^ place, and stay long enough to make them late 
 for the next train, providing they had to walk all the wa3^ So, 
 viewing a house of which they supposed the owner or resident 
 was in good circumstances, they would call and state their 
 anxiety to reach the depot in time for the train, and their inabil- 
 ity to do so on foot. The gentleman, perceiving them to have 
 the appearance of well-to-do and respectable ladies, w^ould feel 
 himself, under the circumstance, bound to be accommodating, 
 and w^ould consent or offer to drive them to the depot, which was 
 just w'hat they w^anted, and so they readily accepted the offer. 
 All would be pleasant, the ladies being as happy and amiable as 
 a child wdth a box of candy, till they would c 3me near one or 
 two other residences. Then there would be a change in the pro- 
 gramme. The quiet, happy damsels wotjl(J suddenly transform 
 
312 CONFIDENCE-MEN AND BLACK-MAILERS. 
 
 themselves into two screech-owls, and scream with all the vigor- 
 ous power peculiar to their sex. This would naturall3^ bring the 
 occupants of the house out, to see what was the matter. Then 
 the two fair maidens boldly and indignantly charge the gentle- 
 man with having insulted them on the way. In one instance the 
 gentleman was a man of means, and well connected in society. 
 He had been married but a short time to a lady of good stand- 
 ing, and so, for fear of the injury such a story might inflict upon 
 his good name, and considering how scandal might mar the hap- 
 piness and blight the future prospects of his matrimonial life, he 
 gave them quite a sum of money to keep their tongues quiet. 
 
 I noticed in an edition of the Chicago Tribune^ April, 1876, 
 a statement concerning the editor and proprietor of a certain 
 quarterly review, charging him with making a groundless attack 
 upon a certain university in this country, representing the insti- 
 tution and its professors as inefficient, just because they would 
 not give him from three to five hundred dollars worth of adver- 
 tising. In this way it frequently happens that institutions and 
 individuals are influenced into advertising, paying sums of money 
 for things they do not actually want, or else be grossl3^ misrepre- 
 sented in some manner through the press. This is really but 
 another form of black-mailing. As to whether the charges stated 
 in the paper relating to the editor are correct or not, I cannot 
 sa3^,as I do not know anything about the matter, nor have I seen 
 either the editor, the article he wrote, nor the university referred 
 to; but it serves as an illustration of similar occurrences. 
 
 Sometimes men black-mail women, by finding out something 
 detrimental to their character, and then going to them, threaten- 
 ing to expose what they know, unless they give so much money, 
 or allow them to take personal liberties of an immoral character 
 — ^thatis, they are to accord to them the same sexual freedom 
 they have to some other person, or their deeds will be made 
 public. 
 
 There is, perhaps, but one way for a person to resist black- 
 mail, and free himself or herself from its effects and consequences, 
 and that is to take a firm, positive and decided stand at the very 
 beginning, repelling the first pressure brought to bear upon them, 
 and refusing to even compromise or yield a point that may, in 
 the future, be used against them- 
 
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