"Have you ever submitted your head to a phrenological examination?"
asked Mr. Walter, as he made a call on Ruth, the next morning.
"No," said Ruth; "I believe that much more is to be told by the
expression of people's faces than by the bumps upon their heads."
"And you a woman of sense!" replied Mr. Walter. "Will you have your head
examined to please me? I should like to know what Prof. Finman would say
of you, before I leave town."
"Well--yes--I don't mind going," said Ruth, "provided the Professor
does not know his subject, and I see that there's fair play," said she,
laughing; "but I warn you, beforehand, that I have not the slightest
faith in the science."
Ruth tied on her bonnet, and was soon demurely seated in the Professor's
office, with her hair about her shoulders. Mr. Walter sat at a table
near, prepared to take notes in short-hand.
"You have an unusually even head, madam," said the Professor. "Most
of the faculties are fully developed. There are not necessarily any
extremes in your character, and when you manifest them, they are more
the result of circumstances than the natural tendency of the mind.
You are of a family where there was more than ordinary unity in the
connubial relations; certainly in the marriage, if not in the after-life
of your parents.
"Your physiology indicates a predominance of the nervous temperament;
this gives unusual activity of mind, and furnishes the capacity for a
great amount of enjoyment or suffering. Few enjoy or suffer with such
intensity as you do. Your happiness or misery depends very much on
surrounding influences and circumstances.
"You have, next, a predominance of the vital temperament, which gives
great warmth and ardor to your mind, and enables you to enjoy physical
comfort and the luxuries of life in a high degree. Your muscular system
is rather defective; there not being enough to furnish real strength and
stamina of constitution. Although you may live to be aged, you will not
be able to put forth such vigorous efforts as you could do, were the
motive or muscular temperament developed in a higher degree. You may
think I am mistaken on this point, but I am not. You have an immense
power of will, are energetic and forcible in overcoming obstacles,
would display more than ordinary fortitude in going through trials and
difficulties, and possess a tenacity of purpose and perseverence in
action, which enable you to do whatever you are determined upon doing;
but these are _mental_ characteristics not _physical_, and your mind
often tires out your body, and leaves you in a state of muscular
prostration.
"Your phrenology indicates an unusual degree of respect and regard for
whatever you value as superior. You never trifle with superiority. I do
not mean conventional superiority or bombastic assumption, but what you
really believe to be good and noble. As a child, you were very obedient,
unless your sense of justice (which is very strong) was violated. In
such a case, it was somewhat difficult for you to yield either ready
or implicit obedience. You are religiously disposed. You are also
characterized by a strong belief in Divine influences, providences,
and special interpositions from on high. You are more than ordinarily
spiritual in the tone of your mind. You see, or think you see, the
hand of Providence in things as they transpire. You are also very
conscientious, and this, combined with your firmness, which is quite
strong, and supported by your faith in Providence, gives you a striking
degree of what is called moral courage. When you believe you are right,
there is no moving you; and your friends probably think that you are
sometimes very obstinate; but let them convince your intellect
and satisfy your conscience, and you will be quite tractable, more
especially as you are characterized by unusual sympathy and tenderness
of feeling. You too easily catch the spirit of others,--of those you
love and are interested in, and feel as they feel, and enjoy or suffer
as they do. You have very strong hope with reference to immortality
and future happiness. When a young girl, you were remarkably abounding
in your spiritual anticipations of what you were going to be as a
woman.
"You possess an extraordinary degree of perseverance, but have not a
marked degree of prompt decision. After you have _decided_, you act
energetically, and are more sure to finish what you commence, than
you are ready to begin a new enterprise. You are decidedly cautious,
anxious, mindful of results, and desire to avoid difficulty and danger.
You take all necessary care, and provide well for the future. Your
cautiousness is, in fact, too active.
"You place a very high value on your character; are particularly
sensitive to reproach; cannot tolerate scolding, or being found fault
with. You can be quite reserved, dignified, and even haughty. You
are usually kind and affable, but are capable of strong feelings of
resentment. You make few enemies by your manner of speaking and acting.
You are uniform in the manifestation of your affections. You do not
form attachments readily, or frequently; on the contrary, you are quite
particular in the choice of your friends, and are very devoted to those
to whom you become attached. You manifested these same traits when a
child, in the selection of playmates.
"Your love is a mental love--a regard for the mind, rather than the
person of the individual. You appreciate the masculine mind as such,
rather than the physical form. You have a high regard for chivalry,
manliness, and intellectuality in man, but you also demand goodness,
and religious devotion. It would give you pain to hear a friend speak
lightly of what you consider sacred things; and I hardly think you
would ever love a man whom you _knew_ to be irreligious. Your maternal
feelings are very strong. You are much interested in children. You
sympathize with and understand them perfectly. You are, yourself, quite
youthful in the tone of your mind; much younger than many not half your
age. This, taken in connection with your sympathy with, and appreciation
of, the character of children, enables you to entertain them, and win
them to your wishes; but, at times, you are too anxious about their
welfare. You are strongly attached to place, and are intensely
patriotic. You believe in Plymouth Rock and Bunker Hill. You are not
content without a home of your own; and yet, in a home of your own,
you would not be happy without pleasant surroundings and associations,
scenery, and such things as would facilitate improvement and enjoyment.
"You are very fond of poetry and beauty, wherever you see it,--of
oratory, sculpture, painting, scenery, flowers, and beautiful
sentiments. You must have everything nice; you cannot tolerate anything
coarse or gross. The world is hardly finished nice enough for you. You
are too exacting in this respect. The fact is, you are made of finer
clay than most of us. You are particular with reference to your food,
and not easily suited. You must have that which is clean and nice,
or none. Whatever you do, such as embroidery, drawing, painting,
needlework, or any artistic performance, is very nicely done. Your
constructiveness is very large. You can plan well; can lay out work for
others to advantage; can cut out things, and invent new and tasteful
fashions. Your appreciation of colors is very nice; you can arrange and
blend them harmoniously, in dress, in decoration of rooms, &c. You could
make a slim wardrobe, and a small stock of furniture, go a great way,
and get up a better looking parlor with a few hundred dollars, than some
could with as many thousands.
"You exhibit a predominance of the reflective intellect over the
perceptive, and are characterized for thought, judgment, and the power
to comprehend ideas, more than for your knowledge of things, facts,
circumstances or conditions of things. You remember and understand
what you read, better than what you see and hear; still, you are more
than ordinarily observant. In passing along the street, you would see
much more than people in general, and would be able to describe very
accurately the style, execution and quality of whatever you saw. You
have a pliable mind. You love acting, and would excel as an actress. You
have great powers of sarcasm. You enjoy fun highly, but it must be of
the right kind. You will tolerate nothing low. You are precise in the
use of language, and are a good verbal critic. You ought to be a
good conversationist, and a forcible and spicy writer. In depicting
character and describing scenes, you would be apt to display many of the
characteristics which Dickens exhibits. Your aptness in setting-forth,
your keen sense of the ludicrous, your great powers of amplification,
and the intensity of your feelings, would enable you to produce a finely
wrought out, and exquisitely colored picture. You have also an active
sense of music; are almost passionately fond of that kind which is
agreeable to you.
"You have more than ordinary fortitude, but are lacking in the
influences of combativeness. Your temper comes to a crisis too soon; you
cannot keep angry long enough to scold. You dislike contention. You read
the minds of others almost instantaneously; and at once form a favorable
or unfavorable impression of a person. You are secretive, and disposed
to conceal your feelings; are anxious to avoid unnecessary exposure of
your faults, and know how to appear to the best advantage. You have a
good faculty of entertaining others, but can be with persons a long time
without their becoming acquainted with you.
"You dream things true; truth comes to you in dreams, forewarnings,
admonitions, &c.
"You are liable to be a very happy, or very unhappy, woman. The worst
feature of your whole character, or tone of mind, arises from the
influence of your education. Too much attention was paid to your mind,
and not enough to your body. You were brought forward too early, and
made a woman of too soon. Ideas too big for you were put into your mind,
and it was not occupied enough about the ordinary affairs of life.
This renders your mind too morbid and sensitive, and unfits you
for encountering the disagreeable phases of life. You can endure
disagreeable things with martyr-like firmness, but not with martyr-like
resignation. They prey both on your mind and body, and wear heavily upon
your spirit. You feel as though some one must go forward and clear the
way for you to enjoy yourself; and if by any reverse of fortune, you
have ever been thrown on your own resources, and forced to take care of
yourself, you had to learn some lessons, which should have been taught
you before you were sixteen years old. But in the general tone of
your mind, in elevation of thought, feeling, sympathy, sentiment, and
religious devotion, you rank far above most of us, above many who are,
perhaps, better prepared to discharge the ordinary duties of life. In
conclusion, I will remark, that very much might be said with reference
to the operations of your mind, for we seldom find the faculties so
fully developed, or the powers so versatile as in your case."
"Well," said Mr. Walter, with a triumphant air, as they left the
Professor's office, "well, 'Floy,' what do you think?"
"I think we have received our $2 worth in flattery," replied Ruth,
laughing.
"There is not a whit of exaggeration in it," said Mr. Walter. "The
Professor has hit you off to the life."
"Well, I suppose it would be wasting breath to discuss the point with
you," said Ruth, "so I will merely remark that I was highly amused when
he said I should make a good actress. I have so often been told that."
"True; Comedy would be your forte, though. How is it that when looking
about for employment, you never contemplated the stage?"
"Well, you know, Mr. Walter, that we May-Flower descendents hold
the theatre in abhorrence. For myself, however, I can speak from
observation, being determined not to take that doctrine on hearsay; I
have witnessed many theatrical performances, and they only served to
confirm my prejudices against the institution. I never should dream of
such a means of support. Your Professor made one great mistake; for
instance," said Ruth, "he thinks my physique is feeble. Do you know that
I can walk longer and faster than any six women in the United States?"
"Yes," replied Mr. Walter, "I know all about that; I have known you,
under a strong impetus, do six days' work in one, and I have known you
after it prostrated with a nervous headache which defied every attempt
at mitigation. He is right, Ruth, your mind often tires your body
completely out."
"Another thing, your Professor says I do not like to be found fault
with; now this is not quite true. I do not object, for instance, to
_fair_ criticism. I quarrel with no one who denies to my writings
literary merit; they have a right to hold such an opinion, a right to
express it. But to have one's book reviewed on hearsay, by persons
who never looked between the covers, or to have isolated paragraphs
circulated, with words italicized, so that gross constructions might be
forced upon the reader, which the author never could dream of; then to
have paragraphs taken up in that state, credited to you, and commented
upon by horrified moralists,--that is what I call unfair play, Mr.
Walter. When my sense of justice is thus wounded, I do feel keenly, and
I have sometimes thought if such persons knew the suffering that such
thoughtlessness, to baptize it by the most charitable name, may cause
a woman, who must either weep in silence over such injustice, or do
violence to her womanly nature by a public contention for her rights,
such outrages would be much less frequent. It seems to me," said she
earnestly, "were I a man, it would be so sweet to use my powers to
defend the defenceless. It would seem to me so impossible to use that
power to echo the faintest rumor adverse to a woman, or to keep cowardly
silence in the shrugging, sneering, slanderer's presence, when a bold
word of mine for the cause of right, might close his dastard lips."
"Bravo, Ruth, you speak like an oracle. Your sentiments are excellent,
but I hope you are not so unsophisticated as to expect ever to see them
put in universal practice. Editors are but men, and in the editorial
profession, as in all other professions, may be found very shabby
specimens of humanity. A petty, mean-spirited fellow, is seldom improved
by being made an editor of; on the contrary, his pettiness, and
meanness, are generally intensified. It is a pity that such unscrupulous
fellows should be able to bring discredit on so intelligent and
honorable a class of the community. However," said Mr. Walter, "we
all are more or less responsible, for if the better class of editors
refrained from copying abusive paragraphs, their circulation would be
confined to a kennel class whose opinion is a matter of very little
consequence."
"By the way, Ruth," said Mr. Walter, after walking on in silence a few
rods, "how is it, in these days of female preachers, that you never
contemplated the pulpit or lecture-room?"
"As for the lecture-room," replied Ruth, "I had as great a horror of
that, as far as I myself am concerned, as the profession of an actress;
but not long since I heard the eloquent Miss Lucy Stone one evening,
when it really did appear to me that those Bloomers of hers had a
mission! Still, I never could put them on. And as to the pulpit, I have
too much reverence for that to think of putting my profane foot in it.
It is part of my creed that a congregation can no more repay a
conscientious, God-fearing, devoted minister, than--"
"_You_ can help 'expressing your _real_ sentiments,'" said Mr. Walter,
laughing.
"As you please," replied Ruth; "but people who live in glass houses
should not throw stones. But here we are at home; don't you hear the
'whir--whir'?"