he would be much in the habit of employing Secretiveness to shelter himself from the consequences of the ebullitions of his Destructiveness, acting sometimes by itself, but more fre quently along with a powerful organ of Wit, and giving rise to all sorts of mischievous pranks.

I was then told that this was precisely the boy's character. That with brilliant talents, and great aptitude for acquiring ideas and for reflection, he possessed in fact an extraordinary dexterity in concocting the most plausible and consistent stories, and even in acting the part of a simple-minded in telligent child, so as completely to obviate suspicion, and to set scrutiny almost at defiance; while his large Self-esteem and Love of Approbation, and big head, gave him the aspect and appearance of a person who was resolved not to be trifled with, but to be looked upon as a reasonable being.

The boy J. G., mentioned in the Phrenological Transactions, and the girl A. R., mentioned in a former Number of your Journal by Mr Carmichael of Dublin, as having allowed her arm to be cut off rather than acknowledge that she had put needles into it, are two other very striking examples of powerful intellect, rather encouraging than preventing in early life the lying and cunning arising from large Secretiveness and Imitation. And it is not wonderful that it should be so; because, if we suppose the same combination of propensities to exist with a slow and deficient intellect, it is quite obvious that, with all the desire in the world to deceive, the want of reflecting power will be an insuperable obstacle to ready invention or to consistency of narrative; and the only alternative, therefore, will be, either for the feeble intellect to tell exactly what happened, and which it knows without inventing, or for the individual to take refuge in pure Secretiveness in the shape of absolute silence. So essential, indeed, is superior intellect to successful lying or deception, that it has become proverbial to say, that “it "takes a very clever man to make a good liar.”

Such then being the combination of this girl's faculties, and

such the facilities for deception afforded by her excellent intellect, the important question came to be, what chances of moral improvement did a development like hers hold out when the circumstances were changed to the better? My impression was, that the natural character and capacities were such as to afford great encouragement; and that this was precisely the case where, from the possession of the natural qualities, education was calculated to produce a most beneficial and lasting effect; and that, if separation from her old associates could be secured, there would be little risk in the attempt, and great satisfaction in the success of the experi ment, in saving her from ultimate misery and wretchedness.

Very much on the faith of the development, and of some redeeming manifestations of the faculties of Benevolence and Conscientiousness, which might be supposed to be least active, a trial has been resolved upon, and, as she is now in excellent hands, the result, which, whether favourable or unfavourable, I engage to communicate, will be very interesting. The or gans of both Individualities are large and prominent, and the corresponding faculties, when powerful, give such a quickness in apprehension and in observation, such a distinctness and individuality to our conceptions, and such a power of retention and ready command of our ideas, that Dr Gall long ago gave to them the name of "Sens de l'Educabilité." Dr G. adds, that he has uniformly remarked, in those who possessed a large development of these organs, an'instinctive facility and proneness to receive and to follow, without much discrimination, the notions and conduct prevalent around them; and that, even in different races of animals, the same feature accompanied this peculiar development so closely, that he was generally able to determine their degree of tameability or perfectibility by the simple inspection of the anterior part of the head; and that in man, particularly when joined (as in this girl) with a large Imitation, the tendency to assimilation of character and actions was exceedingly strong. While, therefore, this combination of talents

and propensities explains one strong reason why this girl has hitherto followed the example of her depraved associates, it affords at the same time much encouragement, on the ground that now, in more favourable circumstances, it will give her amequal facility in following a better course; and that the permanence of the improvement will be the more assured, that her higher sentiments and reflecting powers will now act in the same instead of in the opposing scale.

She is said at present to display a quickness of conception, readiness of reply, and a power of relative suggestion, that are rare at any age, and more so at hers, and that would surprise if not explained by the great development of the Individualities and of Causality, both of which project at least 3-4ths of an inch beyond the line of Tune. Her reflecting faculties enable her to judge for herself what ought to be done without waiting for a direct admonition; and to modify the manner of doing a thing as circumstances vary. When an end is to be accomplished she never rests till it is attained; and if the way pointed out to her is inadequate, she never thinks of taking refuge in the excuse she is thus possessed of, and which an unreflecting and unconscientious servant invariably lays hold of, to leave it undone, but she invents a way of her own, and looks upon herself as deficient unless the end is accomplished, or is really unattainable by any means within her reach; and in this, conscientiousness as well as intellect is an essential element.

A familiar instance will illustrate this characteristic of her mind. When sent with a message to a particular house, she found that the person had left it. Instead of returning home with a literal fulfilment of her instructions, she set about tracing him out, and after a difficult search, in conducting which she was greatly aided by a large Locality, she succeeded, and, having transacted the business, came home, and gave a most distinct account of all her proceedings.

Although she seems to consider it no sin to pilfer for her own behoof, yet many proofs of the activity of Conscientious

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ness are frequently occurring; for, in addition to a candid openness of confession, which, where Secretiveness is large, Conscientiousness alone secures, it leads her to protect her employer's property and interests in other respects in a very satisfactory manner. Pure selfishness is ever occupied with considering the relations of every thing and of every body solely to self, and Conscientiousness and Benevolence are the chief sources of that habitual regard for the interests, and rights, and happiness of others, for which some are so much more remarkable than others. Of the latter qualities this girl is by no means deficient, and their presence has been shown even in trifles, and in circumstances in which desire for effect could have no share. Once, when suffering severe pain in her hand and arm from a festering finger, she was desired to go and get a poultice put to it. When half out of the room, she turned, and inquired if it would not do as well after tea? Upon being asked her reason for delaying so long to make an application which would speedily relieve her? she answered, that it was "because, if the milk for the poultice was taken now, the cream for the tea would be lost." This in itself was a trifle, but it showed only the more clearly that the human feelings, as the moral sentiments are emphatically termed, were not inactive, and that she erred more from their misdirection than from their positive deficiency. ecse This case is instructive in another point of view. It shows indisputably the necessity of moral and intellectual education; and it places in a very conspicuous light the benefits likely to thembe conferred by infant schools devoted to the regular exercise. of the moral sentiments. Society is the true school for moral improvement; and practice and repetition are as essential to the development and harmonious activity of the moral sentiments (including of course Hope and Veneration) as they are to the bodily functions, or the merely intellectual faculties. In themselves reading and writing are comparatively small accomplishments when contrasted with the knowledge

of

and habitual fulfilment of the higher duties and relations of life, upon which happiness so directly depends.

If any fault is to be found with the (otherwise most useful) Mechanics' Institutions, schools, magazines, and libraries of useful knowledge, &c. now existing, it is unquestionably that they are too exclusively devoted to mere knowledge, to what interests the intellect and extends the physical power of man, without paying due regard, or in truth any regard, to the much more important subject of increasing his happiness by carrying him forward in the path of moral and religious Improvement.I am, &c. A.

ARTICLE VIII.

PHYSIOLOGIE DES TEMPERAMENS OU CONSTITUTIONS, &c. par F. THOMAS, D. M. P. Paris, 1826.

IN In all ages mankind have been struck by the diversities of character and of activity that accompanied, and were by many supposed to depend on, differences of temperament or natural constitution of the body. So far back as the time of Hippocrates we find a classification of temperaments into four great divisions, which, more or less modified, have since been often set aside and often reproduced; but up to the present day, notwithstanding the most laborious inquiries of physicians, physiologists, and philosophers, we remain almost as ignorant as ever of the physical causes on which these varieties depend, of the phenomena by which they may be accurately distinguished, and of the circumstances by which they may be. modified and controlled; and thus it may be truly said, that a rational, useful, and consistent theory of the temperaments is yet only in expectation.