Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1888-03-28
MEMS TENDERS

FIRE Reason Why SOnl% Husbands Are
Ouiet. Mild and seuxte.
The admixture of different tempers
among the brothers and sisters of the
same family is a notable fact due to
various causes which act in different
directions. 1t is best to consider them
before we proceed to collect evidence
and attempt its Interpretation. It is
clear enough, and may be taken for
granted, the tempers of progenitors do
not readily blend in the offspring, but
that some of the children take mainly
after one of them. some after another,
but with few threads, as it were, of
various ancestral tempers woven in,
which occasionally manifest them
selves. If no other influences inter-
vened the tempers of the children in
the same family would on this account
be almost as varied as those of their
ancestors. who married at haphazard,
so far as their tempers were concerned;
therefore the numbers of good and bad
children in families would be regulated
by the same laws of chance that apply
to gambling table. But there are
other influences to be considered.
There is well known tendency to
family likeness among brothers and
sisters which is not due to the blending
of ancestral peculiarities, but to the
prepotence of one of the progenftors,
who has stamped more than his or her
fair share of qualities upon the chill
dren. 1t NAV also be due to familiar
occurrence that deserves but has not
yet received a distinctive name
namely, where all the children are
alike and yet their common likeness
can not be traced to their progenitors.
A new variety has come into existence
through the process not of individual
but Of contra ernal variation.
The most strongly marked family
type that | have personally met with
first arose simultaneously in the three
brothers of family who transmitted
their peculiarities with unusual tenaci-
ty to numerous descendants through
at least two generations. Other in
fuences act in antagonism to the fore
going; they are tse events of domestic
life, which, instead of assimilating
tcmpers, tend to accentuate slight diff
ferences in them. Thus if some mem
bers of family are little submissive
by nature. others who are naturally a
little domineering are tempted to be-
come more so. Then the acquired habit
of dictation in these reacts upon the
others and makes them still more sub
missive In the collection ] made of
histories of twins who were closely
alike, the statement WAS constantly met
with that one of the twins was guided
by the other. l suppose that after their
many childish struggles for supremacy,
each finally discovered his own relative
strength of character and thenceforth
the stronger developed into the leader.
while the weaker contentedly subsidized
into the position of being led
Again, it is sometimes observed that
a member of an easy-@oing family dis
covered that he or she may exercise
considerable power by adopting the
habit of being .rsistcnt!y 4 sagreeable
whenever he or she dos not get the
first and best OF every thing. Some
wives contriye to tyraanize over hus-
bands who are mild aud sensitive, who
hate family scenes and dread the dis
grace attending them by holding them
selves in readiness to fly into passion
whenever their wishes are withstood.
They thus acquire habit of breaking
out to use term familiar to the ward
ers of female prisoners and lunatic
ssylums, and though their relatives and
connections would describe their tenn
pers by severe epthets, yet if they hal
married masterful husbands their char
acters might have developed more ia
vorably.- FortnighttY ReUieo0.