San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1894-01-30
CHARACTER IN GAIT.
PERSONALITY OF PEOPLE SHOWS
ITSELF IN THEIR WALK.

The Strutter Has Roundlcss Conceit-The
I Woman who Steps With Painful Accu-
racy-Ah, Here Comes the Man with
Steady Tread and Manly Carriage.
1t is Plutarch who says that IAN &C
ton of small note, short saying or jest
will distinguish a persons real character
more than the greatest sieges or the
most important battles" and Lavater,
the father of physiognOmy, declares that
no man can set glass upon table
without betraying to a certain extent
his individuality. True, no doubt, but
one must have the keen vision, the well
trained eye, in order to interpret these
mystic signs. The indications of char
acter as exhibited in the walk Of per-
son, however, are patent to every be-
holder and may be deciphered by the
most untutOred, the least astute.
Sit by your window some fine morn
ing and watch the men and women as
they pass to their varied avOcatiOns.
Take, for example, the man just APP
preaching. His chin is elevated to an
angle of 20 degrees. a self important
frown Corrugates his brow, a cOmplacent
smile plays about his mouth, he struts
rather than walks. Need | point him
out as man of boundless cOnCeit, Of
monumental brass, of colossal gall? His
amiabihty is imperturbable, for one who
is absolutely self satisfied is apt to take
an indulgent view of the world at large.
His faith in himself is limitleSs. No
traitorous feeling Of self diStruSt will
ever cause his failure. He will under
take without the slightest misgiving
what man Of ten times his ability would
hesitate to attempt. His success IN HE
is assured. and yet one cannot help feel
ing that if traced to its roots 1t would be
found to spring from defects rather than
merits.
The dress OF the woman coming just
behind him is arranged with mathemat-
ical exactness. The placing Of each pin
has been a matter of special care. Her
lirs are compressed, her hands clasped
primly before her, her steps are taken
with painful accuracy; there is not a
hairbreadth's difference in the length OF
them. If you follow her to her home,
YOU will find that the same scrupulOus
ness prevails i'll the disposition of every
thing about her The furniture is az
ranged with rectangular eZactness,
there is not pin out of place IN her
bureau drawers, and the jars upon her
pantry shelves are marshaled like sol
diers on parade. she will accomplish
no great work in life, however. She is a
precisiOmst and spends her time laborl-
ously doing nothing. And, also, take
care of this woman. She is absolutely
uncompromising, and all about her must
| be Topped off or stretched out to fit the
proCrustean idea of order which exists i'll
| her own mind.
But dOn't-yOu who are in search OF a
wife-falI into the opposite error of choos,
ing as life companion the girl with the
| frOuZy head, the skirt of whose dress
| dips in points, whose gait is careless,
| who swings her arms as she walks. She
is generous, warm hearted, good natur.
| ed. possessed of noble traits, but con-
| fusion, with all its mdeous train of evils,
follows in her wake. One foresees fol
| her an untidy, chaotic household, irreg
ular, Ill arranged meals ana uncIeanly
badly governed children. Ii her husband
happens to be a strong, an exceptionally
strong man, he will simply be supremacy
wretchcd and uncomfortable. If not
his ambition will be paralyzed, his dis
position spoiled; he will escape the phys
ical discomforts of his situation byevery
means in his power and perhaps drown
the recollection of them in drink.
The man with the shutting, uncertain
gait, whose steps seem to be directed b!
no guiding power within, is wealnind