THE CHARACTER OF THE SHREWISH WOMAN.

CHAPTER III.

BEFORE We look more closely into anatomical and physiological matters it will be well to examine, with some detail, the character of the men and women whom, from the exigencies of our language, we must call shrewish and nonshrewish. Women will be studied first because their characters, though not less elevated and estimable, are more direct, spontaneous, and natural. We shall look first at their personal, intellectual, and moral aspects, and then follow them into domestic, social, and public life.

The nerve action of shrewish women (and men also) is marked by vivacity and readiness rather than by strength or persistence. Shrews of both sexes, but particularly men, who possess unusual ability (and these are not few) are often conspicuous figures. And it is of deep physiological interest to watch high capacity which is at the same time self-conscious, fitful, discontented, and disparaging; or which is

strenuously bent on notoriety, and keenly alive to the methods and opportunities of securing it.

The life of the average, and of all below the average, shrew is occupied with little things— and she never rests. Very frequently, but by no means always, her restlessness takes the form of ceaseless cleaning, the rearrangement of furniture, the minute supervision and change of servants, the correction of children, the denunciation of tradespeople "in these days," and the repeated recital of her "trials," or in other words, the shortcomings of others which come to the same thing.

Although she is constantly cleaning, acute observers say she is not cleaner than other women. But hers is ostentatious cleanliness. She seems to say, "see how clean 1 am, and to prove it to you, the moment this house is thoroughly cleaned, it shall be cleaned over again." She believes, with Lord Beaconsfield, that "the unimportant is not very unimportant;" she is perplexed however when he goes on to say that "the important is not very important." In large affairs she enjoys the calm of deference to authority. If authority is dumb she is dumb also-inwardly and out

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wardly dumb. In small affairs, and in affairs which are neither large nor small, she usually jumps to conclusions. She is much more

interested in the colour of her linen than in the problems of her time. She refuses-she does not say this either to herself or to others, nevertheless she doggedly refuses to think of evolution, or agnosticism, or cremation, or the abandonment of oaths, or the use of libraries, picture galleries and museums on Sundays.

Here and there, where somewhat higher, but still not necessarily high, capacity is present, the shrewish woman's restlessness may find some social, or religious, or political outlet. She may become a zealous committee-woman and, Jellabywise, permit the African baby to thrust aside husband, and children, and servants, and household. The black baby, it is true, concerns her, but in strict truth her own position on its white committee concerns her much more.

The restless are always discontented, and the discontented are restless. The shrew's discontent is not deep, neither, it may be added, is her disparagement ever bitter, or her resentment violent. When adversity is real she seems to

behave like a philosopher. Her discontent is with small matters, a discontent which is captious at home, but bright and sparkling, and chastened in society.

It matters not what the shrewish woman has, she prefers something else. If her house is full of oil pictures she prefers water colours; if her carriage horses are grey she prefers bay; if flowers predominate in her garden she prefers trees; the suburb she lives in is not so suitable as some other. She is probably content with the religion, the moral code (not at all with the practical morals), and the politics in which she has been brought up. In short, in her own little world whatever is is wrong; but in the larger world outside whatever is is right. If dire circumstances unhinge her she may be trusted to travel in well-worn or approved directions.

The spirited, indefatigable, adjudging, directing, reproving lady may, or may not, be our ideal woman, but, if not, she frequently has high compensating qualities. As a child she is singularly precocious. While still in her teens she is smart, self-confident, self-asserting, business-like; she can travel, shop, bargain,

confer, and advise. She is little less wise, and she may be singularly wise, at eighteen than she is at twenty-eight or forty-eight. The field of vision of the average shrewish woman usually wants range and depth, but it is clear from the first. The cleverer women, and these are not rare, give apt response to educational measures. They are quick to apprehend and have good memories; they see by a sort of instinct what their teacher wants and excel in examinations. They often come by indisputable merit to fill distinguished and responsible positions. But, curiously, even the highly cultivated woman as a rule gives her keenest attention to the less vital problems. A famous man once said that if he had not been a philosopher in deeds he would have been a student of words. The shrewish woman takes to words rather than to thoughts. She traces, perhaps, the rise and fall of Shakspere's words. Non-shrewish students are of many sorts, but often they strive to get at Shakspere's exact thought and feeling. Nay, the thought-student, heretic that she is, would like, for her private use, a copy of Shakspere as he would talk were he now alive. She would rather speak