bout them than men do. A woman as a rule would prefer that the people
who surround her should be cheerful, even if she were not cheerful
herself; whereas a man is often not ill-pleased that his moods should be
felt by his circle, and regards it as rather an insult that other
people should be joyful when he is ill-at-ease. Some people, too, have
a stronger dramatic sense than others, and take an artistic pleasure
in playing a part. I knew a man who was a great invalid and a frequent
sufferer, who took a great pleasure in appearing in public functions. He
would drag himself from his bed to make a public appearance of any kind.
I think that he consoled himself by believing that he did so from a
strong and sustaining sense of duty; but I believe that the pleasure of
the thing was really at the root of his effort, as it is at the root of
most of the duties we faithfully perform. I do not mean that he had
a strong natural vanity, though his enemies accused him of it. But
publicity was naturally congenial to him, and the only sign, as a rule,
that he was suffering, when he made such an appearance, was a greater
deliberation of movement, and a ghastly fixity of smile. As to the
latter phenomenon, a man with the dramatic sense strongly developed,
will no doubt take a positive pleasure in trying to obliterate from his
face and manner all traces of his private discomfort. Such stoicism is
a fine quality in its way, but the quality that I am in search of is an
even finer one than that. My friend's efforts were ultimately based on
a sort of egotism, a profound conviction that a public part suited him,
and that he performed it well. What one rather desires to attain is
a more sympathetic quality, an interest in other people so vital and
inspiring that one's own personal sufferings are light in the scale when
weighed against the enjoyment of others. It is not impossible to develop
this in the face of considerable bodily suffering. One of the most
inveterately cheerful people I have ever known was a man who suffered
from a painful and irritating complaint, but whose geniality and
good-will were so strong that they not only overpowered his malaise, but
actually afforded him considerable relief. Some people who suffer can
only suffer in solitude. They have to devote the whole of their nervous
energies to the task of endurance; but others find society an agreeable
distraction, and fly to it as an escape from discomfort. I suppose that
every