n palled on me. I think this was mainly due to the fact that I had been
humored to death and had enjoyed every sensation and surprise that it was
possible for me to experience. When I played with other children, things
had to go my way or there was a scene. I did not fight, my bump of
combativeness being evidently small. It was not from my inherent goodness
that I refrained from pugilistic encounters so much as from the fact that
I did not want to disturb my mental equanimity. Then I was lazy and liked
a state of physical ease--a condition from which I have not yet recovered.
I never wasted any physical energy. In fine, I was steeped in irredeemable
laziness to such a degree that it exceeded that of the Indian who said:
"What's the use to run when you can walk; or walk when you can sit; or sit
when you can lie?" On one occasion, while yet quite young, I was found
trying to limit the number of my respirations, stating that it "tired me
to breathe so often." I often ate and drank more than I really wanted,
hoping thereby not to be troubled with eating and drinking for some little
time.

My muscles became so soft and flabby from disuse that it was almost
physically impossible for me to run and exercise as other children do. I
was weaker than I really looked to be. I gained the reputation of being a
_good boy_, but the truth was I was too lazy to do anything mean as well
as anything good. I lacked the spirit and vim that the average boy
possesses. While I passed in the "good boy" category, no one stopped to
question the why or the wherefore of my being good. People often speak of
good boys and good babies in a sense of negation. If children do not
indulge in the celestial feat of producing a little thunder occasionally,
they will never attract any more attention than that of being good, which
is sometimes synonymous with being nobody and doing nothing. It is much
easier for the devilish boy to accomplish something if his energy can only
be harnessed along the line of utility.

[Illustration: I was weaker than I really looked to be.]

When I arrived at school age I learned pretty well and was still regarded
by many as being precocious in this respect; but I acquired knowledge
rather by absorption than by hard study. A soft brick placed in water will
soak up a quart in a few days. A human brick will likewise absorb a bit of
knowledge if he only remains where there is something to be absorbed. As I
did not engage in the u