of a mighty people. To his Benevolence we must certainly attribute the ultimate success of that great measure which formed the glory of his last short administration, the abolition of the slave trade, a measure which, had he never accomplished any thing else, was sufficient to entitle him to the gratitude of the world. But much of what he did is certainly also to be traced to the Love of Approbation, his affability, so contrary to the distance and hauteur of his great rival, and his descending on many occasions to gratify the humours of the lower orders, in a manner which would certainly have been considered derogatory to his dignity by the statelier and more reserved temper of the other.

With regard, again, to the peculiar character of Mr Pitt, as shewn both in his conduct and in his eloquence, a phrenologist would certainly attribute to him an intellect penetrating and acute, but not very philosophical or profound. He possessed, in an eminent degree, the tact of discrimination of character, and of suiting his arguments to the feelings and views of those to whom they were addressed. The mask taken from his forehead, after death, (in the Society's Collection,) shews a full Individuality and large Comparison, two powers which are essential for this sort of tact, and of the most eminent use to a public speaker. His Causali ty and Wit do not seem to be equally large, and Ideality does not appear to be developed in any remarkable degree. This corresponds exactly with the character of his eloquence, which was more distinguished for acute observation and copiousness of illustration, than for any profound or original views of political economy or of human nature. In his conduct as a minister, he was naturally averse from entertaining new views in the science of government, or from entering upon untried and untrodden paths; but preferred to follow in the tracks which had been pointed out by the wisdom of preceding ages, and rendered safe by many examples. His Cautiousness was probably considerably larger than that of Mr Fox, and his Hope smaller, which, joined to the constitution of his intellect as above explained, would render him more inclined to keep the beaten path, and to avoid experi

ments in legislation. But what gave to his other powers, such as they are, the commanding influence which he so long retained over the councils of the nation, was his possessing (as I conclude that he must have possessed) together with a very large Self-esteem, a much superior endowment of Self-esteem and Firmness, than either of the other two great men. To the first of these qualities, is to be attributed the prodigious confidence which he possessed in the able sufficiency of his own talents, his taking upon himself all, or nearly all, the responsible duty of the public business, and, like an eastern monarch, not bearing a brother near the throne. To the last is to be ascribed that invincible spirit, which was neither to be shaken by adverse, nor cajoled by a prosperous state of the public fortunes, that immoveable fortitude which enabled him to hold on his course, and to maintain his plan, like "Teneriffe, or Atlas, unremoved," in the midst of a more formidable opposition at home, and a more appalling array of danger from abroad, than ever it had fallen to the lot of any minister of Britain to encounter. He seemed, in short, as little moved by the attacks upon himself and his administration as rocks are,

When angry billows split themselves against
Their flinty ribs, or as the moon is moved

When wolves, with hunger pined, howl at her brightness.

He must also have possessed a great Concentrativeness, a quality which is eminently conspicuous in his speeches, where he displayed the talent of keeping his attention, from the first to the last, steadily directed towards one point, never wandering from the path of strict logical sequence, and bringing arguments and illustrations from all possible sources to bear upon his original proposition, so that nothing was introduced extraneous to the subject, or which did not ultimately tell in the winding up of his peroration. The description which has been given us even of his gestures and the tones of his voice, his rising in his emphasis, and mouthing his syllables with the most distinct enunciation, is quite VOL. I.-No II.

R

correspondent with those qualities of mind which have been ascribed to him. We may add, that the bust which is in the Society's collection, coincides most remarkably with this supposed development, those parts of the head in the regions of Nos. 3, 10, and 18, being evidently very fully developed, while those of the animal propensities are very little so,—another circumstance which is also quite conformable to his character.

Now it may be asked, not whether any of the metaphysical systems of mind furnish a better account of the intellectual and moral differences, which appear in those three great men, but whether they furnish us with any account at all of those differences? Surely it will not be said, that this is a useless or an uninteresting study. "The proper study "of mankind is man," and this is not merely acknowledged in words, but we see, by the interest which is felt in every thing that promises to give us an insight into the mind and the feelings of man, what a strong hold it takes upon our hearts and imaginations. We love to observe the progress from infancy to manhood, and to see the powers of an extraordinary mind gradually develop their great energies. To use the words of an eloquent writer, "we delight to watch, fold by fold, the buckling on of the celestial pan"oply, and to witness the leading forth of that chariot, "which, borne on irresistible wheels, and drawn by steeds of "immortal race, is to crush the necks of the mighty, and "sweep away the serried strength of armies." Phrenology does this in a degree that never has been accomplished, or even attempted, by any other system. It lays open to us the mechanism of this celestial armour,-takes it to pieces, and shews us the wonderful adaptation of each part to its several end, and the admirable fitness of the whole for the work it has to accomplish; and hence arises one of the strongest presumptions that it is not the invention of man, but, in reality, the production of a divine Artificer.

66

I am, Sir,

Your obedient servant,
M. T.

247

ARTICLE VII.

ON THE ORGAN AND FACULTY OF CONSTRUCTIVENESS.

In our first Number we stated, that the facts on which phrenology is founded, are so numerous and varied, that it is difficult to give even an abstract of them; and we selected a single faculty and organ, that of Destructiveness, as an example of the truth of this remark, and gave a rapid sketch of the evidence on which it is admitted, as a primitive propensity of the mind. We shall now treat of CONSTRUCTIVENESS in the same manner; and give first Dr Gall's account of the discovery of the organ, and of some of the facts on which he founds his belief in it; secondly, we shall state part of the evidence on which we ourselves are disposed to admit such a propensity and organ; and, lastly, notice some facts in human nature, altogether independent of phrenology, which may enable the reader to judge of the probability of their existence. Dr Gall's account of Constructiveness occupies sixteen quarto pages, so that we are necessarily compelled greatly to abridge his statements. He gives the following account of the discovery :

When he first turned his attention to the talent for construction, manifested by some individuals, he had not discovered the fact, that every primitive faculty is connected with a particular part of the brain as its organ; and on this account, he directed his observations towards the whole head of great mechanicians. He was frequently struck with the circumstance, that the head of these artists was as large in the temporal regions as at the cheek bones. This, however, although occurring frequently, was not a certain and infallible characteristic; and hence, he was led by degrees to believe, that the talent depended on a particular power. To discover a particular indication of it in the head, he made acquaintance with men of distinguished mechanical

genius, wherever he found them; he studied the forms of their heads, and moulded them. He soon met some in whom the diameter from temple to temple was greater than that from the one zigomatic bone to the other; and at last found two celebrated mechanicians, in whom there appeared two swellings, round and distinct at the temples. These heads convinced him, that it is not the circumstance of equality in the zigomatic and temporal diameters, which indicated a genius for mechanical construction, but a round protuberance in the temporal region, situated in some individuals a little behind, in others a little behind and above the eye. This protuberance is always found in concomitance with great constructive talent, and when the zigomatic diameter is equal to it, there is then a parallelism of the face; but, as the zigomatic bone is not connected with the organ, and projects more or less in different individuals, this form of countenance is not an invariable concomitant of constructive talent, and ought not to be taken as the measure of the development of the organ.*

Having thus obtained some idea of the seat and external appearance of the organ, Dr Gall assiduously multiplied observations. At Vienna, some gentlemen of distinction brought to him a person, concerning whose talents they solicited his opinion. He stated that he ought to have a great tendency towards mechanics. The gentlemen imagined that he was mistaken, but the subject of the experiment was greatly struck with this observation: He was the famous painter Unterberger. To shew that Dr Gall had judged with perfect accuracy, he declared that he had always had a passion for the mechanical arts, and that he painted only for a livelihood. He carried the party to his house, where he shewed them a multitude of machines and instruments, some of which he had invented, and others improved. Besides, Dr

In the plates and busts published in this country, the organ is placed too low, and too far forward. In a great variety of instances, we have found it very distinctly marked, a little upwards and backwards from the situation in the

busts.