to drop upon the bridge of the nose, but the palm of the half-closed
hand falls over and down the nose, striking it rather rapidly.
It is also very intermittent with this child, not occurring for
periods of some months, but sometimes occurring almost incessantly."
{end of long footnote}


Another curious instance of an odd inherited movement,
associated with the wish to obtain an object, will be given
in the course of this volume.

There are other actions which are commonly performed
under certain circumstances, independently of habit,
and which seem to be due to imitation or some sort of sympathy.
Thus persons cutting anything with a pair of scissors may be seen
to move their jaws simultaneously with the blades of the scissors.
Children learning to write often twist about their tongues
as their fingers move, in a ridiculous fashion. When a public
singer suddenly becomes a little hoarse, many of those present may
be heard, as I have been assured by a gentleman on whom I can rely,
to clear their throats; but here habit probably comes into play,
as we clear our own throats under similar circumstances.
I have also been told that at leaping matches, as the performer
makes his spring, many of the spectators, generally men and boys,
move their feet; but here again habit probably comes into play,
for it is very doubtful whether women would thus act.

_Reflex actions_--Reflex actions, in the strict sense of the term,
are due to the excitement of a peripheral nerve, which transmits
its influence to certain nerve-cells, and these in their turn excite