range, produces individuality of mental action.

But eccentricity is not always an original condition, for, under certain
circumstances, it may be acquired. A person, for instance, meets with
some circumstance in his life which tends to weaken his confidence in
human nature. He accordingly shuns mankind, by shutting himself up in
his own house and refusing to have any intercourse with the inhabitants
of the place in which he resides. In carrying out his purpose he
proceeds to the most absurd extremes. He speaks to no one he meets,
returns no salutations, and his relations with the tradesmen who supply
his daily wants are conducted through gratings in the door of his
dwelling. He dies, and the will which he leaves behind him is found to
devote his entire property for the founding of a hospital for sick and
ownerless dogs, "the most faithful creatures I have ever met, and the
only ones in which I have any confidence."

Such a man is not insane. There is a rational motive for his
conduct--one which many of us have experienced, and which has, perhaps,
prompted us to act in a similar manner, if not to the same extent.

Another is engaged in vast mercantile transactions, requiring the most
thorough exercise of the best faculties of the mind. He studies the
markets of the world, and buys and sells with uniform shrewdness and
success. In all the relations of life he conducts himself with the
utmost propriety and consideration for the rights and feelings of
others. The most complete study of his character and acts fails to show
the existence of the slightest defect in his mental processes. He goes
to church regularly every Sunday, but has never been regarded as a
particularly religious man. Nevertheless, he has one peculiarity. He
is a collector of Bibles, and has several thousand, of all sizes and