She then had two tasks imposed upon her at once, both of which
required for their perfect accomplishment a few years of time and a
large share of vital force: one was the education of the brain, the
other of the reproductive system. The schoolmaster superintended the
first, and Nature the second. The school, with puritanic
inflexibility, demanded every day of the month; Nature, kinder than
the school, demanded less than a fourth of the time,--a seventh or an
eighth of it would have probably answered. The schoolmaster might have
yielded somewhat, but would not; Nature could not. The pupil,
therefore, was compelled to undertake both tasks at the same time.
Ambitious, earnest, and conscientious, she obeyed the visible power
and authority of the school, and disobeyed, or rather ignorantly
sought to evade, the invisible power and authority of her
organization. She put her will into the education of her brain, and
withdrew it from elsewhere. The system does not do two things well at
the same time. One or the other suffers from neglect, when the attempt
is made. Miss A---- made her brain and muscles work actively, and
diverted blood and force to them when her organization demanded
active work, with blood and force for evolution in another region.
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