a new house, into a kind of dwelling which is strange to him, and of which he is hardly the master. That is why he is awkward, embarrassed by the sudden growth, for example of the lower limbs, which made people invent for him the name of hobbledehoy. The effects of this sudden impulse of growth are not only interesting, but very various. It may break up old barriers like a storm, so that a boy or girl who appeared in childhood very defective may come suddenly into a new heritage, and appear henceforth as normal or almost normal. The affections as well as the intellect usually suddenly expand and deepen in a very remarkable way, that seems to transform the character. On the other hand, this is an age when all kinds of hereditary defects and weaknesses declare themselves. Criminologists testify that the great majority of people become criminals between the ages of sixteen and twenty-three. In adolescence a great proportion of all suicides take place; the hold on life is less tenacious than it will be later, when, perhaps, life will have lost its charms. Deeds of heroism are common in adolescence, and one has not to read history in order to see how often youths and maidens have led or served forlorn causes. The philosopher is nearly always old: the hero is nearly always
