Our forefathers had no books; they never went to school; they knew but little of art or science, and their technical skill was of the rudest. We call them barbarians, but why? They had their passions as we have them; they had their joys and their sorrows; they had their thoughts; they were educated. The viking of old was a man with a highly wrought mind. Though differing in detail, his education was the same as ours. It was the study of himself and his companions.
Let us glance a little into these defects of education which cause nervousness.
From what has been said, the reader will perceive that the lack of knowledge of herself or her companion is the commonest cause of nervousness; this indeed is the case. The girl who leaves the nursery for the first time is shy and retiring: she cannot speak to anyone without confusion; she has no experience of life. A new episode has occurred and she cannot at once rise to the situation. She is not at home; she is nervous.
And so if you think over the position in which you have been nervous, you will see that in the majority of cases, your trouble was due to inexperience.
The girl who has never spoken to anyone except her own friends is nervous when she first speaks to a stranger. After she has been introduced to one or two persons her nervousness vanishes, for she has become used to her new situation.
Who has not felt nervous when she first appeared in public? Who has not felt most unpleasant sensations when she first sang or played before an audience? Yet after her second or third appearance all traces of nervousness vanish, because now she is accustomed to her surroundings.
The warrior who will face death on the field without compunction may fly in terror if he hear the buzz of a moth. Or if he is unused to feminine society he will be completely cowered by a single woman.
The scientist who has astonished the world with his inventions is yet too nervous to deliver a lecture to half-a-dozen students, for he is used to his laboratory but is a stranger to the lecturer’s chair.
These are examples of what may be called healthy nervousness. They are transient and can be overcome by the will. We will now talk of some more complicated causes of nervousness.
There are many girls who have the misfortune of having been spoilt during their childhood, and who as girls have had every wish gratified. When these girls go into the world they often become irritable and impertinent, or shy and retiring, or excessively nervous and bashful.