RT Journal
A1 Mallam P
T1 BIlly o
JF JAMA
JO JAMA
YR 1969
FD December 22
VO 210
IS 12
SP 2236
OP 2239
DO 10.1001/jama.1969.03160380050011
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.1969.03160380050011
AB A child is readily perceptive of the outward traits and mannerisms of those around him. The cast is, as it were, still small and the stage brightly lit; and the actors produce an etched impress never quite obliterated. Only later in life does the clarity of individuals become gradually dulled as the long pageant of the passing show grows increasingly crowded by a mass of ill-defined and mingled figures. Just as the central characters, fairy, human, or animal, of a childhood's story book are more real and vivid than those of later reading, so are the people of his acquaintance. Unfortunately, in this context at least, we none of us have prevision, and, in early years particularly, content ourselves with superficial impressions only. The deeper observations of character and behaviour which would have given so much personal felicity in mature age, and even had historical value some decades later, remain