Every violent physical sensation will react on the lungs; every powerful normal emotion, whatever its cause, will also make its influence felt on the respiratory functions. An exercise which is performed with tranquil breathing if the mind is free from care, quickly produces respiratory disturbances if the mind is brooding and preoccupied. Those who have acted as seconds in a duel to men accustomed to the use of the sword know that they become breathless in the duel much more quickly than they do in the fencing school. Depressing emotions make themselves felt in the respirations of animals as well as of man. A sensitive horse, which is badly used at its work, or even roughly spoken to, rapidly becomes breathless. The dog is incomparably less swift than the hare, but is able to catch it; the fright of the hunted animal disturbs its breathing and robs it of much of its strength. In fright the disorder of the respiratory movements destroys the regularity of the interchange of gases which takes place in the lungs, between the venous blood and the atmospheric air, and thus profoundly hinders the function of the aëration of the blood. The more impressionable the subject, the more easily do the emotions influence his respiratory actions. Hence, the superiority in certain bodily exercises of men whose minds are calm and masters of themselves. Emotional causes, such as worry, anxiety, and grief, as well as the more tangible physical factors, cause softening and disease of the tissues, which frequently accounts for the arteriosclerosis and premature senility. Alienists have long found abundant evidence that abnormal physical conditions are capable of producing mental diseases, but the reverse is quite as true. And not only the imagination, but the intellect, the emotions, and the will have or may have a powerful influence over the sensations and organic functions. It is not only profoundly true that mental attitude has much to do with bodily function, capable of producing changes in its nutrition and secretion, but we may go further and say that healthful and hopeful habits of thought do much to put the body on the defensive against the assaults of disease. Mental attitude refers not to the will or the emotions, but to the mind in its entirety. The trend of a woman’s thoughts, the use she makes of her intellect, the strength of the volition, the sense of responsibility, and the objects of her life are all questions that have a distinct bearing upon the bodily functions and the health of the individual.