Parlour games (dominos, halma, tiddledywinks, spilikins, cup and ball, nap, spoil five, bezique, twentyfive, beggar my neighbour, draughts, chess or backgammon):  embroidery, darning or knitting for the policeaided clothing society:  musical duets, mandoline and guitar, piano and flute, guitar and piano:  legal scrivenery or envelope addressing:  biweekly visits to variety entertainments:  commercial activity as pleasantly commanding and pleasingly obeyed mistress proprietress in a cool dairy shop or warm cigar divan:  the clandestine satisfaction of erotic irritation in masculine brothels, state inspected and medically controlled:  social visits, at regular infrequent prevented intervals and with regular frequent preventive superintendence, to and from female acquaintances of recognised respectability in the vicinity:  courses of evening instruction specially designed to render liberal instruction agreeable.

What instances of deficient mental development in his wife inclined him in favour of the lastmentioned (ninth) solution?

In disoccupied moments she had more than once covered a sheet of paper with signs and hieroglyphics which she stated were Greek and Irish and Hebrew characters.  She had interrogated constantly at varying intervals as to the correct method of writing the capital initial of the name of a city in Canada, Quebec.  She understood little of political complications, internal, or balance of power, external.  In calculating the addenda of bills she frequently had recourse to digital aid.  After completion of laconic epistolary compositions she abandoned the implement of calligraphy in the encaustic pigment, exposed to the corrosive action of copperas, green vitriol and nutgall.  Unusual polysyllables of foreign origin she interpreted phonetically or by false analogy or by both:  metempsychosis (met him pike hoses), alias (a mendacious person mentioned in sacred scripture).

What compensated in the false balance of her intelligence for these and such deficiencies of judgment regarding persons, places and things?

The false apparent parallelism of all perpendicular arms of all balances, proved true by construction.  The counterbalance of her proficiency of judgment regarding one person, proved true by experiment.

How had he attempted to remedy this state of comparative ignorance?

Variously.  By leaving in a conspicuous place a certain book open at a certain page:  by assuming in her, when alluding explanatorily, latent knowledge:  by open ridicule in her presence of some absent other’s ignorant lapse.

With what success had he attempted direct instruction?

She followed not all, a part of the whole, gave attention with interest comprehended with surprise, with care repeated, with greater difficulty remembered, forgot with ease, with misgiving reremembered, rerepeated with error.

What system had proved more effective?