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it was always his endeavor to do it with as much courtesy of manner as possible. He was<br />
well aware, however, that this was the most thankless part of the actuary's duties; that<br />
though a manly independent, and decided course, would certainly secure the respect and<br />
approbation of the majority, and promote the interests of the institution, it must also<br />
necessarily give offence in individual cases. Such cases did occur. There never lived the<br />
man whom Dr. Bowditch feared to address in what he considered the language of truth, and<br />
he often spoke with a plainness and directness to which his hearers had not been<br />
accustomed." Bowditch was very good at saying no plainly, and meaning it, and refusing to<br />
be pressured. But he was also polite, the hand of steel encased in the glove of velvet. It<br />
should also be noted that while he had no problem holding to a position once taken, he was<br />
not necessarily closed off to new information: "Sometimes...he declined requests, which he<br />
subsequently thought might, with some slight modification, have been admissible; and in<br />
such cases he was always ready and willing to recede from his first position."<br />
When Bowditch worked as an apprentice at the chandlery, he would spend his free time studying.<br />
He carried this practice when he became manager of the insurance company. "He had his La Place<br />
habitually by his side, and in the occasional intervals of leisure from the calls of business or<br />
friendship, he constantly recurred with delight to the teachings of this his favorite author." In short,<br />
the President of the company liked to spend his free time doing mathematics. I used to carry Latin<br />
flashcards around in my pocket so that I would have something to do with myself during dull<br />
periods at work. NTs do not want to squander their free time when they could be using it for<br />
something mentally stimulating and productive.<br />
Love and Loss<br />
I am always interested when reading historical accounts to type the personage's spouse and find out<br />
how the marriage turned out. In this case, Bowditch's first marriage was to a woman named<br />
Elizabeth, "a lady of remarkable intelligence, and worthy of his choice." Unfortunately, Elizabeth<br />
died soon after they were married.<br />
Rationals are often very stolid when it comes to events of mourning. For example, there are<br />
numerous accounts of NTs who did not cry at the funeral of a loved one, and were judged for it by<br />
others. Bowditch was at sea when news came of Elizabeth's death. "He made no complaints<br />
however. He never thought it right to complain of the trials that fell upon him, but he quietly sought<br />
to interest his mind in his favorite pursuit of astronomy. He always did so, whenever any trouble<br />
came upon him. In this way he consoled himself, and was not a burden to others, by being of a<br />
discontented spirit." Even Bowditch, an INTJ who was noted for his lively facial expressions,<br />
clammed up and hid his feelings during a time of mourning.<br />
Two years later Bowditch married again, time to his nineteen year old cousin Mary, who was to be<br />
his wife for the next thirty-three years. She died about four years before Bowditch did. I am sorry<br />
to say that I could not establish even one single letter of her type. I will, however, make some<br />
feeble speculations on it, if only for the learning opportunity. So, what was Mary like?<br />
On the twenty-eighth of October, 1800, Mr. Bowditch married his cousin, Mary Ingersoll. She was<br />
destined to live with him thirty-five years, and was the source of much of his happiness in life. She was a<br />
person, in some respects, as remarkable as her husband. She was possessed of an extraordinary good<br />
judgment, unwearying kindness and love, an elastic cheerfulness, which scarcely any thing could subdue,<br />
and very strong religious feelings. She was constantly trying to aid him. Instead of seeking for<br />
enjoyment in display, she preferred economical retirement and great but respectable frugality, in order<br />
that her husband might pursue more thoroughly and easily his favorite studies, and might purchase books<br />
of science. Instead of collecting beautiful furniture, she called her visitors to see the rich new works of
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