Bok's instinct was strongly in favor of an acceptance.

A natural impulse moved him, without reasoning, to action.

Reasoning led only to a cautious mental state, and caution is a strong factor in the Dutch character.

The longer he pursued a conscious process of reasoning, the farther he got from the position.

But the instinct remained strong.
On his way back from the West, he stopped in Philadelphia again to consult his friend, George W.Childs; and here he found the only person who was ready to encourage him to make the change.
Bok now laid the matter before his mother, in whose feminine instinct he had supreme confidence.