400 THE CAUSES OF THE xi 



pen that the son shall exhibit the maternal type 

 of character, or the daughter possess the character- 

 istics of the father's family. There are all sorts of 

 intermixtures and intermediate conditions between 

 the two, where complexion, or beauty, or fifty other 

 different peculiarities belonging to either side of 

 the house, are reproduced in other members of the 

 same family. Indeed, it is sometimes to be re- 

 marked in this kind of variation, that the variety 

 belongs, strictly speaking, to neither of the im- 

 mediate parents ; you will see a child in a family 

 who is not like either its father or its mother ; but 

 some old person who knew its grandfather or 

 grandmother, or, it may be, an uncle, or, perhaps, 

 even a more distant relative will see a great 

 similarity between the child and one of these. In 

 this way it constantly happens that the character- 

 istic of some previous member of the family comes 

 out and is reproduced and recognised in the most 

 unexpected manner. 



But apart from that matter of general experience, 

 there are some cases which put that curious mix- 

 ture in a very clear light. You are aware that the 

 offspring of the ass and the horse, or rather of the 

 he-ass and the mare, is what is called a mule ; and, 

 on the other hand, the offspring of the stallion 

 and the she-ass is what is called a hinny. It is 

 a very rare thing in this country to see a hinny. 

 I never saw one myself; but they have been very 

 carefully studied. Now, the curious thing is this, 



