422 On Genius. 
of delight with the phenomena of the skies 
were strengthened, in the mind of the young 
philosopher, by contrasting the quiet lux- 
ury of his evening meditations with the 
brutal treatment he experienced at home. 
An anecdote recorded in the early history of 
Clairon, the great tragic actress, appears to 
Mr. D’Israeli to contain decisive evidence, 
that the development of Genius is not acci- 
dental. Lam again under the necessity of 
dissenting from him. That remarkable wo- 
man inherited from nature, I admit, an en- 
thusiasm and sensibility of soul, which fitted 
her to become distinguished in some line or 
other; but £ cannot suppose that any con- 
stitutional bias destined her, from her birth, 
to the particular department in which she after- 
wards excelled. Let the question be decided 
by an appeal to facts. Clairon was the 
daughter of an illiterate and violent woman, 
who was incessantly driving her with threats 
and menaces to manual labour. Her quick 
and susceptible spirit strongly felt the mi- 
series of such a situation, so ill-suited to the 
vivacity and playfulness of childhood. One 
day, when she had been locked up by her 
mother in a room, as a punishment, she 
climbed up to the window, to look about 
her. In the house oppostie, she observed a 
