HEREDITY. 133 



Not only a quid is craved, but one which embraces an 

 appreciable amount of tipple. The first time a boy 

 uses the filthy weed he is sickened and disgusted, but 

 forces himself to overcome the nausea in order to ap- 

 pear manly ! 



In a review of Galton's " Hereditary Genius," it 

 is plain that his citations lend strong support to the 

 position he has taken, which is that men of marked 

 talent have sprung from parents or ancestral stock of 

 acknowledged ability ; arid this is as might be ex- 

 pected. 



It is easy to see that in a country like England, 

 where so much hinges on traditional descent, a pater- 

 nal chief-justice, statesman, or divine should be suc- 

 ceeded by a son who at length attains the same or a 

 similar office of honor and trust. On the other hand, 

 the distinguished genealogist does not mention the 

 distinguished men who have riot left sons eminent for 

 ability, nor has he been particular to enumerate the 

 instances in which men of brilliant talents have sprung 

 from humble origin. In the latter condition there 

 have been intellectual leaps which quite outmatch any 

 to be cited of a saltatory character in physical trans- 

 formations. It is easy to understand how and why 

 inheritance helps in the unfolding of talent, in the 

 evolution of genius, and in the elevation of progeny 

 favored with influential parents ; yet to rise in the 

 world while stemming a tide of adverse circumstances 

 is to approach the borderland of the marvelous. In 

 Queen Elizabeth's reign, the people of England were 

 divided into villains, yeomanry, burgesses, squires, 

 clergy, and noblemen ; and there was, from the fixed 

 nature of the affairs of the time, a meager opportunity 

 for even a daring and ambitious individual to ascend 



