226 ROUGH WAYS MADE SMOOTH. 



been transmitted in some cases. Galton mentions one note- 

 worthy instance relating to memory. In the family of Porson 

 good memory was so notable a faculty as to give rise to the 

 byword, * the Porson memory.' Lady Hester Stanhope, says 

 the late F. Papillon, ' she whose life was so full of adventure, 

 gives, as one among many points of resemblance between 

 herself and her grandfather, her retentive memory. " I have 

 my grandfather's grey eyes," said she, " and his memory of 

 places. If he saw a stone on the road, he remembered it ; 

 it is the same with myself. His eye, which was ordinarily 

 dull and lustreless, was lighted up, like my own, with a 

 dull gleam whenever he was seized with passion." ' 



In endeavouring to form an opinion on the law of here- 

 dity in its relation to genius, we must remember that a remark 

 somewhat similar to one made by Huxley respecting the origin 

 of new species applies to the origin of a man of genius. Be- 

 fore such a man became celebrated no one cared particu- 

 larly to inquire about his ancestry or relations ; when his 

 fame was established, the time for making the inquiry had 

 passed away. It is quite possible that, if we had exact and 

 full information, in a great number of cases we might find 

 the position taken up by Mr. Galton and M. Ribot greatly 

 strengthened; it is, however, also possible that we might 

 find it much weakened, not only by the recognition of a 

 multitude of cases in which the approach of a great man was 

 in no sort indicated by scintillations of brightness along the 

 genealogical track, but by a yet greater number of cases 

 in which families containing numbers of clever, witty, 

 and learned folks have produced none who attained real 

 distinction. 



There is an excellent remark in a thoughtful but anony- 

 mous paper on Heredity in the Quarterly Journal of Science, 

 two years or so ago, which suggests some considerations 

 well worth noting. * If we look/ says the writer, ' on the in- 

 tellect as not a single force but a complex of faculties, we 

 shall find little to perplex us in the phenomenon of spon- 

 taneity ' that', is (in this case), in the appearance of a man 



