96 THE PERPETUATION OF LIVING BEINGS, 



however similar, they will always differ iu some cer- 

 tain particular. 



Now let us go back to Atavism, — to the hereditary 

 tendency I spoke of. What will come of a variation 

 when you breed from it, when Atavism comes, if I may 

 say so, to intersect variation ? The two cases of Avhich I 

 have mentioned the history, give a most excellent illus- 

 tration of what occurs. Gratio Kelleia, the Maltese, 

 married when he was twenty-two years of age, and, as I 

 suppose there were no six- fingered ladies in Malta, he 

 married an ordinary five-fingered person. The result 

 of that marriage was four children j the first, who was 

 christened Salvator, had six fingers and six toes, like 

 his father; the second was George, who had five 

 fingers and toes, but one of them was deformed, show- 

 ing a tendency to variation ; the third was Andre ; he 

 had five fingers and five toes, quite perfect ; the fourth 

 was a girl, Marie ; she had five fingers and five toes, but 

 her thumbs were deformed, showing a tendency towards 

 the sixth. 



These children grew up, and when they came to 

 adult years, they all married, and of course it happened 

 that they all married five-fingered and five-toed persons. 

 Now let us see what were the results. Salvator had 

 four children ; they were two boys, a girl, and another 

 boy : the first two boys and the girl were six-fingered 

 and six-toed like their grandfather ; the fourth boy had 

 only five fingers and five toes. George had only four 

 children : there were two girls with six fingers and six 

 toes; there was one girl with six fingers and five toes 

 on the right side, and five fingers and five toes on the 



