728 The Heads of Great Men. [December, 
his code of laws — is the only intervening king worthy of 
notice. Egbert cannot be classed high ; accident, not con- 
quest, made him “ king of the English.” Alfred is the 
genius of his race ; besides him ranks only Athelstan, the 
conqueror of Scotland and the “ Emperor of Britain.” Of 
the House of Anjou, Henry II., Edward I. and III., and 
Henry V. are worthy of mention : of these Henry V., and 
perhaps Edward I., may claim the rank of genius. The 
House of Tudor was probably best sustained (1484 — 1603) ; 
Elizabeth was the genius. William the Norman might claim 
to be the genius of his line, but we can hardly rank a Stuart 
(in England) amongst this class. Finally comes the line of 
Brunswick, which has yet its genius to produce : it has ample 
opportunity. We have no king as yet who will stand in 
the first rank — with Napoleon, Charlemagne, Caesar, &c. 
But to return : it often happens that near relations have 
eminent abilities, but not of the first rank : for instance, the 
Zuingles of Switzerland, the two Vanes, Hamilcar, Hanni- 
bal, the Medici ; Sir W. Davenant claimed to be Shakes- 
peare’s son ; the Colmans (father and son), Coleridges (father 
and children), Fletchers (P. and G., brothers), Corneilles 
(brothers), Fieldings (brother and sister), Sheridans (mother 
and son), &c. 
We often find the same name recur, but are unable to 
trace a family connection, which probably never existed. 
Such persons, it must be noted, are as a rule very wide 
apart. Thus there are the two Butlers, — authors respect- 
ively of the “ Analogy” and of “ Hudibras,” — the two yet 
more famous Bacons, and a host of less prominent in- 
stances, Moores and Mores, Sidneys, Smiths, Taylors, Tin- 
dais, Whites, Harringtons, and Greens. 
If we take a wider survey of man we find history not 
merely repeating itself, but presenting its parallelisms. Let 
us bear in mind Mr. Pfounaes’s researches on the development 
of old Japan, and compare it with the history of European 
countries with which that island empire had in those days 
no connection. 
According to Mr. Pfoundes the feudal system was intro- 
duced, perfected, and completed there at the same time as in 
Europe. Hallam fixes its culminating point for Europe in 
the eleventh century. It was the same in Japan. Japan 
destroyed her convents and disbanded her monks within 
about a century after the time of Henry VIII. 
M. E. Renan, in his “ Life of Jesus,” makes the following 
interesting observation, which bears exactly on this point : — 
“ The history of the human mind is full of strange coinci- 
