CHAPTER XXIY. 
HEREDITY. 
Among the inhabitants of Mauritius was an en¬ 
gineer named Lislet-Geoff re j, the son of an intelli¬ 
gent white man and a stupid negress. The son had 
all the physical characteristics of his mother, but in 
mind he was like his father, and became so brilliant 
that, notwithstanding his objectionable color, he was 
received into the best and most aristocratic society of 
the island. 
A famous illustration of inherited characteristics 
is the Bach family. It began in 1550 with Weit 
Bach, a baker, who spent his leisure hours in song 
and music. For three centuries his numerous de¬ 
scendants, scattered through the greater part of Cen¬ 
tral Europe, made themselves famous for more than 
ordinary musical ability, singing in church choirs and 
playing cathedral organs. Twenty-eight of them be¬ 
came celebrated as high-class musicians. 
Our great preacher, Richard S. Storrs, was the 
fourth in the family succession possessing remarkable 
mental traits. The Adams family, too, gave us a suc¬ 
cession of brainy men. Charles Darwin inherited 
not only the mental traits but even the very bent of 
his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin. 
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