Of six hundred and five names occurring in a biographical dictionary devoted to men distinguished as great founders and originators, between the years 1453 and 1853, there were, as has been pointed out by Mr. Galton, no less than one hundred and two relationships, or one in six. Walford's _Men of the Time_ contains an account of the distinguished men in England, the Continent, and America, then living. Under the letter A there are eighty-five names, and no less than twenty-five of these, or one in three and a half, have relatives also in the list; twelve of them are brothers, and eleven fathers and sons. In Bryan's _Dictionary of Painters_, the letter A contains three hundred and ninety-one names of men, of whom sixty-five are near relatives, or one in six; thirty-three of them are fathers and sons, and thirty are brothers. In Fétis's _Biographie Universelle des Musiciens_, the letter A contains five hundred and fifteen names, of which fifty are near relatives, or one in ten. Confining ourselves to literature alone, it has been found that it is one to six and a half that a very distinguished literary man has a very distinguished literary relative; and it is one to twenty-eight that the relation is father and son, or brother and brother, respectively. Among the thirty-nine Chancellors of England, sixteen had kinsmen of eminence; thirteen of them had kinsmen of great eminence. These thirteen out of thirty-nine, or one in three, are certainly remarkable instances of the influence of inheritance. A similar examination has been instituted in regard to the judges of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, and other American States, with like results. The Greek poet Æschylus counted eight poets and four musicians among his ancestors. The greater part of the celebrated sculptors of ancient Greece descended from a family of sculptors. The same is true of the great painters. The sister of Mozart shared the musical talent of her brother. As there are reasons, to be detailed hereafter, for believing that the influence of the mother is even greater than that of the father, how vastly would the offspring be improved if distinguished men united themselves in marriage to distinguished women for generation after generation! INFLUENCE OF FATHERS OVER DAUGHTERS; OF MOTHERS OVER SONS.