The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-07-27
ALMOST RElNCARNATiON.
Study Of the Physical Reproduction Of
ADceetors.

A Study Of the Physical Reproduction oi
| Ancestors.
Do you know what atavism is? 1t is
a strange and wonderful thing in na-
ture which governs most of our phys
zeal and mental resemblances. What
it is will be illustrated by the true story
which follows:
1t was not very long ago that a beauti-
| full young woman of Nantucket whose
name may be called Mary Tilbury, was
visiting friends on Martha's Vineyard
There, it may be mentioned, lived at
the time the young man to whom Mary
| Tilbury was betrothed. The young
man took her to drive across the island
in the vehicle usual in the place which
has an open space behind the seat. As
the pair were driving homeward along
lonely road they saw the bent figure
OF an old woman, who bore upon her
back heavy burden of some sort, toll
ing along in advance Of them. As they
overlook her the young woman pro-
posed that they should invite her to
| ride. They did SO, and were glad they
did, for the old woman was evidently
travel and burden weary, and looked
up at them as they stopped by her side
with grateful expression upon her
face. Evidently the burden on her
back was bag containing what clothes
she had; and Mary Tilbury wondered
if she might not have been turned out
of her semblance of home. She was
was certainly extremely old. She
might well have been beyond her
eightieth year The young man helped
her into the wagon. She placed her
pack upon the floor of the wagon, in
the space behind the seat, and sat down
upon it.
The old woman meantime kept look
ing hard at Mary Tilbury and shaking
her head, with a far-away expression
in her old eyes. Presently she said:
''Iou are the most beautiful girl l ever
saw except one, and that girl looked
exactly like you-the same blue eyes,
the same light-brown hair, the same
fair complexion, the same features and
just exactly that smile and expression.
But it was fifty, yes. more than sixty
years ago that that girl came here"
The old woman wagged her head, lost
in the past, but in few moments her
eyes returned to Mary Tilbury's face.
Once more she began her expressions
of admiration for the girls beauty. st
is wonderful" she said, presently Il
must be dreaming, girl: l must be
dreaming" Well" said Mary Tilbury,
won't you tell us about this girl long
ago that looked so much like me? Was
1T here that you knew her?" Eyes,
here" answered the old woman: "but
this was not her home. She came here
and spent but couple of years, going
to school. She was older than /. |
was fourteen and she was twenty
thought she was everything that was
lovely, and so she was. l worshipped
the ground she walked on, and treas
ured up every look and word of hers
1t is astonishing; your voice is exactly
hers: l should think that Mary Tilburv
was speaking TO me again" The girl
started. My namer' she said. What
do you mean? Is your name Mary Til
bury?a gasped the old woman.
Both told their stories The old
woman explained that when she was a
child girl came from Nantucket to
Martha's Vineyard and spent two years
at school. as she had said. This was
Mary Tilbury; and the living girl OF
that name learned. when she went
home, that that beautiful girl from
Nantucket was her great-grandmothe
In the fourth generation woman had
come into the world who was so close a
counterpart of the woman OF long ago
that the aged crone was instantly inn
pressed with the idea that the same
Mary Tilbury had come back again
And this is ativism-the reappear-
ance of type or characteristic in
descendant not nearer than q grand
child We are told that in Spain every
one is son of somebody. II may be so
in Spain. but here every one is merely
the grandson Of somebody. In the
way OF real governing traits and forms
ones father doee not seem 20 amount
TO much. How many fathers have
marveled that nothing OF their own
characteristics was communicated to
their sons when they have labo-ed so
hard to make them all they themselves
would have been, How many other
sons, whose fathers have done noth-
ing for them, or worse, have taken on no
trait of an unworthy sire. but kaye de-
veloped quite another and nobler char
acter, s-grandmothers--
eatgrand "a thers- grcat-CranGnloth- {
ers-somewhere IN the line stood the
man and the woman who were the real
TRANSCRIPT !.