The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1897-02-17
CURIOUS FACTS.

CURIOUS FACTS.
Ancient as is the house of Massimo.
In France, It's pre- tensions with regard
to the antiquity Of It's ancestry are
rivaIed by those of the Dukes Of
Kung, China. In this instance the
hereditary title Of duke was confer
red. about the time of the Babylonian
captivity Of the Jews, upon Confucius,
and ever since ,his senior male de-
scendant in the direct line has borne
the hereditary, title Of Yen Shing
kung, whichJin English means lever
sacred duke" IL i
Attention to this fact has just been
called by the appearance of an edition
Of the Imperial. Gazette of Pekin, to the
effect that, inasmuch as through wars,
floods and rebellions. the lands granted
for the support OF this dukedom have
become alienated and lost, the govern
has decided to make to the present
duke.and to the future bearers of the
title, an annual allowance equivalent
to the sum originally yielded by the
ducal estates at the time they were
granted. ! ~,
The present duke is the seventy
seventh in direct line from Confucius,
and, strange to relate, his face and
figure present a striking resemblance
to the portraits that the old craven
stones still present Of the founder Of
that great school of philosophy which.
to all highly educated Cinnamon,
duke, like all of his seventy-six ances-
tors, has lived at Kiofu, In the PROV
ince of Sham Tung, and In the imme-
date vicinity Of his palace, are stu
ated the tomb and the memorial tenn.
pie of his illustrious ancestor.
This latter statement, that the face
and figure of the great Confucius re-
appear in descendant removed from
him by seventy-seven generations,
goes to confirm other evidence as to
the indestructibility of family charac-
teristics. Barring Gould, in his inter
esting work, "Old Country Homes"
gives the portraits of two persons
of the same family, in England, who
lived 200 years apart, and whose fea-
lures were Identical. Our old friend.
Isaac Newton, Commissioner Of Agri-
culture under President Lincoln, long
since dead, told us curious story.
He kept his account in certain bank
in Philadelphia. One morning the
cashier laid before him check, signed
Isaac Newton" for s. 900; the hand
writing bearing general resemblance
to his own.
you don't mean to say you have
paid that check?" enquired Mr.. New
ton.
I'VE certainly have" said the
cashier.
"Then you will lose the amount OF
it," was the answer, "for never sign
ed it,
The cashier smiled pleasantly and
said:
81 guess the check is all right We
won't lose cent of it."
Newton became angry.
"Do you meant to tell me-" he said.
"that you are going to charge up to
my account that forged check?"
1.-The check is not forged" replied
the cashier.
II say it is. roared Mr. Newton.
Having pestered his customer suffi-
GENTLY the bank-officer explained
that a rich Englishman, named Isaac
Newton, had just arrived in the city;
that he had made large deposit in
the bank, and had drawn the check in
question: and that in face and figure
he bore striking resemblance to the
Philadelphia gentleman of the same
name.
The latter sought him out and
found they were both derived from
the same ancestor, two hundred years
back, bore the same name, looked
alike, and that the reSem blance ex-
tended even to their handwriting!
The truth is that when man and
woman marry they reproduce not
themselves but their ancestors on
both sides. The stock may crop back
for hundreds Of years; and if we are tC
believe the statement, in the forego
ing extract, as to the Duke Of Kung,
for thousands Of years.
In the old coun tries great care is
used to see that the stock Of the par
ties about to marry is free from blem.
is!; and pedigrees will be raked over
for many generations. Here the peo-
pie are thrown upon the continent by
tie scoop-shovel full; and scarce any
mans pedigree is traced back beyond
his parents. The result is misfit mar
riages, divorces and the appearance OF
criminals in families Of high social
position.
We advise our young people to re-
member that race characteristics are
as indestructible in human beings as
in horses or cattle. See how the traits
Of that Canadian Morgan horse"
have spread over the continent and
will endure for ages.
Don't degrade your human Stock
try to improve it. Don't breed back
to skale wags if you can help it.