The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-20
FROM FATHER TO SON.
Genius in the Second Generation
 English Examples.

ASASA AASA A<0oAA@T~~S London Mail.
 Few sons attain the praise
 Of their sires, and most their sires' dis
 grace Pope, Odyssey. II, 3lo.
 It is my deliberate judgment. having heard many movers and seconders of ad- dresses in this House that his Iord Lyt- ton's) speech stands out as by far the best that has ever been delivered in my hearing on uch an occasion. -Lord Rose bery in the House of Lords' January l6' 1902
 There Is widespread belief that great ness seldom begets greatness, that men of genius are rarely blessed with sons who acquire distinction. Such a theory. the case of the young Earl Of Lytton. whose address in the House of Lords evoked the unqualified praise of Lord Rosebery.
 The second Earl of Lytton was born as recently as August 10. 1876. He Is the grandson of the great novelist, and the son of the diplomatist and poet wno chose the pseudonym of owen Mere inherited much of his immediate ances- tor gifts. and if only few of the great things prophesied of him are fulfilled. he will worthily uphold the traditions of his house.
 Parliament furnishes many instances where the strain of genius has run through more than one generation. or contemporaries. the most remarkable case IS that or the StCllS. A 6EcdI ia- ture is predicted for Lord Hugh Cecil. Lord Salisbury's son, who Is still a young man and is rapidly making his mark Another son. Viscount Cranborne, also sits in the House. MT. Arthur Baifour. MT. Gerald Balfour. and Mir. Evelyn Cecil are, of course, nephews of the aged staetsman.
 The present members of the Roths- child family are striking examples of inI herited financial genius. They are all born money y-makers-successors of the Nathan Rothschild, who. when 19 years of age. migrated from Frankfurd 10 Man. chester with a capital of P pounds. and converted 1t into $2OO,0OO pounds within five years by judicious loans.
 The family preserves at the present mo- ment two letters written by the famous Nathan Rothschild wherein he sets forth his favorite maxims for the guidance of business men.
 Have nothing to do with an unluckyy place." he writes. T know plenty Of clever men without soles to their boots, but 1 never act with them. Their advice may be sound well enough, but fate is against them. If they cannot help them selves. how can they help you"
 "Inviolate unity is the man of the sticks together at any cost, that IahiV can beat the world
 This last maxim. at any rate, has al ways been religiously acted upon by the Rothschild family. with the result that
  kets of the world. The bar is peculiarly prolific in the matter of hereditary ge- niuses.' To cite one case only, three generations of Denmans have been fla nous lawyers, and the case Of the two Coleridges Is proverblal.
 The world of music provides an in- teresting example in Herr Siegfried Wag- ner, son of Richard Wagner, and grand son of Frau Liszt. Although only 32. this worthy son of worthy sire has written several operas and has conducted some of the greatest musical festivals in the world.
 Stress of circumstances brought to light the inherited inventive genius of Mir. Cor nelius Vanderbilt, son of the American Railroad King" The father renounced his son for marrying Mss Grace Wilson mans senior. MT. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr.. regretted the arrangement with his father more than the loss of his enorm- ous wealth to which he has heir. Still. content with having married the lady Of his choice. he set out to earn his living. He obtained subordinate position in the motive power department of the New York Central Railroad, and very quickly proved himself to be not only skilled mechanic in the building and repairing of engines, but as smart driver as any the line.
 Within recent years he has taken out patents for several new inventions. and now derives a great income from his patents.
 Inherited talent is not confined to the sterner sex, but it Is notable that in the case of clever daughters of clever fath- CTS thev seldom adopt the art which brought their parents into fame. Miss. Clara Clemens the daughter of Mark Twain" is rapidly gaining distinction. not as a writer, as one might expect. but as a concert singer. It is just twelve months since she made her debut in Washington. and the applause which pro- claimed her success appeared to be high ly gratifying to her venerable father MT. Hall Caine. Jr,. who has pluckily undertaken to occupy Dickens chair in Household Words. and Mir. George Gros- smith, Jr, are also shining examples of