I have mentioned the history, give a most excellent illustration of
what occurs. Gratio Kelleia, the Maltese, married when he was
twenty-two years of age, and, as I suppose there were no six-fingered
ladies in Malta, he married an ordinary five-fingered person. The
result of that marriage was four children; the first, who was christened
Salvator, had six fingers and six toes, like his father; the second was
George, who had five fingers and toes, but one of them was deformed,
showing a tendency to variation; the third was Andre; he had five
fingers and five toes, quite perfect; the fourth was a girl, Marie; she
had five fingers and five toes, but her thumbs were deformed, showing a
tendency toward the sixth.

These children grew up, and when they came to adult years, they all
married, and of course it happened that they all married five-fingered
and five-toed persons. Now let us see what were the results. Salvator
had four children; they were two boys, a girl, and another boy; the
first two boys and the girl were six-fingered and six-toed like their
grandfather; the fourth boy had only five fingers and five toes. George
had only four children; there were two girls with six fingers and six
toes; there was one girl with six fingers and five toes on the right
side, and five fingers and five toes on the left side, so that she was
half and half. The last, a boy, had five fingers and five toes. The
third, Andre, you will recollect, was perfectly well-formed, and he had
many children whose hands and feet were all regularly developed. Marie,
the last, who, of course, married a man who had only five fingers, had
four children; the first, a boy, was born with six toes, but the other
three were normal.

Now observe what very extraordinary phenomena are presented here. You
have an accidental variation arising from what you may call a