Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 62.djvu/268

262 against Napoleon. Maria Theresa comes in this group no nearer than a grandparent and then only twice, and as a great-grandparent only three times. In none of these does the genius reappear, though over on the part of the chart where most of her descendants are one sees higher marks for intellect. The Arch-duke Charles enters this group merely as a grandfather of the present Queen Regent of Spain, who is no unworthy descendant. The tracing of this higher mental strain, its origin and its reappearance, is to be found under Austria. So as regards genius the results are conclusive. The others are nearly all between 1 and 6, the great majority being below mediocrity, illustrating the intellect of the Bourbons which, as some one has said, never rose above cunning. Although this statement is not absolutely true, there seems to be a certain characteristic in the type of mind most often seen: low craftiness for intrigue, combined with laziness, debauchery, tyranny and often cowardice. This last is the slur we can least frequently bring against royalty. Whatever they are, they are nearly always brave.

The mental qualities are, for the most part, below the mean, while the moral qualities fall as far below the average as any of the worst regions in the older times; as bad as the Romanhofs in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Charts dealing with this group show just how, if heredity be a great force, Spain was brought to her unfortunate fate, how nearly impossible it was that she should have escaped it.

Another important thing to notice is the strong variation in the moral qualities. It is very easy to separate the sheep from the goats. There are only a few about whom we should hesitate to say whether they were good or bad. I have attempted to so classify them in the following list: