_Family Likenesses_ (Vol. v., p. 7.).--The remarkable preservation of a
family likeness is the subject of one of your "Minor Notes." It has
been often observed, I believe, that in the continuation of such
resemblance, a generation is not unfrequently passed over, and the son
is not like the father, but the grandfather. The Note recalled to my
mind some powerful lines in a poem, printed more than forty years ago,
for private circulation only, which I transcribe, thinking that perhaps
you may consider them not unsuited to your pages. To establish the
relationship of one who claims kindred with another, several proofs are
offered, viz. a bracelet, a ring, a letter: but the satisfactory
evidence is afforded by the family resemblance:--
"That bracelet with Elmina's hair,
That bridal ring which join'd the pair,
From Geoffrey, or from Geoffrey's son,
By craft or outrage might be won.
That letter, where I seem to view
Sir Endo's lines precise and true,
Of forger's hands the fruit may be,
Or penn'd for others, not for thee.
But the mild lustre of her eye,
Soft as the tint of noontide sky,
The grace that once her lips array'd,
Nor force nor fraud could thine have made.
The semblance of Elmina dead
Thus o'er thy every feature spread,
No finger on thy front could trace,
_'Tis God's handwriting on thy face_."