24   NATURAL INHERITANCE.   [cnAr.

are walking by the brookside, along the seashore, in the woods, or on the hills.

Even in Cookery it seems difficult to invent a new and good dish, though the current recipes are few, and the proportions of the flour, sugar, butter, eggs, &c., used in making them might be indefinitely varied and be still eatable. I consulted cookery books to learn the facts authoritatively, and found the following passage " I have constantly kept in view the leading principles Of this work, namely, to give in these domestic recipes the most exact quantities. . . . I maintain that one cannot be too careful ; it is the only way to put an end to those approximations and doubts which will beset the steps of the inexperienced, and which account for so many people eating indifferent meals at home."'

It is the triteness of these experiences that makes the most varied life monotonous after a time, and many old men as well as Solomon have frequent occasion to lament that there is nothing new under the sun.

The object of these diverse illustrations is to impress the meaning I wish to convey, by the phrase of stable forms or groupings, which, however uncertain it may be in outline, is perfectly distinct in substance.

Every one of the meanings that have been attached by writers to the vague but convenient word " type " has for its central idea the existence of a limited number

1 The Royal Cookery Book. By Jules Gouff4, Chef de Cuisine of the Paris Jockey Club ; translated by Alphonse Gouffe, Head Pastry Cook to H.M. the Queen. Sampson Low. 1869. Introduction, p. 9.