Those two years would have been childless years
in any case. But they would probably, if it hadn't been for
Mary's money, have been lengthened into four or five.
Of course, later marriages in themselves tend to reduce the
number of children. As to quality, however, the evidence is not
clear. There is even some reason to think that a moderate
postponement is conducive to an improvement in quality.
Did you ever read Havelock Ellis's book called "A Study of
British Genius"?
He made a list of the most distinguished of Eminent British
Persons and studied everything about them from their religious
opinions to the color of their hair.
In the matter of the age of their parents, he finds that the
average age of the father at the birth of the person of genius
was thirty-seven years, while the average of the mother was
thirty-one. His conclusion is: "On the whole it would appear, so
far as the evidence goes, that the fathers of our eminent persons
have been predominantly middle-aged and to a marked extent
elderly at the time of the distinguished son's birth; while the
mothers have been predominantly at the period of greatest vigor
and maturity and to a somewhat unusual extent elderly.
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