My dear Romanes

I was quite mistaken about the Gardeners’ Chronicle; in my index there are only the few enclosed & quite insignificant references, having any relation to the minds of animals.—²

When I returned to my work, I found that I had nearly completed my statement of facts about worms plugging up their burrows with leaves &c &c.; so I waited until I had naturally to draw up a few concluding remarks. I hope that it will not bore you to read the few accompanying pages & in the middle you will find a few sentences with a sort of definition or with discussion on of intelligence.³ I am altogether dissatisfied with it. I tried to observe what passed in my own mind when I did the work of a worm.— If I come across a professed metaphysician, I will ask him to give me a more technical definition with a few big words, about the abstract, the concrete, the absolute & the infinite.

But seriously I sh^d. be grateful for any suggestions; for it will hardly do to assume that every fool knows what intelligent means. You will understand that the M.S is only the first rough copy & will need much correction.— Please return it for I have no other copy, only a few memoranda. When I think how it has bothered me to know what I mean by “intelligent”, I am sorry for you in your great work on the minds of animals.—⁴

My dear Romanes | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

I daresay that I shall have to alter wholly this M.S.—