From Francis Galton 1 December 1876
42 Rutland Gate
Dec 1/76
My dear Darwin
Many thanks for the enclosed, which I have copied, & return.1
I can give you another instance in which that curious habit (in the Butler family) of raising the arm when asleep & letting the wrist fall over the nose, has occurred. You may recollect the case I sent you, which you quoted.2 The new instance is this:—
The 7th child of one of the other sons, had this peculiarity also. It was first observed and commented on by the nurse & pointed out by he⟨r⟩ to the mother, the nurse being wholly ignorant of the peculiarity hav⟨ing⟩ existed in other members of the family, & the mother who had heard of its existence had never until that time, paid attention to the account. (The son in question is Spencer Butler; the peculiarity as far as known, runs thus:—3
The crosses are those that are known to have it.)
Their grandfather, | 2 out of 8 children |
and | 3 out of 17 grandchildren (about) |
are known to have it |
Ever sincerely Yr. | Francis Galton
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Expression: The expression of the emotions in man and animals. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1872.
Summary
Gives another instance of curious habit in the Butler family.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-10694
- From
- Francis Galton
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- London, Rutland Gate, 42
- Source of text
- DAR 105: A96
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10694,” accessed on 24 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10694.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 24