To G. J. Romanes 14 October [1881]1
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | (Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.)
Oct 14th
My dear Romanes
I have just read the splendid review of the Worm book in Nature.2 I have been much pleased by it; but at the same time you so overestimate the value of what I do, that you make me feel ashamed of myself & wish to be worthy of such praise. I cannot think how you can endure to spend so much time over another’s work, when you have yourself so much in hand. I feel so worn out that I do not suppose I shall ever again give Reviewers trouble.
I hope that your opus magnum is progressing well; & when we meet later in the Autumn, I shall be anxious to hear about it.3
In a few days time we are going to visit Horace in Cambridge for a week, to see if that will refresh me.4
Pray give my kind remembrances to Mrs. Romanes5 & I hope you are all well | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Earthworms: The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with observations on their habits. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1881.
Romanes, George John. 1881e. Mr. Darwin on the work of worms. [Review of Earthworms.] Nature, 13 October 1881, pp. 553–6.
Romanes, George John. 1882a. Animal intelligence. International Scientific Series, vol. 41. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, & Co.
Romanes, George John. 1883a. Mental evolution in animals: with a posthumous essay on instinct by Charles Darwin. London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co.
Summary
Thanks GJR for his review of Earthworms [Nature 24 (1881): 553–6].
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-13398
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- George John Romanes
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.598)
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13398,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13398.xml
