My dear Romanes

I am most heartily glad that your Lecture (just received & read) has been so eminently successful.— You have indeed passed a most magnificent eulogium on me, & I wonder that you were not afraid of hearing “oh, oh”, or some other sign of disapprobation.¹ Many persons think that what I have done in science has been much overrated, & I very often think so myself; but my comfort is that I have never consciously done anything to gain applause.— Enough & too much about my dear self.— The sole fault which I find with your Lecture is that it is too short, & this is a rare fault— It strikes me as admirably clear & interesting. I meant to have remonstrated that you had not discussed sufficiently, the necessity of signs for the formation of abstract ideas of any complexity, & then I came on the discussion on deaf-mutes.—² This latter seems to me one of the richest of all the mines, & is worth working carefully for years & very deeply. I sh^d. like to read whole chapters on this one head, & others on the minds of the higher idiots.—³ Nothing can be better, as it seems to me, than your several lines or sources of evidence, & the manner in which you have arranged the whole subject.

Your book will assuredly be worth years of hard labour, & stick to your subject.— By the way I was pleased at your discussing the selection of varying instincts or mental tendencies, for I have often been disappointed by no one ever having noticed this notion.—⁴

I have just finished “La Psychologie son present et son avenir” 1876 by Delbœuf (a mathematician & physicist of Belgium) in about 100 pages: it has interested me a good deal, but why I hardly know; it is rather like Herbert Spencer: if you do not know it, & w^d care to see it, send me a Post-card.—⁵

Thank Heaven we return home on Thursday, & I shall be able to go on with my hum-drum work & that makes me forget my daily discomfort.—⁶

Have you ever thought of keeping a young monkey, so as to observe its mind: at a house where we have been staying there were Sir A. & Lady Hobhouse, not long ago returned from India, & she (& he) kept these young monkeys & told me some curious particulars.⁷ One was that her monkey was very fond of looking through her eye-glass at objects & moved the glass nearer & further so as to vary the focus: this struck me, as Frank’s son,⁸ nearly 2 years old (& we think much of his intellect!!) is very fond of looking through my pocket lens, & I have quite in vain endeavoured to teach him not to put the glass close down on the object, but he will always do so. Therefore I conclude that a child—just under 2 years is inferior in intellect to a monkey.

Once again I heartily congratulate you on your well earned present, & I feel assured grand future success. | Yours very truly | Ch. Darwin