72 GEOEGE JOHN EOMANES 1878 



sing to him. And also there was Dr. Joachim, who 

 with characteristic kindness came in the last days of 

 Georgina's life and played, as only he can play, to her. 



From G. J. Romanes to C. Darwin, Esq. 



18 Cornwall Terrace : April 10, 1878. 



Many thanks for your kind expressions of sym- 

 pathy. When the sad event occurred I had some 

 thoughts of sending you an announcement ; but as 

 you had scarcely ever seen my sister, I afterwards felt 

 that you might think it superfluous in me to let you 

 know. 



The blow is indeed felt by us to be one of dire 

 severity, the more so because we only had about a 

 fortnight's warning of its advent. My sister did not 

 pass through much suffering, but there was something 

 painfully pathetic about her death,not only because she 

 was so young and had always been so strong, but also 

 because the ties of affection by which she was bound 

 to us, and we to her, were more than ordinarily 

 tender. And when in her delirium she reverted to 

 the time when our positions were reversed, and when 

 by weeks and months of arduous heroism she saved 

 my life by constant nursing upon my word it was 

 unbearable. 1 The blank which her death has created 

 in our small family is very distressing. She always 

 used to be so proud of my work that I feel that half 

 the pleasure of working will now be gone but I do 

 not know why I am running on like this. Of course 

 it will give me every pleasure to go to Down before 



1 He refers to the attack of typhoid fever in 1873. 



