78 GEOKGE JOHN ROMANES 1878 



have often been disappointed by no one ever having 

 noticed this notion. 



I have just finished La Psychologic, son present 

 et son avenir, 1876, by Delbceuf (a mathematician 

 and physicist of Belgium), in about one hundred 

 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, and would care to see it, send 

 me a post-card. 



Thank Heaven we return home on Thursday, and 

 I shall be able to go on with my humdrum w r ork, 

 and that makes me forget my daily discomfort. 



Have you ever thought of keeping a young 

 monkey, 1 so as to observe its mind ? At a house 

 where we have been staying there were Sir A. and 

 Lady Hobhouse, not long ago returned from India, 

 and she and he kept three young monkeys, and told 

 me some curious particulars. One was that the 

 monkey was very fond of looking through her eye- 

 glass at objects, and moved the glass nearer and 

 further so as to vary the focus. This struck me, as 

 Frank's son, nearly two years old (and we think 

 much of his intellect !), is very fond of looking 

 through my pocket lens, and 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. There- 

 fore I conclude that a child just under two years is 

 inferior in intellect to a monkey. 



Once again I heartily congratulate you on your 



1 Mr. Romanes carried out this suggestion, or rather his sister, Miss 

 C. E. Romanes, did ; she kept a monkey for observation for several months, 

 as is recorded at p. 484 of ' Animal Intelligence.' 



