iSyi.] EXPRESSION. * 321 



it is quite a complete little essay. It is pretty clear that the 

 mouth is not opened under surprise merely to improve the 

 hearing. Yet why do deaf men generally keep their mouths 

 open? The other day a man here was mimicking a deaf 

 friend, leaning his head for.ward and sideways to the speaker, 

 with his mouth well open ; it was a lifelike representation of 

 a deaf man. Shakespeare somewhere says : " Hold your 

 breath, listen " or "hark," I forget which. Surprise hurries 

 the breath, and it seems to me one can breathe, at least hur- 

 riedly, much quieter through the open mouth than through 

 the nose. I saw the other day you doubted this. As objec- 

 tion is your province at present, I think breathing through 

 the nose ought to come within it likewise, so do pray consider 

 this point, and let me hear your judgment. Consider the 

 nose to be a flower to be fertilised, and then you will make 

 out all about it.* I have had to allude to your paper on 

 'Sense of Smell ; ' f is the paging right, namely, i, 2, 3 ? If 

 not, I protest by all the gods against the plan followed by 

 some, of having presentation copies falsely paged ; and so 

 does Rolleston, as he wrote to me the other day. In haste. 



Yours very sincerely, 



C. DARWIN. 



C. Darwin to W. Ogle. 



Down, March 25 [1871]. 



MY DEAR DR. OGLE, You will think me a horrid bore, 

 but I beg you, in relation to a new point for observation, to 

 imagine as well as you can that you suddenly come across 

 some dreadful object, and act with a sudden little start, a 

 shudder of horror ; please do this once or twice, and observe 

 yourself as well as you can, and afterwards read the rest of 

 this note, which I have consequently pinned down. I find, 

 to my surprise, whenever I act thus my platysma contracts. 



* Dr. Ogle had corresponded with my father on. his own observations 

 on the fertilisation of flowers. 

 f Medico-chirurg. Trans, liii. 



