168 Life and Lcftn'x oj' Francis (ralton 



(19) 42, Ht'TLAND Gate, S.W. Ftbrmiry 1/7 i. (\i At/i'-niirum) 

 Mv DEAR Dakwin, If you can make it ooiivpiiient to wmuI, in separate Iminpcrs, I buck 



and 1 doe, I should l)e }{la<l, as then my stock will Ix' largi- eixni^di to be above risk of ac<-i<lcnt. 

 As for the others, pray do what you like with them. Would you send the pair, lus lieforo, 

 addramed to — Dr Charles Cart«r, University College, Gower Street, and if you could kindly let 

 a postage card be st-nt to him, U> say when they might In.' expected, they would he the more 

 sure to be imnie<liat«ly attendtnl to. I grieve to say, that I find I must abandon the rats, as a 

 task above my power to bring to a successful issue I am most truly obliged for the C4ire you 

 have taken of the rabbits - I heartily wish, for my part, that I could have done more in the 

 way of experiment than I have effeetod. Very sincerely yours, Francis Oalton. 



(20) 42, Rutland Gatk, S.W. .\fay 26/72. 



My dkak Dakwin, I feel perfectly ashamed to apply again to you in my recurring rabbit 

 difficulty, which is this: I have (after some losses) got three does and a buck of the stock you so 

 kindly took charge of cross-circulated, and so have means of protnvcting the experiments to 

 another generation, and of breeding from them and seeing if their young show any signs of mon- 

 grelisni. They do not thrive over well in Ixndon, also we could not keep them during summer 

 at our house, l)ecause the .servants in charge when we leave could not l)e troubUnl with them. 

 Is it possible that any of j'our men could take charge of them and let them breed, seeing if the 

 young show any colour, then killing the litter and breeding afresh, 2 or 3 times overl 1 would 

 most gladly pay even a large sum — many times the cost of their niHintenance — to any man who 

 would really attend to them. Can you help me? Ever sincerely yours, Francis Galton. 



Down, Beckenham, Kent. May 27th. [1872t] 



Mt dear Galton, We shall be very happy to keep the 4 rabbits and breed from them. 

 I have just spoken to my former gi-oom (now commuted into a f<K3tnian) and he says he will do 

 his utmost to keep them in good health. I have said that you would give him a present, and 

 make it worth his while; and that of course mlds to the expense that you will l>e put to, and 

 I have thought that you would prefer doing this to letting me do so, as I am most ptjrfectly 

 willing U> do. 



If you will send an answer by return of post, I will direct our carrier, who leaves here every 

 Wednesday night, to call on next Thursday morning at whatever place you may direct. Next 

 week we shall probably be at Southampton for 10 days. 



We have now got 2 litters from some of the young ones which you saw here; and my man 

 says that in one litter there are some odd white marks about their heads ; but I am not going 

 again to be deluded about their appearance, until they have got their permanent coats. 



Yours most sincerely. In haste for post, C. Darwin. 



(21) 42, Rutland Gate. J/«y 28th, 1872. 



My dear Darwin, You arc indeed most kind and helpful and I joyfully will .send the 

 rabbits. But really and truly I must bear every expense to the full and will rely on your 

 g^txwm telling me, at the end; in addition to his present. The rabbits are none of them abso- 

 lutely recovered, at all events the buck and 1 doe are not, but they will want no further 

 att-ention in respect to what remains unhealed of their wounds. Two of the does are l)elievod 

 to be in kindle, having l)een left with the buck a fortnight and 10 days ago. I will tell 



anomaly, but is common in a lesser degree to various persons. It is also a consolation to reflect 

 that gravity acts at any distance, in some whollj' unknown manner, and so may nerve-force. 

 Nothing is so difficult to decide as where to draw a just line between scepticism and credulity. 

 It was a very long time before scientific men would believe in the fall of aerolites; and this 

 was chiefly owing to so much ba<l evidence, as in the present case, l>eing mixed up with the 

 good. All sorts of objects were said to have l)een seen falling from the sky. I very much hope 

 that a numl>er of men, such as Profes-sor Stokes, will bt; induced to witness Mr Crookes' 

 exiK-rimentH." 



It will l)e clear that at this time — afU^r the Galton investigations but before Huxley's 

 rpp>rt (sj-e our p fi7^ —Darwin was endeavouring to retain an open mind. 



