524 Life and Letters of Francis Gallon 



cannot occur if the ink be spread over the tin box with thinness. Whenever too much ink has 

 been accidentally squeezed out, the superfluity should be removed by dabbing the over-inked 

 rubber on waste paper. The best of all your impressions are of children. One of a child of 

 2 yean and 8 months is as good as can be. I will give your message to Prof. Karl Pearson. I 

 feel inclined to let Dr Appleton senior stand over until I have got some results and know more 

 exactly than I now do what I shall want ultimately. This place is exceedingly grateful, pure 

 air, breezy commons, and geographical height. 



Very faithfully, still with many thanks to your Wife, Francis Galton. 

 F. H. Perry Coste, Esq. 



Manor House, Peppard Common, Henley-on-Thames. September 1, 1903. 



Dear Sir, First, accept my congratulations on the domestic event and best wishes. 

 Enclosed is a copy of the Oliver-Toms' fraternity. If you want the part that I have omitted 

 pray tell me. Do not think of putting yourself out now, by making and sending the big series 

 of which you so kindly spoke. I propose to make a temporary halting place where I am now, 

 and to work up the material thoroughly so far. 1 have quite enough for provisional results, 

 viz. 865 sets. Let me reiterate how strongly I feel my obligation to you. It is a grand 

 collection that you have made for me and, whether for individual lines or as a group of nearly 

 related persons, it will give me abundance of work and I will do my best to do justice to the 

 large material so laboriously obtained by you for me. I can assure you that I realise the 

 difficulty of printing from the worn fingers of perhaps unwilling and often stupid fisherfolk, 

 but what prompted my remarks was chiefly that in some sets of prints some are good, others 

 blotted in parts, and others again densely blotted all over. One always tries to work up to 

 a high ideal ! Small has sent me three full books taken during his holidays in North Cornwall. 

 They are perfectly beautiful, but they are taken from a non-labouring class. I have not yet 

 noticed the occurrence of any of your Polperro names in his lists, but have yet to examine 

 them thoroughly. I hope you will finger-print the baby as soon as its mamma permits. I have 

 an enthusiastic correspondent in America who began to finger-print her own baby six days 

 after it was born, and did so on every day of that week. From the many dabs I was able to 

 select a complete and very fair set, which I enlarged and have compared at intervals with 

 prints subsequently taken from the same child who is now 5-6 years old. There is no change 

 anywhere. It will become a classical case. Very faithfully yours, Francis Galton. 



F. H. Perry Coste, Esq. 



Letter of Miss Emma Galton to her brother, Francis Galton. 



5, Bertie Terrace, Leamington Spa. Thursday Evening, Dec. 17, 1903. 



Dearest Francis, We long to hear that you are in Sicily, for the weather is not genial, 

 but I see by the Papers the floods have been very bad in Rome and in Venice, but I do hope 

 you and Eva will have a good journey. Your account of Mr Herbert Spencer's cremation has 

 interested us much, and Erasmus has just been here and read it with much interest, and 

 I have shown your letter to some of my callers, and all were so interested about the ceremony. 

 Cameron* called this morning — he and his wife Lucy came on a visit to Grace Moillietf. 

 Cameron was at the funeral at Hadzor yesterday (Wed.) — a very long affair, Incense and Bells 

 and many Priests — Charles Galton officiated — Hubert, Howard and his wife Maud, were of 

 the party who attended. May Barclay's f maid (Mrs Cowie) has written to Temple to say how 

 very kind Hubert and Howard § have been to them ; May had left £100 to Mrs Cowie who 

 had been 29 years with her, and £50 to Mrs Beal, the cook, who had been about 29 years 

 with May, but Hubert and Howard have promised Cowie an annuity of £50, and the cook an 



* Ewen Cameron Galton, son of Robert Cameron Galton and grandson of Francis Galton's 

 uncle, John Howard Galton of Hadzor (see our Vol. I, Pedigree Plate A, and Plate XXIX). 



t Wife to Tertius Galton Moilliet, Galton's nephew, son of his sister Lucy. 



J Mary (" May") Barclay Galton, the only remaining child of Hubert John Barclay Galton. 

 Her mother was a Barclay. 



§ Sons of Theodore Howard Galton, Francis Galtou's first cousin. 



