564 Life and Letters of Frcmcds Gallon 



He will soon be dangerous, and have to be converted into ham. He does not smell a bit in 

 the open. His hair is thick and bristly and of a rich brown, and his head and mane ("hure" 

 is I think the technical word) arc grand for his size. I like these Basque folk much, they are so 

 quiet and orderly and substantial. But as for their language, it is impossible to a stranger. 



Eva asks me on her part to say that if one of the steel spectacle cases that your mother 

 wore, which were very characteristic, happens to be available, she would prize it much as 

 a souvenir. 



I am glad the Report is so nearly ready. What a long time always intervenes between the 

 time when a book is apparently ready and that at which it actually appears. I hope that the 

 new Ministry will go in for research. Best love to M. L. You both need a complete change 

 of scene and a rest. Ever affectionately, Francis Galton. 



Hotel de la Rhune, Ascain, Basses Pyrenees, France. 

 February 16, 10 a.m., 1906; aet. 84 yrs. 8 hrs. 



Deakest Milly, I had not realised before receiving your letter of a week ago how anxious 

 you have been about the eyesight. The Doctor's favourable verdict must have given great relief. 

 A change of spectacles may do much. I must write in a much clearer and bolder hand, like 

 this*. We are in the midst of bad weather, February being the worst month in these parts, and 

 I have been house-bound for days together, but very cosy and very happy with plenty to do. 

 They feed us so well and the cooking is so juicy and good. The place is said to be beautiful in 

 summer, now of course it is bare but some fields are very green. The typed copy of my " Re- 

 semblance" paper arrived yesterday, so I hope to hear from Karl Pearson in two or three days. 

 Enclosed I send a pencilled resume of the chief points in it, in case you care to read it. It is 

 not worth keeping. It does one good to have to try to explain oneself in a clear way and briefly, 

 so this pencilled scrap was a self-discipline. The late John Murray, the publisher, advised those 

 who were about to write for the first time each to keep some one friend in constant view, and 

 to fancy he was writing to that friend. You ask about that German translation so I send the 

 only copy I as yet have, but more are promised; in all probability I shall not want this again, 

 so pray keep it until I write. (See postscript.) That blessed book on Noteworthy Families 

 is not even yet published, but covers were sent to me to choose from, which I did. It looked 

 quite nice. The report of the Louping-ill, etc. Committee, of which Edward Wheler is an active 

 member, is on the verge of publication, and is an admirable piece of scientific work. Part III 

 mainly written by himself is a summary of the rest. It is most instructive. I think the results 

 will form an epoch in the progress of knowledge of disease and how to cure it. The strangest 

 part of all is that the blood of sheep differs notably in its quality at two different seasons of the 

 year. In one it kills a particular sort of microbe, in the other it does not. It is equally the 

 case whether the experiment be made on the live sheep, or in a test-tube with cultured microbes. 

 I fondly believe that the time will come when doctors, after feeling pulse and taking tempera- 

 ture, will ram a sharp tube into the patient and take from him a drachm or so of blood to 

 experiment with. I ought to have begun by thanking you for your kind birthday letter. I am now 

 four times as old as when legally a man, viz. 21 years, and cannot in retrospect make up my mind 

 which of these four spaces has left most impression. They all seem very long and very different. 

 I don't quite catch the point of the following remark, which has been sent me by letter; perhaps 

 you or Amy can. It is that there are three sorts of religion : Religion, Irreligion and jBi-religion. 

 It was sent me by a shrewd person as containing a shrewd meaning, which I however cannot 

 discover. Best loves to you all. Ever affectionately, Francis Galton. 



P.S. Alas, I can't send the German article by book-post because I have pasted the writer's 

 letter inside it. 



Enclosed with letter of February 16th. 



Measurement of Visual Resemblance. 



When a person is walking towards you the first thing you notice in his face is its general 

 shape, which may be the same as that of many people (I leave all the rest of his body now out 

 of account). When he comes nearer, the general markings of the face are seen, but not enough 



* Change of handwriting, but it was not maintained. 



