SECOND DAY'S SITTING. 47 



am not quite satisfied with this view, that, owing to their 

 arboreal habits and great strength, they were but little 

 exposed to danger, and so, during a lengthened period, 

 moved their ears but little, and thus gradually lost the 

 power of moving them." (Vol. i. pp. 20-22.) 



Homo. You were asking Mr. Darwin, a little while ago, 

 my Lord, whether man suffers any inconvenience from 

 his bodily structure being modelled like that of an ape. It 

 now appears that he does ; he has lost the power of 

 "erecting his ears, the one movement which might be of 

 use to him ! " Why should he not try, " by often touching 

 his ears, and directing his attention to them," to recover 

 this lost power ? Our national schoolmasters might occa- 

 sionally exercise their pupils in this direction. " Erect your 

 ears, boys," might come in as part of the daily drill. If 

 this faculty, which Mr. Darwin tells us we have lost, could 

 be recovered, and man were able, like a donkey, or a horse, 

 to direct his ears to different points of the compass, he 

 would so far have the advantage over his relations in the 

 Z oological * G ardens. 



Lord C. The schoolmaster had better leave this matter 

 to Mr. Darwin and the younger naturalists. As to the 

 power of erecting his ears being a faculty that would be of 

 uss to man, I should think he possesses a more useful 

 faculty in being able easily to turn his head in any 

 direction he pleases. When you say, Mr. Darwin, that you 

 cannot tell " why the progenitors of man should have lost 

 the power of erecting their ears," are you not taking for 

 granted what should first be proved, viz., that man has 

 had progenitors which possessed the power in question ? 



Homo. Perhaps, my Lord, Mr. Darwin will tell us how 

 man's supposed progenitors came to have external ears at 

 all. I should like him to trace the development of the 



