324 Life and Letters of Francis Galton 



important house in Cheshire. On Thursday I meet E. B. at Waterloo Station and we go down 

 together to Yaffles, Hindhead, Haslemere, for 6 weeks. 



Before leaving town I called at the Home Office to learn the address of the Poor Law 

 Royal Commission. The porter wrote out the enclosed, R. G. Duff being the Secretary. 

 I hope you will send them the copy of your lecture with the passages marked on which you 

 think evidence ought to be taken, and which you are prepared to give. It is really an important 

 crisis, as I am assured. 



It will be very pleasant if we could occasionally meet, much as of old. Yaffles, if you could be 

 persuaded to bicycle so far, is very prettily situated with a terraced garden and two out of door 

 sheds, — in one or other of which I hope to spend much of the day. How are you all thriving? 

 A word as to the outcome of your own trouble about your Father's health and the doctor's 

 opinion would be very welcome. With kindest remembrances to your Wife, 



Ever affectionately yours, Francis Galton. 



Yaffles, Hindhead, Haslemere, S.O. August 13, 1907. 



My dear Karl Pearson, All goes well, and I expect that all will be re-established. 

 I can't write details, but the more hopeful prospect seems destined to be fulfilled completely. 



I began here with ill-luck. A second tumble at night, with some slight concussion and a 

 considerable attack of sick headache. All this has passed happily away and I am quite well. 

 This and what I had to learn as regards the first paragraph above, was the cause of my 

 delaying so long to write. 



This house is perfectly charming. The grounds cover 4 acres of hill side, and are partly wild, 

 partly terraced, with seats everywhere and distant views. The house itself is a sort of bungalow, 

 just large enough to hold us two and Eva's half-sister, Mrs Macintyre, who lives at Penang and is 

 over for a short holiday, with her baby. She is an acquisition in more than one way. The 

 house is beautifully clean and fresh, very artistic, and many shelves-full of excellent readable 

 books. I have done but little owing to the above-mentioned reasons — in fact I dared not 

 even read a line for two days. 



Do tell me about yourself and yours. Petworth is within the reach of a long drive from here, 

 and I see there is railway connection of a sort, but I fear roundabout and by different railways. 

 I should be delighted to meet you anywhere not further than Petworth. Jonathan Hutchinson, 

 the surgeon, has established quite a large museum in Haslemere, which forms a scientific 

 centre. On Saturday he gave lunch to a School-Hygiene-Congress party and invited us. Prepara- 

 tions for 50 hungry people, and only 25 (including ourselves and his own party) came to the 

 lunch. He has a medical museum in Gower St and is going to live there and catalogue it. 



Ever affectionately yours, Francis Galton. 



Rock House, River Common, Petworth, Sussex. August 26, 1907. 



My dear Francis Galton, It was a great pleasure to see you on Saturday, the more so 

 as you looked so fit and bright. I cannot but think that the return to your old home habits has 

 been good for you, and I feel sure that it will gladden Miss Biggs to be conscious of this also. 

 I should have sent you a line on Sunday but I buckled to and got Heron's draft memoir off 

 hand, and sent it for his consideration. It ought not to be long now before it is out, and 

 I think it will produce some effect. I suggest that you see it in slip, as it is then quite easy to 

 adopt criticisms and modifications and is far easier for you to read. 



I hear from one of my folk, that Captain Hurst at the B.A. meeting asserted that in 

 human eye colour, blue is a Mendelian unit, all the other shades forming the opposite allelomorph. 

 That those cases we have shown in which two blue eyed parents have other coloured offspring 

 are solely due to our not properly examining the colour of the eyes, and if we had done so a 

 small amount of pigment, orange or brown, would always be found. It is the old Mendelian 

 trick, if you may pick your individuals you can prove anything. It is of course perfectly true 

 that if you take two blue eyed parents, both of whom come of blue eyed stock, you will get 

 blue eyed children. The test of Mendelism lies in two blue eyed parents of other stock, always 

 giving blue eyed offspring. But if they don't they will be dismissed as having a small but 

 unrecognised amount of orange pigment ! No doubt, if we settled beforehand the blueness of 

 the eyes of both parents, and some of the children were and some were not blue eyed, we should bo 



