1890 NOVEL-EEADING 155 



Sandersons have been here. Memorial Poem to 

 Darwin begun. 



Nov. 14, Edinburgh. — Met for the first time Mr. 

 and Mrs. Butcher, who were just taking possession 

 of the Greek Chair ; also Professor Blackie, who was 

 himself, and talked much of the insolence of John 

 Bull. 



Jan. 1883. — Dr. Sanderson is elected Professor of 

 Physiology at Oxford. 



To this election was due the ultimate change 

 in Mr. Eomanes' life in 1890, when he followed 

 Dr. Sanderson to Oxford, attracted mainly by the 

 facilities for physiological research. 



On Jan. second of this year (1883) his mother died. 



Mr. Romanes lectured at the Royal Institution in 

 January, and immediately afterwards went abroad on 

 one of the only two Continental tours he took simply 

 for pleasure. He much enjoyed this Italian journey, 

 and the rhyming instinct woke up in him greatly. 

 He wrote a good deal about this time, and one of his 

 sonnets has reference to this journey — 'Florence.' 

 He also made acquaintance for the first time with a 

 good many well-known novels, read to him during a 

 temporary illness at Florence — the precursor, alas, of 

 many such times of novel-reading. He shared Mr. 

 Darwin's tastes for simple, pure, love stories, and 

 one of the party at Florence well remembers how 

 ' The Heir of Redclyffe ' brought tears to his eyes. 

 For this and ' The Chaplet of Pearls,' read to him 

 some years later, he had a great admiration. 



Journal, March 28, 1883. — Mr. F. Paget's wedding 

 in St. Paul's, a special anthem by Stainer. The 



