1890 LETTEE TO PEOFESSOE POULTON 203 



Logans. Margaret, in telling me the pretty things 

 she had heard, drew from her husband the rebuke 

 that she was not judicious. So I told them your 

 estimate of my merits, and Charles l was quite satisfied 

 that I was in good keeping. 



You have made a ' philosophical ' mistake about the 

 dinner party to the R.'s which, of course, I imitated. 

 Butcher has given me a MS. of his to read on the 

 ' Psychology of the Ludicrous.' Seems very good. 



To Professor Poidton. 



Newcastle : Monday, September J 889. 



My dear Poulton, — I am very glad to receive your 

 long and friendly letter ; because, although I have the 

 Ishmael-like reputation of finding my hand against 

 every man, and every man's against mine, my blasto- 

 genetic endowments are really of the peaceful order. 

 Moreover, in the present instance the ' row ' was not 

 one that affected me with any feelings of real opposi- 

 tion, although it seemed expedient to point out that 

 a somewhat hasty inference had not been judiciously 

 stated. Therefore, I take it, we may now cordially, 

 as well as formally, shake hands, and probably be 

 better friends than ever. In token of which I may 

 begin by furnishing the explanation of what was 

 meant by the passage in the ' Contemporary Review ' 

 to which you alluded. 



I quite agree that Weismann's suggestion about 

 causes of variability is an admirable one. But it has 



1 C. Logan, Esq., W.S., who had married Mr. Romanes' cousin. 



