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Characterisation, especially by Letters   479

oisifs, et les exercices betes aux etudiants qui veuillent travailler aux commas, employes, etc., dont la tete est fatiguee.

J'ai connu deux savants distingues qui n'etaient pas bien veridiques, mais je dois dire qu'ils ne mentaient pas sur des aflaires scientidques, comme leurs' experiences on observations. C'etait plutot pour rendre service a un ami on pour nuire a quelqu'un qu'ils n'aimaient pas. Tons deux aimaient la vie politique. Les hommes de science manquent parfois de force morale et it en resulte une disposition a cacher certaines opinions plutot qu'a mentir. En general cependant j'estime que 1'habitude des recherches rend veridique.

Si vous passez a Geneve cot ete je serai tres heureux de vous voir. Dans le moment des grandes chaleurs j'irai peut-titre dans les montagnes, mais ce ne serait ni loin ni pour longtemps. Recevez, mon cher Monsieur, l'assurance de mes sentiments les plus devoues.

ALPH. DE CANDOLLE.

P.S. Je demanderai 1'ouvrage de Dr Venn. S'il est trop mathematique pour moi je le communiquerai a quelque calculateur de mes amis.

42, RUTLAND GATE, S.W. December 16, 1888.

DEAR DR WARD, Thank you very much indeed for your valuable letter, which will be of considerable guidance in devising and varying the experiments. It shows me that difficulties which I had not seen so clearly before must be evaded. All, for example, that are connected with mistaking an incapacity to make out the "Bulgarian's cat," with imperfection of seeing power. And I think I see how; but will not bother you with details. .

By the way, I once made some experiments on the above, intending to bringg them into a lecture I had to give at the Royal Institution, but the examples selected seemed rather melodramatic and I had not much time, so I wholly left them out. I used two Magic Lanterns; in one slide was a picture of a number of dots and splashes; in the other slide a selection of these was made that spelt the words Blood and Murder and there was a hand pointing. When the light was faint in slide 2, nothing of the Blood and Murder was seen, but as it increased they began to catch the attention and soon became prominent. On reducing the light again, the level at which the image disappeared was much lower than that at which it first appeared. The curious thing was its sudden disappearance. I tested this latter point in many ways with the same result*.

Thank you very much for the reference to "Urbanschicht" which I have already looked up in Nature. I had read it at the time, and was greatly struck by it, but had wholly forgotten the name and wanted to refer to it. I shall get the paper in Phiiger to-morrow. As regards Kussmaul, I have made less progress in reading his very able and exhaustive work than I had hoped, and must I fear content myself. with what little I have already done, which bears on the question in hand, as I am very busy and get through work slowly. The book shall be sent back to-morrow. It should have gone earlier but I delayed a little, partly in hope of hearing from you and partly because I had not your address at hand and did not like to trouble you by sending it to Trinity. Very sincerely yours, FRANCIS GALTON.

GENEVE. 15 sept. 1889.

MON CHER MONS EUR, Je viens de lire dans le Times vos observations sur les examens du Civil Service et j'ai lu egalement des articles dans le Nineteenth Century sur le meme sujet, qui m'interesse particulierement. \oici pourquoi: Jai un petit-fils, ne en Angleterre, sorti avec honneur du college de Rugby, et qui se fatigue depuis 18 mois a preparer un exanien du Civil Service, qui (helas!) n'est jamais annonce et sera peut-titre encore renvoye longtemps. Je n'ignore pas qu'on veut reduire le nombre des places et qu'on ajourne les examens a cause de cola. Mais it serait pourtant equitable d'avoir egard aux jeunes gees qui se preparent. Ce serait fair play. En France it y a des examens pour 1'entree dans les ecoles polytechnique, militaire, etc., et ties examens ont lieu a des epoques fixes chaque annee. Ainsi an bout de quelques mois tin jeune homme sait s'il est admis on s'il doit viser a une autre carriere.

* The two slides still exist in the Galtoniana and, before seeing this letter, I was much puzzled to discover their purpose. K. P.


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