comparison reflected no (Galton, loc. cit.) But stood, dog and Damara, the great honour on the man.' the case, of course, is quite otherwise when, in virtue of the greatly superior development of the sign-making faculty in man, the savage is enabled to employ the intellectual artifice of separate notation, whereby he attains the conception of number in the abstract, and so lays the foundation of mathematical science. Now, so far as I am aware, there is no trustworthy evidence of any race of savages who are without any idea of separate notation. Whether the system of notation be digital only, or likewise verbal, is, psychologically speaking, of comparatively little moment. For it is historically certain that notation begins by using the fingers, and how far any particular tribe may have advanced in the direction of naming their numbers is a question which ought never to be confused with that as to whether the tribe can count,' i.e. notate. Geanies, Ross-shire. GEORGE J. ROMANES. arm in picking up the straws and placing them in her mouth. Without being able to decide positively in which of these ways she estimates the number, I am inclined to think it is in the latter. But, if so, it is surprising, as already remarked, over how long a time this estimate by muscular sense endures. Should we trust Houzeau's statement, however (and he is generally trustworthy), it appears that computation by muscular sense may extend in some animals over a very long period. For he says that mules used in the tramways at New Orleans have to make five journeys from one end of the route to the other before they are released, and that they make four of these journeys without showing any expectation of being released, but begin to bray towards the end of the fifth.1 ( From this letter it will, I hope, be apparent that so far as 'counting' by merely sensuous computation is concerned, the savage cannot be said to show much advance upon the brute. Once, while I watched a Damara floundering hopelessly in a calculation on one side of me, I observed Dinah, my spaniel, equally embarrassed on the other. She was overlooking half a dozen of her new-born puppies, which had been removed two or three times from her, and her anxiety was expressive as she tried to find out if they were all present, or if any were still missing. She kept puzzling and running her eyes over them, backwards and forwards, but could not satisfy herself. She evidently had a vague notion of counting, but the figure was too large for her brain. Taking the two as they 1 Fac. Ment, des Anim. tom. ii. p. 207. stood, dog and Damara, the comparison reflected no great honour on the man.' (Galton, loc. cit.) But the case, of course, is quite otherwise when, in virtue of the greatly superior development of the sign-making faculty in man, the savage is enabled to employ the intellectual artifice of separate notation, whereby he attains the conception of number in the abstract, and so lays the foundation of mathematical science. Now, so far as I am aware, there is no trustworthy evidence of any race of savages who are without any idea of separate notation. Whether the system of notation be digital only, or likewise verbal, is, psychologically speaking, of comparatively little moment. For it is historically certain that notation begins by using the fingers, and how far any particular tribe may have advanced in the direction of naming their numbers is a question which ought never to be confused with that as to whether the tribe can 'count,' i.e. notate. Geanies, Ross-shire. GEORGE J. ROMANES. CHAPTER IV OXFORD LIFE had run very smoothly during these years from 1879 to 1890, only now and then fits of gout had shaken the belief Mr. Romanes had hitherto felt in his own strength, in his possession of perfect health. But about the end of 1889 other signs of ill-health appeared in the shape of severe headaches; he began to weary of London and the distractions of London life. By degrees his thoughts and inclinations turned strongly in the direction of Oxford. Oxford seemed to satisfy every wish. The beautiful city gratified his poetic sense; there were old friends already there to welcome him, and there seemed abundance of appliances and of facilities for scientific work. Also the ease with which he could get into the country, the opportunities for constant exercise, the freedom he would obtain from councils and committees, were tempting. A beautiful old house opposite Christ Church was to be had, and this finally determined him. He fell absolutely in love with Oxford, and brief as his connection with her was to be, the University has had few more loyal sons, nor has she ever exercised more complete influence over any who have fallen under her sway. It is surprising, as one looks back on the Oxford years, to realise how short a time Mr. Romanes spent there, and yet it is impossible not to realise also for how much that time counted in his life. Many influences were working in him: a ripening judgment, a growth of character, a deepening sense of the inadequacy of scientific research, philosophical speculation, and artistic pleasures to fill the vacuum in the soul of man which nothing can fill save faith in God.' And now Oxford, with all the beauty still left to her, with all the associations which haunt her, with all the extraordinary witching spell which she knows so well how to exercise-Oxford, the home of 'lost causes' and also of forward movements, Oxford came to be for four brief years his home. 1890 opened with the death of Mr. Aubrey Moore. Only a very few weeks before his too early death, Mr. Moore had been present at the Aristotelian Society," and had heard the joint papers contributed by Professor Alexander, the Rev. S. Gildea, and Mr. Romanes on the Evidences of Design in Nature.' Here, again, Mr. Romanes showed how far he had receded from the materialistic point of view. In his paper he quoted passages from Aubrey Moore's essay inLux Mundi' (just published), and says: Yet once more, it may be argued, as it has been argued by a member of this Society in a recently published essay-and this an essay of such high ability that in my opinion it must be ranked among the very 1 See Thoughts on Religion, p. 92. 2 Mr. Romanes had belonged for many years to the Aristotelian Society, and had contributed papers to the Journal of the Society. He also once belonged to the Psychological Club, which used to meet at Professor Croom Robertson's house. The other members of the club were Mr. Francis Galton, Mr. Sully, Mr. Shadworth Hodgson, Professor Edgeworth, Professor Dunstan, Mr. Edmund Gurney, Mrs. Bryant, and one or two others. |