Sent from Edward Nettleship
20 Mar 1909
Description:

‘My dear Pearson,

I am sorry if anything has been done or said with Mudge that can help him to unfairly forestall our work. We must wait to hear what Usher says.

I don’t think I am responsible unless remotely by general attitude for giving anything away to Mudge. But both Usher & I have I know a less strong feeling than you have about keeping current work dark, & as I am his senior it is possible I may unintentionally have biased him that way in conversation, - it has never been mentioned in letters & I have not seen him since last Nov. or Oct.

So far as I know the only sections of human albino eyes that Usher has are those from which my coloured drawing in O-Soc. Trans., - the one we have borrowed for reproduction – was made. That O. Soc. Trans. plate is published, & I should have thought it wd. not much matter if Usher had sent sections of that eye to Mudge or anyone else? – If Usher has sent sections of the wall eyes &c. we are illustrating now for 1st time that is another matter; but he cannot have sent the actual sections our drawings were made from because these sections are here. – But no doubt you will hear from Usher & possibly he may write to me too.

I of course agree that Mudge is rather a snake. I doubt however whether he will publish whatever it is he is doing on albsm. before we do, – unless ours is delayed. Thus after one of those Hannover Sq. meetings where you mentioned some family, I don’t know which, Mudge wrote to me asking whether I could tell him the place or the family (I don’t feel sure which, but I think it was the place) where that case lived – or something to that effect – I don’t remember the words or his reason but I think the reason was that he wanted to know whether he had got the same family – well, I referred him to you; he replied that he had asked you & you had refused. To the best of my recollection I then said if he would like to give me the name of his family I wd. tell him whether we had it or not. His reply was that he did not think it advisable to give the name whilst the work was in progress! Which was about the same as many others wd. have said.

During the correspondence he said incidentally that his work on albsm. wd. not be finished, or ready, or out, or corresponding phrase, for some time (I think he said some years, or a year or two but that I can’t be sure of; but I am quite clear that the impression I got was of a work that wd. not be finished till well after our’s.) I believe I gave him no clue as to our probable date.

He also said he was writing the article on “albinism” for Encyclop. Britannica that he was disappointed at the slowness because tho. he had sent in his m.s. some longtime ago (I don’t remember how long but I think he said a year or more) he had not yet received even a 1st proof.

I could not tell whether he had 2 papers on hand, 1 the Encycop. Brit. Article, the other something else, or whether both were the same. But his general effect was that his work was going pretty slowly.

Of course he may have been bluffing, but it did not strike me so.

He said some nasty things, at least some things in very bad taste, about you to which I replied & he said he was sorry & did not mean [it] &c.

I say all this that you may be in possession of all I know at the moment. If I have forgotten anything that comes to mind you shall hear.

By the way, do you object to me sending Miss Durham some of the mouse &c. slides from which our drawings were made? – not to keep but to look at. – She has sent me some of her own for inspection. The point is to know whether the colour of the pigment in some of our’s & her’s [sic] is the same. She of course works for Bateson. If you prefer not I will of course act accordingly & tell her she must wait.

Yrs very sincerely,

E. Nettleship.

I hope you will get this today.’