CORRESPONDENCE.
At the Back of the Black Man's Mind.
(Supra, p. 234.)
There are a few points in Miss Werner's criticism on my book, At the Back of the Black Man's Mind, to which I would like to draw the attention of your readers.
Prof, van Gennep did not use the words "dignes de la kabbale" in reference to my book, but to a paper entitled "The Bavili Alphabet Restored," which appeared in the African Society's Journal. Miss Werner must therefore have misread his paper dated 15th January, 1907, in the Revue des Idées, entitled "Un Système Nègre de Classification," as I cannot believe she would have gone so far out of her way to cast a slur on the collection of facts and the categories which she was unable to digest until she lit on the clue supplied by van Gennep. Van Gennep, however, kindly gives me credit for giving this clue to the world so far as the Africans are concerned.
On the other hand, in a letter from a well-known archaeologist in regard to this article the latter writes: "I have read the Revue des Idées two or three times, and have gained nothing from repeated perusals." So that if Miss Werner really had difficulty in grasping the fact that I wrote about certain categories of thought among the Bavili and failed without van Gennep's help to grasp the fact, it should be some comfort to her that a distinguished man also failed to grasp van Gennep's meaning.
