Original: In 1842 his father brought home a '' great piece of news '' , and while young John Lubbock initially thought that it might be a new pony and was disappointed that the news was just that Charles Darwin was moving to Down House in the village , he was soon a frequent visitor to Down House , and became the closest of Darwin 's younger friends .
Simplified: Lubbock was also an amateur biologist of some distinction , writing books on hymenoptera , on insect sense organs and development , on the intelligence of animals , and on other natural history topics .