IhavejustheardfromMurray;hesayshesold700copiesathissale，andthathehasnothalfthenumbertosupply;sothatImustbeginatonce（Onthethirdeditionofthe’OriginofSpecies，’publishedinApril1861。）……
P。S。——Imusttellyouonelittlefactwhichhaspleasedme。YoumayrememberthatIadduceelectricalorgansoffishasoneofthegreatestdifficultieswhichhaveoccurredtome，and——noticesthepassageinasingularlydisingenuousspirit。Well，McDonnell，ofDublin（afirst—rateman），writestomethathefeltthedifficultyofthewholecaseasoverwhelmingagainstme。Notonlyarethefisheswhichhaveelectricorgansveryremoteinscale，buttheorganisneartheheadinsome，andnearthetailinothers，andsuppliedbywhollydifferentnerves。Itseemsimpossiblethattherecouldbeanytransition。Somefriend，whoismuchopposedtome，seemstohavecrowedoverMcDonnell，whoreportsthathesaidtohimself，thatifDarwinisright，theremustbehomologousorgansbothneartheheadandtailinothernon—electricfish。Hesettowork，and，byJove，hehasfoundthem！（’OnanorganintheSkate，whichappearstobethehomologueoftheelectricalorganoftheTorpedo，’byR。
McDonnell，’Nat。Hist。Review，’1861，page57。）sothatsomeofthedifficultyisremoved;andisitnotsatisfactorythatmyhypotheticalnotionsshouldhaveledtoprettydiscoveries？McDonnellseemsverycautious;hesays，yearsmustpassbeforehewillventuretocallhimselfabelieverinmydoctrine，butthatonthesubjectswhichheknowswell，viz。，MorphologyandEmbryology，myviewsaccordwell，andthrowlightonthewholesubject。
CHARLESDARWINTOASAGRAY。
Down，November26th，1860。
MydearGray，Ihavetothankyoufortwoletters。Thelatterwithcorrections，writtenbeforeyoureceivedmyletteraskingforanAmericanreprint，andsayingthatitwashopelesstoprintyourreviewsasapamphlet，owingtotheimpossibilityofgettingpamphletsknown。IamverygladtosaythattheAugustorsecond’Atlantic’articlehasbeenreprintedinthe’AnnalsandMagazineofNaturalHistory’;butIhavenotseenitthere。YesterdayI
readoverwithcarethethirdarticle;anditseemstome，asbefore，ADMIRABLE。ButIgrievetosaythatIcannothonestlygoasfarasyoudoaboutDesign。IamconsciousthatIaminanutterlyhopelessmuddle。I
cannotthinkthattheworld，asweseeit，istheresultofchance;andyetIcannotlookateachseparatethingastheresultofDesign。Totakeacrucialexample，youleadmetoinfer（page414）thatyoubelieve"thatvariationhasbeenledalongcertainbeneficiallines。"Icannotbelievethis;andIthinkyouwouldhavetobelieve，thatthetailoftheFantailwasledtovaryinthenumberanddirectionofitsfeathersinordertogratifythecapriceofafewmen。YetiftheFantailhadbeenawildbird，andhaduseditsabnormaltailforsomespecialend，astosailbeforethewind，unlikeotherbirds，everyonewouldhavesaid，"Whatabeautifulanddesignedadaptation。"Again，IsayIam，andshalleverremain，inahopelessmuddle。
ThankyoumuchforBowen’s4to。review。（’MemoirsoftheAmericanAcademyofArtsandSciences，’vol。viii。）Thecoolnesswithwhichhemakesallanimalstobedestituteofreasonissimplyabsurd。Itismonstrousatpage103，thatheshouldargueagainstthepossibilityofaccumulativevariation，andactuallyleaveout，entirely，selection！ThechancethatanimprovedShort—horn，orimprovedPouter—pigeon，shouldbeproducedbyaccumulativevariationwithoutman’sselectionisasalmostinfinitytonothing;sowithnaturalspecieswithoutnaturalselection。Howcapitallyinthe’Atlantic’youshowthatGeologyandAstronomyare，accordingtoBowen，Metaphysics;butheleavesoutthisinthe4to。Memoir。
IhavenotmuchtotellyouaboutmyBook。IhavejustheardthatDuBois—
Reymondagreeswithme。Thesaleofmybookgoesonwell，andthemultitudeofreviewshasnotstoppedthesale……;soImustbeginatonceonanewcorrectededition。Iwillsendyouacopyforthechanceofyoureverre—reading;but，goodHeavens，howsickyoumustbeofit！
CHARLESDARWINTOT。H。HUXLEY。
Down，December2nd[1860]……Ihavegotfairlysickofhostilereviews。Nevertheless，theyhavebeenofuseinshowingmewhentoexpatiatealittleandtointroduceafewnewdiscussions。OFCOURSEIwillsendyouacopyofthenewedition。
Ientirelyagreewithyou，thatthedifficultiesonmynotionsareterrific，yethavingseenwhatalltheReviewshavesaidagainstme，IhavefarmoreconfidenceintheGENERALtruthofthedoctrinethanIformerlyhad。Anotherthinggivesmeconfidence，viz。thatsomewhowenthalfaninchwithmenowgofurther，andsomewhowerebitterlyopposedarenowlessbitterlyopposed。Andthismakesmefeelalittledisappointedthatyouarenotinclinedtothinkthegeneralviewinsomeslightdegreemoreprobablethanyoudidatfirst。ThisIconsiderratherominous。OtherwiseIshouldbemorecontentedwithyourdegreeofbelief。Icanprettyplainlyseethat，ifmyviewisevertobegenerallyadopted，itwillbebyyoungmengrowingupandreplacingtheoldworkers，andthenyoungonesfindingthattheycangroupfactsandsearchoutnewlinesofinvestigationbetteronthenotionofdescent，thanonthatofcreation。Butforgivemeforrunningonsoegotistically。LivingsosolitaryasIdo，onegetstothinkinasillymannerofone’sownwork。
Everyoursverysincerely，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，December11th[1860]……IheardfromA。Graythismorning;atmysuggestionheisgoingtoreprintthethree’Atlantic’articlesasapamphlet，andsend250copiestoEngland，forwhichIintendtopayhalfthecostofthewholeedition，andshallgiveaway，andtrytosellbygettingafewadvertisementsputin，andifpossiblenoticesinPeriodicals……DavidForbeshasbeencarefullyworkingtheGeologyofChile，andasI
valuepraiseforaccurateobservationfarhigherthanforanyotherquality，forgive（ifyoucan）theINSUFFERABLEvanityofmycopyingthelastsentenceinhisnote:"IregardyourMonographonChileas，withoutexception，oneofthefinestspecimensofGeologicalenquiry。"IfeelinclinedtostrutlikeaTurkey—cock！
CHAPTER2。III。
SPREADOFEVOLUTION。
1861—1862。
[Thebeginningoftheyear1861sawmyfatherwiththethirdchapterof’TheVariationofAnimalsandPlants’stillonhishands。IthadbeenbeguninthepreviousAugust，andwasnotfinisheduntilMarch1861。Hewas，however，forpartofthistime（IbelieveduringDecember1860andJanuary1861）engagedinanewedition（2000copies）ofthe’Origin，’whichwaslargelycorrectedandaddedto，andwaspublishedinApril1861。
Withregardtothis，thethirdedition，hewrotetoMr。MurrayinDecember1860:——
"Ishallbegladtohearwhenyouhavedecidedhowmanycopiesyouwillprintoff——themorethebetterformeinallways，asfarascompatiblewithsafety;forIhopeneveragaintomakesomanycorrections，orratheradditions，whichIhavemadeinhopesofmakingmymanyratherstupidreviewersatleastunderstandwhatismeant。IhopeandthinkIshallimprovethebookconsiderably。"
Aninterestingfeatureintheneweditionwasthe"HistoricalSketchoftheRecentProgressofOpinionontheOriginofSpecies"（TheHistoricalSketchhadalreadyappearedinthefirstGermanedition（1860）andtheAmericanedition。BronnstatesintheGermanedition（footnote，page1）thatitwashiscritiqueinthe’N。JahrbuchfurMineralogie’thatsuggestedtheideaofsuchasketchtomyfather。）whichnowappearedforthefirsttime，andwascontinuedinthelatereditionsofthework。Itbearsastrongimpressoftheauthor’spersonalcharacterintheobviouswishtodofulljusticetoallhispredecessors，——thougheveninthisrespectithasnotescapedsomeadversecriticism。
Towardstheendofthepresentyear（1861），thefinalarrangementsforthefirstFrencheditionofthe’Origin’werecompleted，andinSeptemberacopyofthethirdEnglisheditionwasdespatchedtoMdlle。ClemenceRoyer，whoundertooktheworkoftranslation。ThebookwasnowspreadingontheContinent，aDutcheditionhadappeared，and，aswehaveseen，aGermantranslationhadbeenpublishedin1860。InalettertoMr。Murray（September10，1861），hewrote，"MybookseemsexcitingmuchattentioninGermany，judgingfromthenumberofdiscussionssentme。"Thesilencehadbeenbroken，andinafewyearsthevoiceofGermansciencewastobecomeoneofthestrongestoftheadvocatesofevolution。
Duringalltheearlypartoftheyear（1861）hewasworkingatthemassofdetailswhicharemarshalledinorderintheearlychapterof’AnimalsandPlants。’ThusinhisDiaryoccurthelaconicentries，"May16，FinishedFowls（eightweeks）;May31，Ducks。"
OnJuly1，hestarted，withhisfamily，forTorquay，whereheremaineduntilAugust27——aholidaywhichhecharacteristicallyentersinhisdiaryas"eightweeksandaday。"ThehouseheoccupiedwasinHeskethCrescent，apleasantlyplacedrowofhousescloseabovethesea，somewhatremovedfromwhatwasthenthemainbodyofthetown，andnotfarfromthebeautifulcliffedcoast—lineintheneighbourhoodofAnstey’sCove。
DuringtheTorquayholiday，andfortheremainderoftheyear，heworkedatthefertilisationoforchids。Thispartoftheyear1861isnotdealtwithinthepresentchapter，because（asexplainedinthepreface）therecordofhislife，astoldinhisletters，seemstobecomeclearerwhenthewholeofhisbotanicalworkisplacedtogetherandtreatedseparately。Thepresentseriesofchapterswill，therefore，includeonlytheprogressofhisworksinthedirectionofageneralamplificationofthe’OriginofSpecies’——
e。g。，thepublicationof’AnimalsandPlants，’’DescentofMan，’etc。]
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，January15[1861]。
MydearHooker，Thesightofyourhandwritingalwaysrejoicestheverycocklesofmyheart……
ImostfullyagreetowhatyousayaboutHuxley’sArticle（’NaturalHistoryReview，’1861，page67，"OntheZoologicalRelationsofManwiththeLowerAnimals。"ThismemoirhaditsorigininadiscussionatthepreviousmeetingoftheBritishAssociation，whenProfessorHuxleyfelthimself"compelledtogiveadiametricalcontradictiontocertainassertionsrespectingthedifferenceswhichobtainbetweenthebrainsofthehigherapesandofman，whichfellfromProfessorOwen。"Butinorderthathiscriticismsmightrefertodeliberatelyrecordedwords，hebasesthemonProfessorOwen’spaper，"OntheCharacters，etc。，oftheClassMammalia，"
readbeforetheLinneanSocietyinFebruaryandApril，1857，inwhichheproposedtoplacemannotonlyinadistinctorder，butin"adistinctsub—
classoftheMammalia"——theArchencephala。），andthepowerofwriting……Thewholereviewseemstomeexcellent。HowcapitallyOliverhasdonetheresumeofbotanicalbooks。GoodHeavens，howhemusthaveread！……
IquiteagreethatPhillips（’LifeontheEarth’（1860），byProf。Phillips，containingthesubstanceoftheRedeLecture（May1860）。）isunreadablydull。YouneednotattemptBree。（Thefollowingsentence（page16）from’SpeciesnotTransmutable，’byDr。Bree，illustratesthedegreeinwhichheunderstoodthe’OriginofSpecies’:"TheonlyrealdifferencebetweenMr。
Darwinandhistwopredecessors"[Lamarckandthe’Vestiges’]"isthis:——
thatwhilethelatterhaveeachgivenamodebywhichtheyconceivethegreatchangestheybelieveinhavebeenbroughtabout，Mr。Darwindoesnosuchthing。"Afterthisweneednotbesurprisedatapassageinthepreface:"NoonehasderivedgreaterpleasurethanIhaveinpastdaysfromthestudyofMr。Darwin’sotherworks，andnoonehasfeltagreaterdegreeofregretthatheshouldhaveimperilledhisfamebythepublicationofhistreatiseuponthe’OriginofSpecies。’"）……
IfyoucomeacrossDr。Frekeon’OriginofSpeciesbymeansofOrganicAffinity，’readapagehereandthere……Hetellsthereadertoobserve[thathisresult]hasbeenarrivedatby"induction，"whereasallmyresultsarearrivedatonlyby"analogy。"IseeaMr。NealehasreadapaperbeforetheZoologicalSocietyon’TypicalSelection;’whatitmeansI
knownot。IhavenotreadH。Spencer，forIfindthatImustmoreandmorehusbandtheverylittlestrengthwhichIhave。IsometimessuspectIshallsoonentirelyfail……Assoonasthisdreadfulweathergetsalittlemilder，Imusttryalittlewatercure。Haveyoureadthe’WomaninWhite’？theplotiswonderfullyinteresting。Icanrecommendabookwhichhasinterestedmegreatly，viz。Olmsted’s’JourneyintheBackCountry。’ItisanadmirablylivelypictureofmanandslaveryintheSouthernStates……
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
February2，1861。
MydearLyell，IhavethoughtyouwouldliketoreadtheenclosedpassageinaletterfromA。Gray（whoisprintinghisreviewsasapamphlet（"NaturalSelectionnotinconsistentwithNaturalTheology，"fromthe’AtlanticMonthly’forJuly，August，andOctober，1860;publishedbyTrubner。），andwillsendcopiestoEngland），asIthinkhisaccountisreallyfavourableinhighdegreetous:——
"IwishIhadtimetowriteyouanaccountofthelengthstowhichBowenandAgassiz，eachintheirownway，aregoing。Thefirstdenyingallheredity（alltransmissionexceptspecific）whatever。Thesecondcomingneartodenythatwearegeneticallydescendedfromourgreat—great—
grandfathers;andinsistingthatevidentlyaffiliatedlanguages，e。g。
Latin，Greek，Sanscrit，owenoneoftheirsimilaritiestoacommunityoforigin，areallautochthonal;Agassizadmitsthatthederivationoflanguages，andthatofspeciesorforms，standonthesamefoundation，andthathemustallowthelatterifheallowstheformer，whichItellhimisperfectlylogical。"
Isnotthismarvellous？
Everyours，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，February4[1861]。
MydearHooker，Iwasdelightedtogetyourlongchattyletter，andtohearthatyouarethawingtowardsscience。Ialmostwishyouhadremainedfrozenratherlonger;butdonotthawtooquicklyandstrongly。Noonecanworklongasyouusedtodo。Beidle;butIamaprettymantopreach，forIcannotbeidle，muchasIwishit，andamnevercomfortableexceptwhenatwork。Thewordholidayiswritteninadeadlanguageforme，andmuchIgrieveatit。
WethankyousincerelyforyourkindsympathyaboutpoorH。[hisdaughter]……Shehasnowcomeuptoheroldpoint，andcansometimesgetupforanhourortwotwiceaday……Nevertolooktothefutureoraslittleaspossibleisbecomingourruleoflife。Whatadifferentthinglifewasinyouthwithnodreadinthefuture;allgolden，ifbaseless，hopes……Withrespecttothe’NaturalHistoryReview’Icanhardlythinkthatladieswouldbesoverysensitiveabout"lizards’guts;"butthepublicationisatpresentcertainlyasortofhybrid，andoriginalillustratedpapersoughthardlytoappearinareview。Idoubtitseverpaying;butIshallmuchregretifitdies。Allthatyousayseemsverysensible，butcouldareviewinthestrictsenseofthewordbefilledwithreadablematter？
Ihavebeendoinglittle，exceptfinishingtheneweditionofthe’Origin，’
andcrawlingonmostslowlywithmyvolumeof’VariationunderDomestication’……
[ThefollowingletterreferstoMr。Bates’spaper，"ContributionstoanInsectFaunaoftheAmazonValley，"inthe’TransactionsoftheEntomologicalSociety，’vol。5，N。S。（ThepaperwasreadNovember24，1860。）
Mr。Batespointsoutthatwiththereturn，aftertheglacialperiod，ofawarmerclimateintheequatorialregions，the"speciesthenlivingneartheequatorwouldretreatnorthandsouthtotheirformerhomes，leavingsomeoftheircongeners，slowlymodifiedsubsequently……tore—peoplethezonetheyhadforsaken。"Inthiscasethespeciesnowlivingattheequatoroughttoshowclearrelationshiptothespeciesinhabitingtheregionsaboutthe25thparallel，whosedistantrelativestheywouldofcoursebe。
Butthisisnotthecase，andthisisthedifficultymyfatherrefersto。
Mr。Belthasofferedanexplanationinhis’NaturalistinNicaragua’
（1874），page266。"Ibelievetheansweristhattherewasmuchexterminationduringtheglacialperiod，thatmanyspecies（andsomegenera，etc。，as，forinstance，theAmericanhorse），didnotsurviveit……butthatarefugewasfoundformanyspeciesonlandsnowbelowtheocean，thatwereuncoveredbytheloweringofthesea，causedbytheimmensequantityofwaterthatwaslockedupinfrozenmassesontheland。"]
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，27th[March1861]。
MydearHooker，IhadintendedtohavesentyouBates’sarticlethisveryday。Iamsogladyoulikeit。Ihavebeenextremelymuchstruckwithit。Howwellheargues，andwithwhatcrushingforceagainsttheglacialdoctrine。I
cannotwriggleoutofit:Iamdumbfounded;yetIdobelievethatsomeexplanationsomedaywillappear，andIcannotgiveupequatorialcooling。
Itexplainssomuchandharmoniseswithsomuch。Whenyouwrite（andmuchinterestedIshallbeinyourletter）pleasesayhowfarflorasaregenerallyuniformingenericcharacterfrom0to25degreesN。andS。
BeforereadingBates，IhadbecomethoroughlydissatisfiedwithwhatI
wrotetoyou。IhopeyoumaygetBatestowriteinthe’Linnean。’
Hereisagoodjoke:H。C。Watson（who，Ifancyandhope，isgoingtoreviewthenewedition（thirdeditionof2000copies，publishedinApril，1861。）ofthe’Origin’）saysthatinthefirstfourparagraphsoftheintroduction，thewords"I，""me，""my，"occurforty—threetimes！Iwasdimlyconsciousoftheaccursedfact。Hesaysitcanbeexplainedphrenologically，whichIsupposecivillymeans，thatIamthemostegotisticallyself—sufficientmanalive;perhapsso。Iwonderwhetherhewillprintthispleasingfact;itbeatshollowtheparenthesesinWollaston’swriting。
_I_am，MYdearHooker，everyours，C。DARWIN。
P。S。——Donotspreadthispleasingjoke;itisrathertoobiting。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，[April]23？[1861]……IquiteagreewithwhatyousayonLieutenantHutton’sReview（Inthe’Geologist，’1861，page132，byLieutenantFrederickWollastonHutton，nowProfessorofBiologyandGeologyatCanterburyCollege，NewZealand。）（whoheisIknownot）;itstruckmeasveryoriginal。Heisoneoftheveryfewwhoseethatthechangeofspeciescannotbedirectlyproved，andthatthedoctrinemustsinkorswimaccordingasitgroupsandexplainsphenomena。Itisreallycurioushowfewjudgeitinthisway，whichisclearlytherightway。IhavebeenmuchinterestedbyBentham’spaper（"OntheSpeciesandGeneraofPlants，etc。，"’NaturalHistoryReview，’1861，page133。）intheN。H。R。，butitwouldnot，ofcourse，fromfamiliaritystrikeyouasitdidme。Ilikedthewhole;allthefactsonthenatureofcloseandvaryingspecies。GoodHeavens！tothinkoftheBritishbotaniststurninguptheirnoses，andsayingthatheknowsnothingofBritishplants！
Iwasalsopleasedathisremarksonclassification，becauseitshowedmethatIwrotetrulyonthissubjectinthe’Origin。’IsawBenthamattheLinneanSociety，andhadsometalkwithhimandLubbock，andEdgeworth，Wallich，andseveralothers。IaskedBenthamtogiveushisideasofspecies;whetherpartiallywithusordeadagainstus，hewouldwriteEXCELLENTmatter。Hemadenoanswer，buthismannermademethinkhemightdosoifurged;sodoyouattackhim。EveryonewasspeakingwithaffectionandanxietyofHenslow。（Prof。Henslowwasinhislastillness。）
IdinedwithBellattheLinneanClub，andlikedmydinner……DiningoutissuchanoveltytomethatIenjoyedit。Bellhasarealgoodheart。I
likedRolleston’spaper，butIneverreadanythingsoobscureandnotself—
evidentashis’Canons。’（GeorgeRolleston，M。D。，F。R。S。，1829—1881。
LinacreProfessorofAnatomyandPhysiologyatOxford。Amanofmuchlearning，wholeftbutfewpublishedworks，amongwhichmaybementionedhishandbook’FormsofAnimalLife。’Forthe’Canons，’see’Nat。Hist。
Review，’1861，page206。）……IcalledonR。Chambers，athisverynicehouseinSt。John’sWood，andhadaverypleasanthalf—hour’stalk;heisreallyacapitalfellow。Hemadeonegoodremarkandchuckledoverit，thatthelaymenuniversallyhadtreatedthecontroversyonthe’EssaysandReviews’
asamerelyprofessionalsubject，andhadnotjoinedinit，buthadleftittotheclergy。IshallbeanxiousforyournextletteraboutHenslow。
（SirJosephHookerwasProf。Henslow’sson—in—law。）Farewell，withsinceresympathy，myoldfriend，C。DARWIN。
P。S。——Weareverymuchobligedforthe’LondonReview。’Welikereadingmuchofit，andthescienceisincomparablybetterthaninthe"Athenaeum"。
Youshallnotgoonverylongsendingit，asyouwillberuinedbypenniesandtrouble，butIamunderahorridspelltothe"Athenaeum"andthe"Gardener’sChronicle"，butIhavetakentheminforsomanyyears，thatI
CANNOTgivethemup。
[ThenextletterreferstoLyell’svisittotheBiddenhamgravel—pitsnearBedfordinApril1861。ThevisitwasmadeattheinvitationofMr。JamesWyatt，whohadrecentlydiscoveredtwostoneimplements"atthedepthofthirteenfeetfromthesurfaceofthesoil，"resting"immediatelyonsolidbedsofoolitic—limestone。"（’AntiquityofMan，’fourthedition，page214。）Here，saysSirC。Lyell，"I……forthefirsttime，sawevidencewhichsatisfiedmeofthechronologicalrelationsofthosethreephenomena——theantiquetools，theextinctmammalia，andtheglacialformation。"]
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down，April12[1861]。
MydearLyell，Ihavebeenmostdeeplyinterestedbyyourletter。Youseemtohavedonethegrandestwork，andmadethegreateststep，ofanyonewithrespecttoman。
ItisanespecialrelieftohearthatyouthinktheFrenchsuperficialdepositsaredeltoidandsemi—marine;buttwodaysagoIwassayingtoafriend，thattheunknownmanneroftheaccumulationofthesedeposits，seemedthegreatblotinalltheworkdone。Icouldnotstomachdebaclesorlacustrinebeds。Itisgrand。IrememberFalconertoldmethathethoughtsomeoftheremainsintheDevonshirecavernswerepre—glacial，andthis，Ipresume，isnowyourconclusionfortheolderceltswithhyenaandhippopotamus。Itisgrand。Whatafinelongpedigreeyouhavegiventhehumanrace！
IamsureIneverthoughtofparallelroadshavingbeenaccumulatedduringsubsidence。IthinkIseesomedifficultiesonthisview，though，atfirstreadingyournote，Ijumpedattheidea。ButIwillthinkoverallIsawthere。Iam（stomachovolente）cominguptoLondononTuesdaytoworkoncocksandhens，andonWednesdaymorning，aboutaquarterbeforeten，I
willcallonyou（unlessIheartothecontrary），forIlongtoseeyou。I
congratulateyouonyourgrandwork。
Everyours，C。DARWIN。
P。S。——TellLadyLyellthatIwasunabletodigestthefunerealceremoniesoftheants，notwithstandingthatErasmushasoftentoldmethatIshouldfindsomedaythattheyhavetheirbishops。AfterabattleIhavealwaysseentheantscarryawaythedeadforfood。Antsdisplaytheutmosteconomy，andalwayscarryawayadeadfellow—creatureasfood。ButIhavejustforwardedtwomostextraordinaryletterstoBusk，fromabackwoodsmaninTexas，whohasevidentlywatchedantscarefully，anddeclaresmostpositivelythattheyplantandcultivateakindofgrassforstorefood，andplantotherbushesforshelter！Idonotknowwhattothink，exceptthattheoldgentlemanisnotfibbingintentionally。IhavelefttheresponsibilitywithBuskwhetherornotoreadtheletters。（I。e。toreadthembeforetheLinneanSociety。）
CHARLESDARWINTOTHOMASDAVIDSON。（ThomasDavidson，F。R。S。，borninEdinburgh，May17，1817;died1885。Hisresearcheswerechieflyconnectedwiththesciencesofgeologyandpalaeontology，andweredirectedespeciallytotheelucidationofthecharacters，classification，history，geologicalandgeographicaldistributionofrecentandfossilBrachiopoda。
Onthissubjecthebroughtoutanimportantwork，’BritishFossilBrachiopoda，’5vols。4to。（Cooper，’MenoftheTime，’1884。））
Down，April26，1861。
MydearSir，IhopethatyouwillexcusemeforventuringtomakeasuggestiontoyouwhichIamperfectlywellawareitisaveryremotechancethatyouwouldadopt。Idonotknowwhetheryouhavereadmy’OriginofSpecies’;inthatbookIhavemadetheremark，whichIapprehendwillbeuniversallyadmitted，thatASAWHOLE，thefaunaofanyformationisintermediateincharacterbetweenthatoftheformationsaboveandbelow。Butseveralreallygoodjudgeshaveremarkedtomehowdesirableitwouldbethatthisshouldbeexemplifiedandworkedoutinsomedetailandwithsomesinglegroupofbeings。NoweveryonewilladmitthatnooneintheworldcoulddothisbetterthanyouwithBrachiopods。TheresultmightturnoutveryunfavourabletotheviewswhichIhold;ifso，somuchthebetterforthosewhoareopposedtome。（"Mr。Davidsonisnotatallafullbelieveringreatchangesofspecies，whichwillmakehisworkallthemorevaluable。——
C。DarwintoR。Chambers（April30，1861）。）ButIaminclinedtosuspectthatonthewholeitwouldbefavourabletothenotionofdescentwithmodification;foraboutayearago，Mr。Salter（JohnWilliamSalter;1820—
1869。HeenteredtheserviceoftheGeologicalSurveyin1846，andultimatelybecameitsPalaeontologist，ontheretirementofEdwardForbes，andgaveuptheofficein1863。Hewasassociatedwithseveralwell—knownnaturalistsintheirwork——withSedgwick，Murchison，Lyell，Ramsay，andHuxley。TherearesixtyentriesunderhisnameintheRoyalSocietyCatalogue。TheabovefactsaretakenfromanobituarynoticeofMr。Salterinthe’GeologicalMagazine，’1869。）intheMuseuminJermynStreet，gluedonaboardsomeSpirifers，etc。，fromthreepalaeozoicstages，andarrangedtheminsingleandbranchinglines，withhorizontallinesmarkingtheformations（likethediagraminmybook，ifyouknowit），andtheresultseemedtomeverystriking，thoughIwastooignorantfullytoappreciatethelinesofaffinities。Ilongedtohavehadtheseshellsengraved，asarrangedbyMr。Salter，andconnectedbydottedlines，andwouldhavegladlypaidtheexpense:butIcouldnotpersuadeMr。Saltertopublishalittlepaperonthesubject。Icanhardlydoubtthatmanycuriouspointswouldoccurtoanyonethoroughlyinstructedinthesubject，whowouldconsideragroupofbeingsunderthispointofviewofdescentwithmodification。Allthoseformswhichhavecomedownfromanancientperiodveryslightlymodifiedought，Ithink，tobeomitted，andthoseformsaloneconsideredwhichhaveundergoneconsiderablechangeateachsuccessiveepoch。Myfeariswhetherbrachiopodshavechangedenough。Theabsoluteamountofdifferenceoftheformsinsuchgroupsattheoppositeextremesoftimeoughttobeconsidered，andhowfartheearlyformsareintermediateincharacterbetweenthosewhichappearedmuchlaterintime。
Theantiquityofagroupisnotreallydiminished，assomeseemvaguelytothink，becauseithastransmittedtothepresentdaycloselyalliedforms。
Anotherpointishowfarthesuccessionofeachgenusisunbroken，fromthefirsttimeitappearedtoitsextinction，withdueallowancemadeforformationspoorinfossils。Icannotbutthinkthatanimportantessay（farmoreimportantthanahundredliteraryreviews）mightbewrittenbyonelikeyourself，andwithoutverygreatlabour。Iknowitishighlyprobablethatyoumaynothaveleisure，ornotcarefor，ordislikethesubject，butItrusttoyourkindnesstoforgivemeformakingthissuggestion。Ifbyanyextraordinarygoodfortuneyouwereinclinedtotakeupthisnotion，IwouldaskyoutoreadmyChapterX。onGeologicalSuccession。AndIshouldlikeinthiscasetobepermittedtosendyouacopyofthenewedition，justpublished，inwhichIhaveaddedandcorrectedsomewhatinChaptersIX。andX。
Prayexcusethislongletter，andbelieveme，MydearSir，yoursveryfaithfully，C。DARWIN。
P。S。——IwritesobadahandthatIhavehadthisnotecopied。
CHARLESDARWINTOTHOMASDAVIDSON。
Down，April30，1861。
MydearSir，Ithankyouwarmlyforyourletter;Ididnotintheleastknowthatyouhadattendedtomywork。Iassureyouthattheattentionwhichyouhavepaidtoit，consideringyourknowledgeandthephilosophicaltoneofyourmind（forIwellrememberoneremarkableletteryouwrotetome，andhavelookedthroughyourvariouspublications），Iconsideroneofthehighest，perhapstheveryhighest，complimentswhichIhavereceived。IlivesosolitaryalifethatIdonotoftenhearwhatgoeson，andIshouldmuchliketoknowinwhatworkyouhavepublishedsomeremarksonmybook。I
takeadeepinterestinthesubject，andIhopenotsimplyanegotisticalinterest;thereforeyoumaybelievehowmuchyourletterhasgratifiedme;
Iamperfectlycontentedifanyonewillfairlyconsiderthesubject，whetherornothefullyoronlyveryslightlyagreeswithme。PraydonotthinkthatIfeeltheleastsurpriseatyourdemurringtoareadyacceptance;infact，Ishouldnotmuchrespectanyone’sjudgmentwhodidso:thatis，ifImayjudgeothersfromthelongtimewhichithastakenmetogoround。Eachstageofbeliefcostmeyears。Thedifficultiesare，asyousay，manyandverygreat;butthemoreIreflect，themoretheyseemtometobeduetoourunderestimatingourignorance。IbelongsomuchtooldtimesthatIfindthatIweighthedifficultiesfromtheimperfectionofthegeologicalrecord，heavierthansomeoftheyoungermen。Ifind，tomyastonishmentandjoy，thatsuchgoodmenasRamsay，Jukes，Geikie，andoneoldworker，Lyell，donotthinkthatIhaveintheleastexaggeratedtheimperfectionoftherecord。（ProfessorSedgwicktreatedthispartofthe’OriginofSpecies’verydifferently，asmighthavebeenexpectedfromhisvehementobjectiontoEvolutioningeneral。Inthearticleinthe"Spectator"ofMarch24，1860，alreadynoticed，Sedgwickwrote:"WeknowthecomplicatedorganicphenomenaoftheMesozoic（orOolitic）period。Itdefiesthetransmutationistateverystep。Oh！butthedocument，saysDarwin，isafragment;Iwillinterpolatelongperiodstoaccountforallthechanges。Isay，inreply，ifyoudenymyconclusion，groundedonpositiveevidence，Itossbackyourconclusion，derivedfromnegativeevidence，——theinflatedcushiononwhichyoutrytobolsterupthedefectsofyourhypothesis。"[Thepunctuationoftheimaginarydialogueisslightlyalteredfromtheoriginal，whichisobscureinoneplace。]）Ifmyviewseverareprovedtrue，ourcurrentgeologicalviewswillhavetobeconsiderablymodified。Mygreatesttroubleis，notbeingabletoweighthedirecteffectsofthelong—continuedactionofchangedconditionsoflifewithoutanyselection，withtheactionofselectiononmereaccidental（sotospeak）variability。Ioscillatemuchonthishead，butgenerallyreturntomybeliefthatthedirectactionoftheconditionsoflifehasnotbeengreat。Atleastthisdirectactioncanhaveplayedanextremelysmallpartinproducingallthenumberlessandbeautifuladaptationsineverylivingcreature。Withrespecttoaperson’sbelief，whatdoesrathersurprisemeisthatanyone（likeCarpenter）shouldbewillingTOGOSOVERYFARastobelievethatallbirdsmayhavedescendedfromoneparent，andnotgoalittlefartherandincludeallthemembersofthesamegreatdivision;foronsuchascaleofbelief，allthefactsinMorphologyandinEmbryology（themostimportantinmyopinionofallsubjects）becomemereDivinemockeries……IcannotexpresshowprofoundlygladIamthatsomedayyouwillpublishyourtheoreticalviewonthemodificationandenduranceofBrachiopodousspecies;Iamsureitwillbeamostvaluablecontributiontoknowledge。
Prayforgivethisveryegotisticalletter，butyouyourselfarepartlytoblameforhavingpleasedmesomuch。IhavetoldMurraytosendacopyofmyneweditiontoyou，andhavewrittenyourname。
Withcordialthanks，praybelieveme，mydearSir，Yoursverysincerely，CH。DARWIN。
[InMr。Davidson’sMonographonBritishBrachiopoda，publishedshortlyafterwardsbythePalaeontographicalSociety，resultssuchasmyfatheranticipatedweretosomeextentobtained。"NolessthanfifteencommonlyreceivedspeciesaredemonstratedbyMr。Davidsonbytheaidofalongseriesoftransitionalformstoappertainto……onetype。""Lyell，’AntiquityofMan，’firstedition，page428。）