"Inhismostrecentwork’OntheOriginofSpecies，’althoughopinionsmaybedividedorundecidedwithrespecttoitsmeritsinsomerespects，allwillallowthatitcontainsamassofobservationsbearinguponthehabits，structure，affinities，anddistributionofanimals，perhapsunrivalledforinterest，minuteness，andpatienceofobservation。Someamongstusmayperhapsinclinetoacceptthetheoryindicatedbythetitleofthiswork，whileothersmayperhapsinclinetorefuse，oratleasttoremitittoafuturetime，whenincreasedknowledgeshallaffordstrongergroundsforitsultimateacceptanceorrejection。Speakinggenerallyandcollectively，wehaveexpresslyomitteditfromthegroundsofouraward。"
IbelieveIamrightinsayingthatnolittledissatisfactionatthePresident’smannerofallusiontothe’Origin’wasfeltbysomeFellowsoftheSociety。
ThepresentationoftheCopleyMedalisofinterestinanotherway，inasmuchasitledtoSirC。Lyellmaking，inhisafter—dinnerspeech，a"confessionoffaithastothe’Origin。’"Hewrotetomyfather（’Life，’
vol。ii。page384），"IsaidIhadbeenforcedtogiveupmyoldfaithwithoutthoroughlyseeingmywaytoanewone。ButIthinkyouwouldhavebeensatisfiedwiththelengthIwent。"]
CHARLESDARWINTOT。H。HUXLEY。
Down，October3[1864]。
MydearHuxley，IfIdonotpouroutmyadmirationofyourarticle（"CriticismsontheOriginofSpecies，"’Nat。Hist。Review，’1864。Republishedin’LaySermons，’1870，page328。TheworkofProfessorKollikerreferredtois’UeberdieDarwin’scheSchopfungstheorie’（Leipzig，1864）。TowardProfessorKollikermyfatherfeltnotonlytherespectduetosodistinguishedanaturalist（asentimentwellexpressedinProfessorHuxley’sreview），buthehadalsoapersonalregardforhim，andoftenalludedwithsatisfactiontothevisitwhichProfessorKollikerpaidatDown。）onKolliker，Ishallexplode。Ineverreadanythingbetterdone。I
hadmuchwishedhisarticleanswered，andindeedthoughtofdoingsomyself，sothatIconsideredseveralpoints。Youhavehitonall，andonsomeinaddition，andoh！byJove，howwellyouhavedoneit。AsIreadonandcametopointafterpointonwhichIhadthought，Icouldnothelpjeeringandscoffingatmyself，toseehowinfinitelybetteryouhaddoneitthanIcouldhavedone。Well，ifanyone，whodoesnotunderstandNaturalSelection，willreadthis，hewillbeablockheadifitisnotasclearasdaylight。OldFlourens（’ExamendulivredeM。Darwinsurl’originedesespeces。’ParP。Flourens。8vo。Paris，1864。）washardlyworththepowderandshot;buthowcapitallyyoubringinabouttheAcademician，andyourmetaphorofthesea—sandisINIMITABLE。
Itisamarveltomehowyoucanresistbecomingaregularreviewer。Well，Ihaveexplodednow，andithasdonemeadealofgood……
[Inthesamearticleinthe’NaturalHistoryReview，’Mr。HuxleyspeaksofthebookabovealludedtobyFlourens，theSecretairePerpetueloftheAcademiedesSciences，asoneofthetwo"mostelaboratecriticisms"ofthe’OriginofSpecies’oftheyear。Hequotesthefollowingpassage:——
"M。Darwincontinue:’Aucunedistinctionabsoluen’aeteetnepeutetreentrelesespecesetlesvarietes！’Jevousaidejaditquevousvoustrompiez;unedistinctionabsolueseparelesvarietesd’aveclesespeces。"
Mr。Huxleyremarksonthis，"BeingdevoidoftheblessingsofanAcademyinEngland，weareunaccustomedtoseeourablestmentreatedinthiswayevenbyaPerpetualSecretary。"AfterdemonstratingM。Flourens’
misapprehensionofNaturalSelection，Mr。Huxleysays，"Howoneknowsitallbyheart，andwithwhatreliefonereadsatpage65’JelaisseM。
Darwin。’"
OnthesamesubjectmyfatherwrotetoMr。Wallace:——
"Agreatgun，Flourens，haswrittenalittledullbookagainstmewhichpleasesmemuch，foritisplainthatourgoodworkisspreadinginFrance。
Hespeaksofthe"engouement"aboutthisbook[the’Origin’]"sofullofemptyandpresumptuousthoughts。"Thepassageherealludedtoisasfollows:——
"Enfinl’ouvragedeM。Darwinaparu。Onnepeutqu’etrefrappedutalentdel’auteur。Maisqued’ideesobscures，qued’ideesfausses！Queljargonmetaphysiquejetemalaproposdansl’histoirenaturelle，quitombedanslegalimatiasdesqu’ellesortdesideesclaires，desideesjustes。Quellangagepretentieuxetvide！Quellespersonificationspuerilesetsurannees！Olucidite！Osoliditedel’espritfrancais，quedevenez—
vous？"]
1865。
[Thiswasagainatimeofmuchill—health，buttowardsthecloseoftheyearhebegantorecoverunderthecareofthelateDr。Bence—Jones，whodietedhimseverely，andasheexpressedit，"half—starvedhimtodeath。"
Hewasabletoworkat’AnimalsandPlants’untilnearlytheendofApril，andfromthattimeuntilDecemberhedidpracticallynowork，withtheexceptionoflookingoverthe’OriginofSpecies’forasecondFrenchedition。HewrotetoSirJ。D。Hooker:——"Iam，asitwere，readingthe’Origin’forthefirsttime，forIamcorrectingforasecondFrenchedition:anduponmylife，mydearfellow，itisaverygoodbook，butoh！
mygracious，itistoughreading，andIwishitweredone。"（Towardstheendoftheyearmyfatherreceivedthenewsofanewconverttohisviews，inthepersonofthedistinguishedAmericannaturalistLesquereux。HewrotetoSirJ。D。Hooker:"IhavehadanenormousletterfromLeoLesquereux（afterdoubts，Ididnotthinkitworthsendingyou）onCoalFlora。Hewrotesomeexcellentarticlesin’Silliman’against’Origin’
views;buthesaysnow，afterrepeatedreadingofthebook，heisaconvert！"）
ThefollowingletterreferstotheDukeofArgyll’saddresstotheRoyalSocietyofEdinburgh，December5th，1864，inwhichhecriticisesthe’OriginofSpecies。’MyfatherseemstohavereadtheDuke’saddressasreportedinthe"Scotsman"ofDecember6th，1865。Inalettertomyfather（January16，1865，’Life，’vol。ii。page385），Lyellwrote，"Theaddressisagreatsteptowardsyourviews——fargreater，Ibelieve，thanitseemswhenreadmerelywithreferencetocriticismsandobjections。"]
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down，January22，[1865]。
MydearLyell，Ithankyouforyourveryinterestingletter。IhavethetrueEnglishinstinctivereverenceforrank，andthereforelikedtohearaboutthePrincessRoyal。（"Ihad……ananimatedconversationonDarwinismwiththePrincessRoyal，whoisaworthydaughterofherfather，inthereadingofgoodbooks，andthinkingofwhatshereads。Shewasverymuchaufaitatthe’Origin，’andHuxley’sbook，the’Antiquity，’etc。"——（Lyell’s’Life，’
vol。ii。page385。）YouaskwhatIthinkoftheDuke’saddress，andI
shallbegladtotellyou。ItseemstomeEXTREMELYclever，likeeverythingIhavereadofhis;butIamnotshaken——perhapsyouwillsaythatneithergodsnormencouldshakeme。IdemurtotheDukereiteratinghisobjectionthatthebrilliantplumageofthemalehumming—birdcouldnothavebeenacquiredthroughselection，atthesametimeentirelyignoringmydiscussion（page93，3rdedition）onbeautifulplumagebeingacquiredthroughSEXUALselection。Thedukemaythinkthisinsufficient，butthatisanotherquestion。AllanalogymakesmequitedisagreewiththeDukethatthedifferenceinthebeak，wingandtail，arenotofimportancetotheseveralspecies。IntheonlytwospecieswhichIhavewatched，thedifferenceinflightandintheuseofthetailwasconspicuouslygreat。
TheDuke，whoknowsmyOrchidbooksowell，mighthavelearntalessonofcautionfromit，withrespecttohisdoctrineofdifferencesformerevarietyorbeauty。Itmaybeconfidentlysaidthatnotribeofplantspresentssuchgrotesqueandbeautifuldifferences，whichnooneuntillately，conjecturedwereofanyuse;butnowinalmosteverycaseIhavebeenabletoshowtheirimportantservice。Itshouldberememberedthatwithhummingbirdsororchids，amodificationinonepartwillcausecorrelatedchangesinotherparts。Iagreewithwhatyousayaboutbeauty。
Iformerlythoughtagooddealonthesubject，andwasledquitetorepudiatethedoctrineofbeautybeingcreatedforbeauty’ssake。IdemuralsototheDuke’sexpressionof"newbirths。"Thatmaybeaverygoodtheory，butitisnotmine，unlessindeedhecallsabirdbornwithabeak1/100thofaninchlongerthanusual"anewbirth;"butthisisnotthesenseinwhichthetermwouldusuallybeunderstood。ThemoreIworkthemoreIfeelconvincedthatitisbytheaccumulationofsuchextremelyslightvariationsthatnewspeciesarise。IdonotpleadguiltytotheDuke’schargethatIforgetthatnaturalselectionmeansonlythepreservationofvariationswhichindependentlyarise。（"Strictlyspeaking，therefore，Mr。Darwin’stheoryisnotatheoryontheOriginofSpeciesatall，butonlyatheoryonthecauseswhichleadtotherelativesuccessandfailureofsuchnewformsasmaybebornintotheworld。"——"Scotsman"，December6，1864。）IhaveexpressedthisinasstronglanguageasIcoulduse，butitwouldhavebeeninfinitelytedioushadIoneveryoccasionthusguardedmyself。Iwillcry"peccavi"whenIhearoftheDukeoryouattackingbreedersforsayingthatmanhasmadehisimprovedshorthorns，orpouterpigeons，orbantams。AndIcouldquotestillstrongerexpressionsusedbyagriculturists。Mandoesmakehisartificialbreeds，forhisselectivepowerisofsuchimportancerelativelytothatoftheslightspontaneousvariations。Butnoonewillattackbreedersforusingsuchexpressions，andtherisinggenerationwillnotblameme。
Manythanksforyourofferofsendingmethe’Elements。’（Sixtheditioninonevolume。）Ihopetoreaditall，butunfortunatelyreadingmakesmyheadwhizmorethananythingelse。Iamablemostdaystoworkfortwoorthreehours，andthismakesallthedifferenceinmyhappiness。Ihaveresolvednottobetemptedastray，andtopublishnothingtillmyvolumeonVariationiscompleted。YougavemeexcellentadviceaboutthefootnotesinmyDogchapter，buttheiralterationgavemeinfinitetrouble，andI
oftenwishedallthedogs，andIfearsometimesyouyourself，inthenetherregions。
We（dictatorandwriter）sendourbestlovetoLadyLyell。
Yoursaffectionately，CHARLESDARWIN。
P。S。——IfeveryoushouldspeakwiththeDukeonthesubject，pleasesayhowmuchinterestedIwaswithhisaddress。
[InhisautobiographicalsketchmyfatherhasremarkedthatowingtocertainearlymemorieshefeltthehonourofbeingelectedtotheRoyalandRoyalMedicalSocietiesofEdinburgh"morethananysimilarhonour。"ThefollowingextractfromalettertoSirJosephHookerreferstohiselectiontotheformerofthesesocieties。ThelatterpartoftheextractreferstotheBerlinAcademy，towhichhewaselectedin1878:——
"Hereisareallycuriousthing，consideringthatBrewsterisPresidentandBalfourSecretary。IhavebeenelectedHonoraryMemberoftheRoyalSocietyofEdinburgh。Andthisleadsmetoathirdquestion。DoestheBerlinAcademyofSciencessendtheirProceedingstoHonoraryMembers？I
wanttoknow，toascertainwhetherIamamember;Isupposenot，forI
thinkitwouldhavemadesomeimpressiononme;yetIdistinctlyrememberreceivingsomediplomasignedbyEhrenberg。Ihavebeensocareless;I
havelostseveraldiplomas，andnowIwanttoknowwhatSocietiesIbelongto，asIobserveevery[one]tackstheirtitlestotheirnamesinthecatalogueoftheRoyalSoc。"]
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down，February21[1865]。
MydearLyell，Ihavetakenalongtimetothankyouverymuchforyourpresentofthe’Elements。’
Iamgoingthroughitall，readingwhatisnew，andwhatIhaveforgotten，andthisisagooddeal。
Iamsimplyastonishedattheamountoflabour，knowledge，andclearthoughtcondensedinthiswork。Thewholestrikesmeassomethingquitegrand。IhavebeenparticularlyinterestedbyyouraccountofHeer’sworkandyourdiscussionontheAtlanticContinent。Iamparticularlydelightedattheviewwhichyoutakeonthissubject;forIhavelongthoughtForbesdidanillserviceinsofreelymakingcontinents。
IhavealsobeenverygladtoreadyourargumentonthedenudationoftheWeald，andyourexcellentresumeonthePurbeckBeds;andthisisthepointatwhichIhaveatpresentarrivedinyourbook。IcannotsaythatIamquiteconvincedthatthereisnoconnectionbeyondthatpointedoutbyyou，betweenglacialactionandtheformationoflakebasins;butyouwillnotmuchvaluemyopiniononthishead，asIhavealreadychangedmymindsomehalf—dozentimes。
Iwanttomakeasuggestiontoyou。Ifoundtheweightofyourvolumeintolerable，especiallywhenlyingdown，sowithgreatboldnesscutitintotwopieces，andtookitoutofitscover;nowcouldnotMurraywithoutanyotherchangeaddtohisadvertisementalinesaying，"ifboundintwovolumes，oneshillingoroneshillingandsixpenceextra。"Youthusmightoriginateachangewhichwouldbeablessingtoallweak—handedreaders。
Believeme，mydearLyell，Yoursmostsincerely，CHARLESDARWIN。
OriginateasecondREALBLESSINGandhavetheedgesofthesheetscutlikeaboundbook。（Thiswasafavouritereformofmyfather’s。Hewrotetothe"Athenaeum"onthesubject，February5，1867，pointingouthowthatabookcut，evencarefully，withapaperknifecollectsdustonitsedgesfarmorethanamachine—cutbook。Hegoesontoquotethecaseofaladyofhisacquaintancewhowasinthehabitofcuttingbookswithherthumb，andfinallyappealstothe"Athenaeum"toearnthegratitudeofchildren"whohavetocutthroughdryandpicturelessbooksforthebenefitoftheirelders。"Hetriedtointroducethereforminthecaseofhisownbooks，butfoundtheconservatismofbooksellerstoostrongforhim。Thepresentationcopies，however，ofallhislaterbooksweresentoutwiththeedgescut。）
CHARLESDARWINTOJOHNLUBBOCK。
Down，June11[1865]。
MydearLubbock，Thelatterhalfofyourbook（’PrehistoricTimes，’1865。）hasbeenreadaloudtome，andthestyleissoclearandeasy（weboththinkitperfection）thatIamnowbeginningatthebeginning。Icannotresisttellingyouhowexcellentlywell，inmyopinion，youhavedonetheveryinterestingchapteronsavagelife。Thoughyouhavenecessarilyonlycompiledthematerialsthegeneralresultismostoriginal。ButIoughttokeepthetermoriginalforyourlastchapter，whichhasstruckmeasanadmirableandprofounddiscussion。Ithasquitedelightedme，fornowthepublicwillseewhatkindofmanyouare，whichIamproudtothinkI
discoveredadozenyearsago。
Idosincerelywishyouallsuccessinyourelectionandinpolitics;butafterreadingthislastchapter，youmustletmesay:oh，dear！oh，dear！
ohdear！
Yoursaffectionately，CH。DARWIN。
P。S。——Youpaymeasuperbcompliment（’PrehistoricTimes，’page487，wherethewords，"thediscoveriesofaNewtonoraDarwin，"occur。），butIfearyouwillbequizzedforitbysomeofyourfriendsastooexaggerated。
[ThefollowingletterreferstoFritzMuller’sbook，’FurDarwin，’whichwasafterwardstranslated，atmyfather’ssuggestion，byMr。Dallas。Itisofinterestasbeingthefirstofthelongseriesofletterswhichmyfatherwrotetothisdistinguishednaturalist。Theynevermet，butthecorrespondencewithMuller，whichcontinuedtothecloseofmyfather’slife，wasasourceofverygreatpleasuretohim。MyimpressionisthatofallhisunseenfriendsFritzMullerwastheoneforwhomhehadthestrongestregard。FritzMulleristhebrotherofanotherdistinguishedman，thelateHermannMuller，theauthorof’DieBefruchtungderBlumen，’
andofmuchothervaluablework:]
CHARLESDARWINTOF。MULLER。
Down，August10[1865]。
MydearSir，IhavebeenforalongtimesoillthatIhaveonlyjustfinishedhearingreadaloudyourworkonspecies。AndnowyoumustpermitmetothankyoucordiallyforthegreatinterestwithwhichIhavereadit。Youhavedoneadmirableserviceinthecauseinwhichwebothbelieve。Manyofyourargumentsseemtomeexcellent，andmanyofyourfactswonderful。Ofthelatter，nothinghassurprisedmesomuchasthetwoformsofmales。Ihavelatelyinvestigatedthecasesofdimorphicplants，andIshouldmuchliketosendyouoneortwoofmypapersifIknewhow。Ididsendlatelybypostapaperonclimbingplants，asanexperimenttoseewhetheritwouldreachyou。Oneofthepointswhichhasstruckmemostinyourpaperisthatonthedifferencesintheair—breathingapparatusoftheseveralforms。ThissubjectappearedtomeveryimportantwhenIformerlyconsideredtheelectricapparatusoffishes。YourobservationsonClassificationandEmbryologyseemtomeverygoodandoriginal。Theyshowwhatawonderfulfieldthereisforenquiryonthedevelopmentofcrustacea，andnothinghasconvincedmesoplainlywhatadmirableresultsweshallarriveatinNaturalHistoryinthecourseofafewyears。Whatamarvellousrangeofstructurethecrustaceapresent，andhowwelladaptedtheyareforyourenquiry！UntilreadingyourbookIknewnothingoftheRhizocephala;praylookatmyaccountandfiguresofAnelasma，foritseemstomethatthislattercirripedeisabeautifulconnectinglinkwiththeRhizocephala。
Ifeveryouhaveanyopportunity，asyouaresoskilfuladissector，Imuchwishthatyouwouldlooktotheorificeatthebaseofthefirstpairofcirrhiincirripedes，andatthecuriousorganinit，anddiscoverwhatitsnatureis;IsupposeIwasquiteinerror，yetIcannotfeelfullysatisfiedatKrohn’s（Seevol。ii。，pages138，187。）observations。AlsoifyoueverfindanyspeciesofScalpellum，praylookforcomplementalmales;
aGermanauthorhasrecentlydoubtedmyobservationsfornoreasonexceptthatthefactsappearedtohimsostrange。
PermitmeagaintothankyoucordiallyforthepleasurewhichIhavederivedfromyourworkandtoexpressmysincereadmirationforyourvaluableresearches。
Believeme，dearSir，withsincererespect，Yoursveryfaithfully，CH。DARWIN。
P。S。——Idonotknowwhetheryoucareatallaboutplants，butifso，I
shouldmuchliketosendyoumylittleworkonthe’FertilizationofOrchids，’andIthinkIhaveaGermancopy。
Couldyousparemeaphotographofyourself？Ishouldmuchliketopossessone。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，Thursday，27th[September，1865]。
MydearHooker，IhadintendedwritingthismorningtothankMrs。Hookermostsincerelyforherlastandseveralnotesaboutyou，andnowyourownnoteinyourhandhasrejoicedme。Towalkbetweenfiveandsixmilesissplendid，withalittlepatienceyoumustsoonbewell。Iknewyouhadbeenveryill，butI
hardlyknewhowill，untilyesterday，whenBentham（fromtheCranworths（RobertRolfe，LordCranworth，andLordChancellorofEngland，livedatHolwood，nearDown。））calledhere，andIwasabletoseehimfortenminutes。Hetoldmealsoalittleaboutthelastdaysofyourfather（SirWilliamHooker;1785—1865。HetookchargeoftheRoyalGardensatKew，in1840，whentheyceasedtobetheprivategardensoftheRoyalFamily。Indoingso，hegaveuphisprofessorshipatGlasgow——andwithithalfofhisincome。Hefoundedtheherbariumandlibrary，andwithintenyearshesucceededinmakingthegardensthefirstintheworld。Itis，thus，nottoomuchtosaythatthecreationoftheestablishmentatKewisduetotheabilitiesandself—devotionofSirWilliamHooker。While，forthesubsequentdevelopmentofthegardensuptotheirpresentmagnificentcondition，thenationmustthankSirJosephHooker，inwhomthesamequalitiesaresoconspicuous。）;IwishIhadknownyourfatherbetter，myimpressionisconfinedtohisremarkablycordial，courteous，andfrankbearing。Ifullyconcurandunderstandwhatyousayaboutthedifferenceoffeelinginthelossofafatherandchild。IdonotthinkanyonecouldloveafathermuchmorethanIdidmine，andIdonotbelievethreeorfourdayseverpasswithoutmystillthinkingofhim，buthisdeathateighty—
fourcausedmenothingofthatinsufferablegrief（ImayquotehereapassagefromaletterofNovember，1863。Itwaswrittentoafriendwhohadlosthischild:"HowwellIrememberyourfeeling，whenwelostAnnie。
ItwasmygreatestcomfortthatIhadneverspokenaharshwordtoher。
Yourgriefhasmademeshedafewtearsoverourpoordarling;butbelievemethatthesetearshavelostthatunutterablebitternessofformerdays。"）
whichthelossofourpoordearAnniecaused。Andthisseemstomeperfectlynatural，foroneknowsforyearspreviouslythatone’sfather’sdeathisdrawingslowlynearerandnearer，whilethedeathofone’schildisasuddenanddreadfulwrench。Whatawonderfuldealyouread;itisahorridevilformethatIcanreadhardlyanything，foritmakesmyheadalmostimmediatelybegintosingviolently。Mygoodwomenkindreadtomeagreatdeal，butIdarenotaskformuchscience，andamnotsurethatI
couldstandit。IenjoyedTylor（’ResearchesintotheEarlyHistoryofMankind，’byE。B。Tylor。1865。）EXTREMELY，andthefirstpartofLecky’TheRiseofRationalisminEurope，’byW。E。H。Lecky。1865。）;butIthinkthelatterisoftenvague，andgivesafalseappearanceofthrowinglightonhissubjectbysuchphrasesas"spiritoftheage，""spreadofcivilization，"etc。IconfinemyreadingtoaquarterorhalfhourperdayinskimmingthroughthebackvolumesoftheAnnalsandMagazineofNaturalHistory，andfindmuchthatinterestsme。Imissmyclimbingplantsverymuch，asIcouldobservethemwhenverypoorly。
Ididnotenjoythe’MillontheFloss’somuchasyou，butfromwhatyousaywewillreaditagain。Doyouknow’SilasMarner’？itisacharminglittlestory;ifyourunshort，andliketohaveit，wecouldsenditbypost……WehavealmostfinishedthefirstvolumeofPalgrave（WilliamGiffordPalgrave’s’TravelsinArabia，’publishedin1865。），andIlikeitmuch;butdidyoueverseeabooksobadlyarranged？Thefrequencyoftheallusionstowhatwillbetoldinthefuturearequitelaughable……Bytheway，Iwasverymuchpleasedwiththefoot—note（Thepassagewhichseemstobereferredtooccursinthetext（page479）of’PrehistoricTimes。’ItexpressesadmirationofMr。Wallace’spaperinthe’AnthropologicalReview’
（May，1864），andspeaksoftheauthor’s"characteristicunselfishness"inascribingthetheoryofNaturalSelection"unreservedlytoMr。Darwin。"
aboutWallaceinLubbock’slastchapter。IhadnotheardthatHuxleyhadbackedupLubbockaboutParliament……Didyouseeasneersometimeagointhe"Times"abouthowincomparablymoreinterestingpoliticswerecomparedwithscienceeventoscientificmen？RememberwhatTrollopesays，in’CanyouForgiveher，’aboutgettingintoParliament，asthehighestearthlyambition。Jeffrey，inoneofhisletters，Iremember，saysthatmakinganeffectivespeechinParliamentisafargranderthingthanwritingthegrandesthistory。Allthisseemstomeapoorshort—sightedview。I
cannottellyouhowithasrejoicedmeonceagainseeingyourhandwriting——
mybestofoldfriends。
Yoursaffectionately，CH。DARWIN。
[InOctoberhewroteSirJ。D。Hooker:——
"Talkingofthe’Origin，’aYankeehascalledmyattentiontoapaperattachedtoDr。Wells’sfamous’EssayonDew，’whichwasreadin1813totheRoyalSociety，butnot[then]printed，inwhichheappliesmostdistinctlytheprincipleofNaturalSelectiontotheRacesofMan。SopooroldPatrickMatthewisnotthefirst，andhecannot，oroughtnot，anylongertoputonhistitle—pages，’DiscovereroftheprincipleofNaturalSelection’！"]
CHARLESDARWINTOF。W。FARRAR。（CanonofWestminster。）
Down，November2[1865？]。
DearSir，AsIhaveneverstudiedthescienceoflanguage，itmayperhapsseempresumptuous，butIcannotresistthepleasureoftellingyouwhatinterestandpleasureIhavederivedfromhearingreadaloudyourvolume（’ChaptersonLanguage，’1865。）
IformerlyreadMaxMuller，andthoughthistheory（ifitdeservestobecalledso）bothobscureandweak;andnow，afterhearingwhatyousay，I
feelsurethatthisisthecase，andthatyourcausewillultimatelytriumph。MyindirectinterestinyourbookhasbeenincreasedfromMr。
HensleighWedgwood，whomyouoftenquote，beingmybrother—in—law。
Noonecoulddissentfrommyviewsonthemodificationofspecieswithmorecourtesythanyoudo。ButfromthetenorofyourmindIfeelanentireandcomfortableconviction（andwhichcannotpossiblybedisturbed）thatifyourstudiesledyoutoattendmuchtogeneralquestionsinnaturalhistoryyouwouldcometothesameconclusionthatIhavedone。
HaveyoueverreadHuxley’slittlebookofLectures？Iwouldgladlysendacopyifyouthinkyouwouldreadit。
ConsideringwhatGeologyteachesus，theargumentfromthesupposedimmutabilityofspecifictypesseemstomemuchthesameasif，inanationwhichhadnooldwritings，somewiseoldsavagewastosaythathislanguagehadneverchanged;butmymetaphoristoolongtofillup。
Praybelieveme，dearSir，yoursverysincerelyobliged，C。DARWIN。
1866。
[Theyear1866isgiveninmyfather’sDiaryinthefollowingwords:——
"Continuedcorrectingchaptersof’DomesticAnimals。’
March1st。——Beganon4theditionof’Origin’of1250copies（receivedforit238pounds），making7500copiesaltogether。
May10th。——Finished’Origin，’exceptrevises，andbegangoingoverChapterXIII。of’DomesticAnimals。’
November21st。——Finished’Pangenesis。’
December21st。——Finishedre—goingoverallchapters，andsentthemtoprinters。
December22nd。——Beganconcludingchapterofbook。"
HewasinLondonontwooccasionsforaweekatatime，stayingwithhisbrother，andforafewdays（May29th—June2nd）inSurrey;fortherestoftheyearhewasatDown。
Thereseemstohavebeenagradualmendinginhishealth;thushewrotetoMr。Wallace（January1866）:——"MyhealthissofarimprovedthatIamabletoworkoneortwohoursaday。"
Withrespecttothe4theditionhewrotetoSirJ。D。Hooker:——
"Theneweditionofthe’Origin’hascausedmetwogreatvexations。I
forgotBates’spaperonvariation（Thisappearstoreferto"NotesonSouthAmericanButterflies，"Trans。Entomolog。Soc。，vol。v。（N。S。）。），butI
rememberedintimehismimeticwork，andnow，strangetosay，IfindIhaveforgottenyourArcticpaper！Iknowhowitarose;Iindexedformybiggerwork，andneverexpectedthataneweditionofthe’Origin’wouldbewanted。
"Icannotsayhowallthishasvexedme。EverythingwhichIhavereadduringthelastfouryearsIfindisquitewashyinmymind。"AsfarasI
know，Mr。Bates’spaperwasnotmentionedinthelatereditionsofthe’Origin，’forwhatreasonIcannotsay。
Inconnectionwithhisworkon’TheVariationofAnimalsandPlants，’I
givehereextractsfromthreelettersaddressedtoMr。Huxley，whichareofinterestasgivingsomeideaofthedevelopmentofthetheoryof’Pangenesis，’ultimatelypublishedin1868inthebookinquestion:]
CHARLESDARWINTOT。H。HUXLEY。
Down，May27，[1865？]……Iwritenowtoaskafavourofyou，averygreatfavourfromonesohardworkedasyouare。ItistoreadthirtypagesofMS。，excellentlycopiedoutandgiveme，notlengthenedcriticism，butyouropinionwhetherImayventuretopublishit。YoumaykeeptheMS。foramonthortwo。Iwouldnotaskthisfavour，butIREALLYknownooneelsewhosejudgmentonthesubjectwouldbefinalwithme。
Thecasestandsthus:inmynextbookIshallpublishlongchaptersonbud—andseminal—variation，oninheritance，reversion，effectsofuseanddisuse，etc。Ihavealsoformanyyearsspeculatedonthedifferentformsofreproduction。Henceithascometobeapassionwithmetotrytoconnectallsuchfactsbysomesortofhypothesis。TheMS。whichIwishtosendyougivessuchahypothesis;itisaveryrashandcrudehypothesis，yetithasbeenaconsiderablerelieftomymind，andIcanhangonitagoodmanygroupsoffacts。Iwellknowthatamerehypothesis，andthisisnothingmore，isoflittlevalue;butitisveryusefultomeasservingasakindofsummaryforcertainchapters。NowIearnestlywishforyourverdictgivenbrieflyas，"Burnit"——or，whichisthemostfavourableverdictIcanhopefor，"Itdoesrudelyconnecttogethercertainfacts，andIdonotthinkitwillimmediatelypassoutofmymind。"Ifyoucansaythismuch，andyoudonotthinkitabsolutelyridiculous，Ishallpublishitinmyconcludingchapter。Nowwillyougrantmethisfavour？Youmustrefuseifyouaretoomuchoverworked。
ImustsayformyselfthatIamaherotoexposemyhypothesistothefieryordealofyourcriticism。
July12，[1865？]。
MydearHuxley，IthankyoumostsincerelyforhavingsocarefullyconsideredmyMS。Ithasbeenarealactofkindness。Itwouldhaveannoyedmeextremelytohavere—publishedBuffon’sviews，whichIdidnotknowof，butIwillgetthebook;andifIhavestrengthIwillalsoreadBonnet。Idonotdoubtyourjudgmentisperfectlyjust，andIwilltrytopersuademyselfnottopublish。Thewholeaffairismuchtoospeculative;yetIthinksomesuchviewwillhavetobeadopted，whenIcalltomindsuchfactsastheinheritedeffectsofuseanddisuse，etc。ButIwilltrytobecautious……
[1865？]。
MydearHuxley，Forgivemywritinginpencil，asIcandosolyingdown。IhavereadBuffon:wholepagesarelaughablylikemine。Itissurprisinghowcandiditmakesonetoseeone’sviewsinanotherman’swords。Iamratherashamedofthewholeaffair，butnotconvertedtoano—belief。Whatakindnessyouhavedonemewithyour"vulpinesharpness。"Nevertheless，thereisafundamentaldistinctionbetweenBuffon’sviewsandmine。Hedoesnotsupposethateachcelloratomoftissuethrowsoffalittlebud;
buthesupposesthatthesaporbloodincludeshis"organicmolecules，"
WHICHAREREADYFORMED，fittonourisheachorgan，andwhenthisisfullyformed，theycollecttoformbudsandthesexualelements。ItisallrubbishtospeculateasIhavedone;yet，ifIeverhavestrengthtopublishmynextbook，IfearIshallnotresist"Pangenesis，"butIassureyouIwillputithumblyenough。Theordinarycourseofdevelopmentofbeings，suchastheEchinodermata，inwhichneworgansareformedatquiteremotespotsfromtheanalogouspreviousparts，seemtomeextremelydifficulttoreconcileonanyviewexceptthefreediffusionintheparentofthegermsorgemmulesofeachseparateneworgan;andsoincasesofalternategeneration。ButIwillnotscribbleanymore。Heartythankstoyou，youbestofcriticsandmostlearnedman……
[Thelettersnowtakeupthehistoryoftheyear1866。]
CHARLESDARWINTOA。R。WALLACE。
Down，July5[1866]。
MydearWallace，Ihavebeenmuchinterestedbyyourletter，whichisasclearasdaylight。
IfullyagreewithallthatyousayontheadvantagesofH。Spencer’sexcellentexpressionof"thesurvivalofthefittest。"（ExtractfromaletterofMr。Wallace’s，July2，1866:"Theterm’survivalofthefittest’