Icannotconceiveanyexistingreptilebeingconvertedintoamammal。FromhomologiesIshouldlookatitascertainthatallmammalshaddescendedfromsomesingleprogenitor。Whatitsnaturewas，itisimpossibletospeculate。Morelike，probably，theOrnithorhynchusorEchidnathananyknownform;astheseanimalscombinereptiliancharacters（andinalessdegreebirdcharacter）withmammalian。Wemustimaginesomeformasintermediate，asisLepidosirennow，betweenreptilesandfish，betweenmammalsandbirdsontheonehand（fortheyretainlongerthesameembryologicalcharacter）andreptilesontheotherhand。Withrespecttoamammalnotbeingdevelopedonanyisland，besideswantoftimeforsoprodigiousadevelopment，theremusthavearrivedontheislandthenecessaryandpeculiarprogenitor，havingacharacterliketheembryoofamammal;andnotanALREADYDEVELOPEDreptile，birdorfish。
Wemightgivetoabirdthehabitsofamammal，butinheritancewouldretainalmostforeternitysomeofthebird—likestructure，andpreventanewcreaturerankingasatruemammal。
Ihaveoftenspeculatedonantiquityofislands，butnotwithyourprecision，oratallunderthepointofviewofNaturalSelectionNOT
havingdonewhatmighthavebeenanticipated。TheargumentoflittoralMioceneshellsattheCanaryIslandsisnewtome。Iwasdeeplyimpressed（fromtheamountofthedenudation）[withthe]antiquityofSt。Helena，anditsageagreeswiththepeculiarityoftheflora。WithrespecttobatsatNewZealand（N。B。TherearetwoorthreeEuropeanbatsinMadeira，andI
thinkintheCanaryIslands）nothavinggivenrisetoagroupofnon—volantbats，itis，nowyouputthecase，surprising;moreespeciallyasthegenusofbatsinNewZealandisverypeculiar，andthereforehasprobablybeenlongintroduced，andtheynowspeakofCretaceanfossilsthere。Butthefirstnecessarystephastobeshown，namely，ofabattakingtofeedontheground，oranyhow，andanywhere，exceptintheair。IamboundtoconfessIdoknowonesinglesuchfact，viz。ofanIndianspecieskillingfrogs。Observe，thatinmywretchedPolarBearcase，Idoshowthefirststepbywhichconversionintoawhale"wouldbeeasy，""wouldoffernodifficulty"！！Sowithseals，Iknowofnofactshowinganytheleastincipientvariationofsealsfeedingontheshore。Moreover，sealswandermuch;Isearchedinvain，andcouldnotfindONEcaseofanyspeciesofsealconfinedtoanyislands。Andhencewandererswouldbeapttocrosswithindividualsundergoinganychangeonanisland，asinthecaseoflandbirdsofMadeiraandBermuda。Thesameremarkapplieseventobats，astheyfrequentlycometoBermudafromthemainland，thoughabout600milesdistant。WithrespecttotheAmblyrhynchusoftheGalapagos，onemayinferasprobable，frommarinehabitsbeingsorarewithSaurians，andfromtheterrestrialspeciesbeingconfinedtoafewcentralislets，thatitsprogenitorfirstarrivedattheGalapagos;fromwhatcountryitisimpossibletosay，asitsaffinityIbelieveisnotverycleartoanyknownspecies。Theoffspringoftheterrestrialspecieswasprobablyrenderedmarine。NowinthiscaseIdonotpretendIcanshowvariationinhabits;
butwehaveintheterrestrialspeciesavegetablefeeder（initselfaratherunusualcircumstance），largelyonLICHENS，anditwouldnotbeagreatchangeforitsoffspringtofeedfirstonlittoralalgaeandthenonsubmarinealgae。IhavesaidwhatIcanindefence，butyoursisagoodlineofattack。Weshould，however，alwaysrememberthatnochangewilleverbeeffectedtillavariationinthehabitsorstructureorofbothCHANCEtooccurintherightdirection，soastogivetheorganisminquestionanadvantageoverotheralreadyestablishedoccupantsoflandorwater，andthismaybeinanyparticularcaseindefinitelylong。IamverygladyouwillreadmydogsMS。，foritwillbeimportanttometoseewhatyouthinkofthebalanceofevidence。Afterlongponderingonasubjectitisoftenhardtojudge。Withheartythanksforyourmostinterestingletter。Farewell。
Mydearoldmaster，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，September2nd[1860]。
MydearHooker，Iamastoundedatyournewsreceivedthismorning。IambecomesuchanoldfogythatIamamazedatyourspirit。ForGod’ssakedonotgoandgetyourthroatcut。Blessmysoul，Ithinkyoumustbealittleinsane。I
mustconfessitwillbeamostinterestingtour;and，ifyougettothetopofLebanon，Isupposeextremelyinteresting——yououghttocollectanybeetlesunderstonesthere;buttheEntomologistsaresuchslowcoaches。I
daresaynoresultcouldbemadeoutofthem。[They]haveneverworkedtheAlpinesofBritain。
IfyoucomeacrossanyBrinelakes，doattendtotheirminutefloraandfauna;Ihaveoftenbeensurprisedhowlittlethishasbeenattendedto。
IhavehadalongletterfromLyell，whostartsingeniousdifficultiesopposedtoNaturalSelection，becauseithasnotdonemorethanithas。
Thisisverygood，asitshowsthathehasthoroughlymasteredthesubject;
andshowsheisinearnest。Verystrikingletteraltogetheranditrejoicesthecocklesofmyheart……HowIshallmissyou，mybestandkindestoffriends。Godblessyou。
Yourseveraffectionately，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOASAGRAY。
Down，September10[1860]……Youwillbewearyofmypraise，butit（Dr。Grayinthe’AtlanticMonthly’forJuly，1860。）doesstrikemeasquiteadmirablyargued，andsowellandpleasantlywritten。Yourmanymetaphorsareinimitablygood。I
saidinaformerletterthatyouwerealawyer，butImadeagrossmistake，Iamsurethatyouareapoet。No，byJove，Iwilltellyouwhatyouare，ahybrid，acomplexcrossoflawyer，poet，naturalistandtheologian！Wasthereeversuchamonsterseenbefore？
IhavejustlookedthroughthepassageswhichIhavemarkedasappearingtomeextragood，butIseethattheyaretoonumeroustospecify，andthisisnoexaggeration。Myeyejustalightsonthehappycomparisonofthecoloursoftheprismandourartificialgroups。IseeonelittleerroroffossilCATTLEinSouthAmerica。
Itiscurioushoweachone，Isuppose，weighsargumentsinadifferentbalance:embryologyistomebyfarthestrongestsingleclassoffactsinfavourofchangeofforms，andnotone，Ithink，ofmyreviewershasalludedtothis。Variationnotcomingonataveryearlyage，andbeinginheritedatnotaveryearlycorrespondingperiod，explains，asitseemstome，thegrandestofallfactsinnaturalhistory，orratherinzoology，viz。theresemblanceofembryos。
[Dr。Graywrotethreearticlesinthe’AtlanticMonthly’forJuly，August，andOctober，whichwerereprintedasapamphletin1861，andnowformchapteriii。in’Darwiniana’（1876），withtheheading’NaturalSelectionnotinconsistentwithNaturalTheology。’]
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL
Down，September12th[1860]。
MydearLyell，Ineverthoughtofshowingyourlettertoanyone。ImentionedinalettertoHookerthatIhadbeenmuchinterestedbyaletterofyourswithoriginalobjections，foundedchieflyonNaturalSelectionnothavingdonesomuchasmighthavebeenexpected……Inyourletterjustreceived，youhaveimprovedyourcaseversusNaturalSelection;anditwouldtellwiththepublic（donotbetemptedbyitsnoveltytomakeittoostrong）;yetisseemstome，notREALLYverykilling，thoughIcannotansweryourcase，especially，whyRodentshavenotbecomehighlydevelopedinAustralia。YoumustassumethattheyhaveinhabitedAustraliaforaverylongperiod，andthismayormaynotbethecase。ButIfeelthatourignoranceissoprofound，whyoneformispreservedwithnearlythesamestructure，oradvancesinorganisationorevenretrogrades，orbecomesextinct，thatI
cannotputverygreatweightonthedifficulty。Then，asyousayofteninyourletter，weknownothowmanygeologicalagesitmayhavetakentomakeanygreatadvanceinorganisation。RemembermonkeysintheEoceneformations:butIadmitthatyouhavemadeoutanexcellentobjectionanddifficulty，andIcangiveonlyunsatisfactoryandquitevagueanswers，suchasyouhaveyourselfput;however，youhardlyputweightenoughontheabsolutenecessityofvariationsfirstarisingintherightdirection，videlicet，ofsealsbeginningtofeedontheshore。
Ientirelyagreewithwhatyousayaboutonlyonespeciesofmanybecomingmodified。Irememberthisstruckmemuchwhentabulatingthevarietiesofplants，andIhaveadiscussionsomewhereonthispoint。Itisabsolutelyimpliedinmyideasofclassificationanddivergencethatonlyoneortwospecies，ofevenlargegenera，givebirthtonewspecies;andmanywholegenerabecomeWHOLLYextinct……Pleaseseepage341ofthe’Origin。’ButI
cannotrememberthatIhavestatedinthe’Origin’thefactofonlyveryfewspeciesineachgenusvarying。Youhaveputtheviewmuchbetterinyourletter。Insteadofsaying，asIoftenhave，thatveryfewspeciesvaryatthesametime，Ioughttohavesaid，thatveryfewspeciesofagenusEVERvarysoastobecomemodified;forthisisthefundamentalexplanationofclassification，andisshowninmyengraveddiagram……
IquiteagreewithyouonthestrangeandinexplicablefactofOrnithorhynchushavingbeenpreserved，andAustralianTrigonia，ortheSilurianLingula。Ialwaysrepeattomyselfthatwehardlyknowwhyanyonesinglespeciesisrareorcommoninthebest—knowncountries。Ihavegotasetofnotessomewhereontheinhabitantsoffreshwater;anditissingularhowmanyoftheseareancient，orintermediateforms;whichI
thinkisexplainedbythecompetitionhavingbeenlesssevere，andtherateofchangeoforganicformshavingbeenslowerinsmallconfinedareas，suchasallthefreshwatersmakecomparedwithseaorland。
Iseethatyoudoalludeinthelastpage，asadifficulty，toMarsupialsnothavingbecomePlacentalsinAustralia;butthisIthinkyouhavenorightatalltoexpect;forweoughttolookatMarsupialsandPlacentalsashavingdescendedfromsomeintermediateandlowerform。TheargumentofRodentsnothavingbecomehighlydevelopedinAustralia（supposingthattheyhavelongexistedthere）ismuchstronger。Igrievetoseeyouhintatthecreation"ofdistinctsuccessivetypes，aswellasofacertainnumberofdistinctaboriginaltypes。"Remember，ifyouadmitthis，yougiveuptheembryologicalargument（THEWEIGHTIESTOFALLTOME），andthemorphologicalorhomologicalargument。Youcutmythroat，andyourownthroat;andIbelievewilllivetobesorryforit。Somuchforspecies。
ThestrikingextractwhichE。copiedwasyourownwriting！！inanotetome，manylongyearsago——whichshecopiedandsenttoMme。Sismondi;andlatelymyaunt，insortingherletters，foundE。’sandreturnedthemtoher……Ihavebeenoflateshamefullyidle，i。e。observing（Drosera）insteadofwriting，andhowmuchbetterfunobservingisthanwriting。
Yoursaffectionately，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
15MarineParade，Eastbourne，Sunday[September23rd，1860]。
MydearLyell，Igotyourletterofthe18thjustbeforestartinghere。Youspeakofsavingmetroubleinanswering。Neverthinkofthis，forIlookateveryletterofyoursasanhonourandpleasure，whichisaprettydealmorethanIcansayofsomeoftheletterswhichIreceive。Ihavenowoneof13
CLOSELYWRITTENFOLIOPAGEStoansweronspecies！……
IhaveaverydecidedopinionthatallmammalsmusthavedescendedfromaSINGLEparent。Reflectonthemultitudeofdetails，verymanyofthemofextremelylittleimportancetotheirhabits（asthenumberofbonesofthehead，etc。，coveringofhair，identicalembryologicaldevelopment，etc。
etc。）。NowthislargeamountofsimilarityImustlookatascertainlyduetoinheritancefromacommonstock。Iamawarethatsomecasesoccurinwhichasimilarornearlysimilarorganhasbeenacquiredbyindependentactsofnaturalselection。Butinmostofsuchcasesoftheseapparentlysocloselysimilarorgans，someimportanthomologicaldifferencemaybedetected。Pleasereadpage193，beginning，"Theelectricorgans，"andtrustmethatthesentence，"Inallthesecasesoftwoverydistinctspecies，"etc。etc。，wasnotputinrashly，forIwentcarefullyintoeverycase。Applythisargumenttothewholeframe，internalandexternal，ofmammifers，andyouwillseewhyIthinksostronglythatallhavedescendedfromoneprogenitor。Ihavejustre—readyourletter，andIamnotperfectlysurethatIunderstandyourpoint。
IenclosetwodiagramsshowingthesortofmannerICONJECTUREthatmammalshavebeendeveloped。Ithoughtalittleonthiswhenwritingpage429，beginning，"Mr。Waterhouse。"（Pleasereadtheparagraph。）Ihavenotknowledgeenoughtochoosebetweenthesetwodiagrams。IfthebrainofMarsupialsinembryocloselyresemblesthatofPlacentals，IshouldstronglypreferNo。2，andthisagreeswiththeantiquityofMicrolestes。
AsageneralruleIshouldpreferNo。1diagram;whetherornotMarsupialshavegoneonbeingdeveloped，orrisinginrank，fromaveryearlyperiodwoulddependoncircumstancestoocomplexforevenaconjecture。LingulahasnotrisensincetheSilurianepoch，whereasothermolluscsmayhaverisen。
Hereappeartwodiagrams。
DiagramI。
A
—
Mammals，nottrueMarsupialsnortruePlacentals。
—
2branches—
BranchI，TruePlacental，fromwhichbranchoffRodents，Insectivora，abranchterminatinginRuminantsandPachyderms，CanidaeandterminatesinQuadrumana。
—
BranchII，TrueMarsupial，fromwhichbranchesoffKangaroofamilyanunnamedbranchterminatingin2unnamedbranchesandterminatesinDidelphysFamily。
DiagramII。
A
—
TrueMarsupials，lowlydeveloped。
—
TrueMarsupials，highlydeveloped。
—
2branches—
BranchI，Placentals，fromwhichbranchoffRodents，Insectivora，abranchterminatinginRuminantsandPachyderms，CanidaeandterminatesinQuadrumana。
—
BranchII，PresentMarsupials，splittingintotwobranchesterminatinginKangaroofamily（with2unnamedbranches）andDidelphysfamily。
A，inthetwodiagrams，representsanunknownform，probablyintermediatebetweenMammals，Reptiles，andBirds，asintermediateasLepidosirennowisbetweenFishandBatrachians。ThisunknownformisprobablymorecloselyrelatedtoOrnithorhynchusthantoanyotherknownform。
Idonotthinkthatthemultipleoriginofdogsgoesagainstthesingleoriginofman……Alltheracesofmanaresoinfinitelyclosertogetherthantoanyape，that（asinthecaseofdescentofallmammalsfromoneprogenitor），Ishouldlookatallracesofmenashavingcertainlydescendedfromoneparent。Ishouldlookatitasprobablethattheracesofmenwerelessnumerousandlessdivergentformerlythannow，unless，indeed，somelowerandmoreaberrantraceeventhantheHottentothasbecomeextinct。Supposing，asIdoforonebelieve，thatourdogshavedescendedfromtwoorthreewolves，jackals，etc。，yetthesehave，onOUR
VIEW，descendedfromasingleremoteunknownprogenitor。Withdomesticdogsthequestionissimplywhetherthewholeamountofdifferencehasbeenproducedsincemandomesticatedasinglespecies;orwhetherpartofthedifferencearisesinthestateofnature。AgassizandCo。thinkthenegroandCaucasianarenowdistinctspecies，anditisamerevaindiscussionwhether，whentheywereratherlessdistinct，theywould，onthisstandardofspecificvalue，deservetobecalledspecies。
Iagreewithyouranswerwhichyougivetoyourselfonthispoint;andthesimileofmannowkeepingdownanynewmanwhichmightbedeveloped，strikesmeasgoodandnew。Thewhitemanis"improvingoffthefaceoftheearth"evenracesnearlyhisequals。Withrespecttoislands，IthinkIwouldtrusttowantoftimealone，andnottobatsandRodents。
N。B。——Iknowofnorodentsonoceanicislands（exceptmyGalapagosmouse，whichMAYhavebeenintroducedbyman）keepingdownthedevelopmentofotherclasses。StillMUCHmoreweightIshouldattributetotherebeingnow，neitherinislandsnorelsewhere，[any]knownanimalsofagradeoforganisationintermediatebetweenmammals，fish，reptiles，etc。，whenceanewmammalcouldbedeveloped。Ifeveryvertebrateweredestroyedthroughouttheworld，exceptourNOWWELL—ESTABLISHEDreptiles，millionsofagesmightelapsebeforereptilescouldbecomehighlydevelopedonascaleequaltomammals;and，ontheprincipleofinheritance，theywouldmakesomequiteNEWCLASS，andnotmammals;thoughPOSSIBLYmoreintellectual！
Ihavenotanideathatyouwillcareforthisletter，sospeculative。
Mosttrulyyours，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOASAGRAY。
Down，September26[1860]……IhavehadaletteroffourteenfoliopagesfromHarveyagainstmybook，withsomeingeniousandnewremarks;butitisanextraordinaryfactthathedoesnotunderstandatallwhatImeanbyNaturalSelection。IhavebeggedhimtoreadtheDialogueinnext’Silliman，’asyounevertouchthesubjectwithoutmakingitclearer。Ilookatitasevenmoreextraordinarythatyouneversayawordoruseanepithetwhichdoesnotexpressfullymymeaning。NowLyell，Hooker，andothers，whoperfectlyunderstandmybook，yetsometimesuseexpressionstowhichIdemur。Well，yourextraordinarylabourisover;ifthereisanyfairamountoftruthinmyview，Iamwellassuredthatyourgreatlabourhasnotbeenthrownaway……
Iyethopeandalmostbelieve，thatthetimewillcomewhenyouwillgofurther，inbelievingaverylargeamountofmodificationofspecies，thanyoudidatfirstordonow。Canyoutellmewhetheryoubelievefurtherormorefirmlythanyoudidatfirst？Ishouldreallyliketoknowthis。I
canperceiveinmyimmensecorrespondencewithLyell，whoobjectedtomuchatfirst，thathehas，perhapsunconsciousnesslytohimself，convertedhimselfverymuchduringthelastsixmonths，andIthinkthisisthecaseevenwithHooker。Thisfactgivesmefarmoreconfidencethananyotherfact。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
15MarineParade，Eastbourne，Fridayevening[September28th，1860]……IamverygladtohearabouttheGermansreadingmybook。Noonewillbeconvertedwhohasnotindependentlybeguntodoubtaboutspecies。IsnotKrohn（TherearetwopapersbyAug。Krohn，oneontheCementGlands，andtheotheronthedevelopmentofCirripedes，’Wiegmann’sArchiv，’xxv。
andxxvi。Myfatherhasremarkedthathe"blundereddreadfullyaboutthecementglands，"’Autobiography。’）agoodfellow？Ihavelongmeanttowritetohim。HehasbeenworkingatCirripedes，andhasdetectedtwoorthreegiganticblunders，……aboutwhich，IthankHeaven，Ispokeratherdoubtfully。SuchdifficultdissectionthatevenHuxleyfailed。ItischieflytheinterpretationwhichIputonpartsthatissowrong，andnotthepartswhichIdescribe。Buttheyweregiganticblunders，andwhyIsayallthisisbecauseKrohn，insteadofcrowingatall，pointedoutmyerrorswiththeutmostgentlenessandpleasantness。Ihavealwaysmeanttowritetohimandthankhim。IsupposeDr。Krohn，Bonn，wouldreachhim。
Icannotseeyethowthemultipleoriginofdogcanbeproperlybroughtasargumentforthemultipleoriginofman。Isnotyourfeelingaremnantofthedeeplyimpressedoneonallourminds，thataspeciesisanentity，somethingquitedistinctfromavariety？Isitnotthatthedogcaseinjurestheargumentfromfertility，sothatonemainargumentthattheracesofmanarevarietiesandnotspecies——i。e。，becausetheyarefertileinterse，ismuchweakened？
IquiteagreewithwhatHookersays，thatwhatevervariationispossibleunderculture，isPOSSIBLEundernature;notthatthesameformwouldeverbeaccumulatedandarrivedatbyselectionforman’spleasure，andbynaturalselectionfortheorganism’sowngood。
Talkingof"naturalselection;"ifIhadtocommencedenovo，Iwouldhaveused"naturalpreservation。"ForIfindmenlikeHarveyofDublincannotunderstandme，thoughhehasreadthebooktwice。Dr。GrayoftheBritishMuseumremarkedtomethat，"SELECTIONwasobviouslyimpossiblewithplants！Noonecouldtellhimhowitcouldbepossible！"Andhemaynowaddthattheauthordidnotattemptittohim！
Yourseveraffectionately，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
15MarineParade，Eastbourne，October8th[1860]。
MydearLyell，Isendthe[English]translationofBronn（AMS。translationofBronn’schapterofobjectionsattheendofhisGermantranslationofthe’OriginofSpecies。’），thefirstpartofthechapterwithgeneralitiesandpraiseisnottranslated。Therearesomegoodhits。Hemakesanapparently，andinparttruly，tellingcaseagainstme，saysthatIcannotexplainwhyonerathasalongertailandanotherlongerears，etc。Butheseemstomuddleinassumingthatthesepartsdidnotallvarytogether，oronepartsoinsensiblybeforetheother，astobeinfactcontemporaneous。Imightaskthecreationistwhetherhethinksthesedifferencesinthetworatsofanyuse，orasstandinginsomerelationfromlawsofgrowth;andifheadmitsthis，selectionmightcomeintoplay。HewhothinksthatGodcreatedanimalsunlikeformeresportorvariety，asmanfashionshisclothes，willnotadmitanyforceinmyargumentumadhominem。
BronnblundersaboutmysupposingseveralGlacialperiods，whetherornosucheverdidoccur。
Heblundersaboutmysupposingthatdevelopmentgoesonatthesamerateinallpartsoftheworld。Ipresumethathehasmisunderstoodthisfromthesupposedmigrationintoallregionsofthemoredominantforms。
IhaveorderedDr。Bree（’SpeciesnotTransmutable，’byC。R。Bree，1860。），andwilllendittoyou，ifyoulike，andifitturnsoutgood……IamverygladthatImisunderstoodyouaboutspeciesnothavingthecapacitytovary，thoughinfactfewdogivebirthtonewspecies。ItseemsthatIamveryapttomisunderstandyou;IsupposeIamalwaysfancyingobjections。YourcaseoftheRedIndianshowsmethatweagreeentirely……
IhadaletteryesterdayfromThwaitesofCeylon，whowasmuchopposedtome。Henowsays，"IfindthatthemorefamiliarIbecomewithyourviewsinconnectionwiththevariousphenomenaofnature，themoretheycommendthemselvestomymind。"
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。M。RODWELL。（Rev。J。M。Rodwell，whowasatCambridgewithmyfather，remembershimsaying:——"Itstrikesmethatallourknowledgeaboutthestructureofourearthisverymuchlikewhatanoldhenwouldknowofahundredacrefield，inacornerofwhichsheisscratching。"）
15MarineParade，Eastbourne。
November5th[1860]。
MydearSir，Iamextremelymuchobligedforyourletter，whichIcancompareonlytoaplum—pudding，sofullitisofgoodthings。Ihavebeenrashaboutthecats（"Catswithblueeyesareinvariablydeaf，"’OriginofSpecies，’
editioni。page12。）:yetIspokeonwhatseemedtome，goodauthority。
TheRev。W。D。Foxgavemealistofcasesofvariousforeignbreedsinwhichhehadobservedthecorrelation，andforyearshehadvainlysoughtanexception。AFrenchpaperalsogivesnumerouscases，andoneverycuriouscaseofakittenwhichGRADUALLYlostthebluecolourinitseyesandasgraduallyacquireditspowerofhearing。Ihadnotheardofyouruncle，Mr。Kirby’scase（WilliamKirby，jointauthorwithSpence，ofthewell—known’IntroductiontoEntomology，’1818。）（whomI，foraslongasI
canremember，havevenerated）ofcareinbreedingcats。IdonotknowwhetherMr。Kirbywasyourunclebymarriage，butyourlettersshowmethatyououghttohaveKirbybloodinyourveins，andthatifyouhadnottakentolanguagesyouwouldhavebeenafirst—ratenaturalist。
Isincerelyhopethatyouwillbeabletocarryoutyourintentionofwritingonthe"Birth，Life，andDeathofWords。"Anyhow，youhaveacapitaltitle，andsomethinkthisthemostdifficultpartofabook。I
rememberyearsagoattheCapeofGoodHope，SirJ。Herschelsayingtome，IwishsomeonewouldtreatlanguageasLyellhastreatedgeology。WhatalinguistyoumustbetotranslatetheKoran！Havingavilelybadheadforlanguages，Ifeelanawfulrespectforlinguists。
Idonotknowwhethermybrother—in—law，HensleighWedgwood’s’EtymologicalDictionary’wouldbeatallinyourline;buthetreatsbrieflyonthegenesisofwords;and，asitseemstome，veryingeniously。Youkindlysaythatyouwouldcommunicateanyfactswhichmightoccurtoyou，andIamsurethatIshouldbemostgrateful。OfthemultitudeofletterswhichI
receive，notoneinathousandislikeyoursinvalue。
Withmycordialthanks，andapologiesforthisuntidyletterwritteninhaste，praybelieveme，mydearSir，Yourssincerelyobliged，CH。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
November20th[1860]……IhavenothadhearttoreadPhillips（’LifeontheEarth。’）yet，oratremendouslonghostilereviewbyProfessorBoweninthe4toMem。oftheAmericanAcademyofSciences。（"RemarksonthelatestformoftheDevelopmentTheory。"ByFrancisBowen，ProfessorofNaturalReligionandMoralPhilosophy，atHarvardUniversity。’AmericanAcademyofArtsandSciences，’vol。viii。）（Bytheway，IhearAgassizisgoingtothunderagainstmeinthenextpartofthe’Contributions。’）Thankyoufortellingmeofthesaleofthe’Origin，’ofwhichIhadnotheard。Therewillbesometime，Ipresume，anewedition，andIespeciallywantyouradviceononepoint，andyouknowIthinkyouthewisestofmen，andIshallbeABSOLUTELYGUIDEDBYYOURADVICE。Ithasoccurredtome，thatitwouldPERHAPSbeagoodplantoputasetofnotes（sometwentytofortyorfifty）tothe’Origin，’whichnowhasnone，exclusivelydevotedtoerrorsofmyreviewers。Ithasoccurredtomethatwhereareviewerhaserred，acommonreadermighterr。Secondly，itwillshowthereaderthathemustnottrustimplicitlytoreviewers。Thirdly，whenanyspecialfacthasbeenattacked，Ishouldliketodefendit。Iwouldshownosortofanger。I
encloseamereroughspecimen，donewithoutanycareoraccuracy——donefrommemoryalone——tobetornup，justtoshowthesortofthingthathasoccurredtome。WILLYOUDOMETHEGREATKINDNESSTOCONSIDERTHISWELL？
Itseemstomeitwouldhaveagoodeffect，andgivesomeconfidencetothereader。Itwould[be]ahorridboregoingthroughallthereviews。
Yoursaffectionately，C。DARWIN。
[Herefollowsamplesoffoot—notes，thereferencestovolumeandpagebeingleftblank。Itwillbeseenthatinsomecasesheseemstohaveforgottenthathewaswritingfoot—notes，andtohavecontinuedasifwritingtoLyell:——
*Dr。BreeassertsthatIexplainthestructureofthecellsoftheHiveBeeby"theexplodeddoctrineofpressure。"ButIdonotsayonewordwhichdirectlyorindirectlycanbeinterpretedintoanyreferencetopressure。
*The’Edinburgh’Reviewerquotesmyworkassayingthatthe"dorsalvertebraeofpigeonsvaryinnumber，anddisputesthefact。"Inowhereevenalludetothedorsalvertebrae，onlytothesacralandcaudalvertebrae。
*The’Edinburgh’ReviewerthrowsadoubtontheseorgansbeingtheBranchiaeofCirripedes。ButProfessorOwenin1854admits，withouthesitation，thattheyareBranchiae，asdidJohnHunterlongago。
*TheconfoundedWealdenCalculationtobestruckout，andanotetobeinsertedtotheeffectthatIamconvincedofitsinaccuracyfromareviewinthe"SaturdayReview"，andfromPhillips，asIseeinhisTableofContentsthathealludestoit。
*Mr。Hopkins（’Fraser’）states——Iamquotingonlyfromvaguememory——that，"IargueinfavourofmyviewsfromtheextremeimperfectionoftheGeologicalRecord，"andsaysthisisthefirsttimeinthehistoryofSciencehehaseverheardofignorancebeingadducedasanargument。ButI
repeatedlyadmit，inthemostemphaticlanguagewhichIcanuse，thattheimperfectevidencewhichGeologyoffersinregardtotransitorialformsismoststronglyopposedtomyviews。Surelythereisawidedifferenceinfullyadmittinganobjection，andtheninendeavouringtoshowthatitisnotsostrongasitatfirstappears，andinMr。Hopkins’sassertionthatI
foundmyargumentontheObjection。
*Iwouldalsoputanoteto"NaturalSelection，"andshowhowvariouslyithasbeenmisunderstood。
*Awriterinthe’EdinburghPhilosophicalJournal’deniesmystatementthattheWoodpeckerofLaPlataneverfrequentstrees。Iobserveditshabitsduringtwoyears，but，whatismoretothepurpose，Azara，whoseaccuracyalladmit，ismoreemphaticthanIaminregardtoitsneverfrequentingtrees。Mr。A。Murraydeniesthatitoughttobecalledawoodpecker;ithastwotoesinfrontandtwobehind，pointedtailfeathers，alongpointedtongue，andthesamegeneralformofbody，thesamemannerofflight，colouringandvoice。Itwasclassed，untilrecently，inthesamegenus——
Picus——withallotherwoodpeckers，butnowhasbeenrankedasadistinctgenusamongstthePicidae。ItdiffersfromthetypicalPicusonlyinthebeak，notbeingquitesostrong，andintheuppermandiblebeingslightlyarched。Ithinkthesefactsfullyjustifymystatementthatitis"inallessentialpartsofitsorganisation"aWoodpecker。]
CHARLESDARWINTOT。H。HUXLEY。
Down，November22[1860]。
MydearHuxley，Forheaven’ssakedon’twriteananti—Darwinianarticle;youwoulddoitsoconfoundedlywell。IhavesometimesamusedmyselfwiththinkinghowI
couldbestpitchintomyself，andIbelieveIcouldgivetwoorthreegooddigs;butIwillseeyou——firstbeforeIwilltry。IshallbeveryimpatienttoseetheReview。（Thefirstnumberofthenewseriesofthe’Nat。Hist。Review’appearedin1861。）Ifitsucceedsitmayreallydomuch，verymuchgood……
Iheardto—dayfromMurraythatImustsettoworkatonceonanewedition（The3rdedition。）ofthe’Origin。’[Murray]saystheReviewshavenotimprovedthesale。Ishallalwaysthinkthoseearlyreviews，almostentirelyyours，didthesubjectanENORMOUSservice。Ifyouhaveanyimportantsuggestionsorcriticismstomakeonanypartofthe’Origin，’I
should，ofcourse，beverygratefulfor[them]。ForImeantocorrectasfarasIcan，butnotenlarge。Howyoumustbeweariedwithandhatethesubject，anditisGod’sblessingifyoudonotgettohateme。Adios。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down，November24th[1860]。
MydearLyell，Ithankyoumuchforyourletter。IhadgottotakepleasureinthinkinghowIcouldbestsnubmyreviewers;butIwasdetermined，inanycase，tofollowyouradvice，and，beforeIhadgottotheendofyourletter，Iwasconvincedofthewisdomofyouradvice。（"Igetonslowlywithmynewedition。IfindthatyouradvicewasEXCELLENT。Icananswerallreviews，withoutanydirectnoticeofthem，byalittleenlargementhereandthere，withhereandthereanewparagraph。BronnaloneIshalltreatwiththerespectofgivinghisobjectionswithhisname。IthinkIshallimprovemybookagooddeal，andaddonlysometwentypages。"——FromalettertoLyell，December4th，1860。）Whatanadvantageitistometohavesuchfriendsasyou。Ishallfolloweveryhintinyourletterexactly。