CHARLESDARWINTOALEXANDERBAIN。
Down，October9，1873。
MydearSir，Iamparticularlyobligedtoyouforhavingsendmeyouressay。Yourcriticismsareallwritteninaquitefairspirit，andindeednoonewhoknowsyouoryourworkswouldexpectanythingelse。WhatyousayaboutthevaguenessofwhatIhavecalledthedirectactionofthenervoussystem，isperfectlyjust。Ifeltitsoatthetime，andevenmoreoflate。I
confessthatIhaveneverbeenablefullytograspyourprincipleofspontaneity，aswellassomeotherofyourpoints，soastoapplythemtospecialcases。Butaswelookateverythingfromdifferentpointsofview，itisnotlikelythatweshouldagreeclosely。（ProfessorBainexpoundedhistheoryofSpontaneityintheessayherealludedto。Itwouldbeimpossibletodojusticetoitwithinthelimitsofafoot—note。Thefollowingquotationsmaygivesomenotionofit:——
"BySpontaneityIunderstandthereadinesstopassintomovementintheabsenceofallstimulationwhatever;theessentialrequisitebeingthatthenerve—centresandmusclesshallbefreshandvigorous……Thegesticulationsandthecarolsofyoungandactiveanimalsaremereoverflowofnervousenergy;andalthoughtheyareveryapttoconcurwithpleasingemotion，theyhaveanindependentsource……Theyarenotproperlymovementsofexpression;theyexpressnothingatallexceptanabundantstockofphysicalpower。"）
Ihavebeengreatlypleasedbywhatyousayaboutthecryingexpressionandaboutblushing。Didyoureadareviewinalate’Edinburgh？’（Thereviewonthe’ExpressionoftheEmotions’appearedintheAprilnumberofthe’EdinburghReview，’1873。Theopeningsentenceisafairsampleofthegeneraltoneofthearticle:"Mr。Darwinhasaddedanothervolumeofamusingstoriesandgrotesqueillustrationstotheremarkableseriesofworksalreadydevotedtotheexpositionanddefenceoftheevolutionaryhypothesis。"Afewotherquotationsmaybeworthgiving。"Hisone—sideddevotiontoanapriorischemeofinterpretationseemsthussteadilytendingtoimpairtheauthor’shithertounrivalledpowersasanobserver。
Howeverthismaybe，mostimpartialcriticswill，wethink，admitthatthereisamarkedfallingoffbothinphilosophicaltoneandscientificinterestintheworksproducedsinceMr。Darwincommittedhimselftothecrudemetaphysicalconceptionsolargelyassociatedwithhisname。"ThearticleisdirectedagainstEvolutionasawhole，almostasmuchasagainstthedoctrinesofthebookunderdiscussion。Wefindthroughoutplentyofthateffectivestyleofcriticismwhichconsistsintheuseofsuchexpressionsas"dogmatism，""intolerance，""presumptuous，""arrogant。"
Togetherwithaccusationsofsuchvariousfaultsa"virtualabandonmentoftheinductivemethod，"andtheuseofslangandvulgarisms。
Thepartofthearticlewhichseemstohaveinterestedmyfatheristhediscussionontheusewhichheoughttohavemadeofpaintingandsculpture。）Itwasmagnificentlycontemptuoustowardsmyselfandmanyothers。
Iretainaverypleasantrecollectionofoursojourntogetheratthatdelightfulplace，MoorPark。
Withmyrenewedthanks，Iremain，mydearSir，Yourssincerely，CH。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOMRS。HALIBURTON。（Mrs。Haliburtonwasadaughterofmyfather’soldfriend，Mr。OwenofWoodhouse。Herhusband，JudgeHaliburton，wasthewell—knownauthorof’SamSlick。’）
Down，November1[1872]。
MydearMrs。Haliburton，Idaresayyouwillbesurprisedtohearfromme。MyobjectinwritingnowistosaythatIhavejustpublishedabookonthe’ExpressionoftheEmotionsinManandAnimals;’andithasoccurredtomethatyoumightpossiblyliketoreadsomepartsofit;andIcanhardlythinkthatthiswouldhavebeenthecasewithanyofthebookswhichIhavealreadypublished。SoIsendbythispostmypresentbook。AlthoughIhavehadnocommunicationwithyouortheothermembersofyourfamilyforsolongatime，noscenesinmywholelifepasssofrequentlyorsovividlybeforemymindasthosewhichrelatetohappyolddaysspentatWoodhouse。Ishouldverymuchliketohearalittlenewsaboutyourselfandtheothermembersofyourfamily，ifyouwilltakethetroubletowritetome。FormerlyI
usedtogleansomenewsaboutyoufrommysisters。
Ihavehadmanyyearsofbadhealthandhavenotbeenabletovisitanywhere;andnowIfeelveryold。AslongasIpassaperfectlyuniformlife，IamabletodosomedailyworkinNaturalHistory，whichisstillmypassion，asitwasinolddays，whenyouusedtolaughatmeforcollectingbeetleswithsuchzealatWoodhouse。Exceptingfrommycontinuedill—
health，whichhasexcludedmefromsociety，mylifehasbeenaveryhappyone;thegreatestdrawbackbeingthatseveralofmychildrenhaveinheritedfrommefeeblehealth。Ihopewithallmyheartthatyouretain，atleasttoalargeextent，thefamous"Owenconstitution。"WithsincerefeelingsofgratitudeandaffectionforallbearingthenameofOwen，Iventuretosignmyself，Yoursaffectionately，CHARLESDARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOMRS。HALIBURTON。
Down，November6[1872]。
MydearSarah，Ihavebeenverymuchpleasedbyyourletter，whichImustcallcharming。
Ihardlyventuredtothinkthatyouwouldhaveretainedafriendlyrecollectionofmeforsomanyyears。YetIoughttohavefeltassuredthatyouwouldremainaswarm—heartedandastrue—heartedasyouhaveeverbeenfrommyearliestrecollection。Iknowwellhowmanygrievoussorrowsyouhavegonethrough;butIamverysorrytohearthatyourhealthisnotgood。Inthespringorsummer，whentheweatherisbetter，ifyoucansummonupcouragetopayusavisithere，bothmywife，asshedesiresmetosay，andmyself，wouldbetrulygladtoseeyou，andIknowthatyouwouldnotcareaboutbeingratherdullhere。Itwouldbearealpleasuretometoseeyou。——Thankyoumuchfortellingaboutyourfamily，——muchofwhichwasnewtome。Howkindyouallweretomeasaboy，andyouespecially，andhowmuchhappinessIowetoyou。Believemeyouraffectionateandobligedfriend，CHARLESDARWIN。
P。S。——PerhapsyouwouldliketoseeaphotographofmenowthatIamold。
1873。
[Theonlywork（otherthanbotanical）ofthisyearwasthepreparationofasecondeditionofthe’DescentofMan，’thepublicationofwhichisreferredtointhefollowingchapter。Thisworkwasundertakenmuchagainstthegrain，ashewasatthetimedeeplyimmersedinthemanuscriptof’InsectivorousPlants。’ThushewrotetoMr。Wallace（November19），"I
neverinmylifetimeregrettedaninterruptionsomuchasthisneweditionofthe’Descent。’"Andlater（inDecember）hewrotetoMr。Huxley:"Theneweditionofthe’Descent’hasturnedoutanawfuljob。Ittookmetendaysmerelytoglanceoverlettersandreviewswithcriticismsandnewfacts。Itisadevilofajob。"
TheworkwascontinueduntilApril1，1874，whenhewasabletoreturntohismuchlovedDrosera。HewrotetoMr。Murray:——
"Ihaveatlastfinished，afterabovethreemonthsashardworkasIhaveeverhadinmylife，acorrectededitionofthe’Descent，’andImuchwishtohaveitprintedoffassoonaspossible。AsitistobestereotypedI
shallnevertouchitagain。"
Thefirstofthemiscellaneouslettersof1873referstoapleasantvisitreceivedfromColonelHigginsonofNewport，U。S。]
CHARLESDARWINTOTHOS。WENTWORTHHIGGINSON。
Down，February27th[1873]。
MydearSir，Mywifehasjustfinishedreadingaloudyour’LifewithaBlackRegiment，’
andyoumustallowmetothankyouheartilyfortheverygreatpleasurewhichithasinmanywaysgivenus。Ialwaysthoughtwellofthenegroes，fromthelittlewhichIhaveseenofthem;andIhavebeendelightedtohavemyvagueimpressionsconfirmed，andtheircharacterandmentalpowerssoablydiscussed。WhenyouwerehereIdidnotknowofthenoblepositionwhichyouhadfilled。Ihadformerlyreadabouttheblackregiments，butfailedtoconnectyournamewithyouradmirableundertaking。AlthoughweenjoyedgreatlyyourvisittoDown，mywifeandmyselfhaveoverandoveragainregrettedthatwedidnotknowabouttheblackregiment，asweshouldhavegreatlylikedtohaveheardalittleabouttheSouthfromyourownlips。
YourdescriptionshavevividlyrecalledwalkstakenfortyyearsagoinBrazil。WehaveyourcollectedEssays，whichwerekindlysentusbyMr。
[Moncure]Conway，buthavenotyethadtimetoreadthem。Ioccasionallygleanalittlenewsofyouinthe’Index’;andwithinthelasthourhavereadaninterestingarticleofyoursontheprogressofFreeThought。
Believeme，mydearsir，withsincereadmiration，Yoursveryfaithfully，CH。DARWIN。
[OnMay28thhesentthefollowinganswerstothequestionsthatMr。Galtonwasatthattimeaddressingtovariousscientificmen，inthecourseoftheinquirywhichisgiveninhis’EnglishMenofScience，theirNatureandNurture，’1874。Withregardtothequestionsmyfatherwrote，"IhavefilleduptheanswersaswellasIcould，butitissimplyimpossibleformetoestimatethedegrees。"Forthesakeofconvenience，thequestionsandanswersrelatingto"Nurture"aremadetoprecedethoseon"Nature":
NURTURE。
EDUCATION？
Howtaught？IconsiderthatallIhavelearntofanyvaluehasbeenself—
taught。
Conducivetoorrestrictiveofhabitsofobservation？Restrictiveofobservation，beingalmostentirelyclassical。
Conducivetohealthorotherwise？Yes。
Peculiarmerits？Nonewhatever。
Chiefomissions？Nomathematicsormodernlanguages，noranyhabitsofobservationorreasoning。
RELIGION。
Hasthereligiouscreedtaughtinyouryouthhadanydeterrenteffectonthefreedomofyourresearches？No。
SCIENTIFICTASTES。
Doyourscientifictastesappeartohavebeeninnate？Certainlyinnate。
Weretheydeterminedbyanyandwhatevents？Myinnatetastefornaturalhistorystronglyconfirmedanddirectedbythevoyageinthe"Beagle"。
NATURE。
Specifyanyintereststhathavebeenveryactivelypursued。Science，andfieldsportstoapassionatedegreeduringyouth。
（C。D。=CHARLESDARWIN，R。D。=ROBERTDARWIN，hisfather。）
RELIGION？
C。D。——NominallytoChurchofEngland。
R。D。——NominallytoChurchofEngland。
POLITICS？
C。D。——LiberalorRadical。
R。D。——Liberal。
HEALTH？
C。D。——Goodwhenyoung——badforlast33years。
R。D。——Goodthroughoutlife，exceptfromgout。
HEIGHT，ETC？
C。D。——6ft。Figure，etc。？——Spare，whilstyoungratherstout。Measurementroundinsideofhat？——221/4in。ColourofHair？——Brown。Complexion？——
Rathersallow。
R。D。——6ft。2in。Figure，etc？——Verybroadandcorpulent。Colourofhair？
——Brown。Complexion？——Ruddy。
TEMPERAMENT？
C。D。——Somewhatnervous。
R。D。——Sanguine。
ENERGYOFBODY，ETC。？
C。D。——Energyshownbymuchactivity，andwhilstIhadhealth，powerofresistingfatigue。Iandoneothermanwerealoneabletofetchwaterforalargepartyofofficersandsailorsutterlyprostrated。SomeofmyexpeditionsinS。Americawereadventurous。Anearlyriserinthemorning。
R。D。——Greatpowerofendurancealthoughfeelingmuchfatigue，asafterconsultationsafterlongjourneys;veryactive——notrestless——veryearlyriser，notravels。Myfathersaidhisfathersufferedmuchfromsenseoffatigue，thatheworkedveryhard。
ENERGYOFMIND，ETC。？
C。D。——Shownbyrigorousandlong—continuedworkonsamesubject，as20
yearsonthe’OriginofSpecies，’and9yearson’Cirripedia。’
R。D。——Habituallyveryactivemind——showninconversationwithasuccessionofpeopleduringthewholeday。
MEMORY？
C。D。——Memoryverybadfordates，andforlearningbyrote;butgoodinretainingageneralorvaguerecollectionofmanyfacts。
R。D。——Wonderfulmemoryfordates。Inoldagehetoldaperson，readingaloudtohimabookonlyreadinyouth，thepassageswhichwerecoming——
knewthebirthdaysanddeath，etc。，ofallfriendsandacquaintances。
STUDIOUSNESS？
C。D。——Verystudious，butnotlargeacquirements。
R。D。——Notverystudiousormentallyreceptive，exceptforfactsinconversation——greatcollectorofanecdotes。
INDEPENDENCEOFJUDGMENT？
C。D。——Ithinkfairlyindependent;butIcangivenoinstances。Igaveupcommonreligiousbeliefalmostindependentlyfrommyownreflections。
R。D。——Freethinkerinreligiousmatters。Liberal，withratheratendencytoToryism。
ORIGINALITYORECCENTRICITY？
C。D。————Thinksthisappliestome;Idonotthinkso——i。e。，asfaraseccentricity。IsupposethatIhaveshownoriginalityinscience，asI
havemadediscoverieswithregardtocommonobjects。
R。D。——Originalcharacter，hadgreatpersonalinfluenceandpowerofproducingfearofhimselfinothers。Hekepthisaccountswithgreatcareinapeculiarway，inanumberofseparatelittlebooks，withoutanygeneralledger。
SPECIALTALENTS？
C。D。——None，exceptforbusinessasevincedbykeepingaccounts，repliestocorrespondence，andinvestingmoneyverywell。Verymethodicalinallmyhabits。
R。D。——Practicalbusiness——madealargefortuneandincurrednolosses。
STRONGLYMARKEDMENTALPECULIARITIES，BEARINGONSCIENTIFICSUCCESS，AND
NOTSPECIFIEDABOVE？
C。D。——Steadiness——greatcuriosityaboutfactsandtheirmeaning。Someloveofthenewandmarvellous。
R。D。——Strongsocialaffectionandgreatsympathyinthepleasuresofothers。Scepticalastonewthings。Curiousastofacts。Greatforesight。Notmuchpublicspirit——greatgenerosityingivingmoneyandassistance。
N。B。——Ifinditquiteimpossibletoestimatemycharacterbyyourdegrees。
Thefollowingletterrefersinteraliatoaletterwhichappearedin’Nature’（September25，1873），"OntheMalesandComplementalMalesofcertainCirripedes，andonRudimentaryOrgans:"]
CHARLESDARWINTOE。HAECKEL。
Down，September25，1873。
MydearHaeckel，Ithankyouforthepresentofyourbook（’Schopfungs—geschichte，’4thedition。Thetranslation（’TheHistoryofCreation’）wasnotpublisheduntil1876。），andIamheartilygladtoseeitsgreatsuccess。YouwilldoawonderfulamountofgoodinspreadingthedoctrineofEvolution，supportingitasyoudobysomanyoriginalobservations。Ihavereadthenewprefacewithverygreatinterest。ThedelayintheappearanceoftheEnglishtranslationvexesandsurprisesme，forIhaveneverbeenabletoreaditthoroughlyinGerman，andIshallassuredlydosowhenitappearsinEnglish。Hastheproblemofthelaterstagesofreductionofuselessstructureseverperplexedyou？Thisproblemhasoflatecausedmemuchperplexity。Ihavejustwrittenaletterto’Nature’withahypotheticalexplanationofthisdifficulty，andIwillsendyouthepaperwiththepassagemarked。Iwillatthesametimesendapaperwhichhasinterestedme;itneednotbereturned。Itcontainsasingularstatementbearingonso—calledSpontaneousGeneration。Imuchwishthatthislatterquestioncouldbesettled，butIseenoprospectofit。Ifitcouldbeprovedtruethiswouldbemostimportanttous……
Wishingyoueverysuccessinyouradmirablelabours，Iremain，mydearHaeckel，yoursverysincerely，CHARLESDARWIN。
CHAPTER2。VIII。
MISCELLANEA，INCLUDINGSECONDEDITIONSOF’CORALREEFS，’THE’DESCENTOF
MAN，’ANDTHE’VARIATIONOFANIMALSANDPLANTS。’
1874AND1875。
[Theyear1874wasgivenupto’InsectivorousPlants，’withtheexceptionofthemonthsdevotedtothesecondeditionofthe’DescentofMan，’andwiththefurtherexceptionofthetimegiventoasecondeditionofhis’CoralReefs’（1874）。ThePrefacetothelatterstatesthatnewfactshavebeenadded，thewholebookrevised，and"thelatterchaptersalmostrewritten。"IntheAppendixsomeaccountisgivenofProfessorSemper’sobjections，andthiswastheoccasionofcorrespondencebetweenthatnaturalistandmyfather。InProfessorSemper’svolume，’AnimalLife’（oneoftheInternationalSeries），theauthorcallsattentiontothesubjectinthefollowingpassagewhichIgiveinGerman，thepublishedEnglishtranslationbeing，asitseemstome，incorrect:"EsscheintmiralsoberinderzweitenAusgabeseinesallgemeinbekanntenWerksuberKorallenriffeeinemIrrthumeubermeineBeobachtungenzumOpfergefallenist，indemerdieAngaben，dieichallerdingsbisherimmernursehrkurzgehaltenhatte，vollstandigfalschwiedergegebenhat。"
Theproof—sheetscontainingthispassageweresentbyProfessorSempertomyfatherbefore’AnimalLife’waspublished，andthiswastheoccasionforthefollowingletter，whichwasafterwardspublishedinProfessorSemper’sbook。]
CHARLESDARWINTOK。SEMPER。
Down，October2，1879。
MydearProfessorSemper，Ithankyouforyourextremelykindletterofthe19th，andfortheproof—
sheets。IbelievethatIunderstandall，exceptingoneortwosentences，wheremyimperfectknowledgeofGermanhasinterfered。ThisismysoleandpoorexcuseforthemistakewhichImadeinthesecondeditionofmy’Coral’book。YouraccountofthePellewIslandsisafineadditiontoourknowledgeoncoralreefs。Ihaveverylittletosayonthesubject，evenifIhadformerlyreadyouraccountandseenyourmaps，buthadknownnothingoftheproofsofrecentelevation，andofyourbeliefthattheislandshavenotsincesubsided。IhavenodoubtthatIshouldhaveconsideredthemasformedduringsubsidence。ButIshouldhavebeenmuchtroubledinmymindbytheseanotbeingsodeepasitusuallyisroundatolls，andbythereefononesideslopingsograduallybeneaththesea;
forthislatterfact，asfarasmymemoryservesme，isaveryunusualandalmostunparalleledcase。Ialwaysforesawthatabankattheproperdepthbeneaththesurfacewouldgiverisetoareefwhichcouldnotbedistinguishedfromanatoll，formedduringsubsidence。ImuststilladheretomyopinionthattheatollsandbarrierreefsinthemiddleofthePacificandIndianOceansindicatesubsidence;butIfullyagreewithyouthatsuchcasesasthatofthePellewIslands，ifofatallfrequentoccurrence，wouldmakemygeneralconclusionsofverylittlevalue。Futureobserversmustdecidebetweenus。Itwillbeastrangefactiftherehasnotbeensubsidenceofthebedsofthegreatoceans，andifthishasnotaffectedtheformsofthecoralreefs。
InthelastthreepagesofthelastsheetsentIamextremelygladtoseethatyouaregoingtotreatofthedispersionofanimals。Yourpreliminaryremarksseemtomequiteexcellent。ThereisnothingaboutM。Wagner，asI
expectedtofind。IsupposethatyouhaveseenMoseley’slastbook，whichcontainssomegoodobservationsondispersion。
IamgladthatyourbookwillappearinEnglish，forthenIcanreaditwithease。Praybelieveme，Yoursverysincerely，CHARLESDARWIN。
[ThemostrecentcriticismontheCoral—reeftheoryisbyMr。Murray，oneofthestaffofthe"Challenger"，whoreadapaperbeforetheRoyalSocietyofEdinburgh，April5，1880。（Anabstractispublishedinvolumex。ofthe’Proceedings，’page505，andin’Nature，’August12，1880。）Thechiefpointbroughtforwardisthepossibilityofthebuildingupofsubmarinemountains，whichmayserveasfoundationsforcoralreefs。Mr。Murrayalsoseekstoprovethat"thechieffeaturesofcoralreefsandislandscanbeaccountedforwithoutcallingintheaidofgreatandgeneralsubsidence。"
Thefollowingletterreferstothissubject:]
CHARLESDARWINTOA。AGASSIZ。
Down，May5，1881……YouwillhaveseenMr。Murray’sviewsontheformationofatollsandbarrierreefs。Beforepublishingmybook，Ithoughtlongoverthesameview，butonlyasfarasordinarymarineorganismsareconcerned，foratthattimelittlewasknownofthemultitudeofminuteoceanicorganisms。I
rejectedthisview，asfromthefewdredgingsmadeinthe"Beagle"，inthesouthtemperateregions，Iconcludedthatshells，thesmallercorals，etc。，decayed，andweredissolved，whennotprotectedbythedepositionofsediment，andsedimentcouldnotaccumulateintheopenocean。Certainly，shells，etc。，wereinseveralcasescompletelyrotten，andcrumbledintomudbetweenmyfingers;butyouwillknowwellwhetherthisisinanydegreecommon。Ihaveexpresslysaidthatabankattheproperdepthwouldgiverisetoanatoll，whichcouldnotbedistinguishedfromoneformedduringsubsidence。Ican，however，hardlybelieveintheformerpresenceofasmanybanks（therehavingbeennosubsidence）asthereareatollsinthegreatoceans，withinareasonabledepth，onwhichminuteoceanicorganismscouldhaveaccumulatedtothethicknessofmanyhundredfeet……Prayforgivemefortroublingyouatsuchlength，butithasoccurred[tome]thatyoumightbedisposedtogive，afteryourwideexperience，yourjudgment。IfIamwrong，thesoonerIamknockedontheheadandannihilatedsomuchthebetter。Itstillseemstomeamarvellousthingthatthereshouldnothavebeenmuch，andlongcontinued，subsidenceinthebedsofthegreatoceans。IwishthatsomedoublyrichmillionairewouldtakeitintohisheadtohaveboringsmadeinsomeofthePacificandIndianatolls，andbringhomecoresforslicingfromadepthof500or600
feet……
[Thesecondeditionofthe’DescentofMan’waspublishedintheautumnof1874。Somesevereremarksonthe"monistichypothesis"appearedintheJuly（Thereviewnecessarilydealswiththefirsteditionofthe’DescentofMan。’）numberofthe’QuarterlyReview’（page45）。TheReviewerexpresseshisastonishmentattheignoranceofcertainelementarydistinctionsandprinciples（e。g。withregardtotheverbummentale）
exhibited，amongothers，byMr。Darwin，whodoesnotexhibitthefaintestindicationofhavinggraspedthem，yetaclearperceptionofthem，andadirectanddetailedexaminationofhisfactswithregardtothem，"wasasinequanonforattempting，withachanceofsuccess，thesolutionofthemysteryastothedescentofman。"
Somefurthercriticismsofalaterdatemaybeherealludedto。Inthe’Academy，’1876（pages562，587），appearedareviewofMr。Mivart’s’LessonsfromNature，’byMr。Wallace。WhenconsideringthepartofMr。
Mivart’sbookrelatingtoNaturalandSexualSelection，Mr。Wallacesays:
"InhisviolentattackonMr。Darwin’stheoriesourauthorusesunusuallystronglanguage。Notcontentwithmereargument，heexpresses’reprobationofMr。Darwin’sviews’;andassertsthatthoughhe（Mr。Darwin）hasbeenobliged，virtually，togiveuphistheory，itisstillmaintainedbyDarwinianswith’unscrupulousaudacity，’andtheactualrepudiationofitconcealedbythe’conspiracyofsilence。’"Mr。Wallacegoesontoshowthatthesechargesarewithoutfoundation，andpointsoutthat，"ifthereisonethingmorethananotherforwhichMr。Darwinispre—eminentamongmodernliteraryandscientificmen，itisforhisperfectliteraryhonesty，hisself—abnegationinconfessinghimselfwrong，andtheeagerhastewithwhichheproclaimsandevenmagnifiessmallerrorsinhisworks，forthemostpartdiscoveredbyhimself。"
ThefollowingextractfromalettertoMr。Wallace（June17th）referstoMr。Mivart’sstatement（’LessonsfromNature，’page144）thatMr。Darwinatfirststudiouslydisguisedhisviewsastothe"bestialityofman":——
"IhaveonlyjustheardofandprocuredyourtwoarticlesintheAcademy。
IthankyoumostcordiallyforyourgenerousdefenceofmeagainstMr。
Mivart。Inthe’Origin’Ididnotdiscussthederivationofanyonespecies;butthatImightnotbeaccusedofconcealingmyopinion，Iwentoutofmyway，andinsertedasentencewhichseemedtome（andstillsoseems）todiscloseplainlymybelief。Thiswasquotedinmy’DescentofMan。’Thereforeitisveryunjust，……ofMr。Mivarttoaccusemeofbasefraudulentconcealment。"
Theletterwhichherefollowsisofinterestinconnectionwiththediscussion，inthe’DescentofMan，’ontheoriginofthemusicalsenseinman:]
CHARLESDARWINTOE。GURNEY。（Authorof’ThePowerofSound。’）
Down，July8，1876。
MydearMr。Gurney，Ihavereadyourarticle（"SomedisputedPointsinMusic。"——’FortnightlyReview，’July，1876。）withmuchinterest，exceptthelatterpart，whichsoaredabovemyken。Iamgreatlypleasedthatyouupholdmyviewstoacertainextent。Yourcriticismoftheraspingnoisemadebyinsectsbeingnecessarilyrhythmicalisverygood;butthoughnotmadeintentionally，itmaybepleasingtothefemalesfromthenervecellsbeingnearlysimilarinfunctionthroughouttheanimalkingdom。Withrespecttoyourletter，I
believethatIunderstandyourmeaning，andagreewithyou。Ineversupposedthatthedifferentdegreesandkindsofpleasurederivedfromdifferentmusiccouldbeexplainedbythemusicalpowersofoursemi—humanprogenitors。Doesnotthefactthatdifferentpeoplebelongingtothesamecivilisednationareverydifferentlyaffectedbythesamemusic，almostshowthatthesediversitiesoftasteandpleasurehavebeenacquiredduringtheirindividuallives？Yoursimileofarchitectureseemstomeparticularlygood;forinthiscasetheappreciationalmostmustbeindividual，thoughpossiblythesenseofsublimityexcitedbyagrandcathedral，mayhavesomeconnectionwiththevaguefeelingsofterrorandsuperstitioninoursavageancestors，whentheyenteredagreatcavernorgloomyforest。Iwishsomeonecouldanalysethefeelingofsublimity。Itamusesmetothinkhowhorrifiedsomehighflyingaestheticmenwillbeatyourencouragingsuchlowdegradedviewsasmine。
Believeme，yoursverysincerely，CHARLESDARWIN。
[Theletterswhichfollowareofamiscellaneousinterest。Thefirstextract（fromaletter，January18，1874）referstoaspiritualisticseance，heldatErasmusDarwin’shouse，6QueenAnneStreet，undertheauspicesofawell—knownmedium:]
"……Wehadgrandfun，oneafternoon，forGeorgehiredamedium，whomadethechairs，aflute，abell，andcandlestick，andfierypointsjumpaboutinmybrother’sdiningroom，inamannerthatastoundedeveryone，andtookawayalltheirbreaths。Itwasinthedark，butGeorgeandHensleighWedgwoodheldthemedium’shandsandfeetonbothsidesallthetime。I
founditsohotandtiringthatIwentawaybeforealltheseastoundingmiracles，orjugglery，tookplace。Howthemancouldpossiblydowhatwasdonepassesmyunderstanding。Icamedownstairs，andsawallthechairs，etc。，onthetable，whichhadbeenliftedovertheheadsofthosesittingroundit。
TheLordhavemercyonusall，ifwehavetobelieveinsuchrubbish。F。
Galtonwasthere，andsaysitwasagoodseance……"
TheSeanceinquestionledtoasmallerandmorecarefullyorganisedonebeingundertaken，atwhichMr。Huxleywaspresent，andonwhichhereportedtomyfather:]
CHARLESDARWINTOPROFESSORT。H。HUXLEY。
Down，January29[1874]。
MydearHuxley，Itwasverygoodofyoutowritesolonganaccount。Thoughtheseancedidtireyousomuchitwas，Ithink，reallyworththeexertion，asthesamesortofthingsaredoneatalltheseances，evenat——’s;andnowtomymindanenormousweightofevidencewouldberequisitetomakeonebelieveinanythingbeyondmeretrickery……IampleasedtothinkthatIdeclaredtoallmyfamily，thedaybeforeyesterday，thatthemoreIthoughtofallthatIhadheardhappenedatQueenAnneSt。，themoreconvincedIwasitwasallimposture……mytheorywasthat[themedium]managedtogetthetwomenoneachsideofhimtoholdeachother’shands，insteadofhis，andthathewasthusfreetoperformhisantics。IamverygladthatIissuedmyukasetoyoutoattend。