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Down, Beckenham, Kent.  July 9, 1871.

My dear Wallace,—­I send by this post a review by Chauncey Wright, as I much want your opinion of it, as soon as you can send it.  I consider you an incomparably better critic than I am.  The article, though not very clearly written, and poor in parts for want of knowledge, seems to me admirable.

Mivart’s book is producing a great effect against Natural Selection, and more especially against me.  Therefore, if you think the article even somewhat good, I will write and get permission to publish it as a shilling pamphlet, together with the MS. addition (enclosed), for which there was not room at the end of the review.  I do not suppose I should lose more than L20 or L30.

I am now at work at a new and cheap edition of the “Origin,” and shall answer several points in Mivart’s book and introduce a new chapter for this purpose; but I treat the subject so much more concretely, and I daresay less philosophically, than Wright, that we shall not interfere with each other.  You will think me a bigot when I say, after studying Mivart, I was never before in my life so convinced of the general (i.e. not in detail) truth of the views in the “Origin.”  I grieve to see the omission of the words by Mivart, detected by Wright.[88] I complained to M. that in two cases he quotes only the commencement of sentences by me and thus modifies my meaning; but I never supposed he would have omitted words.  There are other cases of what I consider unfair treatment.  I conclude with sorrow that though he means to be honourable, he is so bigoted that he cannot act fairly.

I was glad to see your letter in Nature, though I think you were a little hard on the silly and presumptuous man.

I hope that your house and grounds are progressing well, and that you are in all ways flourishing.

I have been rather seedy, but a few days in London did me much good; and my dear good wife is going to take me somewhere, nolens volens, at the end of this month.

C. DARWIN.

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Holly Home, Barking, E. July 12, 1871.

Dear Darwin,—­Many thanks for giving me the opportunity to read at my leisure the very talented article of Mr. C. Wright.  His criticism of Mivart, though very severe, is, I think, in most cases sound; but I find the larger part of the article so heavy and much of the language and argument so very obscure, that I very much doubt the utility of printing it separately.  I do not think the readers of Mivart could ever read it in that form, and I am sure your own answer to Mivart’s arguments will be so much more clear and to the point, that the other will be unnecessary.  You might extract certain portions in your own chapter, such as the very ingenious suggestion as to the possible origin of mammary glands, as well as the possible use of the rattle of the rattlesnake, etc.