1 859.] STYLE. 157 



C. Darwin to J. D. Hooker. 



[April or May, 1859.] 



. . . Please do not say to any one that I thought my 

 book on Species would be fairly popular, and have a fairly 

 remunerative sale (which was the height of my ambition), 

 for if it prove a dead failure, it would make me the more 

 ridiculous. 



I enclose a criticism, a taste of the future 



Rev. S, Haughtoris Address to the Geological Society, Dublin* 



"This speculation of Messrs. Darwin and Wallace would 

 not be worthy of notice were it not for the weight of authority 

 of the names {i.e. Lyell's and yours), under whose auspices it 

 has been brought forward. If it means what it says, it is a 

 truism ; if it means anything more, it is contrary to fact." 



Q. E. D. 



C. Darwin to J. D. Hooker. 



Down, May nth [1859]. 



My DEAR HOOKER, Thank you for telling me about 

 obscurity of style. But on my life no nigger with lash over 

 him could have worked harder at clearness than I have done. 

 But the very difficulty to me, of itself leads to the probability 

 that I fail. Yet one lady who has read all my MS. has 

 found only two or three obscure sentences, but Mrs. Hooker 

 having so found it, makes me tremble. I will do my best in 

 proofs. You are a good man to take the trouble to write 

 about it. 



With respect to our mutual muddle, f I never for a moment 



* Feb. 9, 1858. mutual muddle with respect to each 



f " When I go over the chapter other, from starting from some 



I will see what I can do, but I fundamentally different notions." 



hardly know how I am obscure, Letter of May 6, 1859. 

 and I think we are somehow in a 



