226 PUBLICATION OF THE 'ORIGIN OF SPECIES.' [1859.. 



Monday, and was detained in adjudicating some troublesome 

 cases 1 J hours longer than usual, and came home utterly 

 knocked up, and cannot rally. I am not worth an old 



button Many thanks for your pleasant note. 



Ever yours, 



C. Darwin. 



P.S. I feel confident that for the future progress of the 

 subject of the origin, and manner of formation of species, the 

 assent and arguments and facts of working naturalists, like 

 yourself, are far more important than my own book ; so for 

 God's sake do not abuse your Introduction. 



H\ C. Watson to C. Darwin. 



Thames Ditton, November 21st [1859]. 



My DEAR Sir, Once commenced to read the ' Origin,' I 

 could not rest till I had galloped through the whole. I shall 

 now begin to re-read it more deliberately. Meantime I am 

 tempted to write you the first impressions, not doubting that 

 they will, in the main, be the permanent impressions : 



1st. Your leading idea will assuredly become recognised as 

 an established truth in science, i.e. " Natural selection." It 

 has the characteristics of all great natural truths, clarifying 

 what was obscure, simplifying what was intricate, adding 

 greatly to previous knowledge. You are the greatest revo- 

 lutionist in natural history of this century, if not of all 

 centuries. 



2nd. You will perhaps need, in some degree, to limit or 

 modify, possibly in some degree also to extend, your present 

 applications of the principle of natural selection. Without 

 going to matters of more detail, it strikes me that there is 

 one considerable primary inconsistency, by one failure in the 

 analogy between varieties and species ; another by a sort of 

 barrier assumed for nature on insufficient grounds, and arising 

 from " divergence." These may, however, be faults in my 



