i3 5 9.] 



CONVERTS. 



243 



in the ' English Churchman/ short and not at all entering 

 into discussion, but praising you and your book, and talking 

 patronizingly of the doctrine ! . . . Bentham and Henslow 

 will still shake their heads, I fancy. . . . 



Ever yours affectionately, 



Jos. D. Hooker. 



C. Darwin to J. D. Hooker. 



Down, December 14th [1859]. 

 My DEAR HOOKER, Your approval of my book, for many 

 -reasons, gives me intense satisfaction ; but I must make some 

 allowance for your kindness and sympathy. Any one with 

 ordinary faculties, if he had patience enough and plenty of 

 time, could have written my book. You do not know how I 

 admire your and Lyell's generous and unselfish sympathy ; I 

 do not believe either of you would have cared so much about 

 your own work. My book, as yet, has been far more suc- 

 cessful than I ever even formerly ventured in the wildest day- 

 dreams to anticipate. We shall soon be a good body of 

 working men, and shall have, I am convinced, all young and 

 rising naturalists on our side. I shall be intensely interested 

 to hear whether my book produces any effect on A. Gray ; 

 from what I heard at Lyell's, I fancy your correspondence has 

 brought him some way already. I fear that there is no 

 chance of Bentham being staggered. Will he read my book ? 

 Has he a copy? I would send him one of the reprints if he 

 has not. Old J. E. Gray,* at the British Museum, attacked 

 me in fine style : " You have just reproduced Lamarck's doc- 



* John Edward Gray (born 1800, 

 died 1875) was the son of S. F. 

 Gray, author of the ' Supplement 

 rto the Pharmacopoeia.' In 1821 he 

 published in his father's name ' The 

 Natural Arrangement of British 

 Plants,' one of the earliest works in 

 English on the natural method. In 

 .1824 he became connected with the 



Natural History Department of the 

 British Museum, and was appointed 

 Keeper of the Zoological collections 

 in 1840. He was the author of 

 ' Illustrations of Indian Zoology,' 

 'The Knowsley Menagerie,' &c, 

 and of innumerable descriptive 

 Zoological papers. 



R 2 



