ch. xiii.J REVIEWS AND CRITICISMS, 1860. 241 



with him. Baden Powell says he never read anything so 

 conclusive as my statement about the eye ! ! A stranger 

 writes to me about sexual selection, and regrets that I bog- 

 gle about such a trifle as the brush of hair on the male 

 turkey, and so on. As L. Jenyns has a really philosophical 

 mind, and as you say you like to see everything, I send an 

 old letter of his. In a later letter to Henslow, which I have 

 seen, he is more candid than any opposer I have heard of, 

 for he says, though he cannot go so far as I do, yet he can 

 give no good reason why he should not. It is funny how 

 each man draws his own imaginary line at which to halt. 

 It reminds me so vividly [of] what I was told * about you 

 when I first commenced geology to believe a little, but on 

 no account to believe all. 



Ever yours affectionately. 



With regard to the attitude of the more liberal repre- 

 sentatives of the Church, the following letter from Charles 

 Kingsley is of interest : 



C. Kingsley to C. Darwin. Eversley Rectory, Winchfield, 



November 18th, 1859. 



Dear Sir, I have to thank you for the unexpected 

 honour of your book. That the Naturalist whom, of all 

 naturalists living, I most wish to know and to learn from, 

 should have sent a scientist like me his book, encourages me 

 at least to observe more carefully, and think more slowly. 



I am so poorly (in brain), that I fear I cannot read your 

 book just now as I ought. All I have seen of it aives me ; 

 both with the heap of facts and the prestige of your name, 

 and also with the clear intuition, that if you be right, I 

 must give up much that I have believed and written. 



In that I care little. Let God be true, and every man a 

 liar ! Let us know what is, and, as old Socrates has it, 

 cTrea-OaL tco Aoyo) follow up the villainous shifty fox of an 

 argument, into whatsoever unexpected bogs and brakes he 

 mav lead us, if we do but run into him at last. 



From two common superstitions, at least, I shall be free 

 while judging of your book : 



(1.) I have long since, from watching the crossing of 

 domesticated animals and plants, learnt to disbelieve the 

 dogma of the permanence of species. 



* By Professor Henslow. 



