1869.] MR. WALLACE ON LYELL. 295 



your risks from illness and sea voyages, especially that most 

 interesting one to Waigiou and back. Of all the impressions 

 which I have received from your book, the strongest is that 

 your perseverance in the cause of science was heroic. Your 

 descriptions of catching the splendid butterflies have made 

 me quite envious, and at the same time have made me feel 

 almost young again, so vividly have they brought before my 

 mind old days when I collected, though I never made such 

 captures as yours. Certainly collecting is the best sport in 

 the world. I shall be astonished if your book has not a great 

 success ; and your splendid generalizations on Geographical 

 Distribution, with which I am familiar from your papers, will 

 be new to most of your readers. I think I enjoyed most the 

 Timor case, as it is best demonstrated ; but perhaps Celebes 

 is really the most valuable. I should prefer looking at the 

 whole Asiatic continent as having formerly been more African 

 in its fauna, than admitting the former existence of a conti- 

 nent across the Indian Ocean. ... 



[The following letter refers to Mr. Wallace's article in the 

 April number of the 'Quarterly Review,'* 1869, which to a 

 large extent deals with the tenth edition of Sir Charles Lyell's 

 ' Principles,' published in 1867 and 1868. The review con- 

 tains a striking passage on Sir Charles Lyell's confession of 

 evolutionary faith in the tenth edition of his ' Principles,' 

 which is worth quoting : '' The history of science hardly pre- 

 sents so striking an instance of youthfulness of mind in ad- 

 vanced life as is shown by this abandonment of opinions so 

 long held and so powerfully advocated; and if we bear in 

 mind the extreme caution, combined with the ardent love of 

 truth which characterise every work which our author has 

 produced, we shall be convinced that so great a change was 

 not decided on without long and anxious deliberation, and 



* My father wrote to Mr. Murray : " The article by Wallace is inimit- 

 ably good, and it is a great triumph that such an article should appear in 



the * Quarterly,' and will make the Bishop of Oxford and gnash their 



teeth." 



