ISO 'DESCENT OF MAN '—EXPRESSION. [187I. 



arguments v. Wallace on the intellect of savages. I must tell 

 you what Hooker said to me a few years ago. " When I read 

 Huxley, I feel quite infantile in intellect." By Jove I have 

 felt the truth of this throughout your review. What a man 

 you are. There are scores of splendid passages, and vivid 

 flashes of wit. I have been a good deal more than merely 

 pleased by the concluding part of your review ; and all the 

 more, as I own I felt mortified by the accusation of bigotry, 

 arrogance, &c, in the ' Quarterly Review.' But I assure you, 

 he may write his worst, and he will never mortify me again. 



My dear Huxley, yours gratefully, 



Charles Darwin. 



C. Darwin to F. Midler. 



Haredene, Albury, August 2 [1871]. 



My DEAR Sir, — Your last letter has interested me greatly ; 

 it is wonderfully rich in facts and original thoughts. First, let 

 me say that I have been much pleased by what you say 

 about my book. It has had a very large sale ; but I have 

 been much abused for it, especially for the chapter on the 

 moral sense ; and most of my reviewers consider the book as 

 a poor affair. God knows what its merits may really be ; all 

 that I know is that I did my best. With familiarity I think 

 naturalists will accept sexual selection to a greater extent 

 than they now seem inclined to do. I should very much like 

 to publish your letter, but I do not see how it could be made 

 intelligible, without numerous coloured illustrations, but I will 

 consult Mr. Wallace on this head. I earnestly hope that you 

 keep notes of all your letters and that some day you will 

 publish a book : ' Notes of a Naturalist in S. Brazil,' or some 

 such title. Wallace will hardly admit the possibility of 

 sexual selection with Lepidoptera, and no doubt it is very 

 improbable. Therefore, I am very glad to hear of your cases 

 (which I will quote in the next edition) of the two sets of 



