I854-] HUiMBOLDT— AGASSIZ. 403 



I will therefore come up to London for every (with rare ex- 

 ceptions) Club- day, and then my head, I think, wull allow me 

 on an average to go to every other meeting. But it is griev- 

 ous how often any change knocks me up. I will further 

 pledge myself, as I told Lyell, to resign after a year, if I did 

 not attend pretty often, so that I should at luorst encumber 

 the Club temporarily. If you can get me elected, I certainly 

 shall be very much pleased. Very many thanks for answers 

 about Glaciers. I am very glad to hear of the second Edit.* 

 so very soon ; but am not surprised, for I have heard of 

 several, in our small circle, reading it with very much pleasure. 

 I shall be curious to hear what Humboldt will say : it will, I 

 should think, delight him, and meet with more praise from 

 him than any other book of Travels, for I cannot remember 

 one, which has so many subjects in common with him. What 



a wonderful old fellow he is By the way, I hope, 



when you go to Hitcham, towards the end of May, you will 

 be forced to have some rest. I am grieved to hear that all 

 the bad symptoms have not left Henslow ; it is so strange 

 and new to feel any uneasiness about his health. I am 

 particularly obliged to you for sending me Asa Gray's letter ; 

 how very pleasantly he writes. To see his and your caution 

 on the species-question ought to overwhelm me in confusion 

 and shame ; it does make me feel deuced uncomfortable. . . . 

 It is delightful to hear all that he says on Agassiz : how very 

 singular it is that so emineiitly clever a man, with such immense 

 knowledge on many branches of Natural History, should | 

 write as he does. Lyell told me that he was so delighted with 

 one of his (Agassiz) lectures on progressive development, &c., 

 &c., that he went to him afterwards and told him, '* that it 

 was so delightful, that he could not help all the time wishing 

 it was true." I seldom see a Zoological paper from North 

 America, without observing the impress of Agassiz's doc- 

 trines — another proof, by the way, of how great a man he is. 

 I was pleased and surprised to see A. Gray's remarks on 



* Of the Himalayan Journal. 



