[l^'i-] APPENDIX. 



ably coupled with controversy, he will be doubly cautious In becoming himself an antagonist, 

 Mr. Vigors has neither evinced this discretion, nor manifested this spirit. Had he loved peace, 

 he would not have printed (at whose expense?) the well-known letter on the dichotomous system, 

 (^fter it had been published, in a softened tone, elsewhere." 



[Note.3 " It is somewhat singular that the library of the Linnean Society should have been 

 fixed on as the deposit of ih\s private reprint, whence the copies were disseminated." , 



Now, Sir, I mean not to quarrel with Mr. Swainson's editorial pandects. 

 The logical accuracy with which he brings them to bear upon me is all that 

 I wish to arraign. Would not any reader naturally conclude that the in- 

 stance which he exemplifies as a proof of my deviating from the duties of 

 an editor, was the publication of a controversial paper in a work which I 

 edited ? And yet nothing is farther from the truth ! Mr. MacLeay's letter on 

 the Dichotomous System was printed in the Philosophical Magazine y of which 

 my very valued friend Mr. Taylor is the editor ; and with which I am not 

 in the slightest degree connected. My only ostensible connection with the 

 letter, as far at least as Mr. Swainson or any other man has a right to im- 

 pute such to me, consists in its being addressed to me by Mr. MacLeay. 

 Again, Sir, would not any reader conclude, from the above-quoted passages, 

 that there were hvo publications of the letter ? That there was a reprint, 

 in short, of it after it had been published elsewhere ? And yet here again 

 is a false assertion. Strange it is to say, that not even in the most trivial 

 particular can the honesty of this writer be relied upon. The letter was 

 set up in type, once only^ for Mr. Taylor's Magazine. Copies of it were 

 struck off, according to Mr. MacLeay's instructions, to be distributed among 

 his friends. These copies form what Mr. Swainson calls a reprint, and 

 they were distributed before the letter appeared in the Magazine, some 

 months indeed before some portion of it appeared, but all being from the 

 same type. Mr, Taylor certainly omitted some passages in the concluding 

 portions of this letter, for reasons into which I have never enquired. But 

 the alterations took place after, not before, as Mr. Swainson with so much 

 effrontery asserts, the distribution of the private copies. 



i " He would not have printed {at whose expense?) " — 



In the midst of the melancholy exposure which Mr. Swainson affords of 

 spleen and rancour, there is something at times so truly ludicrous in his 

 quaint observations, that we feel an occasional relief from the general gloom 

 that pervades the subject he discusses. At whose expense ? With what 

 simplicity are the propensities of some men betrayed; the yellow clay 

 breaking through the plaster of Paris ! Mr. MacLeay cannot publish his 

 views or express his feelings in print, but Mr. Swainson must be informed 

 of the name of the person who bears the expense ! These penny-a-line 

 gentry cannot be apprised of a scientific publication, without associating 

 with it the ideas of pounds, shillings, and pence ! At whose expense ? If 

 Mr. Swainson cannot restrain his gossiping inclinations on this subject, let 

 him apply to the parties ostensibly concerned in the publication, who may, 

 perhaps, be civil enough to gratify him with the wished-for and important 

 information. 



" It is somewhat singular that the library of the Linnean Society should be fixed upon as the 

 deposit [query, depository ?] of this private reprint." 



Here, again, are betrayed the propensities of the man. Every thing to 

 him is a mystery ; every thing from him an abortive innuendo. He cannot 

 speak out. He just " hints a fault, and hesitates dislike." The plain and 

 simple explanation of the fact, on the " singularity " of which this man of 

 mystery suggests his astonishment is this : — Mr. MacLeay gave instructions 

 that copies of his letter should be distributed among his friends and the 

 friends of science. Several copies were accordingly sent for that purpose 

 to the Linnean Society, among other various deposits; that society being 



