294 MISCELLANEOUS LETTERS 



head hardest against a tree. The boy slipped away 

 and cut a hole in a tree just so deep as half his head, 

 and covered the place with bark. When the trial came 

 oft' the boy tried first, and his head was buried down to 

 the eyes in the wood. The devil came after and 

 smashed off a great piece of bark with the wood under 

 it, but his head went nothing like so deep as the lad's, 

 so he lost that wager too. 



Next they had a dispute Avhich could throw highest 

 an enormous hammer. The devil cast it to the roof of 

 a high room, but the drang waited a little ; and the 

 devil said, "Go on." The lad replied: "I am only 

 stopping till that black cloud comes overhead, that I 

 may throw it upon it." The devil said : " Nay, nay, my 

 father's old hammer, 1 will pay you the money rather." 



Down, Bromley, Kent, S.E., 



January 19, 1867. 



My dear Sir, 



Will you have the kindness to give me some 

 information on one point? Not long since I was 

 speaking to Mr. Wallace about his mimetic butterflies, 

 and I told him of the case of the Rhynchoea, of which 

 the female is more beautiful than the male, with the 

 young resembling the latter. He answered me that 

 you at Nottingham had advanced this or some such 

 case, and that you had simply explained it by the 

 male being the incubator. 1 should be extremely 

 obliged if you would give me any information on this 

 head and allow me to quote you. The subject interests 

 me greatly, as in the 4th Edition of the " Origin " I gave 

 the obvious explanation of female birds not being 

 gaudily coloured, etc., on account of their incubating; 

 1 knew then of the RJiynchoca but passed over the case, 

 from not having space and from its appearing to me 

 quite inexplicable. 



I hope that you will forgive me troubling you, and 

 believe me, my dear Sir, 



Yours sincerely, 



Charles Darwin. 



