400 Darwin, and after Darwin. 



with natural selection in producing the observed results. 

 And, as regards the particular case now before us, I 

 think I have shown, as far as space will permit, that 

 in the phenomena of decorative colouring (as distin- 

 guished from merely brilliant colouring), of melodious 

 song (as distinguished from merely tuneless cries), of 

 enormous arborescent antlers (as distinguished from 

 merely offensive weapons), and so forth I say that in 

 all these phenomena we have phenomena which can- 

 not possibly be explained by the theory of natural 

 selection ; and, further, that if they are to be explained 

 at all, this can only be done, so far as we can at 

 present see, by Mr. Darwin's supplementary theory of 

 sexual selection. 



I have now briefly answered all Mr. Wallace's 

 objections to this supplementary theory, and, as pre- 

 viously remarked, I feel pretty confident that, at all 

 events in the main, the answer is such as Mr. Darwin 

 would himself have supplied, had there been a third 

 edition of his work upon the subject. At all events. 

 be this as it may, we are happily in possession of un- 

 questionable evidence that he believed all Mr. Wallace's 

 objections to admit of fully satisfactory answers. For 

 his very last words to science read only a few hours 

 before his death at a meeting of the Zoological 

 Society were : 



I may perhaps be here permitted to say that, after having 

 carefully weighed, to the best of my ability, the various argu- 

 ments which have been advanced against the principle of sexual 

 selection, I remain firmly convinced of its truth *. 



1 Since the above exposition of the theory of sexual selection was 

 written, Mr. Poulton has published his work on the Co/ours of Animals. 

 He there reproduces some of the illustrations which occur in Mr. and 



