184 FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE 



win's grandfather was the pioneer of Charles Darwin. 1 In 

 1801, and in subsequent years, the celebrated Lamarck, 

 who, through the vigorous exposition of his views by the 

 author of the "Vestiges of Creation," rendered the public 

 mind perfectly familiar with the idea of evolution, endeav- 

 ored to show the development of species out of changes 

 of habit and external condition. In 1813 Dr. Wells, the 

 founder of our present theory of Dew, read before the 

 Koyal Society a paper in which, to use the words of Mr. 

 Darwin, "he distinctly recognizes the principle of natural 

 selection; and this is the first recognition that has been 

 indicated. ' ' The thoroughness and skill with which Wells 

 pursued his work, and the obvious independence of his 

 character, rendered him long ago a favorite with me; and 

 it gave me the liveliest pleasure to alight upon this addi- 

 tional testimony to his penetration. Professor Grant, Mr. 

 Patrick Matthew, Von Buch, the author of the "Vestiges," 

 D'Halloy, and others, by the enunciation of opinions more 

 or less clear and correct, showed that the question had 

 been fermenting long prior to the year 1858, when Mr. 

 Darwin and Mr. Wallace simultaneously, but independ- 

 ently, placed their closely concurrent views before the 

 Linnean Society. 8 



These papers were followed in 1859 by the publication 

 of the first edition of the "Origin of Species." All great 

 things come slowly to the birth. Copernicus, as I in- 

 formed you, pondered his great work for thirty-three years. 



1 "Zoonomia," vol. i. pp. 500-510. 



* In 1855 Mr. Herbert Spencer ("Principles of Psychology," 2d edit. vol. 

 i. p. 465) expressed "the belief that life under all its forms has arisen by an 

 unbroken evolution, and through the instrumentality of what are called natural 

 causes." This was my belief also at that time. 



