THE EVENTS OF JULY 1, 1858 13 



vacancy on the Council should be filled up within 

 three months, and a special meeting was called 

 for July 1 for this purpose. Darwin received 

 Wallace's essay on June 18, too late for the 

 summer meetings of the Society, but in good 

 time for Lyell and Hooker to present it to the 

 special meeting. Hence, as Sir Joseph Hooker 

 said on July 1, 1908, the death of Robert Brown 

 caused the theory of Natural Selection to be 

 ' given to the world at least four months earlier 

 than would otherwise have been the case'. Sir 

 Joseph Hooker also informed us that from 

 June 18, up to the evening of July 1, when 

 he met Sir Charles Lyell at the Society, all the 

 intercourse with Darwin and with each other was 

 conducted by letter, and that no fourth person 

 was admitted into their confidence. The joint 

 essay was read by the Secretary of the Society. 

 Darwin was not present, but both Lyell and 

 Hooker * said a few words to emphasise the 

 importance of the subject V Among those who 

 were present were Oliver, Fitton, Carpenter, 

 Henfrey, Burchell, and Bentham, 2 who was elected 



1 Darwin-Wallace Celebration of the Linnean Society of London 

 (1908), 14, 15. 



2 July 1, 1858, was an important date in the life of the great 



He " 



botanist George Bentham. He had himself prepared for that very 

 meeting a long paper illustrating what he believed to be the 

 fixity of species. ' Most fortunately my paper had to give way to 



mine for reconsideration ; I began to entertain doubts on the 

 subject, and on the appearance of the " Origin of Species ", I was 

 forced, however reluctantly, to give up my long-cherished con- 

 victions, the results of much labour and study, and I cancelled all 

 that part of my paper which urged original fixity.' Life and 

 Letters, ii. 294. See also the Quarterly Review (July, 1909), 6. 



