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to give us his ideas of species ; whether partially with us or Letter 125 



dead against us, he would write excellent matter. He made 



no answer, but his manner made me think he might do so 



if urged — so do you attack him. Every one was speaking 



with affection and anxiety of Henslow. I dined with Bell at 



the Linnean Club, and liked my dinner .... dining-out 



is such a novelty to me that I enjoyed it. Bell has a real 



good heart. I liked Rolleston's paper, but I never read 



anything so obscure and not self-evident as his " canons." 1 I 



had a dim perception of the truth of your profound remark — 



that he wrote in fear and trembling "of God, man, and 



monkeys," but I would alter it into " God, man, Owen, 



and monkeys." Huxley's letter was truculent, and I see that 



every one thinks it too truculent ; but in simple truth I am 



become quite demoniacal about Owen — worse than Huxley ; 



and I told Huxley that I should put myself under his care to 



be rendered milder. But I mean to try and get more angelic 



in my feelings ; yet I never shall forget his cordial shake of 



the hand, when he was writing as spitefully as he possibly 



could against me. But I have always thought that you have 



more cause than I to be demoniacally inclined towards him. 



Bell told me that Owen says that the editor mutilated his 



article in the Edinburgh Review, 2 and Bell seemed to think it 



was rendered more spiteful by the Editor ; perhaps the 



opposite view is as probable. Oh, dear ! this does not look 



like becoming more angelic in my temper ! 



I had a splendid long talk with Lyell (you may guess how- 

 splendid, for he was many times on his knees, with elbows on 

 the sofa) 3 on his work in France : he seems to have done 



1 See Nat. Hist. Review, 1S61, p. 206. The paper is "On the Brain 

 of the Orang Utang," and forms part of the bitter controversy of this 

 period to which reference occurs in letters to Huxley and elsewhere in 

 these volumes. Rolleston's work is quoted by Huxley (Man's Place in 

 Nature, p. 117) as part of the crushing refutation of Owen's position. 

 Mr. Huxley's letter referred to above is no doubt that in the Athenaum, 

 April 13th, 1861, p. 498 ; it is certainly severe, but to those who know Mr. 

 Huxley's " Succinct History of the Controversy," etc. (Maris Place in 

 Nature, p. 113), it will not seem too severe. 



2 This is the only instance, with which we are acquainted, of Owen's 

 acknowledging the authorship of the Edinburgh Review article. 



3 Mr. Darwin often spoke of Sir Charles Lyell's tendency to take 

 curious attitudes when excited. 



