528 LETTERS TO DARWIN AND OTHERS. [1865, 



Nearly all the little I possess is cheerfully put into 

 United States government stocks, where I am well 

 content it should be. 



Small countries, which you prefer, would do very 

 well if all were small, but the few large, like England 

 and France, will domineer unpleasantly over the 

 smaller. Just look now at poor Denmark, which has 

 the misfortune to be small, and so is made to suffer ! 

 All Scandinavia had best combine, and build up a 

 strong nation. Natural selection is hard upon the 

 weak ! However it may be in Europe, you must ex- 

 cuse us for endeavoring to prevent, while we may, 

 even at great cost, the establishment of a European 

 system on this side of the Atlantic ; so we must not 

 fail to put down the Confederacy. We shall, after 

 that, in a quiet way, make the French emperor very 

 uncomfortable in Mexico ; but we hope that country 

 may yet be a strong power, but not a French power. 



Enough of politics ! And believe me to be, with 

 affectionate regard, Ever yours, ASA GKAY. 



CAMBRIDGE, January 30, 1865. 



MY DEAR DE CANDOLLE: . . . This very day, I 

 have received your envoi by post of the neat little 

 article on leaves of Fagus, which I had seen in Eng- 

 lish dress, and the copy of Heer's address. Many 

 thanks to you. I have received also, and thank you 

 much for it, the " Prodromus," XIV., I. I have this 

 evening read over Heer's address. It is, as you say, 

 capital. It interests me in its proof of the antiquity 

 of the present flora ; and I admit that he very neatly 

 puts the case between his view of the production of 

 our species out of the older ones, and that of Darwin. 

 Here it still rests : Darwin has the great advantage of 



