1871.] REVIEWS. 139 



On March 20 he wrote to Mr. Murray : 



"Many thanks for the Nonconformist [March 8, 1871]. I 

 like to see all that is written, and it is of some real use. If 

 you hear of reviewers in out-of-the-way papers, especially the 

 religious, as Record, Guardian, Tablet, kindly inform me. It 

 is wonderful that there has been no abuse * as yet, but I 

 suppose I shall not escape. On the whole, the reviews have 

 been highly favourable." 



The following extract from a letter to Mr. Murray (April 

 13, 1871) refers to a review in the Times. \ 



"I have no idea who wrote the Times review. He has 

 no knowledge of science, and seems to me a wind-bag full 

 of metaphysics and classics, so that I do not much regard 

 his adverse judgment, though I suppose it will injure the 

 sale." 



A review of the ' Descent of Man/ which my father spoke 

 of as "capital," appeared in the Saturday Review (Mar. 4 

 and n, 1871). A passage from the first notice (Mar. 4) may 

 be quoted in illustration of the broad basis, as regards general 

 acceptance, on which the doctrine of Evolution now stood : 

 " He claims to have brought man himself, his origin and 

 constitution, within that unity which he had previously 

 sought to trace through all lower animal forms. The growth 

 of opinion in the interval, due in chief measure to his own 

 intermediate works, has placed the discussion of this problem 



* " I feel a full conviction that citation will show : " Even had it 



my chapter on man will excite been rendered highly probable, 



attention and plenty of abuse, and which we doubt, that the animal 



I suppose abuse is as good as creation has been developed into 



praise for selling a book." (From its numerous and widely different 



a letter to Mr. Murray, Jan. 31, varieties by mere evolution, it would 



1867.) still require an independent investi- 



f Times, April 7 and 8, 1871. gation of overwhelming force and 



The review is not only unfavourable completeness to justify the pre- 



as regards the book under dis- sumption that man is but a term in 



cussion, but also as regards Evolu- this self-evolving series." 

 tion in general, as the following 



