342 LIFE AT DOWN. JETAT. 33-45. [1849, 



of a child, three or four years old (whose parents and self I 

 well knew) mesmerised by his father, which is the first fact 

 which has staggered me. I shall not believe fully till I see 

 or hear from good evidence of animals (as has been stated is 

 possible) not drugged, being put to stupor ; of course the im- 

 possibility would not prove mesmerism false ; but it is the 

 only clear experimentum crucis, and I am astonished it has 

 not been systematically tried. If mesmerism was investi- 

 gated, like a science, this could not have been left till the 

 present day to be done satisfactorily, as it has been I believe 

 left. Keep some cats yourself, and do get some mesmeriser 

 to attempt it. One man told me he had succeeded, but his 

 experiments were most vague, as was likely from a man who 

 said cats were more easily done than other animals, because 

 they were so electrical ! "] 



C. Darwin to C. Lyell. 



Down, December 4th [1849]. 



MY DEAR LYELL, This letter requires no answer, and I 

 write from exuberance of vanity. Dana has sent me the 

 Geology of the United States Expedition, and I have just 

 read the Coral part. To begin with a modest speech, / am 

 astonished at my own accuracy ! ! If I were to rewrite now my 

 Coral book there is hardly a sentence I should have to alter, 

 except that I ought to have attributed more effect to recent 

 volcanic action in checking growth of coral. When I say all 

 this I ought to add that the consequences of the theory on 

 areas of subsidence are treated in a separate chapter to which 

 I have not come, and in this, I suspect, we shall differ more. 

 Dana talks of agreeing with my theory in most points ; I can 

 find out not one in which he differs. Considering how in- 

 finitely more he saw of Coral Reefs than I did, this is won- 

 derfully satisfactory to me. He treats me most courteously, 

 There now, my vanity is pretty well satisfied. . . 



