496 THE WRITING OF THE 'ORIGIN OF SPECIES.' [1853. 



at soonest till April, and then my Abstract will in bulk make 

 a small volume. I never give more than one or two instances, 

 and I pass over briefly all difficulties, and yet I cannot make 

 my Abstract shorter, to be satisfactory, than I am now doing, 

 and yet it will expand to a small volume 



[About this time my father revived his old knowledge of 

 beetles in helping his boys in their collecting. He sent a 

 short notice to the * Entomologist's Weekly Intelligencer,' 

 June 25th, 1859, recording the capture of Licinus silphoides, 

 Clytus mysticus, Panagceus ^-pustulatus. The notice begins 

 with the words, " We three very young collectors having lately 

 taken in the parish of Down," &c., and is signed by three of 

 his boys, but was clearly not written by them. I have a vivid 

 recollection of the pleasure of turning out my bottle of dead 

 beetles for my father to name, and the excitement, in which 

 he fully shared, when any of them proved to be uncommon 

 ones. The following letters to Mr. Fox (November 13, 1858), 

 and to Sir John Lubbock, illustrate this point :] 



C. Darwin to W. D. Fox. 



Down, Nov. I3th [1858]. 



.... W., my son, is now at Christ's College, in the rooms 

 above yours. My old Gyp, Impey, was astounded to hear 

 that he was my son, and very simply asked, " Why, has he 

 been long married ? " What pleasant hours those were when 

 I used to come and drink coffee with you daily ! I am re- 

 minded of old days by my third boy having just begun 

 collecting beetles, and he caught the other day Brachinus 

 crepitans, of immortal Whittlesea Mere memory. My blood 

 boiled with old ardour when he caught a Licinus a prize 

 unknown to me. . . . 



C. Darwin to John Lubbock. 



Thursday [before 1857]. 



DEAR LUBBOCK, I do not know whether you care about 

 beetles, but for the chance I send this in a bottle, which I 



