I859-] SIR J. D. HOOKER. 



35 



and know scarcely any except of European animals. When 

 I reflect how very slowly I came round myself, I am in truth 

 astonished at the candour shown by Lyell, Hooker, Huxley, 

 and yourself. In my opinion it is grand. I thank you cor- 

 dially for taking the trouble of writing a review for the 

 ' National.' God knows 1 shall have few enough in any 

 degree favourable.* 



C. Darwin to C. Lyell. 



Saturday [December 5th, 1859]. 



... I have had a letter from Carpenter this morning. He 

 reviews me in the ' National.' He is a convert, but does not 

 go quite so far as I, but quite far enough, for he admits that 

 all birds are from one progenitor, and probably all fishes and 

 reptiles from another parent. But the last mouthful chokes 

 him. He can hardly admit all vertebrates from one parent. 

 He will surely come to this from Homology and Embryology. 

 I look at it as grand having brought round a great physiolo- 

 gist, for great I think he certainly is in that line. How curi- 

 ous I shall be to know what line Owen will take ; dead 

 against us, I fear ; but he wrote me a most liberal note on 

 the reception of my book, and said he was quite prepared to 

 consider fairly and without prejudice my line of argument. 



J. D. Hooker to C. Darwin. 



Kew, Monday. 



DEAR DARWIN, You have, I know, been drenched with 

 letters since the publication of your book, and I have hence 

 forborne to add my mite. I hope now that you are well 

 through Edition II., and I have heard that you were flour- 

 ishing in London. I have not yet got half-through the 

 book, not from want of will, but of time for it is the very 

 hardest book to read, to full profits, that I ever tried it is so 

 cram-full of matter and reasoning. I am all the more glad 



* See a letter to Dr. Carpenter, p. 57. 



