I 4 2 THE 'ORIGIN OF SPECIES.' [1860. 



way, I hear Agassiz is going to thunder against me in the 

 next part of the ' Contributions.') Thank you for telling me 

 of the sale of the 'Origin/ of which I had not heard. There 

 will be some time, I presume, a new edition, and I especially 

 want your advice on one point, and you know I think you 

 the wisest of men, and I shall be absolutely guided by your 

 advice. It has occurred to me, that it would perhaps be a 

 good plan to put a set of notes (some twenty to forty or fifty) 

 to the ' Origin,' which now has none, exclusively devoted to 

 errors of my reviewers. It has occurred to me that where a 

 reviewer has erred, a common reader might err. Secondly, 

 it will show the reader that he must not trust implicitly to 

 reviewers. Thirdly, when any special fact has been attacked, 

 I should like to defend it. I would show no sort of anger. 

 I enclose a mere rough specimen, done without any care or 

 accuracy done from memory alone to be torn up, just to 

 show the sort of thing that has occurred to me. Will you do 

 me the great kindness to consider this well ? 



It seems to me it would have a good effect, and give some 

 confidence to the reader. It would [be] a horrid bore going 

 through all the reviews. 



Yours affectionately, 



C. DARWIN. 



[Here follow samples of foot-notes, the references to vol- 

 ume and page being left blank. It will be seen that in some 

 cases he seems to have forgotten that he was writing foot- 

 notes, and to have continued as if writing to Lyell : 



* Dr. Bree (p. ) asserts that saying that the " dorsal vertebrae of 

 I explain the structure of the cells pigeons vary in number, and dis- 

 of the Hive Bee by " the exploded pxites the fact." I nowhere even 

 doctrine of pressure." But I do not allude to the dorsal vertebrae, only 

 say one word which directly or indi- to the sacral and caudal vertebrae, 

 rectly can be interpreted into any * The ' Edinburgh ' Reviewer 

 reference to pressure. throws a doubt on these organs be- 



* The ' Edinburgh ' Reviewer ing the Branchiae of Cirripedes. 

 (vol. , p. ) quotes my work as But Professor Owen in 1854 admits, 



