150 SPREAD OF EVOLUTION. [1861. 



impress of the author's personal character in the obvious wish 

 to do full justice to all his predecessors, though even in 

 this respect it has not escaped some adverse criticism. 



Towards the end of the present year (1861), the final 

 arrangements for the first French edition of the ' Origin ' were 

 completed, and in September a copy of the third English 

 edition was despatched to Mdlle. Clemence Royer, who under- 

 took the work of translation. The book was now spreading 

 on the Continent, a Dutch edition had appeared, and, as we 

 have seen, a German translation had been published in 1860. 

 In a letter to Mr. Murray (September 10, 1861), he wrote, 

 " My book seems exciting much attention in Germany, 

 judging from the number of discussions sent me." The 

 silence had been broken, and in a few years the voice of 

 German science was to become one of the strongest of the 

 advocates of evolution. 



During all the early part of the year (1861) he was working 

 at the mass of details which are marshalled in order in the early 

 chapter of ' Animals and Plants.' Thus in his Diary occur 

 the laconic entries, "May 16, Finished Fowls (eight weeks) ; 

 May 31, Ducks." 



On July i, he started, with his family, for Torquay, where 

 he remained until August 27 a holiday which he character- 

 istically enters in his diary as " eight weeks and a day." The 

 house he occupied was in Hesketh Crescent, a pleasantly 

 placed row of houses close above the sea, somewhat removed 

 from what was then the main body of the town, and not far 

 from the beautiful cliffed coast-line in the neighbourhood of 

 Anstey's Cove. 



During the Torquay holiday, and for the remainder of the 

 year, he worked at the fertilisation of orchids. This part of 

 the year 1861 is not dealt with in the present chapter, because 

 (as explained in the preface) the record of his life, as told in 

 his letters, seems to become clearer when the whole of his 

 botanical work is placed together and treated separately. 

 The present series of chapters will, therefore, include only 

 the progress of his works in the direction of a general 



