350 'DESCENT OF MAN EXPRESSION. [1872. 



It was published in the autumn. The edition consisted of 

 7000, and of these 5267 copies were sold at Mr. Murray's sale 

 in November. Two thousand were printed at the end of the 

 year, and this proved a misfortune, as they did not afterwards 

 sell so rapidly, and thus a mass of notes collected by the 

 author was never employed for a second edition during his 

 lifetime. 



Among the reviews of the ' Expression of the Emotions ' 

 may be mentioned the unfavourable notices in the Athenceum, 

 Nov. 9, 1872, and the Times, Dec. 13, 1872. A good review 

 by Mr. Wallace appeared in the * Quarterly Journal of Sci- 

 ence,' Jan. 1873. Mr. Wallace truly remarks that the book 

 exhibits certain " characteristics of the author's mind in an 

 eminent degree," namely, " the insatiable longing to discover 

 the causes of the varied and complex phenomena presented 

 by living things." He adds that in the case of the author 

 " the restless curiosity of the child to know the ' what for ? ' 

 the ' why ? ' and the * how ? ' of everything " seems " never to 

 have abated its force." 



A writer in one of the theological reviews describes the 

 book as the most " powerful and insidious " of all the author's 

 works. 



Professor Alexander Bain criticised the book in a post- 

 script to the ' Senses and the Intellect ; ' to this essay the fol- 

 lowing letter refers :] 



C. Darwin to Alexander Bain. 



Down, October 9, 1873. 



MY DEAR SIR, I am particularly obliged to you for hav- 

 ing sent me your essay. Your criticisms are all written in a 

 quite fair spirit, and indeed no one who knows you or your 

 works would expect anything else. What you say about the 

 vagueness of what I have called the direct action of the nerv- 

 ous system, is perfectly just. I felt it so at the time, and even 

 more of late. I confess that I have never been able fully to 



