Ch. XIV.] 1861—1871. 249 



between these friends of the animosity at that time so strong 

 between England and America * : — 



" Talking of books, I am in the middle of one which pleases 

 me, though it is very innocent food, viz. Miss Cooper's Journal 

 of a Naturalist. Who is she ? She seems a very clover 

 woman, and gives a capital account of the battle between our 

 and your weeds, f Does it not hurt your Yankee pride that we 

 thrash you so confoundedly? I am sure Mrs. Gray will 

 stick up for your own weeds. Ask her whether they are not 

 more honest, downright good sort of weeds. The book gives an 

 extremely pretty picture of one of your villages ; but I see 

 your autumn, though so much more gorgeous than ours, comes 

 on sooner, and that is one comfort." 



A question constantly recurring in the letters to Gray is that 

 of design. For instance : — 



"Your question what would convince me of design is a 

 poser. If I saw an angel come down to teach us good, and I 

 was convinced from others seeing him that I was not mad, I 

 should believe in design. If I could be convinced thoroughly 

 that life and mind was in an unknown way a function of other 

 imponderable force, I should be convinced. If man was made 

 of brass or iron and no way connected with any other organism 

 which had ever lived, I should perhaps be convinced. But this 

 is childish writing. 



" I have lately been corresponding with Lyell, who, I think, 

 adopts your idea of the stream of variation having been led or 

 designed. I have asked him (and he says he will hereafter 

 reflect and answer me) whether he believes that the shape of my 

 nose was designed. If he does I have nothing more to say. If 

 not, seeing what Fanciers have done by selecting individual 

 differences in the nasal bones of pigeons, I must think that it is 

 illogical to suppose that the variations, which natural selection 

 preserves for the good of any being, have been designed. But 

 I know that I am in the same sort of muddle (as I have said 



* In his letters to Gray there are also numerous references to the 

 American war. I give a single passage. " I never knew the newspapers 

 so profoundly interesting. North America does not do England justice ; 

 I have not seen or heard of a soul who is not with the North. Some few, 

 and I am one of them, even wish to God, though at the loss of millions of 

 lives, that the North would proclaim a crusade against slavery. In the 

 long-run, a million horrid deaths would be amply repaid in the cause of 

 humanity. What wonderful times we live in ! Massachusetts seems to 

 show noble enthusiasm. Great God ! how I should like to see the greatest 

 curse on earth — slavery — abolished ! " 



t This refers to the remarkable fact that many introduced European 

 weeds have spread over large parts of the United States. 



