Oh. XIV.] 1861—1871. 261 



utmost extent on the Origin. De Candolle, in a very good 

 paper on 'Oaks/ goes, in Asa Gray's opinion, as far as he 

 himself does ; but De Candolle, in writing to me, says we, ' we 

 think this and that ; ' so that I infer he really goes to the full 

 extent with me, and tells me of a French good botanical 

 palaeontologist * (name forgotten), who writes to De Candolle 

 that he is sure that my views will ultimately prevail. But I 

 did not intend to have written all this. It satisfies me with 

 the final results, but this result, I begin to see, will take two or 

 three life-times. The entomologists are enough to keep the 

 subject back for half a century." 



The official attitude of French science was not very hopeful. 

 The Secretaire Perp^tuel of the Academie published an Examen 

 du livre de M. Darwin, on which my father remarks : — 



" A great gun, Flourens, has written a little dull book | 

 against me, which pleases me much, for it is plain that our 

 good work is spreading in France." 



Mr. Huxley, who reviewed the book,J quotes the following 

 passage from Flourens : — 



" M. Darwin continue : Aucune distinction absolue n'a et© 

 et ne peut etre £tablie entre les especes et les varietes I Je 

 vous ai deja dit que vous vous trompiez; une distinction 

 absolue se*pare les varietes d'aveo les especes." Mr. Huxley 

 remarks on this, " Being devoid of the blessings of an Academy 

 in England, we are unaccustomed to see our ablest men treated 

 in this way even by a Perpetual Secretary." After demon- 

 strating M. Flourens' misapprehension of Natural Selection, 

 Mr. Huxley says, " How one knows it all by heart, and with 

 what relief one reads at p. 65, ■ Je laisse M. Darwin.' " 



The deterrent effect of the Academie on the spread of 

 Evolution in France has been most striking. Even at the 

 present day a member of the Institute does not feel quite 

 happy in owning to a belief in Darwinism. We may indeed 

 be thankful that we are "devoid of such a blessing." 



Among the Germans, he was fast gaining supporters. 

 In 1865 he began a correspondence with the distinguished 

 Naturalist, Fritz Miiller, then, as now, resident in Brazil. 

 They never met, but the correspondence with Muller, which 

 continued to the close of my father's life, was a source of 

 very great pleasure to him. My impression is that of all his 

 unseen friends Fritz Muller was the one for whom he had 



* The Marquis de Saporta. 



t Examen du livre de M. Darwin sur Vorigine des especes. Par P. 

 Flourens. 8vo. Paris, 1864. 

 X Lay Sermons, p. 328. 



