102 LIFE OF TEGETMEIER 



the only two men now living amongst those 

 mentioned by Darwin in the first edition of that 

 important book. Darwin was at that time 

 accumulating evidence for his large work on the 

 Variation of Animals. He was surprised and 

 gratified when he found that so humble and 

 obscure an individual as myself had been working 

 at the same subject for some years, and had 

 collected and prepared with his own hands a 

 large number of skulls and anatomical specimens 

 bearing on the subject. How eagerly he embraced 

 the opportunity of adding to his materials may 

 be inferred from the fact that the next morning 

 brought him to my little country cottage at 

 Wood Green. When he went away he took with 

 him a box of skulls and other specimens, many 

 of which have been engraved in his well-known 

 volumes on variation, and this led to a friendship 

 which lasted until his death." 



The autobiographical article in the Taller was 

 written in 1904, and the old man's recollection 

 was a trifle at fault, for in the Life History he 

 made this entry : " Darwin's first letter to me, 

 making appointment to come to Wood Green on 



Thursday, November to see my collection of 



skulls, etc. Letter dated Nov. 16th, 1855." As 

 this was evidently written up from Darwin's 

 correspondence, it is undoubtedly correct ; the 

 article was only of a light nature, adapted for a 

 weekly illustrated paper. November 1855 was, 

 then, the date of the first meeting " in the flesh " 

 of these two interesting men. The next and 

 the only other reference in the diary to Darwin 



