The Discovery of Natural Selection 



lication of the two, and offered — should he agree to such a 

 compromise — to write to Mr. Wallace fully informing him 

 of the motives of the course adopted. 



In answer Mr. Darwin thanked me warmly for my offer 

 to explain all to Mr. Wallace, and in a later letter he in- 

 formed me that he was disposed to look favourably on my 

 suggested compromise, but that before making up his mind 

 he desired a second opinion as to whether he could honour- 

 ably claim priority, and that he proposed applying to Sir 

 Charles Lyell for this. I need not say that this was a relief 

 to me, knowing as I did what Sir Charles's answer must be. 



In Vol. II., pp. 117-18, of the ^^ Life and Letters," Mr. 

 Darwin's application to Sir Charles Lyell is given, dated 

 June 26th, with a postscript dated June 27th. In it he 

 requests that the answer shall be sent to me to be for- 

 warded to himself. I have no recollection of reading the 

 answer, which is not to be found either in Darwin's or 

 my own correspondence; it was no doubt satisfactory. 



Further action was now left in the hands of Sir Charles 

 and myself, we all agreeing that, whatever action was taken, 

 the result should be offered for publication to the Linnean 

 Society. 



On June 29th Mr. Darwin wrote to me in acute distress, 

 being himself very ill, and scarlet fever raging in the family, 

 to which one infant son had succumbed on the previous day, 

 and a daughter was ill with diphtheria. He acknowledged the 

 receipt of the letter from me, adding, '' I cannot think now 

 of the subject, but soon will : you shall hear as soon as I can 

 think " ; and on the night of the same day he writes again, 

 telling me that he is quite prostrated and can do nothing but 

 send certain papers for which I had asked as essential for 

 completing the prefatory statement to the communication to 

 the Linnean Society of Mr. Wallace's essay. . . . 



The communications were read, as was the custom in 

 those days, by the Secretary to the Society. Mr. Darwin 

 himself, owing to his illness and distress, could not be 

 present. Sir Charles Lyell and myself said a few words 

 to emphasise the importance of the subject, but, as re- 

 corded in the ^^ Life and Letters '* (Vol. II., p. 126), 



119 



