eal 
en 
mr. 53.) TO CHARLES DARWIN. 513 
strikes me more than the smallness of mind and 
largeness of gullibility of the British people, as far as 
I can judge from their press (weeklies, quarterlies, and 
“ Times”). But I do not suppose you will fight us 
because you dislike us; and so conversely. I suppose 
I do not see the papers which so abuse England, 
though I read influential and respectable papers ; but 
from what I do see, I think we receive far more abuse 
and misrepresentation and unfair usage than we give. 
As to the course of the war and policy of our coun- 
try as to slavery, some day when you turn back to 
some early letter of mine you will see that I was a 
fairly good prophet; that the South might have de- 
layed the abolition of slavery by giving up early in 
the conflict, but that every month of continued resist- 
ance hastened and insured the downfall of slavery. 
That is now doomed, and sure near to rapid death ; 
quick in some places, slower in others, but sure. 
Ill-usage of negroes — who make such good sol- 
diers — will soon be unheard of, except with Irish. It 
will take some generations of American life to breed 
out the barbarian they bring to the country. 
November 23. 
The next best thing, of late, is the exposé of Lind- 
say and George Saunders (the Confederates) by His- 
toricus. 
I trust Historicus’ previous letters, in which he 
Shows (about the same time my father-in-law’s articles 
on the subject reached England) that it is the duty of 
a country to see that armed or war vessels are not 
fitted out, quite irrespective of all municipal law, have 
produced their proper effect. Something has pro- 
duced a great effect, and a great change in the idea 
