732 FINAL JOURNEYS AND WORK.  [1882, 
be printed before long.! I shall be curious to know 
what you think of it. 
I sent you a portion of a New York religious news- 
paper containing a sort of review of two books with 
which I beguiled the voyage last October or Novem- 
ber. It is of no great consequence. But I sometimes 
write such reviews or articles to papers of this kind, 
which are endeavoring to do their best in bridging 
over the gap between the thoughts of a former gener- 
ation, or of our younger days, and of the present day. 
I believe such articles are now and then helpful. 
You supposed that I had seen the “ Lyell’s Life 
and Letters” sooner than I had. To my surprise the 
volumes are not reprinted in America; and I have 
only just succeeded in procuring a copy from England. 
I have read a good deal of. it, and with much inter- 
est. The allusion to me, which you referred to, was 
of course very pleasant. The last chapter of the 
“ Antiquity of Man” had apprised me (for I never 
had any direct correspondence with Lyell) that we 
thought much alike on such matters; and we are apt 
to approve views which agree with our own. I always 
thought Lyell a very level-headed man, — one with a 
very judicial turn of mind ; and his letters and journal 
bring this out well, as they do the whole life and the 
charming character of the man. It is interesting to 
see how early he took the line which he followed in his 
whole life’s work, and which has changed the face of 
geology and philosophical natural history. For, in- 
deed, Lyell is as much the father of the new mode of 
thought which now prevails as is Darwin. I have 
said a word about this, which I will try to send you. 
That is a noble letter to Mr. Spedding, about the 
1 Contemporary Review, xli. 
