^T. 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 yb.9 barbarian they bring to the country. 



. '..' * November 23. 



The next best thin^,-4if . late, is the expose of Lind- 

 say and G^rge 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 



