MR. GRANT ALLEN'S "CHARLES DARWIN." 249 



conclusions, not 'what "seemed" to do so. Anyone 

 who knows the first volume of the " Philosophic 

 Zoologique'' will be aware that there is no " seems" in 

 the matter. Mr. Darwin's words " seem " to say that 

 it really could not be worth any practical naturalist's 

 while to devote attention to Lamarck's arguments ; 

 the inquiry might be of interest to antiquaries, but 

 Mr. Darwin had more important work in hand than 

 following the vagaries of one who had been so com- 

 pletely exploded as Lamarck had been. " Seem " is 

 to men what " feel " is to women ; women who feel, 

 and men who grease every other sentence with a 

 " seem," are alike to be looked on with distrust. 



" Still," continues Mr. Allen, " Darwin gave no sign. 

 A flaccid, cartilaginous, unphilosophic evolutionism had 

 full possession of the field for the moment, and claimed, 

 as it were, to be the genuuie representative of the 

 young and vigorous biological creed, while he himself 

 was in truth the real heir to all the honours of the 

 situation. He was in possession of the master-key 

 which alone could unlock the bars that opposed the 

 progress of evolution, and still he waited. He could 

 afibrd to wait. He was diligently collecting, amass- 

 ing, investigating; eagerly reading every new syste- 

 matic work, every book of travels, every scientific 

 journal, every record of sport, or exploration, or dis- 

 covery, to extract from the dead mass of undigested 

 fact whatever item of implicit value might swell the 

 definite co-ordinated series of notes in his own common- 

 place books for the now distinctly contemplated ' Origin 

 of Species.' His way was, to make all sure behind 



