18 FIFTY YEARS OF DARWINISM 



to present his conclusions in a volume, for he was 

 unwilling to place any responsibility for his 

 opinions on the council of a scientific society. On 

 this point he was, as he told Sir Joseph Hooker, 

 in the only fit state for asking advice; namely, 

 with his mind firmly made up : then good advice 

 was very comforting while it was perfectly easy 

 to reject had advice. The work was continued 

 steadily until June 18, 1858, when Wallace's let- 

 ter and essay arrived from Ternate. As a result 

 of the anniversary held in London on July 1 last 

 year new light has been thrown upon the circum- 

 stances under which the joint essay was published 

 fifty years before. 



In consequence of the death of the eminent 

 botanist, Robert Brown, Vice-President and ex- 

 President of the Linnean Society, the last meet- 

 ing of the summer session, called for June 17, 

 was adjourned. The by-laws required that the 

 vacancy on the Council should be filled up within 

 three months, and a special meeting was called 

 for July 1, for this purpose. Darwin received 

 Wallace's essay on June 18, too late for the sum- 

 mer meetings of the Society, but in good time for 

 Lyell and Hooker to present it to the special 

 meeting. Hence, as Sir Joseph Hooker said on 

 July 1st last, the death of Robert Brown caused 

 the theory of Natural Selection to be " given to 

 the world at least four months earlier than would 

 otherwise have been the case." Sir Joseph 

 Hooker also informed us that from June 18 up 



