204 Luck, or Cunning ? 
as to cut it out, it is probable he was far from comfortable 
about the others. 
This view derives confirmation from the fact that in 
1869, with the fifth edition of the “ Origin of Species,” 
there was a stampede of my’s throughout the whole work, 
no less than thirty out of the original forty-five being 
changed into “‘ the,” “ our,” “ this,” or some other word, 
which, though having all the effect of my, still did not say 
“my ” outright. These my’s were, if I may say so, sneaked 
out ; nothing was said to explain their removal to the reader 
or call attention to it. Why, it may be asked, having been 
considered during the revisions of 1861 and 1866, and with 
only one exception allowed to stand, why should they be 
smitten with a homing instinct in such large numbers with 
the fifth edition? It cannot be maintained that Mr. 
Darwin had had his attention called now for the first time 
to the fact that he had used my perhaps a little too freely, 
and had better be more sparing of it for the future. The 
my excised in 1866 shows that Mr. Darwin had already 
considered this question, and saw no reason to remove any 
but the one that left him no loophole. Why, then, should 
that which was considered and approved in 1859, 1861, 
and 1866 (not to mention the second edition of 1859 or 
1860) be retreated from with every appearance of panic 
in 1869? Mr. Darwin could not well have cut out more 
than he did—not at any rate without saying something 
about it, and it would not be easy to know exactly what to 
say. Of the fourteen my’s that were left in 1869, five more 
were cut out in 1872, and nine only were allowed eventually 
to remain. We naturally ask, Why leave any if thirty-six 
ought to be cut out, or why cut out thirty-six if nine 
ought to be left—especially when the claim remains practi- 
cally just the same after the excision as before it ? 
I imagine complaint had early reached Mr. Darwin that 
the difference between himself and his predecessors was 
unsubstantial and hard to grasp; traces of some such 
