Grant Allen’s ‘‘Charles Darwin” 215 
The author of the ‘‘ Vestiges ” did, doubtless, suppose 
that “some bird” had given birth to a woodpecker, or 
more strictly, that a couple of birds had done so—and this 
is all that Mr. Darwin has committed himself to—but no 
one better knew that these two birds would, according to 
the author of the ‘‘ Vestiges,”’ be just as much woodpeckers, 
and just as little woodpeckers, as they would be with Mr. 
Darwin himself. Mr. Chambers did not suppose that a 
woodpecker became a woodpecker per salium though born 
of some widely different bird, but Mr. Darwin’s words have 
no application unless they convey this impression. The 
reader will note that though the impression is conveyed, 
Mr. Darwin avoids conveying it categorically. I suppose 
this is what Mr. Allen means by saying that he ‘‘ made 
all things sure behind him.” Mr. Chambers did indeed be- 
lieve in occasional sports ; so did Mr. Darwin, and we have 
seen that in the later editions of the “ Origin of Species ” 
he found himself constrained to lay greater stress on these 
than he had originally done. Substantially, Mr. Chambers 
held much the same opinion as to the suddenness or slow- 
ness of modification as Mr. Darwin did, nor can it be 
doubted that Mr. Darwin knew this perfectly well. 
What I have said about the woodpecker applies also to 
the mistletoe. Besides, it was Mr. Darwin’s business not to 
“presume ” anything about the matter ; his business was 
to tell us what the author of the ‘‘ Vestiges ”’ had said, or 
to refer us to the page of the “‘ Vestiges ” on which we should 
find this. I suppose he was too busy “ collecting, amassing, 
investigating,” &c., to be at much pains not to misre- 
present those who had been in the field before him. There 
is no other reference to the “ Vestiges ” in the “ Origin of 
Species ”’ than this suave but singularly fraudulent passage. 
In his edition of 1860 the author of the “ Vestiges ”’ 
showed that he was nettled, and said it was to be regretted 
Mr. Darwin had read the “ Vestiges” “‘ almost as much 
amiss as if, like its declared opponents, he had an interest 
