I 4 2 THE 'ORIGIN OF SPECIES.* [i860. 



way, I hear Agassiz is going to thunder against me in the 

 next part of the ' Contributions.') Thank you for telling me 

 of the sale of the ' Origin,' of which I had not heard. There 

 will be some time, I presume, a new edition, and I especially 

 want your advice on one point, and you know I think you 

 the wisest of men, and I shall be absolutely guided by your 

 advice. It has occurred to me, that it would perhaps be a 

 good plan to put a set of notes (some twenty to forty or fifty) 

 to the ' Origin,' which now has none, exclusively devoted to 

 errors of my reviewers. It has occurred to me that where a 

 reviewer has erred, a common reader might err. Secondly, 

 it will show the reader that he must not trust implicitly to 

 reviewers. Thirdly, when any special fact has been attacked, 

 I should like to defend it. I would show no sort of anger. 

 I enclose a mere rough specimen, done without any care or 

 accuracy — done from memory alone — to be torn up, just to 

 show the sort of thing that has occurred to me. Will you do 

 me the great kindness to consider this well ? 



It seems to me it would have a good effect, and give some 

 confidence to the reader. It would [be] a horrid bore going 

 through all the reviews. 



Yours affectionately, 



C. Darwin. 



[Here follow samples of foot-notes, the references to vol- 

 ume and page being left blank. It will be seen that in some 

 cases he seems to have forgotten that he was writing foot- 

 notes, and to have continued as if writing to Lyell : — 



* Dr. Bree (p. ) asserts that saying that the " dorsal vertebrae of 

 I explain the structure of the cells pigeons vary in number, and dis- 

 of the Hive Bee by " the exploded putes the fact." I nowhere even 

 doctrine of pressure." But I do not allude to the dorsal vertebrae, only 

 say one word which directly or indi- to the sacral and caudal vertebrae, 

 rectly can be interpreted into any * The ' Edinburgh ' Reviewer 

 reference to pressure. throws a doubt on these organs be- 



* The ' Edinburgh ' Reviewer ing the Branchiae of Cirripedes. 

 (vol. , p. ) quotes my work as But Professor Owen in 1854 admits, 



