108 THE UNFINISHED BOOK. [1857. 



genera. It seems to me a mere balancing of probabilities. 

 Again I thank you most sincerely, but I fear you will find it 



a horrid job. 



Ever yours, 



C. DARWIN. 



[The letters now continue the history of the years 1857 

 and 1858.] 



C. Darwin to A. R. Wallace. 



Down, Dec. 22nd, 1857. 



MY DEAR SIR, I thank you for your letter of Sept. 27th. 

 I am extremely glad to hear that you are attending to distri- 

 bution in accordance with theoretical ideas. I am a firm 

 believer that without speculation there is no good and original 

 observation. Few travellers have attended to such points as 

 you are now at work on ; and, indeed, the whole subject of 

 distribution of animals is dreadfully behind that of plants. 

 You say that you have been somewhat surprised at no notice 

 having been taken of your paper in the Annals.* I cannot say 

 that I am, for so very few naturalists care for anything beyond 

 the mere description of species. But you must not suppose 

 that your paper has not been attended to : two very good 

 men, Sir C. Lyell, and Mr. E. Blyth at Calcutta, specially 

 called my attention to it. Though agreeing with you on your 

 conclusions in that paper, I believe I go much further than 

 you ; but it is too long a subject to enter on my speculative 

 notions. I have not yet seen your paper on the distribution 

 of animals in the Aru Islands. I shall read it with the 

 utmost interest ; for think that the most interesting quarter 

 of the whole globe in respect to distribution, and I have long 

 been very imperfectly trying to collect data for the Malay 

 Archipelago. I shall be quite prepared to subscribe to your 



* " On the Law that has regulated the Introduction of New Species." 

 Ann. Nat. Hist., 1855. 



