1 862.] BOOKS MIMICRY. 391 



keep a lot of the most noisy monkeys, half free, and study 

 their means of communication ! 



A book has just appeared here which will, I suppose, make 

 a noise, by Bishop Colenso,* who, judging from extracts, 

 smashes most of the Old Testament. Talking of books, I am 

 in the middle of one which pleases me, though it is very 

 innocent food, viz. Miss Cooper's 'Journal of a Naturalist.' 

 Who is she ? She seems a very clever woman, and gives a 

 capital account of the battle between our and your weeds. 

 Does it not hurt your Yankee pride that we thrash you so 

 confoundedly ? I am sure Mrs. Gray will stick up for your 

 own weeds. Ask her whether they are not more honest, 

 downright good sort of weeds. The book gives an extremely 

 pretty picture of one of your villages ; but I see your autumn, 

 though so much more gorgeous than ours, comes on sooner, 

 and that is one comfort 



C. Darwin to H. W. Bates. 



Down, Nov. 20, [1862]. 



DEAR BATES, I have just finished, after several reads, your 

 paper.f In my opinion it is one of the most remarkable and 



* ' The Pentateuch and Book of " By what means, it may be 



Joshua critically examined,' six asked, have so many butterflies of 



parts, 1862-71. the Amazonian region acquired 



f This refers to Mr. Bates's their deceptive dress ? Most natur- 

 paper, " Contributions to an Insect alists will answer that they were 

 Fauna of the Amazons Valley " thus clothed from the hour of their 

 ('Linn. Soc. Trans.' xxiii., 1862), in creation an answer which will 

 which the now familiar subject of generally be so far triumphant that 

 mimicry was founded. My father it can be met only by long-drawn 

 wrote a short review of it in the arguments ; but it is made at the 

 'Natural History Review,' 1863, expense of putting an effectual bar 

 p. 219, parts of which occur almost to all further inquiry. In this par- 

 verbatim in the later editions of ticular case, moreover, the crea- 

 the ' Origin of Species.' A striking tionist will meet with special diffi- 

 passage occurs in the review, show- culties ; for many of the mimicking 

 ing the difficulties of the case from forms of Leptalis can be shown by 

 a creationist's point of view : a graduated series to be merely 



