448 A Characterisation of [August, 
cussed, and mentions Dr. Mivart’s saltatory hypothesis, 
adding “ some naturalists agree with him ” (p. 201). He 
also admits that, by the discussion, “ a good opportunity 
“ has been afforded for enlarging ” on a subject not hereto- 
fore “ treated at sufficient length ” (p. 198). Whether, then, 
his remark that he had “considered enough, perhaps more^ 
“ than enough, of the cases, selected with care by a. skilful 
“ naturalist ” (p. 198), was a conclusion characterised by 
courtesy the reader will please judge. 
Mr. Darwin frequently couples Mr. Wallace’s name with 
his own, and styles the latter’s ‘ contribution ’ of 1858 
“an excellent memoir” (p. 1), in which “the theory of 
“natural selection is promulgated with admirable force and 
“clearness” (p.xxi.). But what of the earlier ‘contribution ’ 
of 1855 ? Is it not strange that this is ignored in an histo- 
rical sketch where room was found to announce that Rafi- 
nesque thought “ that all species might have been varieties 
“once,” “ except the original types ” ; that d’Halloy deemed 
creation less probable than evolution ; or even that Professor 
Huxley considered evolution “ unproven ” — not to mention 
Dr. Freke ? Did Mr. Darwin know of this Sarawak essay ? 
Yes ; for in the first edition of the Or. of Sp. he quoted 
therefrom Mr. Wallace’s law that “ Every species has come 
“ into existence, coincident both in space and time, with a 
“ pre-existing closely allied species,” adding — “ And I now 
“ know, from correspondence, that this coincidence he attri- 
“ butes to generation with modification ” (p. 355 )? J us t as 
though the Ternate essay had never been written ! 
The above law was conceived by Mr. Wallace as early as 
1845, and since then he had taken “ every opportunity of 
“ testing it by all the newly-ascertained fadts with which he 
“ had become acquainted or had been ableto observe himself,” 
for he deemed the advent to new species 1o be “ the most 
“ difficult and at the same time the most interesting problem 
“ in the natural history of the Earth.” He attributed the 
characters of the plants and animals of the Galapagos to 
their having been “ first peopled, like other newly-formed 
“islands, by the adtion of winds and currents, at a period 
sufficiently remote to have had the original species die out, 
and the modified prototypes only remain.” He considered 
that “ the risings and fallings in the scale of organisation 
“ [can alone] be in every case explained ” by supposing that 
“ lower forms which have better resisted the modified phy- 
“ sical conditions have served as the antitypes on which to 
“ found the new races.” He speaks of “ modifications of 
“ structure and organisation ” being “ given ” to groups. 
