Dear M^r Darwin,

I hope that you are getting on pretty well in health now, & that a “Happy New Year” has opened for yourself & M^rs Darwin & all your family—

I was dining with a friend of mine on Sunday—a M^r. Gooden¹ who married a cousin on my mother’s side, & he expressed a great desire to lay a suggestion of his before you, & asked me to take that liberty.

He has, in the course of his life suffered very much from that disease in the hair which the Faculty now call “Porigo decalvans”² which exhibits itself in the simple falling off of the hair either in great round patches, or even altogether all over the body—leaving the skin perfectly clean & without the slightest surface discolouring. He is now very much better, but his mind having been turned to the subject, he has lately observed the same disease in a favourite dog belonging to one of his daughters; & therefore, knowing your doctrine that disease is communicable from Man to the Ape,³ it has occurred to him that this “Porigo Decalvans” in the hairy animal, the dog, as well as in man, may prove some link between the two, & show or indicate that Man in passing out of his original “hairy-animal-state”, which you attribute to him, may have brought with him this old disease, pertaining to that first state, & being common still to all hairy animals.

I think this is as nearly as possible his proposition, & he is very anxious to know what you would say about it— The disease I believe is parasytical, & is connected with some fungus in the skin which Sulphur destroys.

Now pray do not trouble yourself upon this subject— if at your leisure you could without bothering yourself some day send me a few lines I should be only too much obliged to you.

Cap^tn. Burton was dining with me the other day. He has been much struck by the mode in which you differ with him about the subject of what “beauty”, in the abstract, is to various nations—savages included: & is most anxious to be introduced to you— However, that would be for March next, if I might some day bring him down. I told him you did not converse long.⁴

Faithfully yours | J. J. Aubertin.