My dear Hooker

I send the accompanying pamphlet² (which may be left anytime at Athenæum or Geolog Soc.) for the chance of your not having seen it & your liking to do so.— The Geological reasoning appears to me quite sound, except touching the old shallow seas. I am delighted to hear that Brongiart thought Sigillaria aquatic³ & that Binney considers coal a sort of submarine peat. I w^d. bet 5 to 1 that in 20 years this will be generally admitted; and I do not care for whatever the Botanical difficulties or impossibilities may be. If I could but persuade myself that Sigillaria & Co. had a good range of depth, ie c^d live from 5 to 100 fathoms under water, all difficulties of nearly all kinds would be removed.—(for the simple fact of muddy ordinarily shallow sea implies proximity of land.) (NB I am chuckling to think how you are sneering all this time.) It is not much of a difficulty there not being shells with the coal, considering how unfavourable deep mud is for most Mollusca: & that shells w^d probably decay from the humic acid, as seems to take place in peat & in the black moulds (as Lyell tells me) of the Missisippi.— so coal question settled. Q.E.D— sneer away.—

Many thanks for your welcome note from Cambridge & I am glad you like my alma mater, which I despise heartily as a place of education, but love from many most pleasant recollections; I am delighted to think there is any chance of Henslow & you coming here; you did very right to urge him here.— I hope much to be at Oxford, but my poor wife will be otherwise engaged⁴ & that is my only cause of doubt of being able to attend.

Thanks for your offer of the Phytologist; I shall be very much obliged for it, for I do not suppose I sh^d be able to borrow it from any other quarter: I will not be set up too much by your praise, but I do not believe I ever lost a book or forgot to return it during a long lapse of time. Your Webb⁵ is well wrapped up & with your name in large letters, outside.—

My new microscope⁶ is come home (a “splendid plaything”, as old R. Brown⁷ called it) & I am delighted with it; it really is a splendid plaything. I have been in London for three days & saw many of our friends. I was extremely sorry to hear a not very good account of Sir William.

Farewell my dear Hooker & be a good boy & make Sigillaria a submarine sea-weed— pray give my compliments to M^r Berkeley—⁸ Ever yours. C. Darwin