My dear Sir!

Once more over to this country I should have made my personal appearance before You, had I not been afraid of being troublesome to You.¹

But I cannot help writing and giving You a short abstract of the march of my affair, in which You have been so kind as to take interest. All the more I must do so, as I hope You will continue to lend Your great moral assistance to the enterprise, which I now have entered at full length.²

The Napolitan affairs get on very well, and I am prepared to begin building October next. I have secured the assistance of the Berlin Minister of Instruction and the personal sympathy of the German ambassador at Rome.³

I have got some eminent German Naturalists,—Helmholtz, Dubois-Reymond, Leuckart, Haeckel, Carl Vogt, Siebold etc. to write me letters, stating the great importance for Science of the complete carrying out of my plans. These letters I am about to print together with a short explanation of my undertaking.⁴

I have got the “Times”, “Nature”, “Athenaeum”, “Pall Mall Gazette” and some others to write in favour of the “Zoological Stations”.⁵ Mr. Norman Lockyer besides has promised me to secure the assistance of the most important American Papers.⁶ I myself am able of doing every thing in the great German Periodicals and Papers; Italy too is at my disposal,—so that, including the different travelling books, Murray, Baedeker etc,—all these Elements of the Press have been won.⁷

I am quite satisfied with the result of the Edinbourgh Meeting.⁸ The new Comittee formed by Prof. Huxley, Rolleston, Percival Wright, Dr. Sclater and Ray Lankester will, I hope, be sufficient to carry on the subject in this Country.⁹ I am about to visit the German Meeting and get its assistance too.¹⁰ In the first week of October the International Meeting of Anthropologists will be held at Bologna and I think I may bring them to testify their adherence to the Stations.¹¹

Thus a general agreement may be reached at and the Stations may realize, what they are intended for.

But I find it necessary to add one more important element. I think it necessary, that the whole affair may lie as long as possible in one hand. But this hand,—just now happening to be mine—ought to enjoy a general confidence. Therefore I intend to give an annual Report of the Management of the Station to a select Committee of Naturalists of high standard and after they have examined it, to publish it in all the Papers that lend their assistance to the enterprise. I intend to prove by that, that I personally do’nt enjoy the least undue advantage of the Station except what is necessary for the Chief of it. Creating thus a public controll I keep for the Stations the benefit of Centralisation being not to much subdue to Parliamentarism of any kind. I am especially anxious to make known, that the money got by entrance-fee or by private grants is completely saved for science and may never be used for private purposes of whatever kind. I am to engage one of the German bankers at Naples to controll the financial part of the Station and signing the annual Report.¹² By these measures every one who spends his two francs entrance fee may be sure, that, besides his pleasure of looking at the beautiful marine creatures, he enjoys the higher pleasure of contributing to the advancement of Science in the most efficient way,—thus securing his personal interest in the whole scheme.¹³

Would you, Mr. Darwin, lend me Your name to be placed among the series of Naturalists, who receive that annual Report, testifying thus their interest in the matter and giving it their moral assistance. Professor Huxley, who did so, told me You would most likely do the same,—and I therefore wait anxiously, You might do it, as this would be a very important help to the final result.— —

Professor Huxley will probably tell You, that he is almost completely convinced now of the righteousness of my view regarding the homologisation of the nervous chain of Arthropods, Annelids and Vertebrates¹⁴   Kowalewsky has gone quite the same line, as You would easily find in looking through his last book, or into a short review which I made of it for the Academy.¹⁵ In that review I stated too, what I believed to be the shortcoming of Kowalewsky in demonstrating the necessity of accepting this new doctrine.¹⁶ I did so because I am rather sure, that my own investigations especially in Insects and Fishes have brought the problem to a complete solution. I am about to enlarge my proofs by adding the embryologies of several other fishes, and by treating Ascidians and Amphioxus, whom both I consider to be aberrant forms not ancestors of Vertebrates. I hope I may bring that out altogether in one or two years.—¹⁷

I am to leave this country either on Sunday next or Monday. I should be very thankful, if You would let me know Your opinion about the above made demand by way of a short letter adressed to Mr. Stainton. Mountsfield Lewisham.¹⁸

I hope You will remember me most kindly to Mrs. Darwin and to Mr.  Darwin jr.¹⁹

Trusting that You will excuse this trouble and the great length of this lettre, I once more thank You for all the former kindness You have shewn to me.

Yours ever truly devoted | Anton Dohrn

Mountsfield. 7.9.1871.