My dear Hooker

I was delighted to get your long, chatty letter & to hear that you are thawing towards science.¹ I almost wish you had remained frozen rather longer; but do not thaw too quickly & strongly. No one can work long like you used to do. Be idle; but I am a pretty man to preach, for I cannot be idle, much as I wish it, & am never comfortable except when at work. The word Holiday is written in a dead language for me, & much I grieve at it.—

We thank you sincerely for your kind sympathy about poor Etty, who about a fortnight ago had three terrible days of sickness & was given loads of calomel, which I always dread.² She has now come up to her old point & can sometimes get up for an hour or two twice a day.— Poor George has literally every tooth in his head, except a few lower incisors decayed: they have all gone suddenly together & been stopped & drawn by M^r Woodhouse & I fear this points to some deep flaw in his constitution, which was formerly indicated by his intermittent pulse.³ Never to look to the future, or as little as possible, is becoming our rule of life.— What a different thing life was in youth, with no dread in the future;—all golden, if baseless, hopes.—

With respect to Athenæum I answered for increase in number of members; I knew nothing of crowding & did not like paying ^£3〃^s10^{. d}.0 for each luncheons & about 3^.3^.0 has been my private tariff for benefits derived from Athenæum. I am sorry to have anything said against the splendid Library. As half the 100 would be elected by Committee; I looked at the result as raising the standard of Club.—⁴

I am glad to hear that you have been touching up your Arctic paper;⁵ I shall be very curious to read that attentively. I am sorry for you, though you do not seem sorry for yourself, for your long job over the Cryptogamia collection.⁶

With respect to Nat. Hist. Review,⁷ I can hardly think that Ladies would be so very sensitive about “Lizards guts”; but the publication is at present certainly a sort of Hybrid; & original illustrated papers ought hardly to appear in a Review. I doubt it’s ever paying; but I shall much regret if it dies.⁸ All that you say seems very sensible: but could a Review in strict sense of word be filled with readable matter?

I have been doing little, except finishing the new Edit. of Origin,⁹ & crawling on most slowly with my volume on “Variation under Domestication,”¹⁰—& how much to give under each head puzzles me dreadfully.— I have, however, in preparation for Drosera in the summer, been trying a few little experiments with C. of Ammonia, on the secreting Hairs of Primula Sinensis;¹¹ & I find that the matter in the heads is easily acted on, & segregates into spheres, with very small doses of the ammonia; & what surprises me is that a more prolonged dose causes the spheres to become re-diffused into opake granular matter.¹² I long to be at Drosera again: I cannot persuade myself that it is the weight of ^1/78,000 of a grain of solid substances which causes such plain movement; nor that it is in most of the cases the chemical nature; & what it is, stumps me quite.

Do you remember a tall Silver Fir in the field in front of this House. It was so ugly we have grubbed it up. The hole was 3 ft. 6 inches in diameter with touching roots extending much further. Rings of growth 110.— It seems to have been planted on little mound of made earth; & I have got several pounds of this earth from exactly under centre in a sort of cone, where it is hardly possible seeds could have got for last 60 or 80 years. I have saved this earth on purpose to spite you about seeds germinating. And I have a great advantage, for if any come up in my study it will be good case; if none do (as I rather fear) then I shall say there were no seeds in earth!¹³

I had a long letter about a week ago from Asa Gray, but I did not send it, thinking you would not care for it, as it almost wholly is on Design & quasi theological. He tells me that two of my opponents are gone almost demented: Bowen denying that any deviation is ever inherited; & Agassiz maintaining that Greek Latin & Sanscrit are not affiliated but, like the races of men, are autochthonous!¹⁴ It is impossible to argue better for us.—

Thanks for offer of Richardson Polar R. but I sincerely hope it is not worth my reading.¹⁵ I admire Framley as much as you can do.—¹⁶ I presume you have read “Woman in White”:¹⁷ we read it to the children, & they were so interested. Did I recommend “Olmsteads Journey in Back Country”:¹⁸ it interested me extremely.—

I am glad to hear so good an account of your Willy.¹⁹ A lull after a gang of children is very pleasant.

Ever yours affectionately | C. Darwin