To Charles Lyell 29 [December 1859]
Down.
29th
My dear L.
You are the man to do work. I am not at all sure what sort of note you required about Blyth, but I enclose one which you could forward.—1 I have written it splendidly well! If you wish a more formal one I would write it, but then you must tell me how to address it; but I think a note from you with this enclosure would be more effective. It is very good of you to take so much trouble.— I wrote also to Col. Sykes.—2
I suspect article in Times must be Huxley’s.3 I have not had time to read that in Daily news,4 which some one (perhaps you) has sent me.
I had a civil note from Chambers himself, saying that he has given brief abstract in his Journal.5
I was much surprised (& said so to Owen) at finding the passage in your Book6
I have not alluded to supposed British Trias Mammal.7
Of course I by no means believe that the mundane Glacial period destroyed all Tropical production, though probably it destroyed many.— I believe the vegetation on the plains was at that period like (as I just allude to but as usual far too briefly) that described by Hooker at foot of Himalaya, in which truly Tropical & Temperate forms now live mingled together. This shows at least possibility of so unexpected a mixture.—8 I could have added another instance from part of Mexico.—9
Anything on earth that I can do in giving references &c &c will be a real pleasure & duty.
Yours affecty | C. D.
Had letter this morning from poor Dana at Florence, telling me that my caution to him not to work too hard has proved true—is quite disabled in his head.10 Hopes to come to England.
Footnotes
Bibliography
DAB: Dictionary of American biography. Under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies. 20 vols., index, and 10 supplements. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons; Simon & Schuster Macmillan. London: Oxford University Press; Humphrey Milford. 1928–95.
Gilman, Daniel C. 1899. The life of James Dwight Dana. New York and London: Harper and Brothers.
Moore, Charles. 1858. On Triassic beds near Frome, and their organic remains. Report of the 28th meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science held at Leeds, Transactions of the sections, pp. 93–4. [Vols. 7,8]
Natural selection: Charles Darwin’s Natural selection: being the second part of his big species book written from 1856 to 1858. Edited by R. C. Stauffer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1975.
Origin: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859.
Summary
Encloses letter concerning Edward Blyth’s application for a position with the China expedition.
Mentions reviews of the Origin. Guesses that Huxley wrote the Times review.
Alludes to discussion of relations between fossil and modern types [in Principles of geology 3: 144].
Discusses destruction of tropical forms in the glacial period.
Mentions letter from Dana concerning Dana’s illness.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-2612
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Charles Lyell, 1st baronet
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.188)
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2612,” accessed on 29 May 2023, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2612.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 7