My dear George

Your paper strikes me as very clearly & modestly written. An impression of distrust & doubt is necessarily raised by the difficulties which you reveal at every point. I had no idea what a complex subject it is. As far as my judgment goes, I think your paper is well worth publishing. To take the lowest ground, it is well to show how difficult a problem it is.— I suppose you intend to add a general summary or conclusion giving the limit of error within which the percentage of cousiny marriages can be arrived at with fair confidence. The general reader would much desire this, & he would trust you largely from the honesty shown throughout your paper. To men not accustomed to mathematic your abbreviations are perplexing in the Tables. I have marked some of them with pencil; for I did not at first take a glimmering of meaning. A Table ought, I think, to be intelligible without reading the context.— Certainly I hope that you will publish your paper, & have it read before the Statistical Soc^y.¹

We were very glad to get your letter this morning with a somewhat better account of yourself & about those accursed exam: papers.²

We are making a hole in the Proof-sheets, & shall soon come to Part II.— I have not received for some days any new sheet.— I have detected very few errata—one or two, as age for ago & full-stop omitted.—³

I cannot resist correcting rather more than you do,—but not much, so do not see Revises.

I have sent your interesting notes on direction to Spalding.—⁴

I return old Proofs & your Paper.

Yours affect | C. Darwin