“One ot my little theories is that part of the delta of the Amazons was land, probably an island, while most of the alluvial plain was under water, and that the Amazon waters have broken through it.”—Zetler to Darwin, January 6th, 1862.

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‘«« Well now, in the first place,’ he said, ‘you had better follow the counsels of Murray. Publishers, you know, are always better judges on these matters than authors. I'll tell you what once happened to me, through acting contrary to publisher’s advice. The transaction was with old Murray, not the present one. It was when we were bringing out the first edition of my Principles. ‘We had come to the third volume, and Murray said, ‘‘ Now we shall print several hundred copies less of this than of the preceding volumes.”’ I was very much surprised at this. ‘Why! how! deprive purchasers from the commencement of the chance of completing their copies? No, I can’t consent to that.’’ Nevertheless, Murray was firm; to do otherwise, he said, would entail certain loss. Well, I agreed to take the risk on my own shoulders, and the consequence was I burnt my fingers severely. Precisely the number of copies which Murray had recommended me to print was sold. The rest were left on the shelves, curtailing severely my gains on the whole work. But when a second edition came out, including all three volumes, it sold by thousands. I was a youngster then, and the loss of money was of more consequence to me than it would be now.’

‘He asked me how many copies I had printed of the first edition. I told him 1250. This question seemed to be put for the purpose of secretly comparing my literary success with hisown. And the result seemed to be satisfactory, for he became more frank than ever, and began to praise my book: **«T find it exceedingly interesting, and I hope you will not abridge any of the natural history parts, which, to me, seem the most important. Do you know Sir Charles Bunbury?’ I told him I had been introduced to him, but I forgot when and where. ‘Well, he likes your book amazingly, and is very full of it. What a striking account you give of the landslips. It is very interesting to us geologists, and’—turning round and speaking very confidentially—‘ your description is remarkably well done.’

‘He recommended me, in the second edition, to alter or explain every natural history name that is not at once intelligible to every one. ‘I have always noticed in the travels of naturalists that they forget this important matter—that the names and terms so familiar to them are unintelligible to the general public. Now if a man is relating about North Africa, or North America, it isn’t so bad; for he has to speak of oaks, elms, deer, buffalo, and so forth; but when he is a tropical traveller the animals and plants are, for the most part, strange to the average English reader. I noticed this particularly in reading Hooker’s Azmalayan Fournals. Page after page the occurrence of botanical words that, without a phrase of description or explanation, were to me and others without meaning. This in time becomes wearisome, and we throw aside the book. Now you have got over this difficulty pretty well; but strike out everything that cannot be made intelligible with a few words of description.’ ‘«*Second editions are ticklish things, he continued. ‘ You know it is proverbial in the trade that publishers lose by a second edition what they gain by a first. Even with Sir Walter Scott look what happened with one of his works—Demonology. First impression of ten thousand copies was cleared off at once; but when the second edition of ten thousand was printed, not a single copy was sold. The stock remained until it dribbled off at low prices a long time afterwards. Publishers know best how to deal with the

public, but sometimes the event falsifies the calculations. Old Murray used to say to me, ‘‘The more complete you make your book, Lyell, the fewer I shall sell of it.’’ ’ «Sir Charles Lyell has the appearance of a fidgety man not well at ease with himself. He is very greedy of fame, and proud of his aristocratic friends and acquaintances, He does not seem to be a very ready man; his learning does not appear to be at his fingers’ ends; so that when a subject is suddenly presented to him he has difficulty in collecting his scattered thoughts and bringing forth what he knows upon it. But then he is getting an old man now. Mr. Davison told me that he was a very hesitating writer, and re-wrote every sentence three or four times on the average, as Mr. Davison confessed to me was his own case. But, like a well-bred gentleman, Sir Charles can become very sociable, and evidently likes a good dinner with brilliant conversation; Darwin says he likes to hear himself talk. At the Geological Club dinner when I sat at his left fronting Sir Roderick Murchison and Bishop Colenso, he made me laugh by retailing a very good thing. The conversation ran on the comparative merits of the scientific hypothesis of the origin of man and the Biblical man: ‘ Why,’ says he, ‘the question resolves itself into few words; Is man modified mud or modified monkey.’ But he gave it not as his own. ‘* Tuesday, December 1st.—\ have had several replies to my application for advice about abridgment to several of my friends. Darwin is too ill to write, but kindly dictates a few precious words. He is rather astonished that Murray requires two hundred pages of abridgment, but would not object to a little shortening, saying that there are few books which would not be the better for it. He had himself to shorten his Yournal for a second edition, and although it gave him great pain at the time, he had been glad of it ever since.”’ “Thursday, February 11th, 1864.—Went to-day to Oxford to see Professor Westwood, and take notes of the species of J/aztzde¢ in the Hopean collection, which are to serve with the British Museum and Saundersian collections as the material for my monograph. After working all day on Friday we had a very pleasant evening at Westwood’s house. Wallace arrived in the morning by agreement, and Westwood invited Dr. Rolleston, Rev. Mr. Rowley (missionary just arrived from the Zambesi), and Rev. Mr. Tozer to dinner to meet us. Rolleston is a very entertaining fellow; evidently fond of his profession—physiologist and comparative anatomist—thoroughly well up in the literature of his subject, argumentative, lively, and good-humoured in conversation. He started a discussion about the American civil war, and cudgelled heavily for the Northerners; Wallace pluckily taking the part of the Southerners against him. The impression left on Wallace by this discussion, was that Rolleston was a prejudiced man; that he had not come to his opinions as a scientific man ought to do, by a thorough conscientious thinking out of the subject, but was guided to it by feelings. On other topics Rolleston’s conversation was instructive; amongst them was that of the recent innovation in the classification of the Vertebrata, proposed by Professor Huxley in his lectures at the Royal College of Surgeons. ‘‘ My chief motive for making this entry is to record what I learnt relative to the state of opinion in this seat of orthodoxy on the great subjects of

Ixxiv MEMOIR.

theology versus science, and so forth, which now agitate the intelligent portion of the British public. I was rather surprised to hear Rolleston speak in the most audaciously heterodox style in the presence of the two reverends, who are both friends of the Bishop of Oxford. But these two reverends seemed to be very liberal in their views, as well as charitable in their feelings and manners; and Westwood told me that Rolleston is not thought ill of, although free thinking and free spoken, because he is a scientific man by profession and notaclerical. A scientific man is not expected to be otherwise than heterodox; but it is held to be a crime in Oxford for a clerical who receives a salary and fills a post usually occupied by the orthodox, to teach anything but orthodox opinions. Thus Jowett is hated and black-balled by orthodox society, whilst Rolleston is not disliked, and is admitted into all circles. Westwood told me there were two parties in the University (of) Oxford with regard to religion—the liberal and the conservative—and that the two were pretty nearly equally numerous. A great fight between them would come off presently with regard to Jowett and the Greek professorship. ‘On Saturday morning Westwood took me to see a few of the colleges. We entered Exeter Chapel, the newest college edifice, and were struck by the beauty of the architecture and internal decorations. A few faults, however, grated rather disagreeably on the eye. What pleased us much more was the Bodleian library, and especially the recent innovations init. Thus the rotunda formerly occupied by the Radcliffe library (medical and scientific) is now occupied as a reading-room of the Bodleian, with arrangements far surpassing those of the British Museum reading-room. Thus, there are several tables devoted to British and Foreign periodicals classified. On these the periodicals are allowed to lie six months, and are free to be consulted by every student. Quiet and comfort reign in the establishment, and we envied the privileges that the Oxfordians enjoyed in free use of this grand library. ‘ Monday, February 15th, 1864.—Went to Mr. Crawfurd’s* to ask about the secretary of the Royal Geographical Society. He spoke of * * * and his wretchedly dull book, saying how disappointed he and others are with regard to * * * insolent behaviour as well as stupid book. ‘In fact,’ said Crawfurd, ‘the poor man’s head is turned.’ It appears he expected a baronetcy at least for his discovery, but Crawfurd said the Government would certainly not give himhis desire. What is the more remarkable is that he was so remarkably modest a man before his last expedition. ‘« While we were talking Bishop Colenso came in. I soon gathered that a subscription was being got up, asa Colenso defence fund, against the legal proceedings of the Bishop of Cape Town. It was quiet at present, but £860 had already been subscribed. Sir Charles Lyell seems to be taking an active part in the matter. It is astonishing how glad many gentlemen appeared to be to subscribe, as though it was a privilege to be allowed the opportunity. At the same time a great number of them wished their names not to be published. After Crawfurd had enumerated several of these Colenso laughed outright, and said to me, ‘ You see, Mr. Bates, how glad many of the English gentry are to get rid of the yoke of the priesthood, and yet so shy of being known to take a part in the movement.’ Colenso then invited me to lunch, as

Then a vice-president of the Society.

he lived close by. I had dined there before and knew the family; so accepted. He lives in very plain style. We had a little cold mutton and a meat and potato pasty, with beer. Colenso was very talkative, and appeared in a hopeful, pleasant frame of mind; quite different from the thoughtful, pre-occupied state he was in when Dr. and Mrs. Hooker, and Wallace and I dined with him eight months ago. He said things looked now very promising for the triumph of truth and the overthrow of superstition, owing to the recent decision in the Essays and Reviews appeal case. He should now proceed to the Cape in the autumn, and conduct his case against the Bishop of Cape Town, and he intended (in the event of his success, which he seems not to doubt of for a moment) ta pursue vigorously a new method of missionising at Natal. Teaching no dogmas, but in their place promoting secular education, science, rational religion and morality. As to his book, that must be finished at his leisure.”’

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