3rd.  Now  these  novel  views  are  brought  fairly  before  the
scientific  public,  it  seems  truly  remarkable  how  so  many  of
them  could  have  failed  to  see  their  right  road  sooner.  How
could  Sir  C.  Lyell,  for  instance,  for  thirty  years  read,  write,
and  think,  on  the  subject  of  species  and  their  succesiion,  and
yet  constantly  look  down  the  wrong  road  !

A  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  you  and  I  must  have  been  in
something  like  the  same  state  of  mind  on  the  main  question,
But  you  were  able  to  see  and  work  out  the  quo  modo  of  the
succession,  the  all-important  thing,  while  I  failed  to  grasp  it.
I  send  by  this  post  a  Utile  controversial  pamphlet  of  old
date — Combe  and  Scott.  If  you  will  take  the  trouble  to
glance  at  the  passages  scored  on  the  margin,  yon  will  see
that,  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  I  was  also  one  of  the  few
who  then  doubted  the  absolute  distinctness  of  species,  and
special  creations  of  them.  Yet  I,  like  the  rest,  failed  to  detect
the  quo  modo  which  was  reserved  for  your  penetration  to  dis-
cover, and  your  discernment  to  apply.
You  answered  my  query  about  the  hiatus  between  Satyrus
and  Homo  as  was  expected.  The  obvious  explanation  really
never  occurred  to  roe  till  some  months  after  I  had  read  the
papers  in  the  'Linnean  Proceedings.'  The  first  species  of
Fere-homo*  inQ-^A  soon  make  direct  and  exterminating  war
upon  his  Infra-homo  cousins.  The  gap  would  thus  be  made,
and  then  go  on  increasing,  into  the  present  enormous  and  J


XS59.]  THE  'ATHEN/EUM/  23

Still  widening  hiatus.     But  how  greatly  this,  with  your  chro-
nology of  animal  life,  will  shock  the  ideas  of  many  men  !

Very  sincerely,

Hewett  C.  Watson.
