lepidoptera: many of your remarks seem to me so good, that I have
forwarded your letter to Mr. Bates; but he is out of London having his
summer holiday, and I have not yet heard from him. Your remark about
imitators and imitated being of such different sizes, and the lower surface
of the wings not being altered in colour, strike me as the most curious
points. I should not be at all surprised if your suggestion about sexual
selection were to prove true; but it seems rather too speculative to be
introduced in my book, more especially as my book is already far too
speculative. The very same difficulty about brightly coloured caterpillars
had occurred to me, and you will see in my book what, I believe, is the
true explanation from Wallace. The same view probably applies in part to
gaudy butterflies. My MS. is sent to the printers, and, I suppose, will be
published in about three months: of course I will send you a copy. By the
way, I settled with Murray recently with respect to your book (456/1. The
translation of "Fur Darwin," published in 1869.), and had to pay him only
21 pounds 2 shillings 3 pence, which I consider a very small price for the
dissemination of your views; he has 547 copies as yet unsold. This most
terrible war will stop all science in France and Germany for a long time.
I have heard from nobody in Germany, and know not whether your brother,
Hackel, Gegenbaur, Victor Carus, or my other friends are serving in the
army. Dohrn has joined a cavalry regiment. I have not yet met a soul in
England who does not rejoice in the splendid triumph of Germany over France
(456/2. See Letter 239, Volume I.): it is a most just retribution against
that vainglorious, war-liking nation. As the posts are all in confusion, I
will not send this letter through France. The Editor has sent me duplicate
copies of the "Revue des Cours Scientifiques," which contain several
articles about my views; so I send you copies for the chance of your liking
to see them.