The "Origin" was sent to Mr. Lucas, one of the staff of the "Times"
writers at that day, in what was I suppose the ordinary course of
business. Mr. Lucas, though an excellent journalist, and at a later
period, editor of "Once a Week," was as innocent of any knowledge of
science as a babe, and be wailed himself to an acquaintance on having to
deal with such a book. Whereupon, he was recommended to ask me to get
him out of his difficulty, and he applied to me accordingly, explaining,
however, that it would be necessary for him formally to adopt anything I
might be disposed to write, by prefacing it with two or three paragraphs
of his own.

I was too anxious to seize upon the opportunity thus offered of giving
the book a fair chance with the multitudinous readers of the "Times," to
make any difficulty about conditions; and being then very full of the
subject, I wrote the article faster, I think, than I ever wrote anything
in my life, and sent it to Mr. Lucas, who duly prefixed his opening
sentences.

When the article appeared, there was much speculation as to its
authorship. The secret leaked out in time, as all secrets will, but not
by my aid; and then I used to derive a good deal of innocent amusement
from the vehement assertions of some of my more acute friends, that they
knew it was mine from the first paragraph!

As the "Times" some years since, referred to my connection with the
review, I suppose there will be no breach of confidence in the
publication of this little history, if you think it worth the space it
will occupy.

[The article appeared on December 26. Only Hooker was admitted into the