14 Waverley Place, January 3, 1861.

My dear Hooker,

If I had nothing else to write about I must wish you a Happy New Year
and many on 'em; but, in fact, my wife and I have a great favour to ask
of you, which is neither more nor less than to stand godfather for our
little son. You know my opinions on these matters, and I would not ask
you to do anything I would not do myself, so if you consent, the clerk
shall tell all the lies for you, and you shall be asked to do nothing
else than to help devour the christening feed, and be as good a friend
to the boy as you have been to his father.

My wife will have the youngster christened, although I am always in a
bad temper from the time it is talked about until the ceremony is over.
The only way of turning the farce into a reality is by making it an
extra bond with one's friends. On the other hand, if you have any
objection to say, "all this I steadfastly believe," even by deputy, I
know you will have no hesitation in saying so, and in giving me as frank
a refusal as my request. [As against his dislike of consenting to a
rite, to him meaningless, he was moved by a feeling which in part
corresponded to Descartes' morale par provision,--in part was an
acknowledgment of the possibilities of individual development, making it
only fair to a child to give it a connection with the official spiritual
organisation of its country, which it could either ignore or continue on
reaching intellectual maturity.]

Let me know if you have any fault to find with the new "Review." I think
you will see it would have been a dreadful business to translate all the
German titles in the bibliography. I returned from a ramble about