"Erasmus Darwin's system was in itself a most significant first step
in the path of knowledge which his grandson has opened up for us, but
to wish to revive it at the present day, as has actually been
seriously attempted, shows a weakness of thought and a mental
anachronism which no one can envy."


"That's me," said I to myself promptly. I noticed also the position
in which the sentence stood, which made it both one of the first that
would be likely to catch a reader's eye, and the last he would carry
away with him. I therefore expected to find an open reply to some
parts of "Evolution, Old and New," and turned to Mr. Darwin's
preface.

To my surprise, I there found that what I had been reading could not
by any possibility refer to me, for the preface ran as follows:-


"In the February number of a well-known German scientific journal,
Kosmos, {39} Dr. Ernest Krause published a sketch of the 'Life of
Erasmus Darwin,' the author of the 'Zoonomia,' 'Botanic Garden,' and
other works. This article bears the title of a 'Contribution to the
History of the Descent Theory'; and Dr. Krause has kindly allowed my
brother Erasmus and myself to have a translation made of it for
publication in this country."


Then came a note as follows:-