[1858].

I am quite delighted to hear about the Copley and Lyell. (69/1. The
Copley Medal of the Royal Society was awarded to Lyell in 1858.) I have
grown hot with indignation many times thinking of the way the proposal
was met last year, according to your account of it. I am also very glad
to hear of Hancock (Albany Hancock received a Royal Medal in 1858.); it
will show the provincials are not neglected. Altogether the medals are
capital. I shall be proud and bound to help in any way about the eloge,
which is rather a heavy tax on proposers of medals, as I found about
Richardson and Westwood; but Lyell's case will be twenty times as
difficult. I will begin this very evening dotting down a few remarks
on Lyell; though, no doubt, most will be superfluous, and several
would require deliberate consideration. Anyhow, such notes may be a
preliminary aid to you; I will send them in a few days' time, and will
do anything else you may wish...

P.S.--I have had a letter from Henslow this morning. He comes here on
[Thursday] 25th, and I shall be delighted to see him; but it stops my
coming to the Club, as I had arranged to do, and now I suppose I shall
not be in London till December 16th, if odds and ends do not compel me
to come sooner. Of course I have not said a word to Henslow of my change
of plans. I had looked forward with pleasure to a chat with you and
others.

P.S. 2.--I worked all yesterday evening in thinking, and have written
the paper sent by this post this morning. Not one sentence would do, but
it is the sort of rough sketch which I should have drawn out if I had
had to do it. God knows whether it will at all aid you. It is miserably
written, with horridly bad metaphors, probably horrid bad grammar. It
is my deliberate impression, such as I should have written to any friend
who had asked me what I thought of Lyell's merits. I will do anything
else which you may wish, or that I can.

LETTER 70. TO J.D. HOOKER. Down, December 30th [1858].

I have had this copied to save you trouble, as it was vilely written,
and is now vilely expressed.

Your letter has interested me greatly; but how inextricable are the
subjects which we are discussing! I do not think I said that I thought
the productions of Asia were HIGHER (70/1. On the use of the terms
"higher" and "lower" see Letters 35 and 36.) than those of Australia. I
intend carefully to avoid this expression (70/2. In a paper of pencilled
notes pinned into Darwin's