I have to thank you very sincerely for two letters: one of April 25th,
containing a very curious account of the structure and morphology of
Bonatea. I feel that it is quite a sin that your letters should not all
be published! but, in truth, I have no spare strength to undertake any
extra work, which, though slight, would follow from seeing your letters
in English through the press--not but that you write almost as clearly
as any Englishman. This same letter also contained some seeds for Mr.
Farrer, which he was very glad to receive.

Your second letter, of July 5th, was chiefly devoted to mimicry in
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