Rejoices in CD’s appointment and predicts he will rank with Candolle, Henslow, and Linnaeus.

Recounts their past pleasures and gives news of friends, who are scattering fast.

Brief summary of the voyage so far. His delight in the Brazilian forest; his trip into the interior; the turbulence at Rio; has grown a beard.

Though his book [Origin] has been abused and criticised as well as praised, its effect on good workers in science convinces him that in the main he is on the right road.

In reply to FW’s question, CD says his [CD’s] arguments are valid that all animals are descended from four or five primordial forms; analogy and weak reasons go to show they have descended from some single prototype.