To G. H. Lewes   28 July [1868]¹

My dear M^r Lewes

I need not say that I have been much pleased by your note.² The friendless value friends, & Pangenesis has but few, though deserving I feel sure some good friends. Hooker seems to think that the whole view is almost self-obvious, but I cannot agree to this, for it is now about 28 years since I began to try to tie together the various forms of generation, the repairs of injuries, inheritance &c. & succeeded only about two years ago.³

You will see that I am away from home: my health failed about a month ago, so that I c^d do nothing, & I came here for absolute idleness. Nevertheless I sent this morning to my servant at Down in the hope that he w^d be able to find the Fort. Rev.⁴ If he succeeds I shall enjoy slowly beginning to read all the articles again & will make any notes which may occur to me, but as I do not suppose I shall read for more than $\frac{1}{2}$ an hour a day I shall be very slow. I fear moreover that we differ so fundamentally on one important point that my remarks will be of no use to you, & I do not think I shall have many on any other point to make—

I am delighted to hear that you intend publishing the articles as a separate book;—whilst reading them I thought over & over again what a pity it was that they sh^d be almost lost in a periodical.⁵

When I return home in about a month’s time I will not forget to send you a photograph, & I sh^d be very much obliged if you w^d send me yours, as it is always very satisfactory to have an image of one’s correspondent in one’s mind.⁶

Believe me | yours very faithfully | Charles Darwin