From T. H. Huxley   10 October 1871

My dear Darwin

Haeckel was the first person to make a special division of birds for Archæopteryx under the nebulous Sauriuræ See ‘Generelle Morphologie’ II CXXXIX—¹ The step was one of his good shots—for he had never examined the point & his reasons are anything but good   I believe I was the first to shew the distinctiveness of the Ratitæ (ostriches) & to point out that they come nearest not to mammals but to Reptiles—²

As regards Zeuglodon I have paid particular attention to the question and I have no doubt whatever that they represent the transitional form between the Carnivora & the Cetacea— I send proof sheets of part of a little manual of vertebrate Anatomy of which I hope you will get a copy in a day or two that you may see what I think about it exactly³

I argued the matter out in my Hunterian Lectures years ago⁴   Pray keep the proof of the Review— I am very glad Hooker likes it— I hope to see him in a day or two & talk over his troubles—⁵

I have just returned from Manchester & Birmingham   I was delivering an address 1$\frac{1}{2}$ hours long to a couple of thousand people at the latter place three times last night⁶

At Manchester also I got in for a lot of speech making but imagine the fun of being taken to a new club they have established on the model of our Metaphysical⁷—and meeting our friend Mivart there of all people in the world

I am afraid I made him horridly uncomfortable by telling him that I had reviewed his book— And I added by way of soothing him—“but I have been really savage only to the Quarterly Review”— He said he “did not mind about that” and I am really in doubt whether he wrote the Review or not—unless he is a much bigger humbug than I have imagined him to be.⁸

The wife tells me to say you may be sure the Review will appear in another volume of Essays⁹

She will take care of that

with kindest regards to all | Ever Yours faithfully | T H Huxley

26. Abbey Place | Oc. 10^th. 1871