From Hermanus Hartogh Heijs van Zouteveen   28 February 1874

Dear Sir!

It was a great pleasure for Mr Ykema and for me to see in your letter, that you think that the Dutch translation of your Expression book is by far the most beautiful edition, that has been anywhere published.¹ It is also a great pleasure for me to see that you will have translated by one of your sons my notes on that Expression book (you will find some at the end of every chapter and not only at the end).² But I wrote also some notes on your book on the Descent of Man, and you will find them in that book also at the end of every chapter. Now it is my opinion, that it will be more interesting to translate into English my notes on the first edition of your Descent, than to translate the notes on your Expression-book. Perhaps the best would be to translate both (but I confess that some of the notes are not very interesting, but some others perhaps are so a little). If your son will be so very kind to send me his translation I will see, whether the translation is correct, if you allow me to do so. This is not, because I doubt that the translation will be correct, but as a born Dutchman I understand, as I suppose, still better the Dutch as your son, and your son, as a born Englishman much better English as I, and so if he translates the Dutch into English and if I see, whether the translation is correct, it will be good English, because an Englishman translated it, and we will be sure also that the translation says the same as the Dutch original, because a Dutchman saw, whether it was corresponding with the Dutch original.

In my translation of the Descent you will find also some theses on your theory and on the descent of man, made by Professor Harting in Utrecht (who allowed me to publish them in my translation) and who are certainly worth translation.³

I remain | dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | H Hartogh Heys van Zouteveen

P.S. Letters must be addressed:

D^r. H. Hartogh Heys van Zouteveen

Assen

Drenthe

Holland