My dear D^r Darwin—

In the life, letters & journals of George Ticknor Vol I page 196, there is a passage having reference to Pangenesis, which is so extremely interesting, that I wish to draw your attention to it and as this book, which I found on the table of my wife, is probably not in your possession, I take the liberty to enclose a copy of the passage in question—¹

I need scarcely say, that I follow always with great interest the subjects of your studies and that I read your classical works as soon as I can get hold of them with avidity and with the greatest advantage to myself

There is a great contest in Dunedin just now in re. Evolution in which the Gentlemen in black take a most prominent part and talk as usual a great deal of nonsense.— To show you how far this goes, I may only mention that a wesleyan clergyman, who is an honest studious man, M^r Fitchett and who has the misfortune to be a “Darwinian”, in their eyes something very horrible indeed, has been blackballed in a Young Men’s Christian Association.² However all this tends to advance truth.— Fortunately he has not to say ‘Epur si muove’—³ because this persecution has made him many friends amongst the educated classes & as Hutton⁴ tells me a great number of educated Church of England people go now regularly to his Chapel.

All this will of course help to open people’s eyes and superstition and its evils will gradually disappear, as education becomes more national and more diffused amongst the working classes—

With my best and most sincere wishes for your health | believe me | ever most faithfully yours | Julius von Haast