My dear Bates

It will give me real pleasure to propose you for the Royal.¹ You will see that you yourself must not circulate the certificate,—not that there can be the least impropriety in your asking any of your friends.— Will you therefore fill up all the necessary particulars, giving a pretty full list of your publications & return the paper to me. At the same time give me a list with addresses of such men as you w^d like to sign, & I will then write & forward certificate to each.—² I do not know who are on the Council & it is a confounded bore that some of the best men, to whom I sh^d. naturally apply, such as Hooker & Huxley are excluded.³ This makes it the more necessary that I sh^d. have some sort of list from you.—

Ever yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin

You must not be surprised if you are not elected the first time, for hardly anybody is thus elected.—⁴