My dear Hooker

I am quite delighted to hear about Copley & Lyell.¹ I have grown hot with indignation many times thinking of the way the proposal was met last year according to your account of it.² I am also very glad to hear of Hancock; it will show that Provincials are not neglected.³ Altogether the medals are capital. I shall be proud & bound to help in any way about the eloge, which is rather a heavy tax on proposers of medals, as I found about Richardson & Westwood.⁴ but Lyells case will be twenty times as difficult— I will begin this very evening dotting down a few remarks on Lyell; though no doubt most will be superfluous, & several would require deliberate consideration. Anyhow such notes may be a preliminary aid to you. I will send them in few days time; & will do anything else you may wish.—⁵

I am astounded at H. C. Watson. Good God what a rule is his for helpinga fellow creature: I think you did very wisely to act on “least said soonest mended”.—⁶ Please remember 222 are at your service if wanted.—

Yours affect^y | C. Darwin

I have had letter from Henslow this morning he comes here on 25^th & I shall be delighted to see him; but it stops my coming to Club., as I had arranged to do; & now I suppose I shall not be in London to Dec. 16^th, if odds & ends do not compel me to come sooner.—⁷ Of course I have not said a word to Henslow of my change of plans.— I had looked forward with pleasure to a chat with you & others.—

Postscript | I worked all yesterday evening in thinking & have written the paper sent by this Post this morning. Not one sentence would do, but it is the sort of rough sketch which I sh^d. have drawn out, if I had had to do it. God knows whether it will at all aid you.— It is miserably written, with horridly bad met-aphors,—probably horrid bad grammar.

It is my deliberate impression, such as I sh^d have written to any friend, who had asked me what I thought of Lyell’s merits. I will do anything else, which you may wish, or that I can.

C. D.

I have here & there put in doubts & criticisms, to render the whole rather less panegerical.