“It will be a public benefit to bring out a translation.”
Then followed three letters, January 3rd, March 24th, and March 27th, 1878; the first written when Darwin was sending another number of Kosmos, the second when sending his photograph, the third enclosing a letter from Fritz Müller containing some very interesting observations on mimicry in South American butterflies.
He then wrote as follows:—
“April 17/78.
“Down.
“My dear Sir,—I should be very much obliged if you could get some one to name the photographs of the enclosed insect and read the enclosed letter. It seems a pretty, but I think not new case of protective resemblance. One might fancy that the large ocelli on the under wings were a sexual ornament.—Perhaps these photographs might be worth exhibiting at the Entomolog. Soc.—I do not want them returned (unless indeed Dr. Zacharias wants them back, which is not probable) or the enclosed letter.
“A single word with the name of the genus and if possible of the species, would suffice.—
“Pray forgive my troubling you and believe me
“Yours faithfully,
“Ch. Darwin.
“I am glad that F. Müller’s letter interested you. He has published a paper with plates on the shape of the hairs or scales on the odoriferous glands of many butterflies, which I could send you, but I doubt whether you would care for it.”