Jermyn Street, March 11, 1869.
My dear Darwin,
I know quite enough of Mr. — to have paid every attention to what he has to say, even if you had not been his ambassador.
I glanced over his letter when I returned home last night very tired with my two nights' chairmanship at the Ethnological and the Geological Societies.
Most of it is fair enough, though I must say not helping me to any novel considerations.
Two paragraphs, however, contained opinions which Mr. — is at perfect liberty to entertain, but not, I think, to express to me.
The one is, that I shaped what I had to say at Edinburgh with a view of stirring up the prejudices of the Scotch Presbyterians (imagine how many Presbyterians I had in my audiences!) against Comte.
The other is the concluding paragraph, in which Mr. — recommends me to "READ COMTE," clearly implying that I have criticised Comte without reading him.
You will know how far I am likely to have committed either of the immoralities thus laid to my charge.
At any rate, I do not think I care to enter into more direct relations with anyone who so heedlessly and unjustifiably assumes me to be guilty of them. Therefore I shall content myself with acknowledging the receipt of Mr. —'s letter through you.