Edwin Ray Lankester an Ernst Haeckel, Tenby (Wales), 20. August [1876]
North Cliff House
High Street
Tenby
Aug. 20th
My dear Prof. Haeckel,
I have just heard from the secretary of the British Association the very good news that you are coming to England. I had given you up not hearing certainly one way or the other and having just five weeks ago ,verlobt’ myself I have not arranged to go to Glasgow. My future wife is the daughter of Sir Benjamin || Brodie who was Professor of Chemistry in Oxford. I am now away from her, and I do not think I shall be able to leave her at the time of the British Assocn meeting. But let me hear your plan of movements, and I can be sure to meet you in London and take you down to see Oxford (which is in vacation till October 12th).
I have been working over the early development of Paludina again. Have you seen Bobretzky’s admirable paper. His conclusions are || quite wrong, but his work very valuable. He is mistaken and unwise when he refuses to accept my observations on Paludina. I have been over it again more fully. It is absolutely certain that in Paludina the blastopore coincides with anus, & that the mouth forms very much later & independently. Hence in Gastropods we have the blastopore sometimes coinciding with mouth and sometimes with anus!! That is very irregular and wrong on its part. That creature von Ihering is an insolent wind-bag. He knows nothing of embryology. I have found nothing good here as yet. Tomorrow I go dredging. Phoronis was first discovered here by Dyster.
Believe me sincerely yours
E. Ray Lankester ||
P.S: I should like when you are in London to go with you to Kew to see my friend Dyer the assistant-director of the Royal Gardens.