Buller Ami Mesopotamia

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29384, 10 December 1960, Page 3

Buller Ami Mesopotamia

Sir. —At a time when much interest is being shown in Samuel Butler and Mesopotamia, there is a small point on which you may be able to give some information. In a preface, dated August 7. 1901, to a revised and enlarged edition of “Erewhon,” written at the publisher's request, Butler, as he himself says, places “on record as much as I can remember” about the genesis of this work. The first part of "Erewhon” was an article entitled, “Darwin among the Machines” and signed Cellarius. a latinised form of his name. It appeared in “The Press” on June 13. 1863. A second article on the same subject appeared in

"The Press" shortly after the first, but of that Butler had no copy and did not remember the date. I wonder if the files of "The Press” go back as far as 1863, and whether any search for tJais article has been made. It would be interesting to have the date of the second article established. It is in this preface that Butler states that his article “was written in the upper Rangitata district of the Canterbury Province (as it then was).”—Yours, etc., J. B PRIMROSE. December 6. 1960. [ln “The Press” of September 15, 1863. there is a letter (of 2| columns) headed, “From Our Mad Correspondent.” According to Professor Joseph Jones in his recently published book “The Cradle of Erewhon: Samuel Butler in New Zealand.” there is a strong likelihood that Butler was the author of this letter. Professor Jones's reasons for thinking so are stated on page 108 of his book. The article Is reprinted as Apendix C to Professor Jones’s book.l