From G. H. Darwin [28 October 1877]1
Sunday
My dear Father,
I suppose you will have heard from the Vice Chancellor consulting you as to what time you will like to take your degree.2
I gather from Hughes & Dr. Phear that they would like you to fix on three or four days on which you could come up, out of which they cd. take their choice.3 I told you that there were only stated days on which you cd. take the degree, but I hear now that there is some talk of an extra-congregation but of which no date is fixed & that is why I ask you to name a space of several days— if it included a Thursday I think they wd. be able to have their choice of the ordinary day or the extra day. I wd. suggest the week from Nov 18th.–23rd. I don’t kno’ whether there wd. be any degree besides yr’s on the extra day but perhaps there might be The special day wd. be a much shorter job than the other because there wd be no ordinary business & wd be over in 20 min. The master of Emman Dr. Phear is very anxious for a special day, but I don’t yet know what the Vice C. thinks4 There might be a few other degrees conferred on the Special day, but I don’t much think there wd. be. However I dare say you will have settled it all before you get this.5
I am afraid I have been working rather too hard lately & I did an act of great courage yesterday in putting aside my work, but I don’t feel as if I cd. take an interest in anything else.6 I was working a good deal when I really was’nt up to it & was very seedy yesterday & today I cd. hardly work if I would.
I will try to work a little easier when I start again, but you can’t think what a pang it cost me to lay it aside (The rest is the fag end of a letter I wrote last night in consequence of some bother about yr degree but which is all removed by what I heard afterwards) even for a day, for I am just bearing down on the most interesting point.
However I went on till I had finished the most difficult point, & I shall be able to take up the thread again now that that is down in black & white. I feel almost confident now that tides in the body of the Earth will have altered the obliquity of the Ecliptic—& there’s a grand result for the geologists to play with. How much & which way I hav’nt the least idea but I suspect it would take a million years even with a very perceptible earth tide to make a considerable change in the obliquity. But we’ve got a good bank of time to draw on & surely even a few degrees of change in geological history wd be very important.
I think it is just on the cards that it may turn out to be an inequality of enormous period say a million years decreasing & then a million increasing but I don’t quite see my way to that yet.
I am so very glad to hear poor Hen. is about again7 I hadn’t the least idea that you were going to pay a visit to London. I hope you will find Uncle Ras tol. Perhaps I will run up for a night— how long do you stay. perhaps tomorrow8
I wonder whether you cd. persuade Frank to come up to Cambridge for your L.LD— Newton Clark & others wd. be so very glad to see him. Is Bessy in London with you?9
Your affectionate son | G. H. Darwin
I’ve left off tee-totalling for I don’t think it suited & I must say like my wine very much
Will you send me a telegram if there is not room for me— I think a day or two’s change may get me up again
Footnotes
Summary
Writes again about arrangements for the honorary degree ceremony.
Has been working on tides, which he is almost certain have altered the obliquity of the ecliptic.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-11213
- From
- George Howard Darwin
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Trinity College, Cambridge
- Source of text
- DAR 210.2: 60–1
- Physical description
- ALS 8pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 11213,” accessed on 19 October 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-11213.xml