From E. S. Galton 19 November 1879
5. Bertie Terrace. Leamington
Nov 19th | 1879
My dear Cousin,
When I wrote to you on Thursday last, I had read the life of our Grandfather rather hurriedly, as we were daily expecting the death of my Brother in-law—Edward Wheler— he lingered on till early on Sunday morn, when he ceased to breathe, at the age of 81—1 In him, I have lost a most kind friend— My sister is dreadfully cut up—but she has one Son & one Daughter—who will be real comforts to her—2 She begs me to tell you, how much interested she has been, in reading the Book, you kindly gave her—at times when able— She is sure you will excuse her writing herself—.
A few mistakes, the Printer has made, which I dare say, you have already noticed— viz
Page 29—Last line but 3. Boulton (not Bolton)3
" 87.—Line 10. He died Novr. 13th. 1848 (not 1849) I always remember the year your Father died, as my Sister Lucy Moilliet died the week before; & the two deaths, quite upset my Mother4
Page 41. I have those lines, in my Grandfather’s writing “From Lichfield famed two giant critics come”
Page 7.8.9 The letters to & from Susannah Darwin are excellent—& one of my Grandfather’s earliest attempts to poetry was this, my Mother has often told us—
“My dearest Sue
Of lovely hue
No sugar, can be sweeter
You do—as far
Excel Su-gar
As Sugar, does Saltpetre”
Page 40 & 81. The stammering— Dr. E Darwin’s daughter—Violetta5 also inherited his Stammering to a great degree & till the age of 12. could hardly make herself understood— He sent for a Person fr. Edinburgh, who cured her in a great degree She could not pronounce the liquids L. M. N. R & Y— His remedy was, to put a vowel before each of those letters, when beginning a word—such— as Er—Yes— Er—NO— In the same way an E—between the letters Br—in Brothers, Bread, so Ber-others, Ber-ead— She always managed to do it so well, it was scarcely perceptible, to those who did not know her infirmity—& she cured many, who stammered in the same way
Page 54—I often heard my mother say, that the small pox so raged in Derby, when she was born (Apl. 1783) that her Father innoculated her when only six weeks old—tho’ it was a risk, but he thought the risk greater, as she was in a Doctor’s House where so many Patients came—
64. My Mother used to say, that when her Father visited the Robber in prison— He said— “Now tell me, as you are condemned, what is the best preservative against thieves”— The man replied—a little dog, so fastened that we cannot give him any thing to quieten him—a Light, or a Baby in the House—& an old fashioned rusty lock which makes a noise, when trying to do anything to it— My Mother, in consequence, always had one Light, burning all night in the House—
Page 116. Line 6. fr. the Bottom Dr. E Darwin had always a great objection to Nurses who squinted, & who had an unpleasant expression of countenance— He thought children were much influenced by it
118— Amongst other curious inventions, was a Clock, to watch the Watchman—it was invented by Dr. E Darwin & Mr. William Strutt—& we long had one in our possession— I think my Brother Darwin must have it now—6
126. I always understood my Grandfather had only regularly taken up his abode at the Priory about 3. weeks before his death, as several rooms had to be built after his Son Erasmus died7
Page 127—line 5—Evidently a mis-print died April 18th. (not the 10th.)8
Dr. E Darwin had a severe illness 2 or 3. years before his death, & in his delirium, he often fancied himself a tree—& my Mother used to say, how painful it was, as she sat by his bedside—he would point to his heart & say— “If you would only cut out this decayed part, the tree would live”—
The Picture by Rollason was taken after his illness—9
In the Book—of Holland House, published abt. 1874— Some lines on one of the trees there, was quoted, as having been written by Rogers— An old friend of ours, & especially of Mr. Keir’s (Dr. Alexr. Blair) then much upwards of 90—wrote to us saying, the lines were not Rogers, but Dr. Darwin’s— An ode to Swilcar Oak in Needwood Forest— On making enquiries, we found it, in the Phytologia—& originally written to Mr. Mundy—who wrote on Needwood forest & received complimentary verses fm. Dr. E Darwin—His Son, Erasmus, Sir Brook Boothby & others—10
How well you have explained at Page 80—about my Grandfather having a large appetite—11
We are glad to hear that your Son Horace is going soon to be married, in a way you all like12
With our kind regards to yourself & Mrs. Darwin & yr. family | Believe me | Your’s very sincerely | E. S. Galton
CD annotations
Footnotes
Bibliography
Darwin, Erasmus. 1800. Phytologia, or the philosophy of agriculture and gardening. With the theory of draining morasses and with an improved construction of the drill plough. London: J. Johnson.
Erasmus Darwin. By Ernst Krause. Translated from the German by W. S. Dallas, with a preliminary notice by Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1879.
Keynes, Milo. 1994. Portraits of Dr Erasmus Darwin, F.R.S., by Joseph Wright, James Rawlinson and William Coffee. Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London 48: 69–84.
Liechtenstein, Princess Marie. 1874. Holland House. 2 vols. London: Macmillan and Co.
Mundy, Francis Noel Clarke. 1776. Needwood Forest. Lichfield: John Jackson.
Summary
Her brother-in-law, Edward Wheler, died on Sunday.
Sends some corrections for Erasmus Darwin.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-12337F
- From
- Emma Sophia Galton
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Leamington
- Source of text
- Private collection
- Physical description
- ALS 8pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12337F,” accessed on 9 September 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12337F.xml