To W. E. Darwin 26 April [1862]1
Down
Ap. 26th
My dear William
What an incomparably good fellow you are to send me the eye-glass: I have now got it with a string round my neck, & practise every now & then, making horrible contortions, to keep it to my eye. I believe with practise I shall at last succeed, & that it will be very useful; & again I say that you are an incomparable good fellow.—
The Boys have all had a prosperous time of it, & return on Monday Evening to school:2 they all went up with Mamma (who has got her usual very bad headach) & went to play to see Ld. Dundreary, & are now constantly repeating the good jokes, with old Jingo throwing his head back with laughter.—3
Poor dear little Skimp has been rather better for these few days, but has had some attacks of the involuntary movements:4 he & Miss Ludwig go next week to Aunt Elizabeth’s at Hartfield to see what a change of air may do for him.5 He is a real little darling, so patient with all his discomfort.—
To day, thank Heavens, I finished last revise of my accursed little orchid-Book, of which a copy shall be sent you when it is out; but it will be stiff reading.—6 Tim (i.e. Alfred) arrived here last night; not an atom altered in any way, except in having an untidy stumpy beard.—7 We had another arrival, the night before last, of a school-fellow & friend of Franks, who told us an unintelligible story of losing his way & purse:8 he has just started, which is a good job. I wonder when you will come here again; I saw nothing of you last time; but I am very glad that you saw Hooker work on plant.—9
Farewell, dear old fellow | Yours affecty. | C. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
DNB: Dictionary of national biography. Edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee. 63 vols. and 2 supplements (6 vols.). London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1912. Dictionary of national biography 1912–90. Edited by H. W. C. Davis et al. 9 vols. London: Oxford University Press. 1927–96.
OED: The Oxford English dictionary. Being a corrected re-issue with an introduction, supplement and bibliography of a new English dictionary. Edited by James A. H. Murray, et al. 12 vols. and supplement. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1970. A supplement to the Oxford English dictionary. 4 vols. Edited by R. W. Burchfield. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1972–86. The Oxford English dictionary. 2d edition. 20 vols. Prepared by J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1989. Oxford English dictionary additional series. 3 vols. Edited by John Simpson et al. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1993–7.
Orchids: On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects, and on the good effects of intercrossing. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1862.
Summary
Thanks WED for eyeglass.
Reports on health of Horace and family matters.
Has finished Orchids.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-3520
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- William Erasmus Darwin
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 210.6: 96
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 3520,” accessed on 1 September 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-3520.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 10