To Karl von Scherzer 13 February 1877
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington S.E.R.
Feb. 13/1877
My dear Sir
Thanks for the extracts, which I will look at; but I received some time ago the [Hardman’s] Darwin book from the author, & have never found time to read it.1 In fact owing to the kindness of authors I receive 10 times as many books, as I can possibly read, though there are very many which I shd. much like to read.—
I have, however, made time to read a very large part of the Novara voyage, & I found it very pleasant reading.2 You have collected an astonishing amount of diversified information.
I was very glad to hear about the old places which I had visited, but more especially about the new places. The parts which interested me most were those on Amsterdam & the atoll in the Caroline Archipelago.—3 I always wanted to have a true history of the French Proceedings in Tahiti, for I thought that the English newspapers had probably exaggerated the case. Your account made me burn with indignation.4 It is really a scandal how the French behaved.
With many thanks for your valuable present, I remain, my dear Sir | Yours sincerely | Charles Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Hartmann, Eduard von. 1875. Wahrheit und Irrthum im Darwinismus. Berlin: Carl Duncker.
Narrative: Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty’s ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836. [Edited by Robert FitzRoy.] 3 vols. and appendix. London: Henry Colburn. 1839.
Novara expedition. 1861–75. Reise der österreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858, 1859 unter den Befehlen des Commodore B. von Wüllerstorf-Urbair. 9 vols. in 19. Vienna: Kaiserlich-Königlichen Hof- und Staatsdruckerei.
Scherzer, Karl von. 1861–3. Narrative of the circumnavigation of the globe by the Austrian frigate Novara (Commodore B. von Wullerstorf-Urbair), undertaken by order of the imperial government, in the years 1857, 1858, & 1859, under the immediate auspices of his I. and R. Highness, the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian. 3 vols. London: Saunders, Otley, & Co.
Summary
Has read a large part of the Novara voyage [Narrative of the circumnavigation of the globe by the Austrian frigate "Novara" (1861–3)] with pleasure. CD was particularly interested in the scandalous French behaviour at Tahiti.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-10843
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Karl von Scherzer
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- University of Chicago Library, Special Collections Research Center (Joseph Halle Schaffner collection, box 1, folder 2)
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10843,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10843.xml