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Darwin Correspondence Project

To [Francis Lloyd]   1 May [1877]1

May 1st

Dear Sir—

I am sorry to hear of your illness.— I do not feel at all sure what you want me to do, but I suppose that you wish me to apply to some wealthy person to assist you.2 I know of no one to whom I could possibly apply, & to the best of my belief it would be impossible to get up any subscription in your aid. I have taken a part in some such work & I know from experience that any such attempt would be hopeless, except in the case of men who have pursued with success some definite branch of science.— Philosophical work of a general nature is esteemed by but few persons. On painful occasions like the present, it is the best plan to speak without any reserve, & as I think you must be at present in want of cash, I hope that you will allow me to send you a cheque for 10£, which I presume you could get converted into money where you now are.— 3

I will only add that from living in the country & from being in weak health, I am very ill fitted either to give advice or assistance.—

With my best wishes for your improved health, I am Dear Sir

Footnotes

The correspondent and year are established from the entry in CD’s Classed account books (see n. 3, below).
No letter from Lloyd has been found. Lloyd had written a critique of Francis Galton’s theory of heredity in 1876 (Lloyd 1876); a copy is in the Darwin Pamphlet Collection–CUL.
An entry in CD’s Classed account books (Down House MS) on 1 May 1877 records under ‘Charities’ a payment of £10 for ‘F. Lloyd’.

Summary

CD does not feel a subscription could be got up to aid correspondent. Sends a cheque for £10.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-10948
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Francis Lloyd
Sent from
Down
Source of text
DAR 202: 91
Physical description
ADraft 1p

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10948,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10948.xml

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