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From W. E. Darwin   5 October [1877]1

Basset

Oct 5th

My dearest Father

Thank you for your splendid present.2

No man in the world ever had a more loving father & mother than me or a happier home.

Your visit to me was my great annual pleasure and it is delightful to think that having Sara with me will make it all the pleasanter for you.3

I shall buy her a small close carriage with part of the money, but I shall hardly dare let her know the amount of the present. I have had two such happy notes from Hen. & Richard, it is a blessing what pleasure one’s own happiness gives to others.4

Dear Father | Your affectionate son | W. E. Darwin

I will write to mother from Tilgate5

Please ask her to send me there the address of the Horse buying man6

Footnotes

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter to W. E. Darwin, 3 October [1877].
2
CD’s marriage present to William and his fiancée Sara Sedgwick (see letter to W. E. Darwin, 3 October [1877] and n. 2) was a cheque for 300 guineas (£315; CD’s Classed accounts (Down House MS), 3 October 1877).
3
CD and Emma had visited William in Southampton from 13 June to 4 July 1877 (CD’s ‘Journal’ (Appendix II)).
4
William had told his sister Henrietta Emma Litchfield and her husband, Richard Buckley Litchfield, about his engagement (see letter from W. E. Darwin to H. E. Litchfield, [28 September 1877] (DAR 219.8: 32)). The letters from the Litchfields to William have not been found.
5
Sara Sedgwick was living in Tilgate, Crawley, Sussex (see letter from W. E. Darwin to H. E. Litchfield, [28 September 1877] (DAR 219.8: 32)).
6
The horse-dealer has not been identified.

Summary

Thanks CD for present of £300.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-11169
From
William Erasmus Darwin
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
Bassett
Source of text
DAR 210.5: 21
Physical description
ALS 3pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 11169,” accessed on 18 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-11169.xml

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Darwin Correspondence Project
darwin@lib.cam.ac.uk

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