My dear Sir

You need not fear my changing my mind, I have ^£18,000 as good as ready money (ie ^£16,800 on Grt. N., & N.W. Railway Bonds; & the remainder on Deposit account at 7 days notice) & I sh^d not object to sell Railway shares for another ^£2000. or even ^£3000. Beyond this ^£21,000, I sh^d. not much like to go.—² I have no objection to the situation of the Farm; as I want it as a safe investment for my sons, it will depend whether land good— Buildings in fair repair & price what you consider reasonable. On all these points I must rely on your kindness & judgment. If what you hear is promising I trust to your being so good as to inspect the land; for this is for me an important purchase.—

I may mention that my Bonds have about 1$\frac{1}{2}$ year to run, & pay me good interest 4$\frac{1}{2}$ & 4$\frac{3}{4}$, so that I am in no hurry & my Deposit account will slowly increase.—   So please not to purchase unless you think the investment a fairly good one. I shall certainly invest in land to above amount.³

I do not know how you will manage if you buy at auction about paying Deposit money, until titles are examined by my solicitors.⁴ I may mention that I have about ^£1400 or ^£1500 current account & on emergency I could draw nearly all out.—

With my sincere thanks for your uniform kindness, I remain My dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | C. Darwin

P.S. | As soon as you have decided that the Land seems promising, kindly inform me as my eldest son,⁵ would like to see it & will start immediately; & will after looking at it, probably come on to Alford & look at Beesby & Claythorpe.—⁶