My dear William

John Lubbock called here today, & told me that lately a Gentleman had applied to him to recommend some young man, who had not been in business, as a partner in a Bank in some sea-port town in S. of England. He said that you had just occurred to him as perhaps liking the offer. It is, however very probable that the place may be filled up. I am astounded that such a place sh^d. go begging for a week. The old Partner wants to retire this summer, & J. Lubbock’s friend (about 35 years old) does not want to have whole business on his shoulders & therefore wants a Partner.—²

The share of Partner would be about (probably I sh^d. think less) ^£500 per annum. Lubbock says the Bank he believes very safe & capable of extension, in which case profits of partners would of course increase.— As I understood no capital required; but a deposit, as guarantee of your probity, of 10,000£ required.—³ Lubbock says he knows the Bank always keeps an almost uselessly large reserve stock. All this sounds (of course everything would require cautious investigation) very promising. On other hand there would be cruel drawback of your leaving Cambridge at once, & beginning life at once with regular work & very short holidays. But then contrast this with your waiting till 35 years old before you probably would get a brief.—⁴ Banking is dull work & requires only sense, caution & judgment (all of which you have) & there is the enormous advantage of your being an independent man early in life. If you are a Barrister & do not succeed (& success is a great chance in that walk of life) you will hardly even have enough to marry & settle; for as far as I can tell after my & Emma’s death each of you Boys will have about 600, or at most, ^£700 a year; & that is a very small income to marry & have children on.—

I do not wish at all to urge you to accept (if indeed the offer is still open); but think it over, & let me soon have your first impression.

I was so astonished at the communication, that I had not presence of mind to think over it. But I will try & see Lubbock tomorrow & write again.⁵ Lubbock remarked that if you did think at all about it, you had better go down & see the man & place & hear particulars; & I sh^d. certainly talk affair over with my solicitor.—⁶ The offer strikes me as oddly good: how on earth is it that the Partners sh^d. not know some young man?— I wish to Heaven it had been one year later, after you had taken degree & then you might have tried the life for a year or so with hardly any detriment to the Law.— Indeed I suppose that you might continue eating your dinners at Lincoln’s Inn.—⁷ But, perhaps, the whole scheme will be repugnant to you & you had rather stick to the Law with all its disadvantages.

I will try & find out tomorrow where the place is.— The offer seems strangely advantageous contrasted with what Mackintosh Wedgwood works for, & not harder work, I should suppose, than Godfrey’s place.—⁸ Think deliberately & let me hear. The probability is immense that the whole will turn out moonshine; but I am sure it is far too good an offer not to be well considered.

Goodnight My dear William | Your affect. Father | C. Darwin

John L. brought a better account of Montagu tho’ it sounds very bad as he is still almost insensible but his spine is not injured.⁹ He said that he was considered out of danger

You need not write till you hear again tomorrow from me.