To Asa Gray 9 February [1868]1
Down Bromley Kent.
Feb 9th
My dear Gray.
Last August you gave me Dr Rothrocks address simply “New York”, & to day the letter despatched in September has been returned to me, as “not found”. As I do not like that he shd. think me uncourteous & ungrateful, will you address & forward the enclosed, though it is not in itself worth sending.—2 I despatched about 2 or 3 weeks ago the last sheets, Title &c. of my Book. I have become fairly disgusted with it, but yesterday I heard that whole edit of 1500 copies was sold in a week! & a new Edit is to be printed in a fortnight, so urgent is the demand.3 Unfortunate people, they clearly do not know what they are eager for. The book has been an immense labour to me & I have the greatest doubt whether it is worth one half or one quarter of the labour. Anyhow it will show the public that I did not speak out without having worked at my subject.— Nearly all the chapters were partially and some fully written before I published the Origin.—4 If you can help me about expression, pray give any likely man a reminder.—5
My dear Gray | Yours most sincerely | C. Darwin
We have been so much pleased by our second son being second Wrangler at our Cambridge, which implies profound mathematical knowledge & talent.—6
Footnotes
Bibliography
Freeman, Richard Broke. 1977. The works of Charles Darwin: an annotated bibliographical handlist. 2d edition. Folkestone, Kent: William Dawson & Sons. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, Shoe String Press.
Summary
Asks that Gray forward a letter to J. T. Rothrock. Variation is selling well. Nearly all chapters were at least partially written before Origin was published.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-5851F
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Asa Gray
- Sent from
- Eown
- Source of text
- William Patrick Watson (dealer) (catalogue 19, 2013)
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 5851F,” accessed on 15 May 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-5851F.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 24 (Supplement)