To W. D. Fox 30 October [1857]1
Down Bromley Kent
Oct. 30th.—
My dear Fox
I was very glad to get your note with a very fairly good account of yourself.— I cannot say much for myself; I have had a poor summer, & am at last rather come to your theory that my Brains were not made for thinking, for twice I staid for a fortnight at Moor Park,2 & was so extraordinarily better that I can attribute the difference, (& I fell back into my old state immediately I returned) to nothing but to mental work; & I cannot attribute the difference but in a very secondary degree to Hydropathy. Moor Park, I like much better as a place than Malvern;3 & I like Dr. Lane very much: by the way have you seen his Brochure on Hydropathy;4 it seem to me very good & worth reading. Unfortunately for me, I believe Dr. L. means to look out for some new place.—5
We have had Etty there all summer; but she comes home for good next Saturday.—6 She has received much benefit, I think, from Hydropathy; but can walk very little & is still very feeble. For the last month or two we have had trouble about Lenny, who has been the picture of strength & vigour, & now his pulse has become feeble & often very irregular like three of our other children:7 it is strange & heart-breaking. A man ought to be a bachelor, & care for no human being to be happy! or not to be wretched.
I make slow progress in my work, which is altogether too much for me; I have done only 2 chapters in rough, first copy during the last six months!8
I see you ask about Mr Pritchards school: I have nothing to say against it; but were it not for the great advantage of having George home on monthly Sundays, & short Michaelmas & Easter holidays; I think I shd. prefer Rugby; but if you ask me why, I declare I cd. give no answer.9
You ask about all my Sisters & Eras: all are much as usual: Catherine is thinking of taking a house in London & living there at least during greater part of year, but I do not know how it will answer.10
How you have been spinning all about the English world: we have been all fixture, except Moor Park.— We have, however, been recreating ourselves with building a new Dining Room & large bedroom over it; for we found our party, when we had cousins had quite outgrown our old room.— Your Pear-trees have born very well this year for the first time; & we had lots on the wall;11 & pretty well off for Plums; but no other fruit succeeds with us. Louise Bonne & Marie Louise have been splendid. Not only have we been nowhere; but we have hardly had any visitors, except Henslow for 2 or 3 days;12 & he was, all what he always is,—than which I cannot give higher praise.— I am very glad your children are flourishing.
My dear Fox | Yours affectionately | C. Darwin
Emma desires her very kind remembrances.
Footnotes
Bibliography
Browne, Janet. 1990. Spas and sensibilities: Darwin at Malvern. In The medical history of waters and spas, edited by Roy S. Porter. Medical History, supp. 10. London: Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine.
Colp, Ralph, Jr. 1977. To be an invalid: the illness of Charles Darwin. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Summary
Has come to think his brains were not made for thinking – he immediately feels better when at Moor Park.
News of his family.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-2161
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- William Darwin Fox
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 104)
- Physical description
- ALS 8pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2161,” accessed on 29 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2161.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 6