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Darwin Correspondence Project

To Octavian Blewitt   27 March [1860]1

Down Bromley Kent

March 27th.

Mr Darwin presents his compliments to the Secretary & is sorry to say that from the state of his health & other circumstances he must decline the honour of acting as Steward at the Annual Dinner of the Literary Fund.—2

Footnotes

The year is established from the date on the file of correspondence in which this letter was archived.
Blewitt was secretary of the Royal Literary Fund, an institution that gave financial support to writers; the annual dinner was the fund’s principal means of raising money (Janet Adam Smith, ‘A short history’, Royal Literary Fund, History, https://www.rlf.org.uk/home/our-history/ (accessed 20 August 2019)). In 1860, the dinner took place on 16 May (The Times, 17 May 1860, p. 12).

Summary

Declines the honour of acting as Steward at the Annual Dinner of the Royal Literary Fund.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-2733F
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Octavian Blewitt
Sent from
Down
Source of text
The British Library (Loan 96: RLF 4/15 1860 file 3)
Physical description
ALS 1p

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2733F,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2733F.xml

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