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Darwin Correspondence Project

To H. W. Bates   16 April [1862]1

⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠

April 16th

My dear Mr Bates

Dr. Hooker is coming here tomorrow night to stay till Monday,2 is there any chance of your being able to spare time to come here during this time:3 it would give me great pleasure if you could. If you can spare the time or want a little rest, come without writing. You must come to Bromley Kent, by Railway; but I ⁠⟨⁠am⁠⟩⁠ sorry to say Bromley is six miles from this House.— On Monday I could send you back to Bromley with Hooker.— I hope to get Mr. Lubbock over on Sunday or Saturday evening—4

I only heard this morning when Hooker was coming or I would have given you longer notice.—5 A bit of rest would do you good.—

Yours very sincerely | C. Darwin

Bromley is 10 miles from London & you can start from the Victoria Station Pimlico, or from London Bridge.— Do not get out at “Shortlands for Bromley”, but at the proper Bromley Station.—

Footnotes

The year is established by the references to Bates and Joseph Dalton Hooker visiting Down House (see nn. 2 and 3, below).
See letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 April 1862]. According to Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242), Hooker was a guest at Down House from 17 to 21 April 1862.
Emma Darwin recorded Bates’s arrival at Down House in her diary for 18 April 1862 (DAR 242).

Summary

Invitation to visit; Hooker will be present. Gives directions to Down. Also plans to invite John Lubbock over for an evening.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-3507
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Henry Walter Bates
Sent from
Down
Source of text
Cleveland Health Sciences Library (Robert M. Stecher collection)
Physical description
ALS 4pp damaged

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 3507,” accessed on 18 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-3507.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 10

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