From John Thomas Austen 27 May 1863
Netherbury—
May 27—/63
My dear Sir,
I found your note on my return from Bromley on Monday.1 I was late & could not in consequence write to you that Evening— yesterday I left early for this place having a long journey before me— I have written by this post to Dennen and asked for an explanation relative to the transaction you have referred to.2 I do not understand it at all, it certainly looks as if he were engaged in some business which at any rate he ought not to meddle with. he ought not to have anything whatever to do with borrowing money at ten per Cent— The Bondsmen, he speaks of, are I suppose securities for the money advanced;3 as to his own bond, it is worth nothing at all— I will desire him to write to me immediately and I will then let you know what he has said for himself; you must not however expect to hear from me before Sunday Morning, as we have no second Post from this place either out or in, and I believe you have no second d⟨eli⟩very at Down4 I shall not get Dennen’s answer before Friday morning— I am staying now at
Slape House | Netherbury | Beaminster | Dorset.
I saw your servant at Bromley on Monday; ⟨&⟩ am sorry to hear that you are not well;5 if I had not been leaving home yesterday I would have rode over to Down & called on you, that we might have had some conversation on this matter. The affairs of the Bank are all right; no money goes through Dennen’s hands.
I remain | Yrs very truly | John Thos. Austen.
C. Darwin Esq.
PS. I do not re⟨turn⟩ home before the end of the week after next, we remain here till ⟨Wedn⟩esday next—
Footnotes
Bibliography
Freeman, Richard Broke. 1978. Charles Darwin: a companion. Folkestone, Kent: William Dawson & Sons. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, Shoe String Press.
Horsburgh, E. L. S. 1980. Bromley, Kent: from the earliest times to the present century, compiled from materials collected from original sources by various hands. Reprint edition. Chislehurst, Kent: Lodgemark Press.
OED: The Oxford English dictionary. Being a corrected re-issue with an introduction, supplement and bibliography of a new English dictionary. Edited by James A. H. Murray, et al. 12 vols. and supplement. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1970. A supplement to the Oxford English dictionary. 4 vols. Edited by R. W. Burchfield. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1972–86. The Oxford English dictionary. 2d edition. 20 vols. Prepared by J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1989. Oxford English dictionary additional series. 3 vols. Edited by John Simpson et al. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1993–7.
Post Office directory of the six home counties: Post Office directory of the six home counties, viz., Essex, Herts, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. London: W. Kelly & Co. 1845–78.
Summary
Has written to G. Dennen to ask him for an explanation regarding his behaviour in a financial transaction involving the savings bank of which JTA and CD are trustees.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-4188
- From
- John Thomas Austen
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Netherbury
- Source of text
- DAR 159: 149
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp damaged
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 4188,” accessed on 20 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-4188.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 11