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Darwin in letters, 1876: In the midst of life

Summary

1876 was the year in which the Darwins became grandparents for the first time.  And tragically lost their daughter-in-law, Amy, who died just days after her son's birth.  All the letters from 1876 are now published in volume 24 of The Correspondence…

Matches: 23 hits

  • … I cannot bear to think of the future The year 1876 started out sedately enough with …
  • … ‘my wife … poor creature, has won only 2490 games’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876 ). …
  • … life. But the calm was not to last, and the second half of 1876 was marked by anxiety and deep grief …
  • … quantity of work’ left in him for ‘new matter’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). The …
  • … to a reprint of the second edition of Climbing plants ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 23 February …
  • … & I for blundering’, he cheerfully observed to Carus. ( Letter to J. V. Carus, 24 April 1876. …
  • … provided evidence for the ‘advantages of crossing’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). Revising …
  • … year to write about his life ( Correspondence vol. 23, letter from Ernst von Hesse-Wartegg, 20 …
  • … with his new research in mind: ‘During this autumn of 1876 I shall publish on the “Effects of Cross …
  • … pamphlet, Darwin confounded (C. O’Shaughnessy 1876), which, he informed Darwin, ‘completely …
  • … nowadays is evolution and it is the correct one’ ( letter from Nemo, [1876?] ). …
  • … him ‘basely’ and who had succeeded in giving him pain ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 17 June 1876 ). …
  • … disgrace’ of blackballing so distinguished a zoologist ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 29 January 1876 ) …
  • … must have been cast by the ‘poorest curs in London’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [4 February …
  • … Encyclopaedia Britannica the previous year ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [after 4 September 1876] ). …
  • … ‘all I can say is do not commit suicide’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [4 June 1876] ). By midsummer, …
  • … a set of sons I have, all doing wonders.’ ( Letter to G. H. Darwin, 13 July [1876]. ) A …
  • … and eczema, was able to rest his mind ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 2 May [1876] ). Darwin even …
  • letter to Andrew Clark, [late June 1876] ; letter to G. H. Darwin, 13 July [1876] ). The irony …
  • … she confided to Henrietta (letter from Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield, [31 August 1876] (DAR 219.9: …
  • 1876] ). A more typical British reaction came from Thomas Farrer, who was struck by Darwin’s novel …
  • … been the subject of mere observation’ ( letter from T. H. Farrer, 31 December 1876 ). The Swiss …
  • … on the method, or remains in utter darkness’ ( letter to H. N. Moseley, 22 November 1876 ). …

Darwin in letters, 1879: Tracing roots

Summary

Darwin spent a considerable part of 1879 in the eighteenth century. His journey back in time started when he decided to publish a biographical account of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin to accompany a translation of an essay on Erasmus’s evolutionary ideas…

Matches: 22 hits

  • his publishers, he warned that it wasdry as dust’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 9 September 1879 ). …
  • turned out, alas, very dull & has disappointed me much’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 15 [June
  • home again’, he fretted, just days before his departure ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26
  • an additional worry: the engagement of his son Horace to Ida Farrer, stepdaughter of Darwins niece
  • wrinkles one all over like a baked pear’ ( enclosure in letter from R. W. Dixon, 20 December 1879
  • itself, or gone some other way round?’ At least the last letter of 1879 contained a warmer note and
  • office to complete Horaces marriage settlement ( letter from W. M. Hacon, 31 December 1879 ). …
  • but they wereas nice and good as could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ) …
  • on your lifes work, which is crowned with glory’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 9 February 1879 ). …
  • with the when & the where, & the who—’ ( letter from V. H. Darwin, 28 May [1879] ). On the
  • and well, and with little fatigue’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 , and letter from
  • to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 5 June 1879 , and letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 ). Darwins
  • The other cloud on the horizon was Thomas Henry Farrers objection to the engagement between his
  • Hall, on several occasions. Horace had first approached Farrer to request Idas hand in marriage in
  • Ida must cease. Emma Darwin persuaded her husband to meet Farrer. ‘This proved most useful’, Emma
  • Darwin, [1 July 1879] (DAR 219.1: 123)). Darwin wrote to Farrer on 27 June to request ten
  • wait for three months. ‘Nothing can be more useless than T.Hs conduct’, Emma Darwin pointed out, …
  • to get home ‘& began drumming at once’ (Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield, [27 August 1879] (DAR
  • … & I may not be equal to the exertion’ ( letter to H. A. Pitman, [13 May 1879] ). In the end, …
  • because it dominated the picture (letter from Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield, [17 July 1879] (DAR
  • self- and cross-fertilisation, had first contacted Darwin in 1876. By 1878, Darwin was sufficiently
  • agreed to their engagement being made public ( letter from T. H. Farrer, 12 October 1879 ). Darwin

Darwin's in letters, 1873: Animal or vegetable?

Summary

Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved plants. He resumed work on the digestive powers of sundews and Venus fly traps, and…

Matches: 23 hits

  • … plants  (1875) and  Cross and self fertilisation  (1876). Darwin’s son Francis became …
  • … I omitted to observe, which I ought to have observed” ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 January [1873] …
  • … work your wicked will on it—root leaf & branch!” ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 12 January 1873 ) …
  • … but not in others. He encouraged research by Thomas Henry Farrer on a complex floral structure in …
  • … parts of the flower would become modified & correlated” ( letter to T. H. Farrer, 14 August …
  • … it again, “for Heaven knows when it will be ready” ( letter to John Murray, 4 May [1873] ). …
  • … we take notes and take tracings of their burrows” ( letter from Francis Darwin, 14 August [1873] ) …
  • … in importance; and if so more places will be created” ( letter to E. A. Darwin, 20 September 1873 …
  • … our unfortunate family being fit for continuous work” ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 25 September …
  • … on any point; for I knew my own ignorance before hand” ( letter to George Cupples, 28 April [1873] …
  • … “he would fly at the Empr’s throat like a bulldog” ( letter from L. M. Forster to H. E. Litchfield, …
  • … force & truth of the great principle of inheritance!” ( letter to F. S. B. F. de Chaumont, 3 …
  • … the heavy breathing that accompanied sexual intercourse? (letter from ?, [1873?]). The Scottish …
  • … with up lines; & sadness & decay with the reverse—” ( letter from William Main, 2 April …
  • … with the advance of civilisation and good breeding ( letter from Henry Reeks, 3 March 1873 ). …
  • … have never felt an inclination to have a second dose” ( letter from Robert Swinhoe, 26 March 1873 …
  • … of an orbital one produces snapping of the jaws” ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 16 April 1873 …
  • … that illustrated the physiognomy of the disease ( letter to James Crichton-Browne, 30 December 1873 …
  • … by an individual could be transmitted to its offspring ( letter from J. T. Moggridge, 1 February …
  • … it would offend his father ( enclosure to letter from T. H. Huxley, 3 December 1873 ).  In …
  • … happiness to us to the last day of our lives” ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 23 April 1873 ). Huxley …
  • … been without energy & without hope” ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 24 April 1873 ). He accepted …
  • … to starve sweat & purge it away” ( letter from G. H. Darwin, [1 October 1873] ). He also …

Darwin in letters, 1878: Movement and sleep

Summary

In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to the movements of plants. He investigated the growth pattern of roots and shoots, studying the function of specific organs in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of…

Matches: 24 hits

  • … Hooker, ‘or as far as I know any scientific man’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 December [1878] ). …
  • … or arched.… Almost all seedlings come up arched’ ( letter to Sophy Wedgwood, 24 March [1878–80] ). …
  • … when he finds out that he missed sensitiveness of apex’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [11 May 1878] …
  • … Darwin complained. ‘I am ashamed at my blunder’ ( letter to John Tyndall, 22 December [1878] ). …
  • … accursed German language: Sachs is very kind to him’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 18 June …
  • … have nobody to talk to, about my work, I scribble to you ( letter to Francis Darwin, 7 [July 1878] …
  • … but it is horrid not having you to discuss it with’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 20 [July 1878] ). …
  • … determine whether they had chlorophyll, Francis reported ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 …
  • … ‘There is one machine we must have’, Francis wrote ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 17 July …
  • … ‘He seems to me to jump to conclusions rather’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 3 August 1878] …
  • … the pot-plant every day & never the bedded out one’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 July …
  • … from Francis Darwin, [22 June 1878] ). ‘Sachs doesn’t consider that there is any puzzle as to how …
  • … he was unwell. ‘I was rather seedy last night & didn’t appear at the laboratory & this …
  • … god with the ‘eternity of matter’ ( letter from H. N. Ridley, [before 28 November 1878] ). Darwin …
  • … myself about such insoluble questions’ ( letter to H. N. Ridley, 28 November 1878 ). Darwin …
  • … ill favour because however civilly I may word it a man can’t like to have his work torn to shreds …
  • … bitter opponent’ ( Correspondence vol. 24, letter to T. C. Eyton, 22 April 1876 ). ‘When I …
  • … business to raise different varieties on a large scale. In 1876, he had gone so far as to send …
  • … publish it. While he was in London, Darwin consulted Thomas Farrer at the Board of Trade, who …
  • … 28 [February 1878] ). Further meetings were held with Farrer and James Caird, a member of the Royal …
  • … of the sight of which you must be sick’, he wrote to Farrer on 13 March 1878 . ‘Mr. Torbitt’s …
  • … successive seminal generations’ ( enclosure to letter to T. H. Farrer, 7 March 1878 ). In the end, …
  • … Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil ( letter to R. A. T. Gascoyne-Cecil, 18 May 1878 ). The issue …
  • … vanish like the chaos before the wind’ ( letter from T. H. Noyes, 19 November 1878 ). A …

Darwin in letters, 1868: Studying sex

Summary

The quantity of Darwin’s correspondence increased dramatically in 1868 due largely to his ever-widening research on human evolution and sexual selection.Darwin’s theory of sexual selection as applied to human descent led him to investigate aspects of the…

Matches: 23 hits

  • … in satisfying female preference in the mating process. In a letter to Alfred Russel Wallace in 1864, …
  • … of changing the races of man’ (Correspondence vol. 12, letter to A. R. Wallace, 28 [May 1864] ). …
  • … book would take the form of a ‘short essay’ on man ( letter to Ernst Haeckel, 3 July 1868 ). But …
  • … as well say, he would drink a little and not too much’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 15 May [1868] ) …
  • … would be a great loss to the Book’. But Darwin’s angry letter to Murray crossed one from Dallas to …
  • … of labour to remuneration I shall look rather blank’ ( letter from W. S. Dallas, 8 January 1868 ). …
  • … if I try to read a few pages feel fairly nauseated’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 February [1868] ). …
  • … reviews. On 7 August 1868 , he wrote him a lengthy letter from the Isle of Wight on the formation …
  • … would strike me in the face, but not behind my back’ ( letter to John Murray, 25 February [1868] ) …
  • … ignorant article… . It is a disgrace to the paper’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 24 February [1868] …
  • … ‘he is a scamp & I begin to think a veritable ass’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 1 September [1868] …
  • … wrote of the colour of duck claws on 17 April 1868 . The letter was addressed to ‘the Rev d  C. …
  • … proved very fruitful. On 1 May , Darwin received a letter from George Cupples, who was encouraged …
  • … with the enthusiastic breeder, who apologised in a letter of 11–13 May 1868 for his ‘voluminuous …
  • … of science On 27 February , Darwin sent a letter of thanks to the naturalist and …
  • … he later added, ‘for it is clear that I have none’ ( letter to J. J. Weir, 30 May [1868] ). …
  • … to various classes, a dim ray of light may be gained’ ( letter to H. T. Stainton, 21 February [1868 …
  • … as well as of ‘victorious males getting wives’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 25 February [1868] ). …
  • … of females was remarked upon by other entomologists ( letter from Roland Trimen, 20 February 1868 …
  • … sacrificed to Public life.’ Farrer replied: ‘You don’t know how kind I think your note. This …
  • … induced him to stay away ( letter from S. J. O’H. Horsman, 2 June [1868] ). But if Horsman …
  • … life time— I am preparing to go into opposition— I can’t stand it’. Diplomas and honorary …
  • … at the shrine of D r . Darwin’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 20 July 1868 ). Darwin received a …

Darwin in letters, 1881: Old friends and new admirers

Summary

In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began writing about all the eminent men he had met. He embarked on this task, which formed an addition to his autobiography, because he had nothing else to do. He had…

Matches: 26 hits

  • … in Unconscious memory in November 1880 and in an abusive letter about Darwin in the St James’s …
  • … memory in Kosmos and sent Darwin a separate letter for publication in the Journal of Popular …
  • … publishers decided to print ‘500 more, making 2000’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January 1881 ) …
  • … the animal learnt from its own individual experience ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 7 March 1881 ). …
  • … whether observations of their behaviour were trustworthy ( letter to Francis Galton, 8 March [1881] …
  • … about the sale of books being ‘a game of chance’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 12 April 1881 ). On 18 …
  • … for more suggestions of such plants, especially annuals ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 21 March …
  • … supposed he would feel ‘less sulky in a day or two’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 29 July 1881 ). The …
  • … dead a work falls at this late period of the season’ ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 30 July 1881 ). …
  • … conversation with you’, a Swedish teacher told him ( letter from C. E. Södling, 14 October 1881 ), …
  • … add, however little, to the general stock of knowledge’ ( letter to E. W. Bok, 10 May 1881 ). …
  • … regular ‘bread-winners’ ( Correspondence vol. 30, letter to C. A. Kennard, 9 January 1882 ). …
  • … any future publication & to acknowledge any criticism’ ( letter to C. G. Semper, 19 July 1881 …
  • … view of the nature & capabilities of the Fuegians’ ( letter to W. P. Snow, 22 November 1881 ). …
  • … the kindly protection of the high priests of science’ ( letter from Francisco de Arruda Furtado, 29 …
  • … Nature , which he thought ‘an excellent Journal’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 4 July [1881] ). In …
  • … minds, without being in the least conscious of it’ ( letter to Alexander Agassiz, 5 May 1881 ). …
  • … this produced about the year 1840(?) on all our minds’ ( letter to John Lubbock, [18 September 1881 …
  • … big one’ and had ‘gone much out’ of his mind ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 20 June [1881] ). Feeling …
  • … than for originality’, and telling Hooker, ‘Your long letter has stirred many pleasant memories of …
  • … poured in so atrocious a manner on all physiologists’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 18 April 1881 ). …
  • … George Jesse and Frances Power Cobbe. Jesse, in a private letter, stated that Darwin must not have …
  • … Royal Commission for the regulation of vivisection, and a letter from Cobbe in The Times made …
  • … in heaven’ when the portrait was finished ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 23 July 1881 ). ‘All my family …
  • … was nearly 40 years ago!’ Darwin, himself, told Thomas Farrer on 28 August , ‘The death of my …
  • … ‘absurd and wicked prosecution’ under the terms of the 1876 Cruelty to Animals Act ( letter to T. L …

Darwin in letters, 1877: Flowers and honours

Summary

Ever since the publication of Expression, Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The year 1877 was no exception. The spring and early summer were spent completing Forms of flowers, his fifth book on a botanical topic. He then turned to the…

Matches: 28 hits

  • … of respect and affection’. He hinted as much in his letter of 4 June : ‘you will see I have done …
  • … have shared Hooker’s suspicion of ambitious gardeners ( letter from W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 25 August …
  • … method of recording leaf motion for extended periods. In a letter to Thiselton-Dyer of 11 October …
  • … … tap one of the young leaves with a delicate twig’ ( letter to R. I. Lynch, 14 September 1877 ). …
  • … , or to the vibratory flagella of some Infusoria’ ( letter from F. J. Cohn, 5 August 1877 ). …
  • … in July 1877 (F. Darwin 1877b), and Darwin sent Cohn’s letter vindicating his son’s research to …
  • … his sense of form and of motion was exact and lively’ ( letter from W. E. Gladstone, 23 October …
  • … the Westphalian Provincial Society for Science and Art. In a letter to Darwin written before 16 …
  • … the only one full-page in size. Haeckel sent a personal letter of congratulation on 9 February , …
  • … (see Appendix V). The album arrived with a long letter from the director and secretary of the …
  • … reported, ‘but found him as soft & smooth as butter’ ( letter to C. E. Norton, 16 March 1877 ) …
  • … write to Owen & offer himself you & me to dejeuner!!!’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 14 June …
  • … where I hope it may remain for centuries to come’ ( letter from C. C. Graham, 30 January 1877 ). …
  • … you in the interests of truth, of man and of societies’ ( letter from Marcellin de Bonnal, [1877] …
  • … to the old story to be horsewhipped by a duke!’ ( letter to J. M. Rodwell, 3 June 1877 ). Back …
  • … frog spawn; the gospel of dirt the order of the day’ ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 27 January [1877] …
  • … credence to racist prejudice in Descent of man . In a letter from an unknown correspondent on …
  • … the subjects of Siebold’s study of medical monstrosity ( letter from C. T. E. Siebold, 10 October …
  • … our blood and thus keep back our civilization’ ( letter from W. B. Bowles, 17 May 1877 ). Bowles …
  • … and wives of ‘men of the white race’. In a follow-up letter he warned, ‘you find them in multituds …
  • … polish serves to hide the absence of humanity beneath’ ( letter from W. B. Bowles, 18 May 1877 ). …
  • … in New Guinea, who reportedly had hard inflexible tails ( letter from Arthur Mellersh, 1 January …
  • … up Pangenesis with wicked imprecations’ (Trollope 1867; letter to G. J. Romanes, [1 and 2 December …
  • … disclaimed its ‘scientific value’, he confessed in a letter of 25 November 1877 that the book …
  • … a critique of Francis Galton’s theory of heredity in 1876, but as he was a philosophical writer …
  • … to the mark hereafter is another question’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 30 May [1877] ). In the end, …
  • … of a Roman villa near Thomas Farrar’s home in Surrey; and Farrer sent him a ‘worm journal’ with …
  • … between sagging of pavemts & castings’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 21 November [1877] ). It is …