Ɛpsilon

To J. D. Hooker   22 June 1875

Abinger Hall

June 22 1875

My dear Hooker

I am very sorry to say that it is impossible for you to come & return on a Sunday to Gomshall Station.1 You might I believe come to Dorking, but this is 5 miles off, & wd never be worth your while, more especially as I do not quite like to offer Mr Farrer’s horses on a Sunday—2

You must come to Down whenever you can after our return home—

I heartily rejoice at the success of the Sec. business3

yours affectly | Ch. Darwin

LS

1
CD had invited Hooker to Abinger Hall in Surrey for the weekend, but Hooker wanted to come just for Sunday (see letter from J. D. Hooker, 20 June 1875). Gomshall Station was just over a mile from the hall.
2
Abinger Hall was the home of Thomas Henry Farrer; CD stayed there from 3 June to 6 July 1875 (see CD’s ‘Journal’ (Appendix II)).
3
Hooker had informed CD that William Turner Thiselton-Dyer had been appointed assistant director at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (see letter from J. D. Hooker, 20 June 1875 and n. 2). In his letter to T. H. Farrer, 29 November [1874] (Correspondence vol. 22), CD had referred to the position as ‘assistant secretary’.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-10026,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-10026