Ɛpsilon

To Francis Darwin   [31 August 1875 or later]1

[Bassett, Southampton.]

My dear F.

I send by this post Proofs of Var under D.—2 Please look to my old instructions. I have glanced only at the added passages & made few hasty corrections.— Keep carefully all old Proofs & M.S.— When returned to Printers mark “Press” unless it is necessary to consult me.— When in doubt about altered passages it will aid you to see what I have said in the first Edition.—

I see already that the whole will absolutely require close looking to.— Take great care in making your corrections clear— if there are many you must have revise.—

The sheets which I have looked over are marked “Frank”

I have put some corrections only in pencil for your consideration & I wish I had done all in pencil.— I am sorry to think what hard work it will be for you, but it will ease me immensely

C. Darwin

1
The date is established by the reference to Variation 2d ed. (see n. 2, below), and by the relationship between this letter and the letter from Francis Darwin, [1 September 1875 or later].
2
CD had sent the manuscript alterations for the first volume of Variation 2d ed. to the printers William Clowes & Sons earlier in August (letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 August 1875, and letter to R. F. Cooke, 29 August [1875]). The first set of proof-sheets was sent to CD on 25 August and the second on 1 September. The proof-sheets are now in DAR 213.11.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.1 old] interl
1.2 only] interl
1.2 & … corrections] interl
1.3 carefully] interl
1.4 about altered passages] interl
1.5 first] after del ‘ori’
3.1 sheets] after interl & del ‘clear’
4.2 in pencil] interl above del ‘so’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-10178,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-10178