Ɛpsilon

From W. R. S. Ralston   2 December 1875

8 Alfred Place | Bedford Sq

Decr. 2. 1875

Dear Mr. Darwin

Your unknown correspondent is not a Russian. His letter comes from Tiflis, and is written, I believe, in Georgian.1 I am not acquainted with anyone who knows that tongue, and some years ago, when I wanted to get a short Georgian inscription deciphered, I had to send it to Russia. However, if you will allow me, I will keep the letter for a few days before returning it. If no interpreter can be found I should suggest that the letter be returned to the writer at Tiflis, with a line (in Russian, which he is sure to understand, and which I shall be happy to supply) asking him to write in some European tongue. He gives his address in the postscript.

Hoping to have the pleasure of meeting you at Litchfield’s when you come to town,2 and with renewed assurances of the pleasure I shall always feel when I can be of any service to you, I remain, with kind regards to Mrs. Darwin, | Yours very truly | W R S Ralston

1
The letter has not been found nor has the correspondent been identified. Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi) is the capital of Georgia. Georgian has a different alphabet from Russian. Ralston had earlier offered to help CD with Russian matters (see letter from W. R. S. Ralston, 26 April 1875).
2
CD stayed with Henrietta Emma Litchfield and Richard Buckley Litchfield at 2 Bryanston Street, London, from 10 to 20 December 1875 (see ‘Journal’ (Appendix II)).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-10287,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-10287