To G. H. Darwin   [4 June 1876]1

[Hopedene, Surrey.]

My dear George.—

I am determined not to believe in your grand astronomical work, until Adams accepts it & you have reached your final results, for I shall be so dreadfully disappointed, if it all breaks down.2 As for yourself all I can say is do not commit suicide.

Poor Jemmy has just come here & I have heard the sad news that the planetary movement will not act.—3

W. is beginning to recover from the unfortunate 2 days in London.—4

Yours affect | C.D

Sunday

1
The date is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from G. H. Darwin, 1 June 1876. In 1876, the first Sunday after 1 June was 4 June.
2
See letter from G. H. Darwin, 1 June 1876. John Couch Adams communicated George’s paper on the influence of geological changes on the earth’s axis of rotation to the Royal Society of London, and George thanked him in the paper for his help (G. H. Darwin 1877).
3
Horace Darwin (nicknamed Jim or Jemmy) had met George in London to see a machine that Horace had designed to demonstrate planetary motion (see letter from G. H. Darwin, 1 June 1876 and n. 8).
4
William Erasmus Darwin went to London on 30 May to consult James Paget about the after-effects of his horse-riding accident and returned on 31 May (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242), letter from James Paget, 30 May 1876).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

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Please cite as “DCP-LETT-10530,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-10530