Ɛpsilon

To P. M. Duncan   19 September 1876

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.

Sep. 19. 76

My dear Sir,

On turning out a pile of rubbish in one of my rooms I found a parcel with a fossil coral & a long M.S account (beautifully written) by Lonsdale.1 I believe that this arrived during one of my long illnesses, anyhow it was completely forgotten. From the length of the MS & the many references I suppose that the Specimen must have interested Lonsdale. Therefore I will send you in a day or two by rail the M.S & Specimen, all of which you can throw away if of no interest.2

I hope that I shall have not troubled you in vain and remain, | My dear Sir, | Yours very faithfully | Charles Darwin

LS(A)

1
William Lonsdale’s manuscript on the fossil coral together with a specimen was sent to CD in 1864; CD had suggested then that he (CD) ought to send them to the Geological Society of London (see Correspondence vol. 18, Supplement, letter to William Lonsdale, 6 May [1864]).
2
CD evidently forwarded the material to Duncan because, like Lonsdale, he specialised in fossil corals. Duncan had written a monograph on British fossil corals, published by the Palaeontographical Society of London (Duncan 1866–72). Duncan was also president of the Geological Society at this time. Lonsdale died in 1871 (ODNB).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.5 in a … two] interl in CD’s hand

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-10608,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-10608