To O. C. Marsh   2 July 1878

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

July 2d. 1878

My dear Sir

It will give me very great pleasure to see you here; but I am bound to add that the state of my health does not allow me to converse with anyone for a long time.—1

I do not know whether it will suit you best to come here for dinner & sleep, returning next morning, or to come here merely to lunch at 1o o clock. A train leaves Charing Cross at 11o 15′, reaching Orpington Stn (4 miles from my house) at 12o 4′, & you can get a Fly there. You could return by the train which leaves Orpington at 2o 50′, & this wd allow you to stay here about 112 hour. If you come to dinner & sleep, I wd suggest Friday, as Mr McLennan, a remarkable man, the author of Primitive Marriage will be here, & you might possibly like to meet him.—2 Perhaps you will be so good as to let me hear what you decide & I remain | My dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | Charles Darwin

1
Thomas Henry Huxley had told CD that Marsh was eager to visit him (letter from T. H. Huxley, 2 July 1878).
2
John Ferguson McLennan visited Down on either Friday 5 or Saturday 6 July 1878 (see letter to Francis Darwin, 6 [July 1878] and n. 3). His book Primitive marriage was published in 1865 (McLennan 1865). CD’s annotated copy is in the Darwin Library–CUL.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.3 11o] after del ‘12o 4′’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-11584,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-11584