Ɛpsilon

From Arthur Mellersh   13 February 1879

Fernhurst | Haslemere

February 13th. 1879

My dear Darwin,

I see by a German paper that you entered this “Vale of tears” on the same day of the month, only five years sooner than my Wife may you enjoy many more anniversaries of the day.1 If you come into these parts again, I hope you will let me know that I may have one more peep at you.2 I heard from Phil King3 the other day he, like me has been a horrid sufferer from sciatica. I would not wish my worst enemy (if I have one) to suffer what I did last year.

Hoping we may meet again, I am very truly Yours | A. Mellersh

1
CD was 70 on 12 February 1879. Mellersh had sailed on HMS Beagle with CD in the 1830s; his wife, Henrietta Frances Mellersh, was baptised on 13 February 1814 (England, select births and christenings, 1538–1975 (Ancestry.com, accessed 29 November 2017)).
2
The last known meeting between Mellersh and CD was at Down on 21 October 1862; see Correspondence vol. 10, letter from Arthur Mellersh, 30 November [1862].
3
Philip Gidley King had been midshipman on the Beagle voyage.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-11880,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-11880