From E. A. Wheler   25 March 1879

My dear Cousin,

Francis has sent your letter to me, & I am very glad you are going to add a preface to my g^dfather Darwin’s life & undo Miss Seward & M^rs. Schimmelpenigs untrue remarks.¹ How pleased my dear Mother would have been, had she been living!²

I have no letters, & fear I can help you but little. Reginald Darwin must have several, & I should think Keir Moilliet Esq^re. Cheyney court, Bishops Frome. Bromyard, would have many, written to his g^t grandfather, M^r. Keir, who was one of the Lunar Society.³ Also Lord Belper must have some written to M^r. W^m. Strutt.⁴

My Mother always spoke of her Father with the utmost reverence & affection, his refined & agreeable manner & his kindness to his children. He had no teeth in his head, & was very fond of milk & any thing made of milk cream cheese & such like, but I am sure my Mother would have been shocked at M^rs. Schimmelpenigs account of his greediness, & would have contradicted it at once. He stammered very much. M^r. Edgeworth in his life speaks of my grandfather in a very gratifying way, & corroborates much my mother has told us of him.⁵ The letter he was writing when he was taken ill & died, was to M^r. Edgeworth. I can tell you a few anecdotes which may amuse you, tho’ I fear of no other use.

My grandfather M^r. Galton who had the highest opinion of D^r. Darwin in every way, requested him to go to Margate to see his eldest Daughter who was ill.⁶ He went, & on his way slept at Newmarket where the races were going on, the Inn very full & noisy. In the middle of the night he heard his door open softly, & a man entered, came to his bedside & made him a sign to be silent. He then said “D^r. Darwin I am the Jockey who is to ride the favourite Horse tomorrow, & upon whom large bets are laid, you once saved my wife’s life when very ill with a fever, & I can now shew you my gratitude, make any bets you please against the favourite Horse, for we Jockies have settled he shall not win. My g^dfather thanked the man & requested him to leave the room. He continued his journey to Margate the next day, & on his return thro’ Newmarket he asked which Horse had won, & was told that, to the surprise of everyone, the Horse that was thought sure to win, & on whom thousands had been bet, had failed just at the last, & come in third or fourth.

Another time D^r. D. was riding on a lonely road to Nottingham to see a Patient late in the Even.^g. A suspicious looking man rode past him, & then went slowly for D^r. D to pass him. This happened once or twice. At last D^r. D said “A fine Even.^g Sir” or something of that sort. The man made a short reply & rode away. The next day a man was taken up on that very spot for robbing some Traveller. D^r. D. had the curiosity to go to the prison & found it was the very man who had passed him the day before. & on asking why he had not robbed him the man replied “I had intended to do so, but thought it was you, & when you spoke I was sure. you saved my life many years ago, & nothing would induce me to rob you.⁷

My g^dfather used to drive in his “Sulky” & an old Horse “Doctor” used to follow behind with a saddle on, without being fastened in any way, & when the road was too bad for the carriage, he got out & rode upon Doctor. This Horse lived to a great age & was buried at the Priory.”

When my g^dfather was a young man he & his three Brothers all went to Cambridge at the same time—a great expense to their Father. These young men lived as carefully as they could, They each attended different Lectures & then repeated them to their Brothers. They also mended their own clothes & my g^dfather often boasted to my mother that if she cut the heel out of a stocking he could put a new one in without missing a stitch.⁸

Last year some alterations were made in Breadsall Church & the Darwin coffins were exposed⁹   My g^dfather’s coffin had burst open & his remains were visible & in perfect preservation   He was dressed in a purple velvet dressing gown & his features unchanged.

One more anecdote I have heard my Mother tell. When my g^dFather took his son (your Father)¹⁰ to settle him at Shrewsbury, when taking leave of him he remembered he had forgotten to give him any money. He gave him £20 which was all he had about him & said, “Let me know when you want more & I will send it to you” your Father got into practice immediately & never wrote to his Father for more money.—

M^rs. Schimmelpening was my Aunt. She had the unfortunate habit of distorting what was true & making a false impression on those about her. & this is very evident in what she says of D^r. Darwin. My g^dfather & g^dmother M^r. & M^rs. Galton had the highest respect & estime for D^r. Darwin & thought him perfect in every way. The two families were very intimate with each other   Both my g^dfathers belonged to the Lunar Society.¹¹

I hope you are well & with kind remembrances to your wife & Daughter¹² Believe me | y^rs. very truly, | Eliz^th. Anne Wheler