Ɛpsilon

From T. L. Brunton   26 June [1879]1

50, Welbeck Street, | Cavendish Square, W.

June 26

My dear Sir

I regret to say that I have tried in vain to find out the influence of Dr. Erasmus Darwin on the administration of stimulants in fever.2 After looking through those books which I thought likely to give the information I applied to Mr. Bowman as he knew Dr. Todd very well & Dr. Todd’s influence in introducing the stimulating practice has been very great.3 He could not give me any information so I applied to Sir Robert Christison who writes to me this morning to say that he has failed to get what you desire but has given you such information as he has obtained.4 I have been reading the Zoonomia & have been much struck with the ingenuity both of Dr. Darwin’s speculations and practice. One case of his was particularly interesting where he cured headache by extraction of a sound tooth.5

Believe me | Yours very sincerely | T Lauder Brunton

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter to T. L. Brunton, 27 June 1879.
2
See letter to T. L. Brunton, 25 April 1879.
3
William Bowman and Robert Bentley Todd had worked together at King’s College, London; they co-authored a book on anatomy and physiology that became the standard authority for many years (Todd and Bowman 1845–56). On Todd’s pioneering use of stimulants in fever, see Beale 1870, pp. 513–14.
4
Robert Christison wrote to CD, but his letter has not been found (see letter to T. L. Brunton, 27 June 1879; see also Erasmus Darwin, pp. 106–7).
5
The case Brunton mentions is in E. Darwin 1794–6, 1: 447.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12123,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12123