Ɛpsilon

From E. A. Darwin   8 July 1879

8 July 79

Dear Charles

Miss Cobbe called on me the other day & spoke on the way your name was made use of in defence of Vivisection in Denmark especially.1 I think she is quite aware of your views of the importance of vivisection but she thought that perhaps you might be willing to say something that might be quoted in limitation of all useless repetitions of experiments. She was speaking in reference to a letter which I enclose (to be returned).2 I promised to send you the letter but anything more of course I could not say. The letter comes to me from the Secy of the Anti Viv: Soc: & I shall simply have to return it to her if as I think probable you do not wish to make any remarks upon it.3 I’m glad to hear the Life is getting into print4

Yours affe.: EAD

1
Frances Power Cobbe was a co-founder in 1875 and honorary secretary of the Society for Protection of Animals Liable to Vivisection, familiarly known as the Victoria Street Society (Mitchell 2004, p. 240).
2
The letter has not been found, but was evidently regarding a petition against vivisection drawn up by the society and presented by Anthony Ashley-Cooper (Lord Shaftesbury); The Times, 25 July 1879, p. 6); signatures of many famous people were included (see Kean 1998, p. 108).
3
Ann Marston was the founder and honorary secretary of the London Anti-Vivisection Society (Spectator, 3 April 1880, p. 15; Cobbe 1904, p. 679). CD did write, giving his reasons for declining to sign the petition (letter to Ann Marston, 20 July [1879]).
4
CD had received proof-sheets of his introductory essay for Erasmus Darwin, which was published in November 1879 (see letter to Ernst Krause, 7 July 1879).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12138,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12138