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From Reginald Darwin   17 November 1879

Fern | Buxton

Nov 17 | 1879.

My dear Cousin

Noticing your allusion to our Grandfather’s short hand writing, I send you a Book on the subject which may interest you, as tho’ it bears the date 1776, a portion of it had then been written “long ago”—1

I have also found a curious paper, tho’ without date called “a Moral & Physical Thermometer” bearing on the subject of Temperance— In all probability he was the author— If you will do me the favour to accept the Book & the paper You will much oblige me—2

With best regards | Affectly yours | Reginald Darwin

1
In Erasmus Darwin, p. 17, CD remarked: ‘Whilst still young he filled six volumes with short-hand notes, and continued to make use of the art for some time.’ The book on shorthand has not been found; it may have been a copy of Thomas Gurney’s Brachygraphy: or short-writing (Gurney 1750), which went through numerous editions. CD mentioned that Erasmus Darwin had corresponded with Gurney about shorthand (Erasmus Darwin, p. 17).
2
CD discussed his grandfather’s strong advocacy of temperance in Erasmus Darwin, pp. 56–8. Various diagrams of ‘A moral and physical thermometer: or a scale of the progress of temperance and intemperance’ were published in the 1790s. Such works were often anonymous; see, however Rush 1790, p. 12, and Lettsom 1798, p. 12.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12323,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12323