To C. H. Tindal   5 January 1880

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.

Jan 5. 1880

Dear Sir,

Your kindness has been extreme in having taken so much trouble in searching through the letters and copying the extracts.1 I value them much, and they interest me strangely by bringing before my eyes old passed scenes. I never knew how my father (Dr R. Darwin of Shrewsbury)2 became so intimate with all the Clives. I dimly remember staying when a child at Stych & seeing a very old Mrs Clive, no doubt the widow of the Archdeacon.3 The extract about the eagerness of the two learned divines to see a pig’s body opened is very amusing; & that about my grandfather’s character is of much value to me.4 I now hope that there may be a second edition of the Life, that I may use a few extracts from the materials which you have so kindly given me.5 The information about Mr Gifford & the Archdeacon is now quite sufficient. I was glad to read the P.S. about my father & about the outline made by my mother.6

With the most cordial thanks, I remain, | dear Sir, | Yours faithfully | Charles Darwin

Tindal had sent extracts from the correspondence between Richard Gifford and Robert Clive (1722/3–92), friends of CD’s grandfather Erasmus Darwin (see letter from C. H. Tindal, 1 January 1880).
Styche Hall in Shropshire was the seat of the Clive family; Rebecca Clive was the wife of Robert Clive, archdeacon of Shropshire.
Erasmus Darwin 2d ed. was published after CD’s death, but no new material was added.
The postscripts must have been in one of the letters that CD returned to Tindal; they have not been found. In his letter of 1 January 1880, Tindal mentioned a picture cut out in black paper by CD’s mother, Susannah Darwin.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12405F,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12405F