To G. H. Darwin   29 January [1880]1

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

Jan. 29th

My dear George

We have both been very sorry to hear of your illness. You must have had a miserable time. I always thought that the journey in your state of health was a rash one. We are particularly glad to hear that you intend seeing a doctor & do follow his advice. We gather from your note this morning that the worst of the attack is over.—2 Now that you have got so far I hope that you may get on so as to see McLennan;3 but I pray you not to stay long there. You have perfect reason in your state of health.—

By the way if McL. shd. say, or you shd hear from Mrs L. anything about his book, & if he leaves his materials in a form which could be worked up by anyone, tell him from me, supposing that he knows no better man, that Wallace I think wd do the work well & conscientiously, but he would require liberal payment as he is poor.—4 He writes admirable English & knows a good deal about anthropology & I think wd work conscientiously.— Pray give my kindest sympathy to him & say how grieved I have been for the sake of science as well his own sake at his long & terrible illness.—

Poor Franks5 is in bed with rheumatism & very bad cold & has to give up his Lecture on Saturday.

My poor dear old George | Your affect Father | C. Darwin

1
The year is established by the mention of George’s plan to visit John Ferguson McLennan (see n. 3, below).
2
No letter from George has been found. He had left for Switzerland on 20 January and had fallen ill in Zurich (letter from Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield, 19 January 1880 (DAR 219.9: 218), and letter from Emma Darwin to Sara Darwin, 31 January 1880 (DAR 219.1: 132)).
3
George planned to visit John Ferguson McLennan in Davos, Switzerland; McLennan was very ill with consumption (letter from Emma Darwin to Sara Darwin, 31 January 1880 (DAR 219.1: 132)).
4
Eleonora Anne McLennan was J. F. McLennan’s wife. McLennan died in 1881; a collection of his writings on the origin of patriarchal family structures was published posthumously (McLennan 1885). CD had been asked to find employment for Alfred Russel Wallace in 1879 (see Correspondence vol. 27, letter from A. B. Buckley, 16 December 1879).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.4 the worst] ‘the’ above del ‘that’
2.1 , or] after del ‘s’
2.6 say] interl
2.6 have been] after del ‘was’
3.1 rheumatism] after del illeg

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12441,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12441