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To Lawson Tait   13 February 1880

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

Feb. 13th. 1880.

My dear Sir

Although you tell me not to write I must thank you for your congratulations, your two notes, the articles in the Daily Post & the copy of the Address.—1 Nothing can be more honourable to me than the article & the Address, & according to my judgment no one could possibly have written them in better taste. I fear that you have expended much time & trouble in this whole affair.

Accept my sincere thanks & believe me | Yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin

Of course whenever I receive the Address I will send a formal answer.2

1
The letter and notes from Lawson Tait have not been found. Two cuttings of articles from the Birmingham Daily Post are in DAR 226.2: 44 (1 and 2). The first article is headed ‘Charles Darwin: a birthday note’ (ibid., 12 February 1880, p. 4); the second is headed ‘Birmingham Philosophical Society. Address to Dr. Darwin’ (ibid., 13 February 1880, p. 5).
2
The address from the Birmingham Philosophical Society was presented by Tait when he visited CD in London on 4 March 1880 (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242); LL 3: 227).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12475,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12475