Ɛpsilon

To W. H. Flower   [after 16 February 1880]1

I am much obliged for the books. I see that they are marked from the Council & if it is proper will you be [so kind] return my sincere thanks to the C for its gift.—2 I shall be glad to read about the skulls, & I daresay you will convert me from my previous state of heresy.—3 Frank & I will both be glad to read [about] the [curiosities] Hunter says on plants.—4 We thoroughly enjoyed your visit here.—5

Yours very sincerely | C. D.

ADraft

1
The date is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from W. H. Flower to Francis Darwin, 16 February 1880.
2
Flower had sent Flower 1879 to CD and Hunter 1860 to both Francis and CD (see letter from W. H. Flower to Francis Darwin, 16 February 1880 and nn. 1 and 2). The council was that of the Royal College of Surgeons, where Flower was professor of comparative anatomy and curator of the Hunterian Museum.
3
CD refers to Flower’s work on human osteology (Flower 1879) and probably alludes to some remarks he made on the subject while Flower was visiting (see n. 5, below).
4
John Hunter’s Memoranda on vegetation (Hunter 1860) was a collection of notes made by Hunter that were later transcribed from a manuscript loaned to the Royal College of Surgeons (see letter from W. H. Flower to Francis Darwin, 16 February 1880 and n. 2).
5
Flower and his wife, Georgiana Rosetta Flower, visited Down from 14 to 16 February 1880 (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.2 proper] above del ‘necessary’
1.2 be [so kind]] interl
1.3 you will … heresy.— 1.4] above del ‘will I shall cease to be’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12505,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12505