Ɛpsilon

To [William Newton]   17 April 1880

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

Ap. 17th 1880

Private

Dear Sir

I can only repeat that I have never been able to follow easily abstract reasoning & of late years the labour is intolerable to me.1 Therefore I cannot judge of the value of Mr Lloyds work.— I do not remember distinctly what Mr L. says against Mr Galton’s book on Hereditary Genius, which I have always esteemed highly.—2

I am extremely sorry that you cannot give a better account of Mr Lloyd’s health: your friendship must be a great support to him in his suffering state.3

I have received the ‘Brigands Home’, but have not yet had time to read it.4

Thanking you for your courteous expressions in regard to myself, I remain | Dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin

I know that I am hated & abused by many; but I do not care much about this or about fame. It is the one advantage of advanced age.—

1
The letter to which this is a reply has not been found. The correspondent was probably William Newton, who had worked with Francis Lloyd (see n. 2, below).
2
Lloyd had evidently sent CD a copy of his critique of Francis Galton’s book on hereditary genius (Galton 1869, Lloyd 1876a); a copy is in the Darwin Pamphlet Collection–CUL (see also Correspondence vol. 25, letter to [Francis Lloyd], 1 May [1877]). Newton had written an introduction to Lloyd 1876a.
3
In the event, Lloyd died in Smyrna, Turkey, on 17 April 1880 (Standard, 22 April 1880, p. 1). CD had sent Lloyd £10 on 1 May 1877 (CD’s Classed account books (Down House MS)).
4
No copy of The Brigands’ Cave on Salamis; tales and legends (Lloyd 1876b) has been found in the Darwin Libraries at CUL or Down.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.3 Mr L.] above del ‘he’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12580,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12580