Ɛpsilon

To Henry Johnson   9 June 1880

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

June 9th 1880

My dear Johnson.

Many thanks for your notes & enclosures.1 I remember Mr Vivian perfectly & the interest which he took in prehistoric archæology.2 I am glad to hear of the flint tool so low in the deposit. These old implements have a fascination for me, & I shd. think that there was much probability in Mr Vivians suggestion about breaking the ice. As for the contours of the head they surpass my powers of belief in their accuracy.— I have just returned home after a fortnights holiday & have a multitude of letters to write, so will say no more, except to send my very kind remembrance & thanks to your daughter.3

Good Heavens how many years it is since we used to walk together at Edinburgh.—4

with all good wishes | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

1
The notes and enclosures have not been found. Johnson had previously mentioned being present at excavations of caves at Longbury Bank, Penally, near Tenby; see Correspondence vol. 27, letter from Henry Johnson, 22 September [1879].
2
Edward Vivian had worked on the excavations of Kent’s cavern, near Torquay. He had sent CD information in 1872; see Correspondence vol. 20, letter to Edward Vivian, 23 August [1872].
3
CD visited his son William Erasmus Darwin at Bassett, Southampton, from 25 May to 8 June 1880 (CD’s ‘Journal’ (Appendix II)). Johnson’s daughter was Mary Elisabeth Johnson.
4
In the 1820s, CD and Johnson had been contemporaries at Shrewsbury School and at the University of Edinburgh; see Correspondence vol. 1, letter from Caroline & Susan Darwin, 2 [January 1826].

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.1 (Railway … S.E.R.)] parentheses added

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12626,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12626