Ɛpsilon

From W. E. Darwin to F. E. Abbot   13 June [1880]1

Basset | Southampton

June 13th

Private

My Dear Sir,

My Father wished me to acknowledge with sincere thanks your letter, and the most kind expression of your feelings as regards his labours contained in it.2

He feels that there can be no higher tribute than the heartfelt appreciation of his work coming from one whose life he feels like his own to have been devoted to the search for truth.

I wished at the same time to express to you my very deep regret to learn that the Index is losing your superintendence; the paper has been a source of pleasure & instruction to me for years, and the high fearless tone of all your essays has always impressed deeply. When I had the pleasure of seeing you in the autumn of 1878 I feared that your connection with the paper was coming to an end.3

My Father desired me to say that it would be a considerable satisfaction to him, if you would kindly put a stop to the weekly advertizement of his appreciation of the Index tracts. He had no intention that his words should be used for this purpose, and he wishes now that they should be omitted.4

With sincere respect, I am dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | W. E. Darwin

F. E. Abbot Eqre5

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from F. E. Abbot, 15 May 1880.
3
Abbot had been editor of the Index since 1870. William evidently met Abbot when he and his wife Sara Darwin visited her family in Massachusetts (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242) and Correspondence vol. 26, letter to B. J. Sulivan, 5 November [1878]).
4
The advertisement contained a modified version of a statement CD had made about a tract associated with the Index (Abbot [1870]) in his letter to Abbot of 27 May [1871] (Correspondence vol. 19): ‘I have now read, Truths for the Times, & I admire them from my inmost heart, & I believe that I agree to every word’. For more on CD’s dealings with the Index, see Browne 2002, pp. 391–2.
5
Abbot added a note to the bottom of the letter: ‘Mr. Darwin forgets that he expressly authorized me to print his “endorsement”, in his letter of Nov. 16, 1871. F.E.A.’ For CD’s permission, see Correspondence vol. 19, letter to F. E. Abbot, 16 November [1871].

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12633,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12633