Ɛpsilon

To T. M. Hughes   23 August 1880

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

August 23d. 1880

My dear Sir

It would be very ungrateful in me to hesitate for a moment about accepting the honour, which the Chester Nat. Hist. Socy. is willing to confer on me.— If, however, it is expected that I shd. attend to receive the Medal, I fear that I must with much regret decline the honour, for I suffer from the fatigue of travelling & more especially from any unusual excitement.1 Will you, therefore, be so good as to decide for me in whatever way you think best.

With my sincere thanks for your extremely kind note, I remain | my dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | Charles Darwin

1
No previous letter about the award has been found. Hughes was president of the Chester Society for Natural Science and Woodwardian Professor of geology at Cambridge. The medal was always awarded at the annual conversazione, held in September at the Town Hall in Chester (Siddall 1911, p. 53).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

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

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12695,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12695