Ɛpsilon

From W. E. Darwin   1 December [1880]1

Bank—

Dec 1

My dear Father,

I shall soon manage a day for Beaulieu—. We have a Yankee cousin of Sara’s coming—and I can do him & the worms at the same time.2

I am extremely glad the book is going off so well.—3

We think of going to see the Roman Villa at Brading I of Wight on Friday   Is there any point you wish observed, I am told there are worms as big as eels there!.4

Sara sends her best love, she is quite aware what a half bred Darwin she is, but she has the decency to be delighted when any review speaks properly of you

My love to Mother. Please tell Bessy5 I will enquire about what she wants. | Your affect son | W. E Darwin

We were much interested in Mothers letter about Ld. Derby—6

Please say I shall be very glad of the Book if L.H.P do not want them.7

We had a smart dinner party last night—including Mrs. Fleming8

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter to W. E. Darwin, 30 November [1880].
2
CD had asked William to collect some worm-castings from Beaulieu Abbey, Hampshire, in his letter of 30 November [1880]. The Cistercian abbey, founded in 1204, was a popular tourist attraction. Sara Darwin’s cousin has not been identified.
3
After a positive review of Movement in plants appeared in The Times, 20 November 1880, p. 9, CD’s publisher had printed a further 500 copies (see letter from R. F. Cooke, 26 November 1880).
4
Ruins of a Roman villa at Brading on the Isle of Wight had been discovered in 1879; a description of the uncovered remains appeared in the Antiquary (Nicholson 1881).
6
A letter from Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield, [28 November 1880] (DAR 219.9: 253) described a visit from Lord and Lady Derby (Edward Henry and Mary Catherine Stanley) and the various topics discussed.
7
The Darwins visited Leith Hill Place, Surrey, the home of CD’s sister Caroline Sarah Wedgwood, from 11 to 15 December 1880. It is unclear what book William refers to; he would already have received a copy of Movement in plants, since his name is on CD’s presentation list (see Appendix IV).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12880F,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12880F