Ɛpsilon

To G. H. Darwin   [28 August 1881]1

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

Sunday Evening

My dear George

If you are not pledged to Mr. Salts agents,2 as your solicitors, I think it is a very great pity that you do not employ Mr. Hacon, whom both William & I know is trustworthy.—3 Mr Salt’s agents will be complete strangers, & we have no claim or tie on them.

About 40 years ago I went to their agents, & a more odious set of men I never saw, so that I wd. have nothing more to do with them.—4 About a year ago I saw the death of Mr Salt of Shrewsbury in the newspapers, & I do not know whether there is now any Salt in the firm.—5 Of course the agents may now prove to be the most respectable people; but I shd employ Mr. Hacon for selling the house.—6

I fear that this business will give you a great deal of trouble, & it is very unfortunate William being tied by the leg—7

Your affectionate Father | Ch. Darwin

1
The date is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from G. H. Darwin, [29 August 1881]. In 1881, the Sunday before 29 August was 28 August.
2
George Moultrie Salt was partner in the firm Salt & Sons, Shrewsbury; the London agents were Paterson, Snow, & Bloxam of 25 Lincoln’s Inn Fields. George was an executor of the will of Erasmus Alvey Darwin, who died on 26 August 1881 (CD’s ‘Journal’ (Appendix II)).
4
In the 1840s, Salt’s London agents were Hawkins, Bloxam, & Stoker of 3 New Boswell Court, Lincoln’s Inn (Law list 1841).
5
William Salt, a partner in the firm Salt & Sons, died on 22 May 1881 at Shrewsbury (England & Wales, national probate calendar (index of wills and administrations), 1858–1966 (Ancestry.com, accessed 9 October 2019)).
6
Erasmus Alvey Darwin had lived at 6 Queen Anne Street, London.
7
William and Sara Darwin were about to depart for France.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

2.1 of men] interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-13300,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-13300