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From W. E. Darwin   [7 October 1881]1

6. Queen Anne St | Cavendish Sqre

Friday

My dear Father.

Will you please send me the 2 valuations of your property to Cambridge tomorrow.2

I cannot help fearing I have made some mistake, & I should like to cheque it with George.— It would be very disagreeable to me, if I have made a mistake in the total the daughters will have and so have guided you in the ratio in which you leave your property.

I think I am right in taking Mother’s settlement money as being divided equally among all.3 This is one of the points which I wish to check

Your affect son | W. E. Darwin

1
The date is established by the mention of William Erasmus Darwin’s forthcoming trip to Cambridge (see n. 2, below). In 1881, 7 October fell on a Friday.
2
CD had asked William to calculate the value of his property including the bequest from Erasmus Alvey Darwin (letter to G. H. Darwin, 8 September [1881]). William had done the calculations quickly before leaving on a trip to the Continent and evidently was worried that he had made a mistake. He intended to see George Howard Darwin in Cambridge; William and Sara Darwin travelled there on 8 October (letter from Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield, [9 October 1881] (DAR 219.9: 275)).
3
This is the money settled on Emma Darwin as part of her marriage settlement (see Correspondence vol. 2, letter from Josiah Wedgwood II and Emma Wedgwood to R. W. Darwin, 15 November 1838).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-13325F,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-13325F