To L. C. Harrison   18 October [1881]1

Down.

Oct 18th

My dear Lucy

I am very sorry but I really can think of no suggestion to send to Mrs. Forsyth.2 It is difficult to observe anything new & requires much patience. I believe that the observer must first himself or herself become interested on the point or subject. The best plan is to read, think & speculate, & then some suggestion or doubt will occur, which can be determined or verified only by observation. I can do nothing but send these common-places.

Your affect. Uncle | Ch. Darwin

The year is established by an annotation, ‘1881’, in an unknown hand
Mrs Forsyth may be Anne Noel Forsyth.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.3 himself or herself] interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-13414,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-13414