Ɛpsilon

To K. M. Lyell   20 November 1881

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

Nov. 20— 1881

My dear Mrs Lyell

Your most kind present arrived last night & I am greatly obliged for it.1 But as it never occurred to me that you would give me so large & valuable a work, I have ordered a copy, as I was very anxious to begin reading the memoirs of my old master, to whom I am so deeply indebted under a scientific point of view.2 The ordered copy has not yet arrived, but no doubt soon will, probably tomorrow, & it will be a sin to keep two copies in the house.

You must know many persons to whom you would like to send a copy; & shall I not send you the one ordered, for you to transmit to whom you may think fit? Or if you like to send me a slip of paper to paste in, & give me any address, I will despatch the parcel by rail, as this may save you a little trouble.—

The work appears very handsome, & again thanking you I remain | Dear Mrs. Lyell | Yours sincerely | Charles Darwin

1
Life, letters and journals of Sir Charles Lyell, Bart. (K. M. Lyell ed. 1881). CD had been consulted about the selection of letters for the volumes; see Correspondence vol. 26, letter from J. D. Hooker, 18 March 1878.
2
CD often noted the influence of Lyell’s Principles of geology on his early geological work and his species theory, as well as Lyell’s personal support and mentorship (see, for example, ‘Recollections’, pp. 387, 390–1, 399–401, 411–12; see also Sponsel 2018).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.1 (Railway … S.E.R.)] parentheses added
1.5 , probably tomorrow,] interl
1.6 a sin] ‘a’ interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-13492F,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-13492F