Ɛpsilon

To John Price   27 December 1881

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

Dec. 27. 1881

My dear Price

I heartily congratulate you on the marriage of your daughter.1 As one grows old one’s chief interest is in the happiness of our children, & I am sure that you require & deserve all consolations with your suffering health.

The death of Mrs Smith has been a severe loss to many persons, including yourself. I never saw her but once at Patterdale, & then she seemed to me a very pleasing & loveable woman.2

I was thinking about a week ago that I shd. much like to give you a Christmas present, as old friends may do; but I racked my brains in vain, & I hope therefore you will accept the enclosed in the same spirit as I send it.3

I trust that you may be spared much suffering & remain, my dear Price | Yours sincerely | Charles Darwin

1
CD had probably heard that Mary Elizabeth Price and Henry Stolterfoth were to be married; the wedding did not take place until 16 February 1882 (Cheshire Observer, 25 February 1882, p. 5).
2
The Darwins had met Lucy Caroline Smith when they visited Patterdale in the Lake District from 2 June to 4 July 1881 (see letter to John Price, 3 September [1881]). Smith had died on 14 December 1881 (England & Wales, national probate calendar (index of wills and administrations), 1858–1966 (Ancestry.com, accessed 15 October 2020).
3
CD’s gift has not been identified.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.1 (Railway … S.E.R.)] parentheses added
2.2 her] added
2.2 at Patterdale] interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-13581,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-13581