Ɛpsilon

To Raphael Meldola   23 February 1882

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

Feb. 23d 1882

Dear Mr Meldola

Your certificate has been signed by self—Norman Lockyer Greville Williams, Ch. Al. Wright, H. W. Bates & Sir J. Lubbock.1 These are fairly good names, & in accordance with my practice of not applying to more than 6 men, I have sent the Certificate to R. Socy.— You are probably aware that anyone else who likes, can add his name to the suspended Certificate.2 But I have been assured by members of the Council that the names are never considered, only what the applicant has done.—

As you have not given the titles of the papers published by you, it seems to me highly adviseable that you shd. act in compliance with the printed request that “as far as practicable, copies of any books & publications mentioned in this Certificate be furnished for the use of the Council &c &c.—(to be ultimately returned) You could send the copies to W. White Esqre at R. Soc.—stating that they were sent in compliance with the above request on the Certificate—3

Yours very faithfully | Ch. Darwin

2
The ‘Certificate of a candidate for election’ was for Meldola’s application for fellowship of the Royal Society of London. For the additional signatories of the certificate, see the letter to Raphael Meldola, 5 February 1882 and n. 3.
3
Walter White was the assistant secretary of the Royal Society. An additional page was added to the certificate listing later appointments and publications of Meldola’s, dated up to 1885. Meldola was elected in June 1886 (Royal Society Archives GB 117, EC/1886/10).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.1 (Railway … S.E.R.)] parentheses added
1.3 the Certificate 1.4] above del ‘it’
2.2 you shd. act] interl
2.4 (to … returned)] added
2.5 the copies] above del ‘any direct’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-13702,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-13702