Ɛpsilon

To ?   29 March [1862–9]1

Down. | Bromley. | Kent. S.E.

Mar 29

Dear Sir

I am extremely sorry that you have had so much trouble in writing to me at such length. The intended publication seems highly promising & valuable & I am sure I wish it all success.2 But the state of my health conjoined with the quantity of matter which I wish to publish renders it impossible that I shd be a contributor; and this answer I have been compelled unwillingly to make on previous occasions.

I should be proud to be a fellow labourer, but as there is no chance of my writing in the intended Periodical, I do not think it wd be right that my name shd appear.

I beg leave to repeat my regret for the trouble which I have inadvertently caused you, & with my best wishes for the success of your undertaking, I remain | Dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | Charles Darwin

LS

1
The date range is established by the form of address, which is one that was used by CD between May 1861 and April 1869.
2
The periodical has not been identified. CD was often asked to contribute or lend his name to new periodicals during this period, but routinely refused such requests (see, for example, Correspondence vol. 15, letter to Charles Kingsley, 30 April [1867]).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-13878,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-13878