To John Higgins   5 October [1854]

Down Farnborough Kent

Octr. 5th.—

My dear Sir

I am very much obliged to you for your letter & plan. Had this property come into the market a few months ago, I should have thought it most fortunate, & perhaps it wd. have been an excellent thing for my children; but now the money is all invested & a large part for a long period of years (seven), so I must give up all thoughts of this estate which lies so handily to my own farm.—1

I followed a suggestion of yours (for which I am much indebted) & lent on mortgage to Grt. Northern, & part in B shares.—2

With many thanks for your trouble | Believe me | My dear Sir | Your’s sincerely | C. R. Darwin

1
See letters to John Higgins, 18 March [1854] and 9 April [1854], for CD’s initial plans to buy another farm.
2
CD’s Investment book (Down House MS), p. 43, has an entry dated 19 July 1854 recording that the sum of £5000 was: ‘Lent to Grt Northern Ry *on mortgage [interl] at 4 14 per cent for seven years, interest payable on July 15th to Jan 15th.— The last interest payable on July 15th 1861.’ On the same day CD also purchased stock to the value of £10,100. He had previously, on 5 July 1854, purchased ‘B stock’ in the same company to the value of £4943 (p. 37).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.4 (seven)] interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-1594,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-1594