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To J. S. Henslow   29 January [1860]1

Down Bromley Kent

Jan. 29th

My dear Henslow

The Measles has run like wild-fire through the House, but we are now quit of it.2

We shall be delighted to see you here, whenever you can spare the time. The only engagements which we know of are from Feb. 6 to 11th.—3 I shall be particularly glad to hear any of your objections to my views, when we meet. My Book has been far more successful as yet, than I dreamed of.— The two last chapters are in my opinion the strongest.—4

Thank you much for offering to send me Jenyns’ letter which I will return to you; I shd. much like to see it, though he has written to me.—5

I hope heartily that you will be able to come. here.— | Yours affect & gratefully | C. Darwin

What an interesting subject the Celts in Drift6

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 January [1860] (Correspondence vol. 8).
2
Leonard Darwin had measles at the beginning of January, followed by Horace, Elizabeth, and Francis (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)).
3
Henslow visited Down from 14 to 16 February 1860. The Darwins were in London from 6 to 11 February. (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242).)
4
The two last chapters of Origin were ‘Mutual affinities of organic beings: morphology: embryology: rudimentary organs’ and ‘Recapitulation and conclusion’.
5
See Correspondence vol. 8, letter from Leonard Jenyns, 4 January 1860, and letter to J. S. Henslow, 3 February [1860]. The letter from Jenyns forwarded by Henslow to CD has not been found.
6
In a letter in the Athenæum, 11 February 1860, pp. 206–7, Henslow speculated that prehistoric celts (implements) found in drift deposits might have reached there as a result of relatively recent geological movements.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

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Please cite as “DCP-LETT-2666F,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-2666F