Ɛpsilon

To W. E. Darwin   26 [October 1860]1

15 Marine Parade | Eastbourne

Friday 26th

My dear William

We have been in great distress about poor dear Etty. Severe vomiting began on Monday & was dreadful for 48 hours; then it mitigated & we thought the attack over, but she had more last night & is very ill.—2 I do not yet see actual much danger, though great suffering. When we shall be able to get home it is quite impossible to say.—   Poor dear Mamma has had many sleepless nights & is very low.—   God knows what the end will be.— But I still have great hopes.—

Thank you much for your long pleasant letter received on Monday or Tuesday.—

I am too tired to write any more | My dear son | Your affect. Father | C. Darwin

1
Dated by the reference to Henrietta Emma Darwin’s relapse (see n. 2, below).
2
Emma Darwin’s diary chronicles Henrietta’s attack, which began on 21 October. See also letter to Daniel Oliver, 23 [October 1860] and n. 3.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-2963,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-2963