Ɛpsilon

To George Gordon   4 July [1861]1

2. Hesketh Crescent | Torquay

July 4th

My dear Sir

I must thank you for your extraordinary kindness to me about Corallorhiza.2 Mr Watson forwarded to me your note to him3 & he suggested Prof. Balfour to whom I have written.4 I fear that there is no chance of my succeeding; but I am sure I am not the less obliged to you for your great kindness.—

My dear Sir | Yours truly obliged | Charles Darwin

1
The year is given by reference to the Darwins’ stay in Torquay.
2
Gordon had offered to assist CD in acquiring specimens of the orchid Corallorhiza. See letter to George Gordon, 22 June [1861].
3
The letter from Hewett Cottrell Watson has not been found. Gordon presumably wrote to him after receiving CD’s letter of 17 June [1861]: see letter from H. C. Watson to George Gordon, 27 June 1861, and letter from George Gordon to John Hutton Balfour, 1 July 1861.
4
John Hutton Balfour was professor of botany at Edinburgh University and director of the Royal Botanic Garden. See letter from George Gordon to John Hutton Balfour, 1 July 1861

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-3199,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-3199