Ɛpsilon

To George Robert Waterhouse   12 November [1861]1

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

Nov. 12th

My dear Waterhouse

Many thanks for the enclosed interesting letter.—2 It always pleases me to see a clear-headed man on my side, & especially if he be bold enough to speak out, & thus render really efficient aid.— For it will require much speaking out before this side will receive fair toleration.—

Mr. Walsh has evidently been a close & good observer of Fishes.—3 What he says about the Sea-Trout in the Loch is very curious; & it would be very desirable that some professed Ichthyologist should examine these Trout.— It would make a good case for me.— But until thus examined & pronounced on, cavillers would simply deny that the fish was a sea-trout.—

I hope to see you before long, for I shall be up on the 21st to read a paper at Linn. Soc.—4

Did you ever look at the skull of the Borneo Domestic Cat, which I gave you?—5

My dear Waterhouse | Yours very sincerely | Charles Darwin

1
Dated by CD’s reference to reading a paper before the Linnean Society of London (see n. 4, below).
2
The enclosure has not been found.
3
Walsh has not been identified.
4
CD read a paper on the two forms of Primula to the Linnean Society on Thursday, 21 November 1861 (see Collected papers 2: 45–63).
5
CD had obtained specimens of cats and other domestic animals from Borneo through James Brooke, the raja of Saráwak (see Correspondence vol. 5, CD memorandum, [December 1855]; and vol. 6, letter to A. R. Wallace, 1 May 1857). Waterhouse had examined a South American feral cat CD brought back from the Beagle voyage (see Variation 1: 47).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-3317,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-3317