To John Innes   19 December [1861]

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

Dec. 19th

My dear Innes

I hope Johnny’s heart will not fail. We will take much care of Quiz. If he comes pray thank Johnny.1 If you will see that the Dog is at London Bridge. S.E. Railway Station by one oclock, I will see that Snow, who is up as usual on Thursday, calls for him & brings him here safely.2

I had told Snow that he might be at Nag’s Head this day & gave all sorts of Instructions in case he came later, after he had started.—

I suppose you will very soon be off to Scotland; most heartily do I hope you all happiness in your new career as Scotch Laird or Chieftain, as perhaps I ought to call it—3

Pray give my very kind remembrances to Mrs. Innes & believe me. Dear Innes | Yours very sincerely | Charles Darwin

Endorsement: ‘61’

1
The Darwins were to keep John William Innes’s dog ‘Quiz’ after the family moved to Scotland (see letter to John Innes, 15 December [1861]).
2
George Snow operated a carrier service between Down and London every Thursday. His point of departure from London was the Nag’s Head Inn, Borough.
3
Innes, perpetual curate of Down, moved with his family to his ancestral home in Forres, Scotland in 1862.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.1 Quiz] above del ‘him’
1.2 Johnny] above del ‘him’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-3347,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-3347