From John Brodie Innes1   2 January [1862]2

2 Coley Hill | Reading

2nd. Janry.

Dear Darwin,

I hope before this reaches you, you will have received Quiz. He left here at 10 oClock. Johnny and I saw him off, and s⁠⟨⁠aid⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠go⁠⟩⁠od-bye very affe⁠⟨⁠ctionately⁠⟩⁠3 ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ has been used ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠m wat⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠

⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ all parties comforted.

We are preparing for our start on Monday. I wish the journey was either over, or not coming, but it is too late to shirk now—4

With every good wish for a happy new year for you ⁠⟨⁠all⁠⟩⁠ (The prospects across ⁠⟨⁠the At⁠⟩⁠lantic look a little ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ today than yesterd⁠⟨⁠ay.⁠⟩⁠5

⁠⟨⁠Ev⁠⟩⁠er Yrs | ⁠⟨⁠My dear⁠⟩⁠ Dar⁠⟨⁠win⁠⟩⁠ | ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠Innes⁠⟩⁠

1
John Innes, the Anglican incumbent of Down, changed his name to John Brodie Innes at the end of 1861 upon inheriting an entailed estate, Milton Brodie, near Forres in Scotland, from his cousin Eliza Brodie Dunn (see Correspondence vol. 9, letter from John Innes, [24 December 1861], and County families 1864); he moved to Milton Brodie shortly afterwards (see letter from J. B. Innes, 19 February [1862]).
2
The year is given by the relationship to the letters to J. B. Innes, 15 December [1861] and 19 December [1861], and to the letter from John Innes, [24 December 1861] (Correspondence vol. 9).
3
The Darwin family had agreed to look after the pet dog ‘Quiz’ belonging to Innes’s son John William, then 15 years old (see Correspondence vol. 9, letter to John Innes, 15 December [1861]).
4
Innes and his family were preparing to move to Scotland (see n. 1, above).
5
Innes refers to the American Civil War. Britain had recently come close to a direct involvement in the conflict as a result of the so-called Trent affair. In November 1861 the United States navy seized two Confederate envoys from the Trent, a British mail packet. News that the United States government had acquiesced to British demands for their release did not reach London until 8 January 1862. For an account of the Trent affair, see Ferris 1977; see also Correspondence vol. 9, letter to Asa Gray, 11 December [1861], and letter from Asa Gray, 31 December 1861.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-3370,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-3370