To J. D. Hooker   25 [June 1864]

Down

25

My dear old Friend

I am very glad you are by this time started & away,1 for I fear you have been greatly overworked. Before very long I do hope you may spare time for a Sunday here.— When I read your previous note,2 I swore that my fingers shd. be blistered before I gave you any more trouble; but I have eased my mind by making a list of things which I want to ask you when we meet—3 What a misfortune that your new Curator is out of health.—4 I am heartily glad that you have nevertheless started; for I always fear that you may break down.—

I keep on improving & am now much as usual, except that anything which is hard to understand or which hurries me, knocks me up.— As soon as I have done about climbing plants I shall resume my routine work.—5

Scott has bought his outfit, but I have not heard when he thinks of starting.—6 He has decided from cheapness for passage by the Cape; so will take your Ward’s case.—7 He is particularly obliged for your offer of directing your agent to look out for ship for him.—8 I suppose you have heard nothing more about the Coffee plantation.9 I have of course said not a word to him about it.

Give my kindest remembrances to Mrs. Hooker, who I hope will profit much by your Journey—10

Yours affectionately | C. Darwin

P.S. Since writing to you I have heard from Scott & he says that he shall be ready to start in about 3 weeks;11 & it seems that the voyage by steam ship by the Cape is much the cheapest so this is settled unless your agent advises otherwise.

Now what had better be done, will you wait till your return, or will you write to your agent?

Perhaps the latter course will be best if you will take the trouble, but this again will depend on the coffee plantation scheme.

Endorsement: ‘June | /64’

1
In his letter of 23 June 1864, Hooker said that he and his wife, Frances Harriet, planned to spend one or two weeks in Ireland.
3
Hooker visited Down on 24 July 1864 (letter from J. D. Hooker to Asa Gray, 29 July 1864, Gray Herbarium of Harvard University). The list of queries may be CD’s memorandum to Hooker of [24 July 1864?].
4
John Smith (1821–88). See letter from J. D. Hooker, 23 June 1864.
5
According to CD’s journal, the manuscript of ‘Climbing plants’ was finished on 13 September 1864 and on the following day he resumed work on Variation (see ‘Journal’ (Correspondence vol. 12, Appendix II)); however, CD continued to make small additions to the paper on climbing plants later in the year (see, for example, letter to J. D. Hooker, 10 December [1864] and n. 6).
6
John Scott was preparing to embark for India. CD had helped to pay for his outfit (see letter from John Scott, 20 June [1864] and n. 2).
10
See n. 1, above. Hooker noted his wife’s poor health in his letter of 5 February 1864.
11
No letter from Scott conveying this information has been found; see, however, the letter from John Scott, 20 June [1864].

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.5 when we meet] interl
2.3 climbing] over ‘climbers’
2.3 plants] interl
3.2 from cheapness] interl
3.2 passage] after del ‘sea-’
3.2 Ward’s] interl
3.4 more] above del illeg

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-4544,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-4544