Ɛpsilon

From J. D. Hooker   [27 February 1865?]1

Kew

Monday.

Dear Darwin

I shall leave town by the 4: PM—or 4:10 train on Saturday,2 which arrives at Bromley at 4:49, if not convenient to send the tax cart,3 I shall enjoy the walk & feel all the freer—4 Do not worry about whether you can see me or no, I shall amuse myself—

Ever yrs affec | J D Hooker

1
The date is conjectured on the basis of the location of the letter in the archive: the letter was deposited with other 1865 letters in DAR 102 (Hooker’s letters to CD, 1865–8), which is arranged chronologically. The arrangement is presumably CD’s and has been preserved (see the preface to Handlist of Darwin papers at the University Library, Cambridge, p. 4 (Cambridge: University Library, 1960)). According to Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242), Hooker visited Down House from 4 to 6 March 1865. In 1865, the Monday preceding 4 March fell on 27 February.
2
In his letter to Hooker of 9 February [1865], CD encouraged Hooker to visit Down House when he could do so ‘with ease’. Hooker eventually arranged to visit from 4 to 6 March 1865 (see letter from J. D. Hooker, [17 February 1865] and n. 4).
3
A two-wheeled, open cart drawn by one horse, so-called because it was subject to a reduced tax (OED).
4
Down is six miles south-east of Bromley.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-4777,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-4777