Ɛpsilon

From W. S. Dallas   28 February 1868

York Museum

28 Feb. 1868.

My dear Sir

Very many thanks for your kind present of your second edition,—1 it is a charming book & I shall always see it with pleasure.—

I am glad you are satisfied with the Translation from Piderit,— I endeavoured to make it as literal as possible, & have introduced variations or second readings here & there, especially when I had occasion to depart a little from the very words of the original—2

I will bring Müller’s book to town with me when I come up, which I hope to do next Wednesday.—3 I intend staying in town for 3 weeks,— should you have occasion to write, letters sent to Taylor & Francis will always find me.—4

I should not, however, commence translating Müller while in town, as my hands will be particularly full, & there is no hurry, if the author is to be communicated with.—

The Index is so voluminous a portion of your second vol. that the wonder is that only one reviewer should have taken notice of it,—but it was to my mind still more surprising that Mr. Murray did not object to its extent.—5 If you & he are satisfied it is enough for me.—

Believe me | My dear Sir | Your’s very truly | W. S. Dallas.

Chas Darwin Esq

CD annotations

3.3 letters … Francis] ‘Red Lion Court. Fleet St—’ added pencil
End of letter: ‘Taylor & Francis | Red Lion Ct | Fleet St’ added pencil
1
Dallas’s name appears on the presentation list for the second printing of Variation (see Correspondence vol. 16, Appendix IV).
2
Dallas had translated sections of Piderit 1867 (see letters from W. S. Dallas, 22 February 1868 and n. 1, and 24 February 1868).
3
Dallas had agreed to translate F. Müller 1864 (see letter from W. S. Dallas, 24 February 1868 and n. 4). CD was in London from 3 March to 1 April (see ‘Journal’ (Correspondence vol. 16, Appendix II)).
4
The firm of Taylor and Francis published Annals and Magazine of Natural History, of which Dallas was an editor.
5
Dallas had prepared the index for Variation. CD had complained to his publisher, John Murray, about the delays caused by the preparation of the index (see letter to John Murray, 9 January [1868]). The Gardeners’ Chronicle, 21 February 1868, p. 181, noted that the book had been ‘indexed with scrupulous care’.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-5955,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-5955