To W. E. Darwin   [15 March 1868]1

My dear William.

If you to go to the blind establishment at Worcester,2 let me hear soon whether you can find out anything positively about blushing; for I will not write to Bowman3 till I hear from you.—

I can think of no other arbitrator.—

May I talk under sea[l] of secrecy of the affair with your mother—4

Ever your affect | C. D.

Sunday. 4 Chester Pl. N.W. 5

Elephants shed tears copiously, & when they trumpet or scream loudly, I saw today at Z. Gardens, that they invariably & strongly contract “orbicularis palpellatum”.— this is fine case.—6

Attend to your capital observation on yawning & corners of mouth—7

1
The date is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter to W. E. Darwin, 21 March [1868] and by the dates of CD’s stay at 4 Chester Place, London (see n. 5, below). In 1868, the Sunday preceding 21 March was 15 March.
2
Worcester College for Blind Sons of Gentlemen (Post Office directory of Birmingham 1868).
4
See letters to W. E. Darwin, 21 March [1868] and 25 March [1868].
5
CD and Emma stayed at Sarah Elizabeth Wedgwood’s house in London from 11 March to 1 April 1868 (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)).
6
CD described the elephant at the Zoological Gardens, Regent’s Park, London, in Expression, pp. 167–8. Obicularis palpellatum: a mistake for orbicularis palpebrarum, orbicular muscles of the eyes.
7
There is a note dated 14 March 1868 in DAR 160: 97 containing William’s observations of the shape and movement of the mouth during a suppressed yawn.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.2 positively] interl
6.1 or scream] interl
7.1 yawning] after del ‘yawg’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6067,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6067