To T. H. Huxley   23 July [1868]1

Dumbola Lodge | Freshwater | Isle of Water2

July 23d.

My dear Huxley

You will see where we are. I got so bad that I could do nothing & we have all come here for five weeks.— Will you have the kindness to tell Prof. Kühne, & say how much pleased & honoured I feel that he shd. have wished to have seen me.—3 I regret that this is impossible.—

From your note, I hope that you have stood well all your work & this killing hot weather.4 You must, however, long for rest, & Mrs. Huxley5 must long for it still more for your sake.—

Ever my dear Huxley, yours most truly | Ch. Darwin

1
The year is established by the reference to the Darwins’ stay at Freshwater, Isle of Wight (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)).
2
The name of the house was Dimbola Lodge; Isle of Water is a mistake for Isle of Wight.
4
The summer of 1868 saw prolonged drought and unusually hot weather; according to the Gardeners’ Chronicle, 8 August 1868, p. 843, the hottest days in July were the 21st and 22d, with the temperature near London 93oF (34oC). According to a later report, on 22 July a beef-steak was cooked on the south side of Westminster Bridge in twenty minutes by the heat of the sun’s rays alone (Gardeners’ Chronicle, 17 October 1868, p. 1096).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6287,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6287