Ɛpsilon

To Thomas Woolner   6 August [1878]1

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.

Aug. 6th

My dear Mr Woolner

Your account of the Ourang is very curious. I had not heard even of its existence.2 Whenever I go to London, I hope to see him or her; but this will not be soon & indeed tomorrow morning we leave home for a three weeks visit.—3

Pray remember us to Mrs Woolner4 | & believe me | Yours very faithfully | Ch. Darwin

1
The year is established by the mention of the visit starting on 7 August (see n. 3, below), and by the mention of the orang-utan (see n. 2, below).
2
Woolner’s account has not been found. A young female orang-utan had arrived at the Zoological Gardens of London on 27 July 1878 (Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (1878): 789).
3
The Darwins visited family in Surrey and Staffordshire between 7 and 22 August 1878 (CD’s ‘Journal’ (Appendix II)).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6307A,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6307A