Ɛpsilon

To Albert Gaudry   17 November 1868

Down. | Bromley. | Kent. S.E.

Nov 17. 1868

Dear Sir

On my return home after a short absence I found your note of Nov. 9 & your magnificent work on the fossil animals of Attica.1 I assure you that I feel very grateful for your generosity & for the honour which you have thus conferred on me. I know well, from what I have already read of extracts,2 that I shall find your work a perfect mine of wealth.

One long passage which Sir C. Lyell quotes from you in the 10th & last edition of the Principles of Geology, is one of the most striking which I have ever read, on the affiliation of species.3

With the most sincere respect & gratitude pray believe me | dear Sir | your truly obliged | Charles Darwin

LS

1
CD was in London from 7 to 16 November 1868 (see ‘Journal’ (Correspondence vol. 16, Appendix II)). CD refers to Gaudry 1862–7. See letter from Albert Gaudry, 9 November 1868 and n. 3.
2
Gaudry had already sent CD an offprint of part of the work (Gaudry 1866; see letter from Albert Gaudry, 9 November 1868 and n. 3).
3
CD refers to Charles Lyell and to Lyell 1867–8, 2: 481–4; the section is annotated in CD’s copy (see Marginalia 1: 543–4).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6464,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6464