From E. A. Darwin [after 21 April 1869]¹

than Paget & that you may get well soon— I looked upon muscles as of such little consequence compared to all the rest of the machinery that I believe I looked upon Pagets verdict as better than I ought. You’ll require B Jones to put you on horseback again.²

yours affec | E D

incomplete

The date is established by the reference to James Paget and a horse-riding accident. Paget visited CD on 21 April 1869 (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)), after CD had fallen from his horse (see letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 and n. 12).

Henry Bence Jones had treated CD successfully for his chronic illness since 1865 (see Correspondence vol. 13), and had advised CD to go riding for exercise (see Correspondence vol. 14, letter from H. B. Jones, 10 February [1866] and n. 3).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6521,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6521